Over the years, I've streamlined my go-to drawing tools and process into an efficient flow that works well for me. I also developed a few perspectives that have helped me a lot on my creative journey.
I believe anyone can learn to draw and see like an artist with enough practice and the right mindset. ✨ Here's what you'll need on your journey!
1. Drawing Tools
For everyday practice, my top suggestion is to keep things simple. I have curated my go-to drawing tools into a simple set that can fit into a little case: graphite pencils, charcoals, brush pens, and ink pens. If I'm using color, then I like to use a few Prismacolor pencils.
I made a list of what's in my go-to set, and all of the other traditional and digital supplies I recommend, in the Artist Toolkit section of my Drawing Foundations class.
2. Technical Skills
Even with great tools, you still need basic technical skills to be able to express yourself, including:
- Observation
- Line & Shape
- Value
- Form
- Color
- Light
- Composition
See this blog post for more details, and watch the Drawing Foundations class for an in-depth explanation, demos, and exercises to help you practice these skills.
3. Explorer's Mind
To find a healthy balance as a creative, I’ve found that it’s really important to have the right mental tools more than anything else. These three ideas have helped me on my journey:
- Avoiding common pitfalls. Don't let self-criticism and fear of failure discourage you. Awareness goes a long way towards staying motivated when you're dealing with self-doubt. :)
- Mindful Drawing. Approach your drawing with a kind, non-judgmental attitude. Observe with curiosity and open awareness. It's natural to notice room for improvement, but if you start to be distracted by critical thoughts, notice them with care and gently let them pass. I've found that other mindfulness practices like meditation have also helped my drawing.
- Explorer's Mind. Try to see learning to draw as an adventure and be excited to not know, and find out.
You can watch a free mini-tutorial on the Artist Toolkit and get my recommended resources list by joining Mimo Mail, here!
Learn more and sign up for the full Drawing Foundations class here :)
Happy drawing!
💛 M
