Here are 10 things to help you get drawing for months and months on end.

1. First, create a calendar

So let’s build your drawing habit. A simple reminder on a specific hour or agreement with your partner that you take a few minutes for yourself after the dishes or doing household chores. Preferably a moment you can do every day.

Other options are if you are commuting or during your lunch break.

Commit for at least 30 days — According to the research of Phillippa Lally, it varies from person to person to form a habit from 18 to 254 days. And it also mentions it doesn’t matter if you miss a day in between. So let’s get started, shall we?

2. It’s okay to skip a day — you have a life you know…

Sometimes something gets in between, a birthday, or grocery shopping after a long day at work. Don’t worry tomorrow is another day.

Also, it happens you just don’t feel like it. I recommend you still get your sketchbook or better just a piece of paper (it’s cheaper), an eraser, and a pencil. When you do this you are probably more inclined to start anyway. And if not, that’s okay as well.

I promise you that if you have been drawing for some time you will start to miss it or feel you stopped progressing so you want to jump back in once you skipped a couple of days.

Don’t skip leg day though.. you will look ridiculous.

3. Start small, grow big to build your drawing habit

The idea of creating your drawing habit can only work if you are not contemplating what you want to draw in terms of some elaborate design. Find a tutorial you can follow on your phone or a concept that you can do without a complete instruction manual. Like working on the basics. What you draw does not need to be perfect, it’s about drawing and making that brain connection.

4. Take a sketchbook with you all the time

If you have something to draw on, whenever you have a spare moment you are more likely to draw something. You can also practice something specific if you see something nice, like a statue or an animal. These are called studies, try to draw it in multiple angles or positions.

5. Draw what you like, not what other people ask you to draw

This one hit home for me real fast. If you like to draw beautiful men, don’t let people who complain about why you don’t draw women stop you. You will get bored really fast when you are drawing something you’re not into. Which will make you quit.

Maybe you find that you need to in the future, but for now, if you want to draw foxes, draw foxes and not ducks because I said so. — Quack!

6. Join drawing communities

There are a lot of communities out there. The main ones I am in are on Facebook. When you start joining those you will get more recommendations for other groups. Try to find the ones that are focussed on learning. Those communities are very helpful to grow your skills and ask advice, don’t be afraid to do so, you will get helpful advice and tips on how to progress.

Also often they have these drawing contests. Don’t worry it’s not to win prizes or to show off your the best. They often give you guidance on what to draw if you are not sure yourself. More people will be following them so you will get to see their artwork and feel inspired. One that is coming up just now is Inktober. A lot of artists have started to make their versions and created a specific list to draw for an entire month; like Magicttober, Whitchtober. You can find these around the year.

1. Creatury
2. Feabruary
3. March of the Robots
4. April shower
5. MerMay
6. Junicorn
7. Julycanthropy
8. Smaugust
9. Sketchtember
10. Inktober
11. Huevember
12. Drawcember

7. Drawing relieves stress

Build your drawing habit because drawing is a good way to unwind every day. A study says performing any kind of creative activity for 45 minutes significantly lessens stress in the body, regardless of artistic experience or talent.

8. Date stamp and keep your artwork

Whenever you do something put a date on it. When you’re done put it into a folder. Then after you draw a specific topic a couple of times, take out your old pieces and compare your drawing with past work. You will see that you improved a lot!

Do not compare your work with me or any other artist, it’s your progress, your style, and your art. Just feel inspired by what other artists are creating!

9. Go sit (or stand) where you can relax

This one is obvious, but sitting down next to a construction yard is not going to help you focus or relax. Probably on the kitchen table or the couch is the best place. You do need some light so find a good spot and get comfy.

10. The best way to build your drawing habit, make it a special moment

Create a ritual, it will help you get in the mood and after a couple of times, you start to feel like you want to get drawing once you start your ritual.

A ritual is like a celebration — it involves our emotions and full attention.

Rituals are ultra-specific step-by-step instructions that are easily repeatable and help you get to a specific outcome. A ritual is something done to prepare for action while a habit is something done repeatedly for the purpose of performing the action itself. — Source: Gustavo Razzetti

Make yourself a cup of coffee, place all the tools you need on the table. Add something nice to eat like a small piece of chocolate. Put on some headphones and start an inspirational playlist.

I hope this helps

I hope I gave you some ideas on how to best tackle this drawing desire of yours and create a habit, even if it’s not daily maybe a few days a week.

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Want to know what I am up to? Give me a follow on Instagram ArmoredPencil.

Better yet, send me a message or share your post with #drawing-reference on instagram and share with me what you have been drawing. I would love to see your progress.

Want me to help you start? Then these articles might be for you.

• You think you can’t learn how to draw, then have a look here.
• Do you need more reasons to pick up that charcoal stick?