How I Improve my Drawing.

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This list is primarily for my book illustrations. But it can be modified for any type of creativity.

  1. Draw everyday.
  2. Redraw the same image MANY times.(Not just a couple drawings or even 10, but 20 plus drawings to help your brain figure stuff out.)
  3. Redraw the same image until you’ve practically memorized it.
  4. Use quality materials. I’ve tried cheap materials many times and it only makes things more difficult.
  5. Draw from life.
  6. Draw from photo’s
  7. Draw from memory.
  8. Change mediums. You never know what your brain prefers to create with.
  9. When sketching, use a pen so you can’t erase. If you don’t like what you did, move over on your paper and redraw it. 
  10.  Remember 80 to 90% of what you draw will not be good. Your brain is trying to work things out.
  11. If I need inspirational images I will choose from only respected and well known artists that I like as reference. This helps keep my taste in check.
  12. If you’ve been working on a drawing for a long time you might consider taking a break. Your brain will continue to work on it even if you’re doing something else.`

A Small Rant About Mistakes

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I want to talk about mistakes and “failures”. I would like to change how people think about these two things. I especially would like for people just starting their creative journey to understand the importance of making mistakes and if possible to relax and have fun. Here are some truths (as I see it).

  1. Every artist that has ever existed has made tons of mistakes or “bad” art. And this will continue until they die. Famous or beginners, you will create things that don’t work. 
  1. Mistakes are good (Repeat that over and over). It’s how you learn. Without mistakes you’d never learn. Without mistakes you wouldn’t have those happy accidents. Mistakes will happen your entire creative journey.
  1. Almost all (if not all)  artists, beginner or pro, are dissatisfied with their work. That’s how you get better and evolve. Sure, at first you might like something you’ve created but soon there will be that voice in your head saying you could do it better. And you CAN do better. I always feel weird when I see an artist that has created the same art year after year. I find that freaky.

  4. Genius is a fallacy. Whether you’re born with the know-how or worked hard at it, they are equal in value.

   5. Time is your friend and Art doesn’t care how long it takes for you to improve.  

    6. I like to show my progression, I’m proud of where I started and how far I’ve come. And, as I stated, I’m never fully satisfied with what I’ve created.

On Instagram I’ve posted the history of my journey to learn how to create landscapes using colored pencils. You can see my progression and how I’ve slowly evolved. Each piece you’ll see is the best of what I could do at that time. Each piece represents 10 or more practice pieces to get to the final image.  I’m @zuillmonkey on Instagram.