Drawing takes time, practice and patience. I have been drawing and sketching for over 10 years and here are my top 10 hacks for making progress and improving your drawing skills.
Participate in Drawing Challenges
Make it fun and go easy on yourself. Create daily, weekly, or monthly challenges that you ENJOY participating in. You can join an online community for challenges like “Inktober” or “Draw this in your style”.
Challenges help explore new themes or techniques you might not otherwise try. Don’t feel like you have to put all your artwork on social media either, you can participate and just keep it to yourself until you WANT to share your work. The goal is for you to feel like you are learning and progressing while also being challenged and having fun.
Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone is one of the fastest ways to develop your skills. It also helps you build consistency in your work.
Use a Reference
Gather reference images for anatomy, lighting, and textures. Focus on breaking down the image into areas of light, shadow, and shapes. Even if you know anatomy well, observing how light interacts with the body or objects will help you improve rendering and depth.
I am in the process of working on EYES and improving my face drawings. Choose on thing to improve on at a time and use as many references as you want!!
Focus on Shapes
When sketching, try to break down your subject into basic shapes—circles, squares, and triangles. For example, instead of drawing a human figure in great detail immediately, start by drawing a simplified structure of the torso, limbs, and head as geometric shapes. You can refine these shapes as you go.
Simplifying things to basic shapes helps your brain focus on proportions, structure, and composition. It also makes drawing feel less intimidating, and you can approach even complex subjects with confidence.
Repeat the Same Drawing with Different Mediums
Pick a subject or scene and draw it multiple times with different materials—pencil, ink, charcoal, digital, or watercolor. Try adjusting your approach with each medium: a loose sketch with pencil, more detailed with ink, or more expressive with paint.
Each medium teaches you new techniques and approaches. You’ll also discover which tools feel more comfortable for you and how they impact your style. Repetition builds muscle memory and deepens your understanding of the subject.
Don’t Compare Your Progress to Others
Take time to reflect on your growth. Every now and then, look back at older sketches or artwork. Notice what you’ve improved, no matter how small the progress. If you admire other artists, instead of comparing yourself, analyze what you like about their work and use it as inspiration to incorporate new techniques into your own.
Comparing yourself to others can be discouraging, but focusing on your own progress keeps you motivated. Everyone has their own journey, and improvement often comes in subtle, incremental changes rather than instant leaps.
Draw Every Day
Dedicate at least 30 minutes daily to drawing. You can set a timer and commit to quick sketches or longer studies, depending on your time and energy. Even doodling or doing a quick gesture sketch can have lasting benefits.
Consistency is key! Drawing every day, even briefly, builds habits and keeps you engaged with your art. Over time, you’ll notice significant improvement just from regular practice.
Know that Improvements Are Gradual
Track your progress over time. Take a photo or scan of your work periodically (weekly or monthly) to visually see how you’ve evolved. Remind yourself that any skill takes time, and sometimes it’s hard to see improvement day-to-day, but a longer-term view will show you how far you’ve come.
Realizing that growth is gradual helps keep frustration at bay. It also encourages patience and persistence, which are crucial for developing your skills.
Try Drawing with Your Opposite Hand
Spend 5-10 minutes drawing with your non-dominant hand (if you’re right-handed, use your left). Try simple shapes or even writing your name. Gradually challenge yourself to draw more complex subjects.
Drawing with your opposite hand challenges your brain and improves your motor skills. It also forces you to slow down and focus more on each line, which can help you understand shapes and motion better.
Keep a Sketchbook
Make your sketchbook a space where you feel free to experiment, make mistakes, and try new techniques without the pressure of creating a finished piece. Doodle, sketch from life, or do studies of different subjects.
A sketchbook is a non-judgmental space where you can document your creative process and explore different ideas. It allows you to experiment without worrying about perfection. The more you fill it, the more you’ll learn from your experimentation.
Have Patience
Take your time with each drawing, and remember that mistakes are part of the learning process. Focus on improvement rather than perfection, and allow yourself to make errors as a stepping stone.
Patience is essential for growth, as it helps you work through challenges and avoid burnout. It teaches you to enjoy the process of drawing, rather than just focusing on the end result.
Response
Possible for you to give the size of sketch books and type of paper for various colour tools such as watercolor etc. Thank you.