Sketching is a great way to relax and unwind. It takes your mind off anything that stresses you out and allows you to enjoy yourself and let your mind rest. It is why people find great joy to sit back even for a few minutes a day to sketch. Sketching is a great way to improve one’s creativity which helps to improve our thinking skills in a fun way. Sketching develops your ability to focus and pay attention, a skill that can be very useful throughout your life and career. Here are a few tips to get you in the right mindset to get started.
Maintain a positive attitude
Before you begin sketching, ignore those voices in your head that say:
“You’re not good at drawing; you’re not even an artist.”
“You can’t do it; you’ll only waste your time.”
These self-doubtful thoughts happen to all of us. No one is a natural-born artist. It takes patience, takes practice, and takes a positive mindset – it’s silly to put pressure on ourselves, especially in the beginning stages. So Stop!
Start with the essential tools.
You will need, if you are a beginner, pencils, paper, and grit. The following is the grit part. With a combination of these tools, the sky’s the limit.
- Passion: Gives you the motivation to continue sketching, despite the funny drawings.
- Patience: This allows you to study and practice over and over again.
- Time: 10 minutes a day to practice. An hour a week. You got that.
Embrace mistakes
Sometimes your drawings will fail to meet your expectations. Mistakes happen.
Embrace your mistakes because they grant you the opportunity to reflect and analyze what you need to improve and change. The progress may be slow, it may be subtle, but each mistake brings you closer to better results.
Gain inspiration from your surroundings
Beginner sketchers struggle to find inspiration for their drawings, so start simple pick one thing to draw over and over for the week to build muscle memory. Download my Daily Art Planner here.
Illustrated books are a fantastic resource for inspiration, especially children’s books. My first sketching inspirational book was “An Illustrated Life” by Danny Gregory. It proves inspiration is in our day-to-day life; we need to take the time to look for it.
Use online resources
On social media platforms, artists use social media to provide tips, tutorials, and sketching techniques to promote themselves. Use them for inspiration. YouTube, Instagram, and even Tik Tok are great resources to develop your skills. They are entertaining to watch and filled with free content.
If you found this helpful, follow me on any of my social media platforms, where I show up daily to share my tips and tricks to inspire wannabe artists.