⬆ My 4 tips to improve your drawings
#33 Leveling up your art
Hey my demon 👋,
Welcome to the edition #33 of the Art Missive! We are 4,248 😈 in this newsletter. Whether you have been here from the beginning or you have just arrived, thank you so much 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
⌛ Reading time : 3 minutes
🥊 Actionnability: immediately actionable
💪 Goals:
Improve your art
Stay motivated
Feel better about your art
Introduction
You may know that my drawings used to suck. The only talent I had was the determination to draw and improve. It was in 2020 that I started taking my art seriously.
Right from the beginning, I faced a wall: how to progress? Being self-taught, I had no clear direction to follow. I've spent these last three years trying various methods to level up my art. During some periods, I felt like I was completely stuck or even regressing, while in others, I managed to make immense progress.
There's still so much for me to learn, but today, I'm sharing with you the lessons that have helped me go from this to this:
Quantity.
To become proficient in drawing, you must draw… Which seems obvious, right? Yet, most of us don't draw enough. Or at least, not as we should.
For years, I had a habit of creating only one drawing per week. I would spend hours perfecting a single piece, aiming for it to be as rendered and sophisticated as possible.
The problem with this approach was that, -investing 10 hours into a single drawing means fewer problems to solve, less room for experimentation, minimal tolerance for mistakes, and fewer subjects to comprehend. As a result, my progress was as slow as a tortoise's.
In reality, it was my fear of failure that kept me fixated on a single drawing for so long. But when I stopped trying to create something perfect and shifted my focus towards improvement, experimentation, and quantity, my progress skyrocketed.
In drawing, doing a hundred 1-minute studies will teach you more than spending a hundred hours on a complex masterpiece. So, let’s implement quick daily practices in our lifes and fill up sketchbooks.
Inner dialogue.
Sometimes, your struggles in drawing won't come from your skills but from your mindset.
When we draw, we engage in an internal dialogue. It's like having a conversation with ourselves. If we control this inner voice well, it can immerse us in "the zone" (a reference to Kuroko no Basket for those in the know), an intense state of concentration and artistic flow that allows us to create.
However, when we don't control our internal dialogue, it can sound more like this: "What's my problem?" "What am I doing?" "I'll never be as good as them" "my drawings suck."
During years of practice, my internal dialogue fueled my fear of failure and experimentation. Drawing became scary.
That's why it's crucial to learn to control your inner dialogue when you draw. You want to lead your questions. Fill your mind with constructive thoughts like "Why does this look a bit off?" "Can I improve this?" and, most importantly, avoid self-sabotaging thoughts.
You'll find that when you set aside fear and expectations and focus on improvement and enjoyment, drawing becomes more natural.
Bigger size.
Sketchbooks have become a trend lately. They're versatile and liberating, and it seems like everyone's using them on social media. As a self-taught artist, I even thought that drawing in a sketchbook was essential to gain recognition. However, looking back, I believe it only hindered my progress.
Don't get me wrong: keeping a sketchbook is crucial for improving your drawing skills. But for beginners, it shouldn't be the only medium for creation.
If I could start over, I would aim to draw on a larger scale as much as possible. The larger the canvas, the easier it is to make corrections. That's why I'm gradually increasing the size of my formats, potentially reaching an A2 size. Larger formats allow for more detail, better visibility, and more space to experiment.
Freedom.
I'd like to end this Missive with some thoughts dedicated to artists. We live in an exhausting world where we are constantly pushed to compare ourselves to other artists. Often, we feel the pressure to always create better drawings and be at the top of our game. It's possible that in your journey, you get lost in all this chaos. When that happens, remember that creating is not about creating a perfect drawing or placing a line ideally.
Creating art is, above all, a journey. In this journey, you will create magnificent drawings, but you will also produce studies that don't look like much. Both are equally important, and both should not be neglected.
Ultimately, I believe the best way to improve your art is to genuinely have fun. Keep that free childlike spirit when you play with your pencils.