I’m Writing a Draw Daily Book!
THE DRAW DAILY CHALLENGE:
THE FIRST 30 DAYS
Hello Fellow Arters!
Whatever brought you here, I have to say, I am very happy that you are on this journey with me!
WELCOME, I’M MK AND THIS IS MY FIRST BOOK!
Hopefully you know who I am, but if not, here’s a quick recap! I’m MK and I have been drawing all of my life. I’m a completely self-taught artist, but my focus has been on educating others and more specifically beginner and intermediate artists. I became the Pencil Kings resident Teacher and Studio Manager in 2015, and I have been working with students ever since. A few years back I started the dream of creating my own learning resources for artists so this website, and the book I’m about to talk about, is the result.
THE DRAW DAILY CHALLENGE THE FIRST 30 DAYS
The Draw Daily Challenge, and the purpose of this website, is a call to all beginner and want-to-be artists to start their drawing journey by drawing daily! Although this seems like a simple enough task, many people have no idea how they should structure either their learning or their practicing. Because of this, I have decided to write a series of how to draw books - starting with The Draw Daily Challenge - The First 30 Days.
As the name implies, this book will walk you through what you should be learning and practicing within the first 30 days of starting your journey; but hopefully this will lay the groundwork for you to more easily move forward with your art education beyond those 30 days. This book is intended to be part of a set as I am currently working on a companion workbook as well, which will include a daily schedule to keep you on that 30-day track as promised.
THE BOOK
Over the years I’ve done a lot of reading and a lot of experimenting, and I’ve come to find that there is a relatively short path between picking up your pencil for the first time and being able to draw basically anything. This book’s purpose is to set you on this path so that you can learn those necessary skills. Keep in mind that this book is still a work in progress and I’ve got a bit more ground to cover before it’s done - but I’m still really excited to share with you what I do know about it.
HOW THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT
The fundamentals of art, such as forms, composition, lighting, and perspective are traditionally broken up and taught as separate subjects which can be unwieldy and hard to effectively apply; especially for beginner artists. So, instead, this book takes such subjects and interweaves their principals in simple, digestible ways that can be applied to the very first stroke you lay down. So these ideas are actionable as early on as chapter one. This means you won’t have to put off any one subject in order for it to come together and make more sense down the road. This is a very unusual approach and means that this book isn’t going to be your typical how to draw book.
FEATURES
The Draw Daily Challenge - The First 30 Days is designed with beginner artists in mind who have little to no drawing skills and want a shorter path to acquire these skills. As of this post’s publication, the book is planned to include 8 chapters and will focus on not only what you should be learning in the first 30 days of picking up your pencil but also insights on how to use line as a language in order to express yourself and your stories with line.
This book also includes over 20 exercises so far but is still in flux so I don’t know the exact number. What I can tell you is that each chapter will be partnered with a series of exercises with directions and tips on how to complete them. They are designed to get you thinking about your mark making and enhancing your drawing skills with the right exercises from the offset.
WHAT TO EXPECT
I plan on releasing this book in smaller segments as it is written, for my sake and the sake of getting this content out to students. Each part will be made available in my shop as a digital download in PDF format. Once the whole book is complete it will be made available as a single file in my shop. If and when this book is released in any other format that will be announced here on my site.
Currently, you can purchase “Chapter One - An Introduction to Line” in my shop.
THE WORKBOOK
I have already started working on the companion workbook to The Draw Daily Challenge - The First 30 Days which will walk you through both the text and assignments on a day by day basis. This will guarantee that you keep up with your daily exercises and that you will able to finish this book in the specified 30 days. This book will include additional insights, strategies, and resources not available in other text, so it will not only be a way to work through the assignments, but a way to get even more content and training.
PRINTING
Both books have been designed to be printer friendly so that it is easy to print them out. You may want to print out some or all of the text, or maybe just the exercises; either way it should be as simple as hitting command + P. It is not necessary to print any of the pages in color, so black and white should print out just as easily. I suggest getting tracing paper - which is usually available at your local dollar store - so that you can trace the given exercises, meaning you’ll only need to print the resource out once, and continue to use the printed page, again and again.
PATREON
I ask that you consider joining my Patreon, I am just getting started over there but you can see what is currently available. This does include feedback, a discord chatroom, updates, and whatever else I decide to include. I will be taking suggestions or requests if you have something specific in mind. As always, any contribution really helps.
If you do join Patreon, as a perk, you’ll receive a copy of The Draw Daily Challenge - The First 30 Days: Chapter One - An Introduction to Line on top of any other benefits; so you may want to consider checking out the Patreon before making a purchase in store.
FIN
I have to say that I am really excited about being able to officially launch my site, announce my book, and my companion workbook; now it’s just a matter of time and persistence to get it done.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading!
I’m MK and this is Draw Daily!