TIP 385 Are You a Distracted Artist? How Sketching with Netflix Can Boost Focus

Hey! It’s Chou-Tac
For today’s video, I went to draw at one of my favorite cafes: O’HARA in Saigon to draw people.
However, the cafe was empty! I had no more reference available.
So, I had to figure out a plan B: I took my phone, play a Netflix movie and Sketch!
Drawing while watching a movie is amazing to fight distraction

I clicked on the first thumbnail in the list: ONE CENT THIEF.
That’s a pretty cool series from Malaysia of 8 episodes (Inspired from real life events).

Since I lived in Singapore for a few years and get quite a bit familiar with Malaysia, I felt a bit nostalgic.
Glad to see a Malaysian movie on Netflix library. :)

Anyway, let me know if you like this “SKETCH & CHILL” format, I found it super cool and inspiring to make.
I would love to create a 2nd session.

You will find below 2 videos:

• The speed with narrative version,
• and the Real time sketching video of 34 minutes.

Sketch and Chill: Drawing While Watching Netflix

Hey Design Sketchers!

Today, I want to share a fun and unique way to enhance your drawing skills while enjoying your favorite shows on Netflix. If you’re someone who often finds it hard to focus when sketching, this method might just be the perfect solution for you!

Play

The Concept of “Sketch & Chill”

You’re in a cozy café, sipping your favorite drink, and instead of just watching a show, you’re actively engaging with it through drawing. The idea is simple—while watching a Netflix series, press pause whenever something catches your eye and sketch it out. This allows you to enjoy the entertainment while practicing your art skills simultaneously.

Why Netflix Can Help You Fight Distraction

For those who get easily distracted, combining drawing with watching a show can keep your mind engaged.
Your brain kept being fed of inspiration, references, actions, decors, props, environments, expressions. You are the artist and designer to decide on what you want to focus on for your sketching session.

Here’s how:

• Visual Inspiration: Characters in movies and series appear from various angles and expressions, providing a rich source of inspiration. You can capture these features in your sketches. You may study how to draw a face from different angles using the Loomis method.
• Relaxed Environment: Being in a café or any comfortable setting helps create a relaxed atmosphere where you can focus on both the screen and your sketchbook without pressure.
• No Pressure for Perfection: The goal isn’t to create perfect portraits; rather, it’s about improving your skills over time. Embrace the mistakes! They are part of the learning process.

All Time Favorite Tool: The Ballpoint Pen

When sketching during your Netflix session, I recommend using just a ballpoint pen.

Here’s why:

• Quick Sketching: A pen encourages you to commit to your lines without the temptation to erase. This helps you develop confidence in your strokes.
• Hatching for Shading: Use hatching techniques for shading instead of pencils. This method allows for quick results and adds character to your sketches.

By focusing on the essence of what you see rather than striving for exact likenesses, you’ll find that your sketches become more expressive and unique.

Draw your Movie with Fun!

As you draw, take your time!
If you need to pause the show to catch a detail or wait for a character to reappear, or even rewind, that’s perfectly fine. No space for stress here. It’s all playful.

Enjoy the process!

• Experiment with Angles: Try drawing characters from different viewpoints or scales. This not only enhances your skills but also makes for interesting compositions.
• Add Background Elements: Incorporate simple backgrounds that complement your characters. Even if they are rough sketches, they add depth and context to your drawings.
• Fill Your Paper: Don’t shy away from filling up the page with sketches. The more you draw, the more comfortable you’ll become with different styles and techniques.

BONUS VIDEO: REAL-TIME 34 minutes

Before leaving, I thought you may like having the REAL-TIME LIVE version of 34 minutes video.
Take your time to see and study my drawing process:

Play

Conclusion

Drawing while watching Netflix is not only entertaining but also an excellent way to practice and improve your sketching skills. It’s all about enjoying the process and allowing yourself to experiment without fear of making mistakes. You can practice anytime of the day. If you are a night sketching person, that is a great opportunity to draw for hours with no distraction.

You could Binge Drawing with Netflix!

I invite you all to give this method a try!
Grab your sketchbook, find a comfy spot, and let the creativity flow as you watch your favorite shows.
Remember, the key is to have fun!

See you next time!
Happy sketching!
Chou-Tac

PS: I love drawing watching movies in a plane like I did with the Grand Budapest Hotel.
Feel free to recommend me a movie in the comments below, or by email choutac@thedesignsketchbook.com.

PPS: I discovered on Reddit I am not the only one drawing using Netflix movies as reference.

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TRANSCRIPT

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TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO

Hey guys,

So today we are in a cafe, and I’m going to draw by watching Netflix. We are going to have some fun and draw here and there, just pressing pause when it’s needed.

Here we go!

Alright, so let’s do a sketch and chill session. I’m just watching a video on Netflix, and whenever I feel something interesting, I just draw it. Actually, at the beginning, I was going to this bar, to this cafe, to draw some people, but unfortunately, there was no one around! So I decided to take out my phone and watch Netflix and see what I could draw with.

The idea is that whenever you draw, you just press pause whenever you need, or try to watch the movie and enjoy it. You can see the features of the character you are drawing along the movie, as since this is the main character, they will appear from different angles multiple times. Just enjoy drawing all along.

You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to draw exactly the portraits of what you see. What you want to do is to improve your sketching skills and practice for quite a long session—1 hour, 2 hours, up to you. Since this is a Netflix series of 8 episodes, you can draw as long as you want.

The thing is, it’s pretty convenient for whoever feels distracted or easily distracted. Now you can enjoy both entertainment and drawing at the same time.

So here we go. We are chilling with just sketching all around, taking your time.

For some details here, I like to draw only with my ballpoint pen, and for shading, just draw with hatching. I try to avoid pencil drawing, such as for—how to say—it’s just pretty convenient for quick sketching. You can come out with some ideas; you can come out with some very fast results without messing up everything with a pencil or erasing.

You want to do mistakes and leave the mistakes and iterate on top. This is how you can actually progress much faster. It’s okay.

I just want to practice all along. Whenever I’m enjoying this session, I pretty much take it easy and try to be focused on the movie and what I’m doing.

So I hope there is only me in the world, nobody to distract me, and just enjoy.

You can see here the character has different angles. I carry on by drawing the lips here. I just take my time.

I mean, sometimes you draw, and then you pause for a few minutes, looking for a detail that you missed on your character, and you’re waiting for them to reappear again. That’s fine.

Here we go. I add some value with the hatching.

When I try to do a composition, it is interesting to draw the characters from different viewpoints and also different scales. As you can see here is the character that is standing, and I bring some contrast from the two portrait lines in front, and I put it behind.

Also, the level of detail is different, which creates more contrast within the different characters that you see on your board.

Here, I add a bit of background, which is a door behind him. I don’t go into much detail, and the way I draw the door is more inaccurate, more clumsy. This also adds some contrast with the character itself.

Hop!

I add another one right here, which is the villain of the character of episode one, so getting pretty nervous.

Here we go. I draw some zoom-in on the eyes.

My goal here is just to fill the paper as much as I can. That’s it.

I hope you enjoy it, and I see you for the next video!

I invite you to try, and yes, always have fun.

See ya!