{"id":14129,"date":"2018-01-15T14:18:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T14:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marvel7077.wpengine.com\/?p=14129"},"modified":"2018-01-15T14:18:56","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T14:18:56","slug":"need-drawing-consistently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marvelapp.com\/blog\/need-drawing-consistently\/","title":{"rendered":"You Need to Be Drawing Consistently"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Have you guys heard of Inktober<\/a>? It\u2019s a drawing challenge developed by fellow illustrator, Jake Parker<\/a> in 2009. Every October, artists and art-enthusiasts around the world create an ink drawing daily for the month, <\/strong>sharing their work each day online with the #Inktober<\/a> hashtags.<\/p>\n

Sounds pretty easy, right? I mean c\u2019mon, we\u2019re all creatives here. How hard can it be to carve out a few minutes to draw a lil\u2019 something each day?<\/p>\n

Welp, it turns out it\u2019s very hard.<\/strong> I remember not too long ago when I struggled so much with drawing consistently. I wanted to be drawing every day. I desperately wanted to. I knew I should be, and I told myself I would, over and over. But somehow, the hours and then the days would slip by and I wouldn\u2019t draw a single line.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d get busy with all the other things I had to do. I\u2019d get overwhelmed not knowing what to draw. I\u2019d be afraid I would draw something terrible and end up feeling worse. But a lot of times, I\u2019d just choose not to draw because it was easier. I\u2019ll do it tomorrow\u2026<\/p>\n

Inktober was the kick in the butt I needed. I forget now exactly which year it was, but the year I found out about Inktober marked a major shift in my drawing output.<\/strong> I saw a tweet about it and thought, \u201cYes! This is what I need! This will give me the motivation and accountability to actually draw every day!\u201d<\/p>\n

Developing a Drawing\u00a0Habit<\/h2>\n

And surprisingly, it did. Did I draw every single day that first Inktober? No. I missed a couple days in the beginning. It wasn\u2019t perfect. But having the ongoing motivation, and knowing that I was supposed to be posting on Instagram each day, made me jump back on the drawing wagon way quicker than I had before. All in all, I only missed a few days. It was more than I had ever drawn. But more importantly, it was the most consistent I had ever drawn.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A funny thing happened while I was going through that first monthly challenge. I started to want to draw each day. Once I had gotten over the hump of the first week or so, and had dragged myself to my sketchbook for days in a row, something clicked in my brain that made me start to crave drawing. <\/strong>I no longer had to work as hard to convince myself to draw. I just wanted to.<\/p>\n

I was developing a drawing\u00a0habit.
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Drawing more leads to drawing\u00a0more<\/h2>\n

If you haven\u2019t experienced this sense of drawing nirvana, don\u2019t worry. It\u2019s never too late to develop a drawing habit. And don\u2019t be intimidated and think your drawing habit has to be perfect. <\/strong>Trust me, mine definitely isn\u2019t. There are days where I don\u2019t draw, even when I know I should \u2014 particularly when I\u2019m on vacation or away from home.<\/p>\n

But the difference is how long those lapses last. It used to be days and days. Now it\u2019s just one day, and it happens much less frequently. And I don\u2019t beat myself up about it, I just get back to drawing.<\/p>\n

All this is to say:<\/p>\n

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\"Consistency is the most important aspect of improving your drawing\u00a0skills.\"<\/p><\/span><\/blockquote>\n

You don\u2019t want to burn out creating huge pieces of detailed artwork every single day. But drawing something, no matter how small or how simple, will do wonders for your attitude toward drawing, comfort while drawing, and will help you begin to develop and evolve your style of drawing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drawing consistently is hard for sure. It requires commitment and willpower. But the more you draw, the more it builds on itself. The drawings compound, and you\u2019ll notice with each line and each day that it becomes easier and more enjoyable to draw.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to start drawing consistently<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re interested in drawing more consistently, here are some actionable steps you can take:<\/p>\n

Commit to a daily drawing challenge.<\/h2>\n

It doesn\u2019t have to be Inktober<\/a>, but Inktober is going on right now, so it\u2019s a great time to jump in! Don\u2019t worry about missing the first couple days, just jump in now.<\/p>\n

Inktober is also a huge community that\u2019s really supportive and encouraging.<\/strong> It\u2019s inspiring to see the output of all the other artists too, and will motivate you to keep up!<\/p>\n

Figure out when you like to draw\u00a0best.<\/h2>\n

I read all the time about how you should do the most important thing first every morning. But for drawing, that doesn\u2019t work for me \u2014 I\u2019m too groggy.<\/p>\n

I like to draw best in the late afternoon\/early evening, when I feel most relaxed and have gotten a lot of stuff done. During that time, I feel I can really let go and just draw.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry about other people\u2019s schedules. Find what works for you, and commit to drawing during that time for a while.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick a\u00a0theme<\/h2>\n

For Inktober, Jake Parker creates a list of daily prompts for people to draw, but I \u2014 and a lot of other artists \u2014
\n prefer to pick a theme that\u2019s consistent across the drawings for the month.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great way to practice something you\u2019re not that great at, or to challenge yourself with drawing something you normally don\u2019t<\/strong> for a whole month. In the past I\u2019ve chosen themes of drawing dogs, sea creatures, architecture, and daily comics. This year, I\u2019m trying to challenge myself by drawing historical fashion!<\/p>\n

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You can draw consistently. It\u2019s hard, I know.<\/p>\n

Start today. Just open your sketchbook and draw.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s do this!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you guys heard of Inktober? It\u2019s a drawing challenge developed by fellow illustrator, Jake Parker in 2009. Every October, artists and art-enthusiasts around the world create an ink drawing daily for the month, sharing their work each day online with the #Inktober hashtags. Sounds pretty easy, right? I mean c\u2019mon, we\u2019re all creatives here. How hard can it be… Read More ￫<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":14134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viewpoint"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n