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How Often Should You Practice Drawing? (Tips to Practice and Improve)

An artist drawing a portrait

Most serious artists and those interested in learning to draw may wonder, “how often should you practice drawing?” and “how long should I draw a day.”

First, you should practice drawing as much as you feel comfortable and productive (without burning out).

So how often should you practice drawing? If you are serious about improving your drawing, it is recommended to draw for at least 2 hours a day. This time will be enough to improve at drawing without being burnt out. 

We recommend making drawing a part of your daily routine by drawing each day, at the same time and at the same place.

This practice will reinforce your drawing habit and make you well on your way to improving with consistent practice.

Often, people may become frustrated with drawing or wondering why they are not improving as quickly as they’d like. One may find it to be more of a chore and enjoy it less and less.

Drawing or any hobby or goal you are passionate about achieving isn’t always going to come easy, and often it will be hard and feel like work. The law of averages tells us that:


-20% of the time, drawing will come effortlessly

-20% of the time, it will be challenging

-40% of the time, it will feel average or like you’re at not improving at all


Table of Contents

    Should I Draw Every Day

    Yes, it is best to draw every day. Developing healthy routines is essential to living a good and organized life. It is an excellent way to hone your skills, gain experience, and helps you build self-discipline. 

    If you love drawing and it is a hobby you would want to do constantly, you should give part of your daily time to the activity. 

    Also, if you find that drawing helps you take a breather and your mind off stressful situations, making drawing a daily habit could be good for you too.

    Ultimately, the essential thing is to establish a personal balance and schedule for your daily activities. If you can’t commit to sketching every day, that is fine too. Do whatever fits into your schedule.

    Does Practicing Drawing Everyday Make You Better?

    Practice Drawing regularly is one of those activities that, if you want to become better at, you need to make a habit of every day.

    Daily practice is recommended if you want to see rapid improvement. You can get better at any skill if you put in the effort to practice it constantly and regularly. By sticking to a routine and subject, you may hone your drawing skills, identify areas for improvement, and find the best methods.

    After all, “Repetition is the mother of all skills,” as famous speaker Tony Robbins puts it.

    How to Practice Drawing 

    How to practice drawing

    One of the best ways to improve your artistic abilities is through consistent drawing practice. It is an excellent method for enhancing one’s skills, broadening imagination, and honing creativity.

    The following are some suggestions that might help you begin with practice drawing:

    1. Plan and set a scheduled time every day to draw and what you wish to learn or accomplish for the day. Your time can take as little as 15 or 30 minutes or as much as five hours.
    2. Exercise your drawing skills by drawing basic figures, still lifes, landscapes- things you see around you or using reference images. It will allow you to concentrate on fundamental sketching skills and get used to the tools you are exploring before moving on to more advanced concepts.
    3. Investing in a sketchbook is recommended. You can take it with you wherever, and if the inspiration for a drawing strikes, you may scribble it down in your sketchbook. They also serve as helpful documentation since you can go back and see how your work and approaches have evolved or improved.
    4. Try out a variety of materials. You may find your ideal sketching tool by experimenting with various pencils, pens, and other drawing materials. Trying out new mediums is a great way to develop your creative style.

    Drawing <1 hour a day

    Having a 15-minute practice drawing is already an ideal time. Consistent growth over time is possible with even a short amount of daily practice time.

    In less than an hour, you can draw basic strokes, outlines, or gesture drawing, which does not focus on detailed sketching.

    Drawing >1 hour day

    Having additional time to practice will allow you to focus on particular areas of improvement.

    You’ll get the opportunity to develop your drawing abilities by studying fundamentals like shading, perspective, and understanding of line and proportion.

    You can also learn how to use light and shadow on simple forms or shapes, which add illusion or depth to a drawing.

    Drawing >3 hours a day

    If you have more than three hours to devote to sketching, you may practice more complex skills like blending, texture rendering, and layering.

    You may also practice drawing more complicated themes and layouts, enhance your grasp of light and shadow, and make efficient use of colors. 

    Drawing >5 hours a day

    You will have the potential to enhance your drawing skills to a much greater level if you practice for five hours or more amount of time every day.

    One can create realistic and intricate drawings (portraits included) by experimenting with various materials, styles, and approaches.

    Also, you can explore more complex ideas like expression and motions with this much time.

    How Many Hours Does It Take to Learn to Draw

    The amount of time it takes to learn to draw varies and is determined by several factors, including raw talent, the availability of practice time, and the desired level of skill development.

    If we talk about the skills you want to acquire, you can refer to the above hours and the corresponding techniques you may try and learn.

    How Long Should You Practice Figure Drawing?

    Recreating the human form on paper is called “figure drawing.”

    It calls for a comprehensive understanding of the human form and its proportions and represents their gesture and emotions as well, making it challenging to master and requiring a lot of practice.

    How long you should practice figure drawing will, again, depend on some factors, as was said earlier on. But, in any case, the more time and practice you spend figure drawing, the more quickly your skills will advance.

    How to Practice Drawing Enough to Become a Professional Artist

    Talent, skill, and practice are essential components for success as a professional artist. How to practice drawing enough to become a professional artist is impossible to pin down.

    But you may boost your odds of succeeding by making certain efforts. Drawing is a skill that can be developed and developed through regular and a lot of practice using a variety of mediums and techniques. If you can, you should make time and practice every day during your free time, and you will surely achieve the title at your own pace. 

    Can You Draw Too Much

    Can someone draw too much?

    You can draw as much as you want as long as you love and enjoy it. It should come in the way of other essential aspects of your life, like maintaining good relationships and getting adequate sleep.

    It becomes too much when you let it keep you from doing your work and other responsibilities. Time management is another skill that every artist has to handle.

    How Often Should You Practice Drawing? – Conclusion

    If you’re determined to improve your drawing ability as quickly as possible, set some time each day to practice. 

    A good goal is at least an hour of dedicated practice, although it’s fine to break this up into smaller increments throughout the day if that works better for you.

    Remember to focus on quality over quantity – it’s better to spend half an hour working slowly and carefully than trying to complete two hours of rushed sketches. 

    And most importantly, don’t get discouraged if you don’t see immediate results. With patience and persistence, anyone can learn how to draw well! 

    Are you interested in receiving personalized feedback on your drawings? Set up a free discovery call with one of our expert instructors today!

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