How I FINALLY Built a Consistent Drawing Habit

Hello artists!

Creating a consistent drawing habit is difficult but not impossible. Everyone's different but let me share with you how I was finally able to accomplish this! I hope my findings will help you in your journey as well. (:

Step 1: Honestly Assess My Energy

The first few times I tried drawing daily, I kept burning out and wondered if art was really for me. However, that was just my negativity talking. The reality was that, on some days, I had a lack of energy that made drawing feel like the worst chore to have ever existed on Earth. On the flip side, on other days, I had an infinite amount of energy! But since the issue is figuring out what to do on the days we don't have any, let's keep our focus there. Sometimes, my low energy was due to a lack of motivation and other times, external factors (i.e. family drama) made it hard to be productive at all. No matter the reason, whenever I pushed myself beyond my limits, I ended up feeling exhausted.

So what do we do when we don't have energy...?

Step 2: Choose a Practice MATCHING Your Energy

After assessing my energy, I choose a practice that matches how much energy I have on that day.

• On high-energy days, I work on my usual portraits.

• On medium-energy days, I’ll draw anything other than a portrait to learn something new (i.e. food, flowers, objects, etc).

• On low-energy days, I do an “ugly” sketch, intentionally telling myself the result will be "ugly", removing pressure from the start.

Let me elaborate about the "ugly" sketches. They might seem negative, but hear me out! Since they typically take less time (as they are more of a low-effort sketch), I often do a few in one sitting, gaining more confidence with each one. For example, in the image above, the drawing on the upper right corner was the last sketch in this bunch. Notice how much more detail it has than the rest! I started out weak (upper left) and ended strong. (Telling yourself you're going to do an "ugly" sketch is such a trojan horse and is my favorite *chefkiss* art hack.)

Step 3: Set a Timer

I encourage you to choose a set amount of time and stick with it every day. Start small and build up from there! For myself, I aim for one hour a day no matter how much energy I have. The eye drawing below was done on a medium energy day but was still an one hour study! To build consistency, we must practice consistency!

Step 4: Reflect & Set Yourself Up for Success

At the end of each day, reflect on how you can build better habits for tomorrow. This made the biggest difference in my life. It took time, but the more good habits I added to my routine, the more energy and excitement I had for art. So start finding ways to improve yourself! Are you getting enough sleep, eating well, drinking enough water, etc?

And the KEY is ROUTINE! No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get ANY habit to stick until I started doing at least a few of them at the same time OR same order every day. This little adjustment did numbers on me!

For example, from Monday to Friday, I wake up around 6, work out at 6:30, shower at 7:30, do chores at 8, and am at my desk by 9am. Rest of my day isn't perfectly scheduled but starting off strong daily helps me SO much. It's also important to note that I started off just by working out at the same time every day. I definitely didn't have a whole morning routine right from the get go.

Good luck artists(:

Majestics0ck

P.S. If I can do it, so can you!!! You got this.

Remember, start small and soon, you'll have a whole empire underneath you.