Hey Sketchers!
Today I want to share a super motivational tip I learned from my friend Roy Pallas, from the French blog Blog-le-dessin.com (Blog-the-Drawing).
I knew Roy’s blog long before I met him in person.
Let me tell you—his blog is full of generosity and kindness, just like he is in real life!
Here’s a translation of one of his most inspiring tips for beginners in drawing. 🙂
Don’t Focus on the End Result
A common mistake beginners make is to focus too much on the final drawing instead of simply enjoying the process of drawing itself.
When your drawing doesn’t turn out as expected, it’s easy to think, “I’m bad at drawing.” This brings nervousness and kills motivation—that’s the worst thing for your growth!
Enjoy the Drawing Process
Instead, learn to take pleasure in drawing — just drawing — as an act. Don’t be dependent on producing a perfect final piece every time.
Sure, it feels good to be proud of a finished drawing. But being too fixated on the final result can cause frustration, fear of trying again, and even stop you from drawing altogether.
Draw to Enjoy the Journey—and Draw More!
If you enjoy the act of drawing itself, you’ll naturally create many more drawings and feel happier doing it.
Since iteration is the key to improving your talent, embracing the journey leads to steady progress without pressure.
Build a Zen and Experimental Spirit
Making progress is about improving technique but also about overcoming your mental blocks.
Cultivate a ZEN and experimented spirit by enjoying every minute you spend sketching. This mindset makes every drawing session rewarding and fun!
Hope this helps! If it resonates with you, say hello in the comments!
Cheers,
Chou-Tac
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I have a question, its not really related to this article but i wasn’t sure where else to ask it…I was wondering, when you studied design in school, around how many hours a day did you spend drawing your own things? (things that were not school given assignments) Do you think that staying up late to draw extra is worth it in order to improve? (I am asking because I want to improve my drawing, but my schoolwork already causes me to stay up late, because i go to a design/art school)
Hello Elisabeth,
The number of hours is not that easy to count, as it was not something regular everyday depending of the project and homeworks. Basically, I tried to draw most of the week though. It’s good to alternate long and small sessions in my opinion.
We didn’t have much homeworks on learning the fundamentals. Just a few here and there. So I learned by practicing and experimenting while doing school projects or personal one.
About my personal project, they was often related to subject I like in product design. For example studying how to draw sneakers. My goal was to learn footwear so well that I could add them in my portfolio and apply for footwear designer position. I self taught myself, so I was pretty tough. I had no guidance on this subject, BUT I was super motivated!
I could spend long hours at sketching, discovering Illustrator and photoshop. Basically the school gave us a bit as a kickstart, and we had to figure out the rest. I knew there was no room for complaining but keep going. A designer always find a solution :P.
Every Thursday afternoon, we had a 4 hour session of drawing, going somewhere in Paris – sit and draw. This is where I learned the most about the fundamentals of drawing and received personal feedbacks on my sketches – on the spot. (Not like giving homework and wait for a mark the week after.) That course excited me so much that when I went back home taking the subway, I carry on sketching during the transportation time! I kept this habit to draw not only at home or school but anywhere outside as well – drawing for leisure too.
Counting the number of hours is not what I did. I think I never though about this.
If you want to draw more and longer. Don’t manage your agenda. But manage your mood and excitement. So you will naturally draw more and improve faster. You won’t draw for sake of drawing and accomplishing a “boring” homework, but having pleasure. Define what is your goal. Don’t hesitate to define an appealing one! That same homework will become much more intense and meaningful. You won’t just “accomplish a homework”, but get closer to your goal. (Which was for myself building my portfolio).
It’s not easy to change habits. But it’s become easy when you give yourself an appealing goal so you give meaning to your action – so you will naturaly practice more – even if you are busy. Why? Because in your heart, it will become your priority. 🙂 If your heart tell you to stay up late. Then go!
Hope it helps 🙂