Drawing Tip – Take 5 and a Sketch a Day
The only way to truly get better at drawing and illustration is by physically picking up a pencil, pen or stylus and just getting to work. Much like any other activity, practice is a key element in getting better at a particular skill. Drawing is no exception. One of the most common ways of keeping sharp and active is through quick daily sketch sessions. They don’t have to be long and drawn out – just take 5 and draw something that comes to mind – and if nothing comes to mind, draw what you see in front of you.
It isn’t the subject that is important – its the development of skill. When I have a hard time thinking of things to draw, I’ll grab 4-5 random items that are within my grasp, plop them down on the surface in front of me and take 5 and sketch. These 5 minute sketches become my starting point for the day, and usually they end up on any piece of paper floating around my desk, so I just collect them like clippings and save them in a sketchbook for later use (like now!). The odd time, one of those random sketches will turn into a solid idea for something bigger later on.
I know some of you are thinking – “I don’t have time to sit and sketch…” – this is a lie. You do. You just don’t know it yet. The best time to do these off-the-cuff sketches occurs when you are just sitting idle waiting for something to happen.
Here’s an example:
When I get into work, I have a similar routine. I’m the first one in so I disarm the alarm, bring in the newspaper, hang up my jacket and start up my computer and coffee brewer. This brief moment while I’m waiting for my machines to start up and do their thing is the moment I take to do the Take-5. Other artists like Jason Barton of Almost Sketches call this the ‘boot sketch’, the sketch drawn while waiting for the computer to fire up. You don’t necessarily have to do this while you’re waiting for the computer – other people do their sketch-a-day work during their lunch breaks (here’s a great example – a lunch bag a day for his kids!) or before bed, or any time you have 5 minutes of idle time (I’m sure there’s someone out there who doodles while hanging out in the bathroom!).
These quick sketches and scribbles, doodles and drawings should be kept as clippings in a folder for later reference. Eventually you’ll amass a library of hidden gems you can reuse later. You may say that scribbles and sketches don’t seem like much, but they’re a creative outlet and a means of inspiration for bigger things.
Here are some great sketch-a-day sites you should check out!
Dude a Day - atomictoy’s blog about drawing a dude every single day, running from Halloween ’08 to ’09
Almost Sketches – this isn’t exactly a sketch every day, but its close, and the same concept as mentioned above
The Daily Figure – this blog is run by Kyle T. Webster, and he does a gestural drawing and figure studies every day
Chris Houghton’s Dailies – this blog captures Chris Houghton’s daily work, which often gets rendered fully
The Daily Monster – this blog is run by 344 and there’s a new monster every day
Alter Eebo – This blog contains abstract sketches done by artist Alter Eebo
Check out the Sketch a Day blogs and try it for yourself. Its a lot easier than you think!
