At Sketchbook Skool, there are as many ways to make art as there are people. And that’s a lot!
Students in our community are always sharing the ways in which they hold themselves accountable to their creative habits. From little daily reminders, to goals and focuses for the month or year, we love watching our community members develop their art habits and inspire each other.
Here’s how to keep up your creative habit
1. Write it down
Students write their creative goals down in their sketchbooks, on post-it notes, and even in their calendars. Student Christina Baker even created a little checklist for herself to follow daily (the big photo above) to ensure she’s staying inspired and not running out of ideas.
2. Meet up!
Join friends or fellow sketchers at in-person meetups. This can be a way to get out of your comfort zone and also meet other artist pals to hold you accountable. Don’t have any sketching pals near you? Grab a buddy for a weekly or monthly library or coffee shop date where you can sketch, and they can read, knit, or work on their own projects.
3. Try something new
Take a kourse at Sketchbook Skool like Lucy Pollack does when she’s lacking inspiration. Or, join a local in-person art workshop at a community center or local venue. Getting your hands on a new medium can give you something to focus on and a new skill to tackle, which can drive you to practice more.
4. Work small
Heather Croy keeps a small sketchbook handy so she can make art in little pockets of time throughout her day. Keep yourself equipped for those appointment waiting rooms, coffee breaks at work, or time spent waiting on family members at practices and events so you have no excuse not to sneak a few drawings in!
5. Share it!
Helen Leigh Phippard shares her art on social media across platforms like the SkoolYard, Instagram, and Facebook. Sharing your art with friends, family, and fellow artists can help you show up even if you don’t feel like it.
6. Join a challenge
Having a daily prompt assigned to you can help keep you drawing even when you can’t think of what to draw. We have a whole calendar of daily prompts for each month and you can see this month’s prompts posted in the Yard and on the blog! There are also other challenges like the 100 days project, or InkTober coming up that can keep you going!
7. Read
Set aside time each week to read books written by artists you admire to remind yourself why you’re creative in the first place. The Creative License by Danny Gregory and The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and are a great place to start!
8. Make space
Do you draw at your desk at work? At your kitchen table? Or on your couch? Wherever you create, make it as inviting as possible. Whether that’s keeping your desk clear like students Eliza Callard and Carola Faryn do, or sticking a basket on your coffee table with a few pens and a small sketchbook, set yourself up for success so you will keep coming back to draw!
9. Pair it
It works in dog training and it works for people too! Pair drawing with another activity or behavior you do often, so you’re reminded each day to be creative while you’re doing a task you already have to do daily. For Danny Gregory in Art Before Breakfast, this can be drawing while your water boils for your morning tea or coffee. For some students, this means drawing while sitting on a train during a morning commute, or waiting for kids in a pickup line at school.
10. Visit the SkoolYard!
For all of the tips listed above, the is a place where you can find and share them all! Even a short daily check-in in the SkoolYard can inspire you to create something whether it’s from a live video drawing event with Danny Gregory or Koosje Koene, a conversation with a mentor you’ve been paired with through the mentorship program, or just seeing other art being created by community members.
What keeps you coming back to your sketchbook? We want to hear about it! Be sure to join us in the SkoolYard and share some of your favorite tips for sticking with your habit.
(Not a member of the SkoolYard? Click to join the waitlist!)
