I think you missed the entire point of the article. The "real" thing is subjective and varies from person to person depending on their experience with the subject.
If someone else had no trouble creating art then this situation simply doesn't apply to them. That person might have a different part of the process that gives them trouble that they SHOULD be practicing.
For Eric, practicing the thing he had trouble with over and over was the best way for him to get over his struggles. Now he can move onto the next thing he needs to work on and continue to make progress.
Re:Do the Real Thing
by hunterloftis on Sunday June 21, 2020 @10:02AM
(#23592065)
Agreed. Following the article’s own advice of “ask someone who knows how your industry works” would certainly lead to “pay an artist” rather than “churn on your programmer art” if your goal is shipping a successful game.
> Eric Barone, who went on to sell millions of copies of his game, overcame his struggles at creating art by making and remaking the art assets for his game dozens of times.
To someone else, frigging around with their art assets and remaking then over and over again could be the very definition of not doing "the real thing".