How long should I practice per day to be Good at sketching? – ✏️DESIGN SKETCHBOOK (2024)

Hey guys,It’s Chou-Tac,

There is a question I receive pretty often:

How long should I practice per day to be Good at sketching ?

I tell my students to draw at least 15 minutes per session to get into it.

Which means it is the minimum needed to absorb the lessons and have a first practice – but also the time frame for your mind to be hooked and desire to draw longer.

I wanna show you how sketching is less a matter of time, than building the right mindset to achieve your goals.

How to artificially create addiction for your sketching routine.

I prefer do not to mention how long is needed, as I would like YOU to feel it when you draw.
Some may want to draw 20 minutes while others 2 hours or even all nighter.

If you wanna progress fast (even if you have a busy shedule, a family…), do not focus on HOW LONG you need. But draw as long as your heart tells you to.

Suddenly, you will realise taht you will be drawing much longer, and much more often! 🙂

That way, sketching is going to be your lifestyle and be part of your daily routine.
Busy or not, you will create time fro drawing.

Do you see what I mean ?

How long should I practice per day to be Good at sketching? – ✏️DESIGN SKETCHBOOK (1)

While most people:

  • watch TV (average 3 hours 40 per day)
  • or play games
  • or browse Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok…

You sketch.

As an upcoming pro designer, sketching is as important as eating.
As well as you need to eat to survive, you will feel that hunger to sketch.

When I was a product design student,
I remember sketching after class in the subway.

My schoolmate Ambre told me: “Damn you are always sketching !! You never stop!”

Actually, I was impatient. I just couldn’t wait to reach home to sketch, because my brain was still “in ebullition” from the afternoon sketching session we had. I still had so much ideas I wanted to drop on paper. So I had to sketch them now before they escape from my mind!

TIP: Your class time schedule do not dictate how long you should draw per week. These are the strict minimum. You want to excel? Do more than anyone else!

No matter how busy you are, where you are, try to sketch as much as you can.
Even a little session of 5 minutes will make you progress. Why? because you may have observed something cool, and micro study it with a doodle.

The magic to constantly make plenty of these micro progress is to stay alert.
Look around you. And see how you can analyse stuff, and applied techniques you’ve learnt.

You know what ?

You do not even have to draw every single day !
There are days you could draw longer while others not at all. It is totally fine.

A good thing when you take a break is your brain is actually processing datas. And it happenned that after a while you draw even better than before – without much knowing why. 🙂 I love that feel !

However, as a beginner, there is not anything much to process yet. ; ) So I recommend you guys to do not stop practicing for too long. Ok ? At least once a week, with no maximum time frame is best.

Remember that :

What matter the most to improve FAST is not “How long you practice” or even “Sketching everyday”.

It is sketching with: Good Focus, and Good Guidance.
So you maximise every single session you do, even if they are short.

Cheers,
Chou-Tac

PS: If you are a beginner sketcher,
I share with you more about how to build your drawing habit to be succesful.

How long should I practice per day to be Good at sketching? – ✏️DESIGN SKETCHBOOK (2024)

FAQs

How long should I practice per day to be Good at sketching? – ✏️DESIGN SKETCHBOOK? ›

Some may want to draw 20 minutes while others 2 hours or even all nighter. If you wanna progress fast (even if you have a busy shedule, a family…), do not focus on HOW LONG you need. But draw as long as your heart tells you to. That way, sketching is going to be your lifestyle and be part of your daily routine.

Is 1 hour of drawing practice enough? ›

If you draw an hour a day, you might become skilled enough eventually, but it may take a lot more than a year or two. So 'draw a lot' is definitely a big part of getting better BUT you can also draw 6 hours a day for 10 years and not improve, because you need to do the right type of practice.

How long does it take to get good at sketching? ›

If practice is necessary, then what kind of practice do you need and how much? In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that, in order to master anything, you'll need to invest in 10,000 hours of practice. This equates to approximately five years' worth of full-time effort.

How many hours to be good at art? ›

And Kaufman works out that in just 20 hours of practice, you can become GOOD at a new skill. There are a couple of caveats. You need to be able to deconstruct the skill, so you can practice the most important parts of the skill first.

Is 2 hours of drawing good? ›

Some may want to draw 20 minutes while others 2 hours or even all nighter. If you wanna progress fast (even if you have a busy shedule, a family…), do not focus on HOW LONG you need. But draw as long as your heart tells you to. That way, sketching is going to be your lifestyle and be part of your daily routine.

Is drawing a talent or a skill? ›

Drawing is both a talent and a skill. Some people may have a natural aptitude or talent for drawing, which can give them a head start in learning. However, talent is not a requirement to become proficient at drawing. Drawing skills can be developed through practice, learning, and dedication.

Can I get good at drawing in 3 years? ›

There are plenty of excellent artists that have been drawing properly for less than 5 years. And you can also see how far people have been able to progress even in 3 years.

Can I get good at drawing in 3 months? ›

Let me explain: it takes a person hours of practice to become a master of anything. Assuming you have little or no prior drawing experience, mastering drawing in three months would be like mastering a sport like soccer or basketball in three months.

Is it OK to not draw everyday? ›

You can draw every day if you want to, but it is not always necessary. But you should also learn to recognise that feeling motivated to draw is a fleeting emotion. And sometimes, it might require discipline to keep going. You should challenge yourself and see how far you can go, but don't overdo it.

How to start a sketching habit? ›

Set a timer and always stop after 15 minutes.

Stay with pencil for as long as you like before moving onto another drawing tool, such as a biro, a conté pencil or a fineliner pen. Keep it up, 15 minutes every day; the habit quickly establishes and becomes a part of the day you can't be without.

Is it okay to stop drawing for a week? ›

The whole “artists have to draw everyday” is a myth that can actually be counterproductive. While you may feel rusty after a break, there's no such thing as losing your skills. Taking a break is important for both your physical and mental health.

How long is 10,000 hours? ›

10,000 hours works out to be around 20 hours per week for ten years. Ten years is a long time but 20 hours a week isn't so bad especially when you consider the average person watches 3-4 hours of television a day and spends a considerable time on social media.

Is 100 hours enough to learn a skill? ›

The 100-Hour Rule is the theory that to master a topic and get the benefits of greatness doesn't need to take 10,000 hours. Rather, it can often take approximately 100 hours if you break down skills into rare and valuable micro-skills.

How fast can I get good at drawing? ›

Drawing well is a matter of developing your observational abilities, techniques, and self-assessment abilities. The basis to drawing well is making the firm commitment to the long-haul of it. You can get VERY good in two years with a clear path, excellent resources, and consistent work on the daily.

How much practice do you need to learn to draw? ›

I'd say two to three hours as long as you don't get bored, because once you get bored it usually affects the drawing and can be less detailed, but also remember it can take years to master realistic drawing, I use to but honestly it takes so much time I just decided to stick to my own style.

How many hours to draw to improve? ›

It's possible to see improvements by drawing only 1-2 hours per day. But if you want to see significant improvements you should be aiming for 5-6 hours per day, or more if possible.

How much do I need to practice drawing? ›

Improving your drawing skills doesn't require hours and hours of filling sketchbook pages. In fact, a mere 15 minutes of targeted practice a day can help you advance your technique over time and raise your confidence. And it'll keep you in shape when you're just too busy for more.

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