Start a Creative Practice
As an art educator, the most common advice I have given students who want to improve their art skills is to draw daily. Regular drawing practice is a great way to develop your artistic style and hone your skills. I have also incorporated my creative practice into my self-care routine.
When building your creative practice it is important to note when you feel your most creative and when you have uninterrupted time. I find I am the most creative in the evening so I build my practice into my evening routine.
Prepare A Creative Mindset
I find creating a routine for your creative practice can really help get into the creative mindset and overcome any blocks you might be feeling. My routine includes settling onto the couch with a cozy blanket, putting on a fun show or movie, and drawing on my iPad.
Finding Inspiration
The next challenge is deciding what to draw during your daily drawing time. I find the most helpful is to have drawing prompts to work from. These are either drawing challenges I find online, in creative groups I’m part of, or self-created. Or if you have a goal in mind so your creative time is mainly focusing on creating work to meet that goal.
October Drawing Challenge
October is a popular drawing challenge month so you can find so many inspiring challenges on Instagram. I chose two challenges to try this year, the #trickortreatspookyandsweet which was a collaboration with a few Instagram people I follow, and the #facetober challenge by Charly Clements. Here are some of my favorites from these challenges:
November Drawing Challenge
This November I decided to collaborate with my husband’s agency Dyno Creative to create drawing challenges for Dinovember. I don’t usually draw things like dinosaurs so it really was a nice break and a push outside my comfort zone. That is what is nice about other people’s drawing challenges is that it allows you to work outside your usual parameters. Here are my favorites from this challenge so far:
I think the most important skill I have developed during my creative drawing time is that not every creation needs to be precious. Sometimes you have to make a lot of bad art to get to the good stuff. After a drawing challenge, I often find I have some cool art that I can repurpose into products, which is awesome.
Do you have any drawing challenges that you enjoy?
If you are looking for some inspiration for December drawing, here is a fun prompt list:
