What Happens If You Don't Draw Every Day?
Should you?
Hello everyone!
You've probably come across those videos on YouTube suggesting you should draw every day.
While it's great to build a habit of drawing, should you really draw every day?
I don’t draw every day, and I struggle to build that habit. Typically, a habit can be established in around 90 days, but if you have ADHD or ASD, it might take much longer or not at all.
When I do manage to develop a good drawing habit, it only takes one bad day for it to fall apart. If I miss a day, I can feel really down on myself, thinking, "Oh no, I'm a failure..."
So, it's better not to draw every day at all. Honestly, it's good to take breaks now and then to gain new inspiration and refresh your mind.
But won't you learn faster if you draw every day? Or maybe you'll learn slower if you do?
It's both good and bad to draw every day. However, one thing is clear, if missing a day makes you feel like a failure, then it's not worth it!
You should never feel like a failure, especially when it comes to something you enjoy. Drawing should bring you joy, not sadness.
Another reason I don’t draw every day is because of procrastination. People with ADHD are experts at it. But why is that?
I can think about drawing for days, feeling motivated in my mind. However, it won't work if I can't make my body move and actually do it. This is something I learned the hard way. A few years ago, I told my occupational therapist about this struggle. Her response was, "If you're thinking about it, you are motivated. Just start." And she was supposed to be the ADHD expert…
When someone is procrastinating, there is often a good explanation for it. It usually involves avoiding something. Even if you love the activity, there can still be aspects you don't like.
For me, it might be the effort of gathering all the supplies I need to do a watercolor painting. Or, if I plan a complex project for my artwork, like making a video, I might avoid it if it requires too many steps. If it needs multiple steps to complete, I won’t do it…
My best advice is to draw when you feel like it. If it takes a week between sessions, let it be a week. Forcing yourself to do something will only drain your energy, and you won’t gain anything from it.
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(First) Dabi from My Hero Academia, a frame study done in Affinity Photo. Also something that will end up as a reward for my Patreon. Say what? Also did the rendering during a live stream.
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(third) Apollo, the god of sun, music and archery. My entery for a little contest last month. I did not end up in top 5. But I won a reference pack out of it. So still a win for me. The others had better composition. Done in Rebelle 7.
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What to read next?
Thank you for sharing this post! It took me so long to learn how to say "it's so good I took a day to relax" or "maybe I should really focus on something else" instead of "I'm a failure for not writing today." Sometimes consistency is about consistently showing yourself kindness.