Do You REALLY Need To Draw Daily?
THE VALIDITY OF DRAWING DAILY
The act of drawing daily might appear to be simple from a ‘top-of -the-iceberg’ kind of perspective. It can initially feel like a low pressure commitment, but once you find out just how deep that iceberg can go, it may turn this happy-go-lucky activity into an overwhelmingly desperate and fleeting dream.
While there are ways to help facilitate and breed a healthy daily habit, this may not be practical for every single person. In fact, forcing a daily habit can actually have a negative effect on some people. So, let’s talk about it! Let’s discuss the validity of rigorously sticking to the Draw Daily Challenge. Or not…
My advice:
If you don’t draw daily, at least draw regularly. Draw when it is fun, draw when you are able to enjoy it, and draw when it feels right.
ROUTINE AND DAILY HABITS
It is widely believed that good habits, especially ones that provide positivity, structure, and routine into your life, can have beneficial effects on both your physical and mental health. It is said that this can reduce stress, revive and re-energize a person, as well as increase positive emotions and positive thoughts throughout the day. This does imply that the simple introduction of structure and routine, more often than not, can bring about a healthier self in your day-to-day life.
Let us, for a moment, go with the assumption that you are planning on drawing everyday. For the right people picking up this daily habit can be a deeply healing, and a deeply self-indulgent but beneficial exercise. Drawing is known to allow you to clear your mind, allowing you to release and relinquish stress, some going so far as to say it is a form of meditation. Indulging in this habit can allow you to relieve your creative urges, foster a love affair with color, or simply give you an opportunity to increase the happy chemicals in your brain by doing something you enjoy.
LOOKING AT THE DATA
Back in 2009, Dr. Phillippa Lally, did a study researching How Habits are Formed and she focused on exactly how long it took for a repeated activity to start feeling like a habit. The actual amount of time varied significantly. Some reported that they felt the habit kick in at around 18 days, while others took an astounding 254 days before their activity was more habitual rather than forced. That’s the better part of a year.
All in all, the people that participated in this study took an average 66 days to turn an action into a habit. That is probably a bit longer than you were expecting, isn’t it? We often hear that 21 days is about the right amount of time to instill a habit, but for many it took more than ten weeks. I would like to point out that it was discovered during this same study that missing a few days “…did not materially affect the habit formation process.” So you do have an opportunity to play hooky without missing out on the overall effect of creating a new habit.
THE IDEA BEHIND THE DRAW DAILY CHALLENGE
I’m going to largely step over some of the other reasons people give to draw daily; like improving your skills, improved problem solving, rewiring your mind to be more ‘right-side’ or more creative, etc... These might all true, but let’s narrow it in a little bit further. What is Draw Daily trying to achieve with the Draw Daily Challenge?
The Draw Daily Challenge has been created with the express purpose of creating a drawing habit. One that can bring equal parts joy and dedication to your life by giving you goals and expectations and by expressing these feelings with others. Goals and expectations often provide a sense of pride and encouragement when we are able to accomplish them and when we share those experiences with others it tends to heighten those feelings of success. Drawing Daily simply encourages habit forming tendencies that can turn an idea or passion into a reality - or in this case - an artist; be it professional or otherwise.
Over all, the more you do it the more likely you are to continue doing it.
With this in mind, the resources available on this site, and the book that I am writing, The Draw Daily Challenge - The First 30 Days has been created with a goal of drawing for at least 30 days. Although the title of this website, or my book’s title can feel like an obligation to draw every day or achieve everything in exactly 30 days - there is no formal requirement that those 30 days be consecutive. This is because, although some may benefit from a daily routine, building a habit in a healthy way can look different to different kinds of people.
FOR THOSE WHO SAY ‘NOT EVERY DAY’
Not everyone can commit to a daily drawing, and that’s valid. For some it might be a time crunch and others find the routine to be anxiety inducing. Sometimes the fear of failure can prevent some from starting at all. Yet others might just find that their battery gets too low and they experience burn out on a regular basis… whatever situation you find yourself in - know that you don’t need to excuse yourself to anyone. Do what feels right for you.
Drawing is supposed to be fun. That’s what got you here in the first place isn’t it? The desire to improve so you can better enjoy the time you do spend drawing? So, enjoy it!
Skipping Days
Starting off with the simplest deviation to the rule is choosing not to draw every day. I’ve already listed why this might be more beneficial for some people, but you can do whatever feels right for you. You really don’t need to explain yourself to anyone.
Okay, so if drawing daily is a bit much but you are interested in learning a few ideas on how to retain some level of creativity on your off days, you may want to consider one of the following.
Write
The idea of drawing from nothing can be daunting when you have no plan of action. Where do you start? What do you focus on? How do you organize all of your thoughts?
Well, if you feel so inclined, you can find inspiration by exploring different ideas and writing them down. It’s not necessary to write an entire essay, it could just be a list, or a stream of conciseness if that’s what works for you. No matter the format this is really just an opportunity to be creative.
Here is a short list of things you can consider while writing:
Start by exploring any ideas you have, good or bad, and write them all down. You can start the process of narrowing down your ideas by saving some for later, disregard anything you don’t like, and pressing forward with the ones that you do.
Explain the type of world you want to create and consider the back story, or the history of this world and its impact on the story. Are you reaching back into history, or are you pressing forward into science fiction? What does this world look like? Is it a green and beautiful place, or is it congested and ugly? Is it peaceful but exciting, or is it fraught with troubles and hardships?
Think about what kind of clothing, equipment, gear, vehicles, weapons, technology, animals, plant life, and anything else you can think of that would be necessary to survive or thrive in this world.
If designing a character you can explore their status in that world. If they are successful and respected, or an outcast and struggling. Think about things like what their daily lives are like, and what their goals are. Think about what kinds of abilities, strengths, flaws, motives, and purposes a character might have when living in such a world.
Have fun and explore the deepest crevices of your mind.
Consume
Alternative to writing, you could go to the other side and consume instead. Read or watch something - there really are a lot of ways to find potential inspiration. You can read your favorite genre of fiction, watch your favorite movies and TV shows, explore the big bad world of fan fiction, or watch beautiful animations… Find whatever it is that has you inspired and ready to create again!
Develop a Reference Library
References can be a topic of debate for those who are new to the art world, or those just outside of it. Growing up I believed that a good artist wouldn’t need to use reference and if they did they were cheating. This could not be further from the truth. So, it’s worth taking some time to start building up your own reference library.
Doing this allows you to think about and consider all kinds of things you probably wouldn’t have otherwise. You can build a library by collecting images, references, drawings or paintings right to your computer - but if you get around a bit you might find an online location to work best. My favorite place to get references are on Pintrest because I can both search millions of images at any time, and I can save and organize them all in one place. Alternatively, you could use something like Google Drive, Drop Box, or Photo Bucket.
If you are just at the beginning of your library, start by finding things that make you feel inspired but then you can also look into specific things such as figure drawing references, or ideas for creative vehicles, environments, or animals. Other potential references could be textures, patterns, lighting effects, or ideas on composition. Whatever you enjoy drawing, you can build a reference library for it. Fashion, portraits, landscapes… if you can think of it, you can collect it.
Interact With Other Artists
The best way to boost yourself up is with the assistance of other artists. You can chat and hang out, get some support and encouragement, or even get feedback. This isn’t always so easy to find however.
Draw Daily is just starting out, but here is a formal invitation to the private Draw Daily Discord channel. I hope you can help us cultivate a community. If you want to jump in to an already established community, you can try joining Pencil Kings.
My advice: if you don’t draw daily, at least draw regularly. Draw when it is fun, draw when you are able to enjoy it, and draw when it feels right.
FIN
Thanks for reading this blog post all the way to the end. To anyone still reading, please share with me your favorite way to stay creative but without actually drawing. I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading!
I’m MK and this is Draw Daily!