📅 Drastically improve your art skills with this one adjustment
#4 How to practice daily and elevate your art
Dear little demon,
Welcome to the edition #4 of the Art Missive! We are now 1294😈 in this newsletter: thank you sm for reading ❤.
If you haven't already, you can also:
Read all the previous Art Missives
Ask your questions for the next QaAs here
In this Art Missive
1. INTRODUCTION : start 2023 with confidence
2. SOME CHANGES (you asked for this !)
3. How daily practice improved my art
4. Why is everyone obsessed with practicing art everyday ?
5. How to turn daily practice into second nature to improve your art in 2023
6. Summary
7. Bonus : funny picture !
Introduction
2023 has just started and you probably made new resolutions about your art ! (I did 😈)
For example, you might wanna consider improving your art skills or your ability to show your art to the world.
This feels exciting, right ?
And really, 12 months is enough to implement big changes in your life.
My journey as an example :
January 2022 : I was planning to become a lawyer, I had no more than 1000 followers on Instagram and I was so ashamed of my art…
January 2023 : I have more than 78k demons supporting my content on Instagram and I am currently working to build a thriving career as an artist.
I still have a long way to go but I can clearly say that everything changed for me in 2022.
What I want you to understand is that no matter how big your goal is (you want to change your entire artist life ? Or simply want to become a master in drawing thumbs?)...
👉 2023 can be the year you surpass your goals !
If you decide so…
In the coming editions of the Art Missive, you will get a pure shot of advice to help you get started in 2023, boost your motivation and succeed in your art resolutions.
Some changes (you asked for it!).
Before moving on to today's advice, I am announcing some changes !
For the past weeks, I asked you to give me feedback about the first editions of the Art Missive. You also asked me tons of very interesting questions that I saved and sorted to be able to answer in the Art Missives.
I read each one of your emails. And what appeared is that :
✅ You guys are really happy with the fact that my tips are practical and easy-to-implement
❌ Most of you find the emails too dense and too long which discourages you a bit from reading !
That is why I decided to take your feedback into account and change the format of the coming Art Missives.
From now on, you’ll not receive 3 different tips in one mail. I’ll send you only one lesson, but I’ll go more into details and give you deeper insights about the chosen topic.
This way, you’ll still receive high value exclusive content in your mailbox, but it’s going to be shorter and easier to digest for you.
Don’t worry, within a month we will tackle the 3 burning topics for thriving social media artists : art improvement, social media growth and art business. I’ll even add a QaA at the end of each month!
How does it sound ?
Let’s try !
How daily practice improved my art.
Look at these three pictures :
What do you see ?
👉What I see : between 2020 and 2021, I made some improvements in drawing…
But really… nothing compared to the progress I made between 2021 and 2022.
You may wonder why such a huge difference ?
Honestly, nothing really changed except one thing.
One adjustment I made that had a huge impact on the long run.
The key word is “everyday”.
Every single day.
Before the 2021 summer, my practice was so inconsistent that I would spend weeks without touching a pencil.
After a long art fasting, I used to come back and binge draw until I was tired of practicing again.
At that time, I did not realize that this bad habit was preventing me from making any noticeable progress.
In summer 2021, I was really determined to improve my drawing skills, and my research showed that starting by drawing every day was a pretty effective way.
So I did for the next 15 months.
And here is the result.
Why is everyone obsessed with practicing art everyday?
“Léa, how do you manage to draw every day ?” 👉 this is one of the questions I was asked the most in 2022.
I understand why it is a burning question.
We are often told that daily practice is a requirement to become a decent artist, that’s why I am going to give you my point of view on this question.
1. Why is everyone obsessed with daily practice ?
Daily practice in art is obviously on the tipi top of every artist goal, as it has so many benefits:
✅ Improved skills: by practicing regularly, you can improve your technical skills and become more proficient in your craft. Practicing gives you the opportunity to focus on specific areas you want to improve, try out new techniques, and expand your skills and knowledge.
✅ Increased creativity: Practicing daily can help you come up with new ideas and approaches to your art. The more you practice, the more you'll be exposed to new techniques and approaches, which can inspire new ideas and spark your creativity.
✅ Easier experimentations : When you have a regular practice routine, you'll have more opportunities to try out new ideas and approaches, even if they might not work out at first. This can help you become more comfortable with taking risks and trying new things, which can lead to more creative solutions.
✅ Increased motivation and discipline: When you make a commitment to practice daily, it can help you stay motivated and focused on your art.
✅ Enhanced enjoyment: The more you practice, the more you'll be able to enjoy the process of creating art.
Overall, practicing daily can help you make progress in your art and become a better artist.
2. You’re not alone, practicing daily is hard.
Many have busy schedules and may struggle to find time for daily practice. On top of that, even during the practice itself, self-doubts, exhaustion or lack of motivation can just really mess it all up.
Many challenges make it hard to maintain a daily practice… But if your goal is to become a better artist in 2023, it is important to find ways to overcome these challenges and stick with it.
3. Is daily practice suitable for you ?
Before moving on, I want to stress the fact that if you want to improve your art :
👉 you have to practice as many times as possible, but you also want to be as intentional as possible.
Being intentional means that you practice following a structured framework with the intention of reaching a specific goal (as opposed to practicing without a clear plan or purpose like most of us do most of the time). For example, following a watercolor tutorial on youtube is an intentional practice.
If you want to learn more about intentional practice, let me know by answering this email! I could talk about it in another Missive.
While it's important to try to be as intentional as possible, it's okay to have some less structured practice sessions as well, as long as you're still practicing regularly. Daily practice can be a good way to strike a balance between intentional practice sessions and more relaxed, creative sessions.
👉 And that is the power of daily practice : you take the best of both worlds.
How to turn daily practice into a second nature?
I am not gonna lie to you… the first weeks will be very hard ! But once you get used to it, you’ll see your creative process in an entire different way.
Here are some tips :
👉 TIP 1 : Set aside a dedicated time for practice: choose a specific time of day that you can consistently set aside for practice, whether it's first thing in the morning, during your lunch break, or before bed.
👉 TIP 2 : If you can't practice every day, try to practice several times a week.
👉 TIP 3 : It is more effective to draw 30 minutes everyday than 2:30h once a week :
1) regular practice helps to reinforce the skills and knowledge you're learning, leading to more consistent progress
2) shorter periods of time on a more frequent basis, you're able to focus your attention more fully on the task at hand, which can lead to better learning and retention
3) practicing infrequently for longer periods of time can lead to inconsistent progress and make it harder to maintain motivation.
👉 TIP 4 : Make a plan: determine what you want to work on during your practice sessions, whether it's a specific technique or a new project. Having a clear plan can help you make the most of your time.
👉 TIP 5 : If you realize that - for any reasons - you can’t train as you wanted, show up anyway. This is actually the most important part. In this case, just go back to practicing fundamental exercises. When I am too tired to draw something fancy, I just come back to drawing and shading the basic shapes.
👉 TIP 6 : Find an accountability partner: Consider finding a friend or fellow artist who can hold you accountable to your daily practice routine. You can motivate and support each other in your artistic journey. It is funnier if it is an actual human but as for me, starting an Instagram account was my accountability partner. Growing an art community is very powerful to help you stay consistent.
Summary:
Practicing every day is the strategy that improved my art the most.
It is generally recognized by art professors that daily practice has the potential to improve your art skills, creativity and motivation.
No matter your current level, you can drastically improve if you manage to plan some dedicated daily time to practice your art.
Bonus : funny moment
This is the actual first picture I took with my new tablet… Obviously I was interrupted, and I had to take a second one… For those who don’t know her. She is the love of my life, and her name is Tsuki.