I came across some advice on the Sweatdrop Forum on how to improve your drawing. It went like this:
lock yourself in your bedroom and draw till 4am XD
believe me, it takes a HUGE toll on your health for a while until your body gets used to routine.
(but srsly, only do this:
- on weekends
- if you REALLY want to improve your drawing
- when you’re allowed to (this can vary depending on levels of rebelliousness)
- when you start to feel sleepy, then SLEEP. it’s not good to test your mental endurance – i have before, it;s not fun.
I would like to propose an alternative, which might serve you better (body and mind).
Full disclosure: I am freakishly sensitive to disturbances to my sleep/wake rhythm. Staying up ’till 4 AM drawing would have the kind of repercussions on me as running a marathon. Running a marathon without training. Because I’m being chased by rabid dogs.
So perhaps I am somewhat biased against the staying up to draw late into the night method. I think binge-drawing does have its place, however, I think we’re all likely to overestimate its importance.
Say you start your drawing binge at 9, and work until 4 in the morning. That’s seven hours of drawing. Really good going. But what if, instead, you drew an hour each night? You can do that on weekdays, so that’s 7 hours if you do it for a week. It doesn’t drain your health, you don’t have to sacrifice the next morning to the gods of sleep, and you don’t need to hide what you’re doing from your parents (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
The most important benefit however, is that drawing every day means it’s normal. If you can build a habit like that (and maybe it’s good to start with half an hour) drawing becomes just a thing you do, like having breakfast or checking facebook. You don’t have to remind yourself, or decide whether you’d rather do drawing all night or do something else. You just sit down and draw, like you always do.
And those hours or practice time will start to add up fast. Much faster, I think, than the occasional weekend binge.
People (meaning everyone, meaning including me) have a tendency to overestimate the impact of a one-time heroic effort over the every day, normal level practice. But in the end, it’s the diligent, every day exercises that make a master.
Yes, it will still take a huge investment of time and effort. We had established that you really wanted to improve your drawing though, right?
Upcoming related posts:
- Where do I find a whole hour of time every day?
- What do I practice?
- I can’t stick to my habit! Halp!
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Much more sensible!
Not only that, but drawing every day is much closer to the life of a real artist. Not just binging when you feel like it, but keeping a steady stream of work going whatever the weather.
One thing I’ll add that’s a great way to get yourself drawing is to get a small sketchpad, like A5 or A6 ish size to carry around with you everywhere. Bored waiting for something? Draw. On the train? Draw. At a picnic? Draw! Never feel pressured to make everything you draw display standard. I upload…hmm, maybe a fifth of my actual drawing output as finished work online? For every drawing you see on my deviantart page (which has work I wouldn’t put in my portfolio) you can bet there are about 4 sketches in my sketchpad you’ve never seen!
Most pro artists are people who draw every day anyway for fun, and have done for years, they just started getting paid for it at some point! (I say this as a part time freelance artist myself. I’ve been drawing every day since before I could walk, it’s just what I do, then relatively recently, people started offering me money to draw them things or teach them how, so I kind of became a semi-pro artist!).
Yes, yes, yes, draw EVERYWHERE.
Choosing more portable tools and keeping them with me has been a big part of my drawing-habit-building and as a result of my improvements over the last 6 months. Listen to the Mongoose, folks. She knows her stuff.
I drew every single day for the first month of 2009 (and was really proud of myself), but then it slipped away. I did learn however, that every day practice > binge sessions.
Where do I find a whole hour of time every day?
I can’t stick to my habit! Halp!
These two sound good – many people will find these helpful. Myself included.
One comment: every lifedrawing tutor I’ve had, or course i’ve read about, suggests drawing in 2 hour minimum stints. I hesitate to say that this is because you don’t learn enough in an hour (because I have zero evidence to back that up) but in many cases the first hour of a class will be spent “warming up” or rehearsing a new skill- then the second hour spent applying that skill to a longer drawing.
Obviously, we don’t all have that time to spare- but I thought i’d just throw that out there for us Itchers to consider while we try and get even one hour together!
I agree Drawing every day is great (essential?) though. Remember your pocket sized sketchbook (moleskine droooolz…) is for YOU and you alone. It’s for crappy scribbles and bad ideas and crazy haircuts you want to remember for later. Don’t be precious and just draw!
PS: it is 4 in the morning now. YAWN.
~john~
Andrew: drawing every day for a while month is pretty good, you are right to be proud. To give away the tl;dr version of my “how to stick to habits” post now: don’t beat yourself up for slipping, remember how good it was to draw every day, and just keep trying to get back into it.
John, yes, I know, and I do agree with that, certainly as far as life drawing is concerned. Like I said, binge drawing does have its place. I think it’s important to (first) build a habit of regular practice though, otherwise you spend two hours life drawing, learn lots of fascinating stuff, and lose it all over the next month.
Or maybe that’s just my personal frustration regarding life drawing. Either way, thanks for your comments.