24 Ways to Keep Drawing (Even With No Deadline)

When you keep drawing till its a habit, you build massive momentum

Here are 24 practices you can embrace today, to keep drawing and slip into greater cartooning momentum.

1. attach your daily drawing habit to another (established) daily habit
2. choose a fun theme (e.g. crazy-exotic pets)
3. go public with your intention to keep drawing — research shows we are far more likely to follow through if others know about our plans
4. plan ahead so that every day has a drawing time ‘window’
5. identify possible roadblocks ahead of time and plan to avoid them
6. copy or print out a reservoir of reference material
7. draw at the same time every day
8. keep a list of cartoon ideas
9. reward yourself for drawing (a simple “I’m doing it!” muttered under your breath is sufficient ?)
10. commit to a friend (just like exercise, drawing loves company 😉 )
11. label it as a treat, not a chore
12. join a group
13. set a timer and Just Do It
14. draw in the third person (a cartoon alter-ego is a marvellous way to journal about your day)
15. focus on the process
16. keep your pencil and paper handy
17. don’t judge the outcome
18. alternate between copying and creating
19. impose artificial constraints (e.g. limit your colour palette, focus on faces, reduce your paper size)
20. try something new (e.g. try a cartoon strip, have a go at ‘funny’ cartoons, copy a new style)
21. keep your sketch book open at the right page
22. take your materials everywhere you go
23. use ‘dead’ time (waiting at the dentist, sitting at the café)
24. mark each day on a simple chart and see how long a ‘drawing streak’ you can create

Next Step? Get cartooning, of course ?