New year's drawing resolutions

Just in case you missed it a few weeks ago, here's our recommendations for new year's drawing resolutions:

We're coming up on a new year, and you may be thinking about writing some new year's resolutions for yourself. This is a perfect time to set some goals for furthering your artistic practice as well.

Remember, the best goals are specific, measurable, achievable and realistic. Check out this article for more on setting good goals!

Here's some challenges we recommend you try out in 2017:

  1. Start every day for a year with 5 minutes of 30 second gesture drawings, or 4 minutes of 120 second drawings. Post the results to your blog, your Facebook, or even our forums.
  2. Do a 100 drawings challenge, where you draw 100 of the thing that gives you the most trouble - hands, mouths, hips, the male (or female) figure, foreshortened limbs, wombats. Whatever you most avoid drawing, draw more of it!
  3. Sit down with your calendar and block out time to do 3 30 minute drawing classes per week, with the tool of your choice. If 3 isn't realistic for your life, try 2 or even 1 -- then guard that time and make sure your practice is a priority.
  4. If you've been too nervous to ask for critique on your work, commit to asking for feedback at least once a month, and using that feedback to guide your practice. Here's our guide on how to benefit from critique, and here's a link to our critique forums.
  5. Start every day for a month with the pencil value mastery exercise.
  6. Pencil a monthly themed drawing challenge into your schedule. Here's some to consider:
    • Inktober (Daily drawing in ink in October)
    • NaNoManGo (draw 30 pages of Manga in 30 days, June or November)
    • NaNoDrawMo (Draw 30 pieces in a month, November)
    • Know of another challenge that should be here? Let us know in the comments!

Are you going to try a new year's drawing challenge? Let us know in the comments, or give us a full progress report on the forums.

Comments

Dwayne Hash (unregistered visitor)

indeed.

Wendy Balkwill-Clouse (unregistered visitor)

I have taken up the challenge and using your great site I have been drawing hands for 10 minutes per day throughout January. So far I have drawn 320 at 30 seconds or 60 second intervals. February is faces.

Sanne - Site moderator

Wow, that's amazing Wendy!! Keep it up!

ParadoxSketchbook

I am going to participate in the #29faces challenge created by Ayala. In February or September you make 29 portraits.
Also in April I am going to do the Small Canvas Challenge that my friends created to get better at approaching smaller canvases (no bigger than 5"x5"). We focus on details in that challenge: which details are relevant and needed in a small canvas and which details can be eliminated.

Austen (unregistered visitor)

MerMay - draw a mermaid for every day in May
March of Robots - draw a robot for every day in March
:)
I did the Inktober challenge last year. I was so proud of myself at the end when I had completed every single day. And I really learned some new things with ink! I plan to do it again this year

Eric Salazar (unregistered visitor)

I created my own year full drawing challenge that im starting today in 2018! Gesture January, 28faces February, March of the robots, April fools/jesters, Mermay, Kaijune, Jingle song July, Smaugust, Sketchtember, Intober, Dinovember, Disember. Some are borrowed months from other artists that I will be following their schedules but most of the months are free form and broad so anyone can draw whatever they want as long as it fits in the months category :D

kalyanjyoti mohan (unregistered visitor)

so glad to find this site, i feel great now

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