Do you want to learn how to improve your drawing skill?
Are you not seeing improvements that you want?
Well, learning how to create a daily drawing habit is your solution!
A regular drawing habit grows your drawing skill, helps you work on your strengths and weaknesses, and allows you to experiment with new ways of working.
In this article, I’ll share 5 powerful tips to help you not only create, but stick to a daily drawing routine. If you prefer to watch instead of read, watch the video below and don’t forget to Like and subscribe to The Portrait Guru.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, these insights will elevate your drawing game.
Why is a daily drawing habit important?
Inconsistency is the death of progress.
Additionally, this is crucial for those of you who are in the creative industry. At the minimum, a daily drawing habit maintains your skill.
A daily drawing habit is crucial for your artistic growth because it builds consistency and helps to refine your skills over time. By drawing every day, you reinforce the techniques and concepts you learn, allowing your skills to become second nature.
This consistent practice helps you progress more quickly than inconsistent efforts, as you’re constantly engaged with your craft.
Additionally, a daily habit keeps you creatively active, making it easier to develop new ideas and solutions as you become more comfortable with the medium.
Daily drawing also fosters discipline and creative confidence. The more you draw, the more you challenge yourself, pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone and exploring new styles and drawing lots of different subjects.
It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill, the more snow it picks up, the more momentum it gathers.
This not only enhances your technical abilities but also boosts your confidence in your work. Over time, you’ll notice improvements in your observational skills, line quality, and overall creativity.
Moreover, a daily routine helps you stay connected to your artistic goals, ensuring steady progress toward mastering your craft. This is why I love a daily drawing habit!
Benefits of a Daily Drawing Habit:
- Builds your drawing skill: Daily practice solidifies techniques and concepts.
- Creative Flow: Regular drawing keeps your creativity active and ideas flowing.
- Discipline: It builds a disciplined approach to your art.
- Confidence Boost: Frequent practice enhances your confidence in your abilities.
- Continuous Improvement: Daily efforts lead to consistent and noticeable progress.
Tip 1: Make Drawing Easy
In order to make habits stick, you need to make good habits as easy as possible, and bad habits as difficult as possible.
Make drawing as easy as possible by placing your sketchbook where it’s easily accessible, and adopt strategies to minimise resistance.
As another example, I have my materials, sketchbook and drawing materials right next to me on my desk, within easy reach.
This makes it as easy as possible to draw, with least path of resistance to do my regular drawing exercises, sketch or just have fun drawing.
Tip 2: Carve Out Time
Identify the optimal time in your day for distraction-free drawing.
Treat this time as a daily meeting with yourself, prioritising your creative pursuits.
For me it’s in the mornings before everyone gets up, and I make sure I block this out into my calendar every single day to draw in my sketchbook. It means I have to go to bed early, but this is what I choose.
If you’re a night owl and have a family for example, block out time after the kids go to bed. Remember, this is you time, so make sure you commit to it!
Tip 3: Invest in a Portable Sketchbook
Whether you’re on public transport or waiting for a dentist appointment, this is the perfect time to practice drawing.
Having a sketchbook at hand allows for quick, regular drawings, which contributing significantly to your daily practice. All of these micro minutes add up in the long run.
It also makes drawing as easy as possible, and removes obstacles.
This doesn’t have to be big time-invested drawings, and can be quick and easy drawings.
Tip 4: Make Sacrifices
Understand the importance of making sacrifices to prioritise drawing in your life.
Swap out non-essential activities, like Netflix, your beloved phone or social media, and replace them with your creative pursuits.
For example, if you usually watch television after dinner, how after drawing after dinner?
People often say they don’t have time in the day, but more often than not, they actually do! If you really want to make drawing a top priority to improve your skills and learn how to create a daily drawing habit, you’ll find time.
Discover how this strategy helps in forming a sustainable drawing habit.
Tip 5: Practicing Drawing for just 5 Minutes
Overcome the initial resistance to starting a drawing by applying the 2-minute rule from Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art.”
Learn how a brief commitment can lead to a flow state, making drawing more enjoyable and less daunting.
By saying to yourself that you will only practice drawing for just 5 minutes, this almost tricks your brain to commit to the act. As it’s only 5 minutes, you can, if you want, stop after this time. But more often than not, you’ll realise that you get into the groove of drawing, and 1 hour could pass before you even know it!
How Have You Built Your Drawing Habit?
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s article on how to create a daily drawing habit! Follow these 5 tips above and you’ll be in great stead to growing your drawing skill.
Be sure to check out this article on how to draw eyes for beginners, a perfect tutorial to improve drawing facial features. Or if you like a time-lapse video, give this one a watch!
Cheers guys, and happy drawing!
Many thanks for listening and visiting my blog today. You can follow what I’m up to on my Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram pages, I’ll really appreciate it if you do, and don’t be afraid to say hi to me! Many thanks again, and have a great day!
1st September 2024
