Minimum hours a day?

[iii]

Right now, I'm drawing 8 hours a day because this is the most that I can fit into my schedule right now. When I skip a day of drawing I can notice the next time I draw that I'm not drawing as well as I should be. Soon, I'm going to have more work to do and I have to cut down on my drawing and I don't want to feel like I took a step backwards like I would if I skipped a day. Right now I'm not drawing much from my mind I'm doing a lot of anatomy studies and drawing from pics/working on value. Would this be bad as far as getting better at drawing or does the hours I put into drawing have to be things that I come up with? And also, I've been interested in learning how to complete my illustrations like the ones in the "IT'S FINALLY FINISHED!!" section :tihi: but, I don't know if the coloring in photoshop would count as far as the hours I put into my artwork each day :) Opinons plz :teeth: would help alot.

[dose]

Quantity is not as important as quality. I knew some people in college who worked non-stop, but it was like they were sawing all day with the blade upside-down getting nowhere. If you have less time you'll just have to be more intelligent about how you use it. This can actually be a good thing.

I also notice a difference if I skip a day. But if you have more work in the future and can only draw for an hour each day, then draw for an hour every day. Regularity is a good thing for learning.

I recently started a new job that involves a lot of hours, plus I've been planning a wedding and doing freelance web design. This has forced me to become more efficient at drawing for lots of short times throughout the day- 5 minutes here, 20 minutes there. At the end of the day it's probably an hour. But it has really focused me- I really want to do it so I figure out how. It took me a while, but now I'm feeling good about it.

Good luck!

Tim

[Seedling]

Like dose said, there’s no need to beat yourself to death with endless hours of drawing. :) Draw smart, not tedious, and let yourself have a life outside of art.

[iii]

thx guys :) very helpful :D

[SigonWulf]

Like dose said, there’s no need to beat yourself to death with endless hours of drawing. :) Draw smart, not tedious, and let yourself have a life outside of art.

Even if we want to go pro?

I hear its best to draw as much as you can if you want to go pro. Or is it all about balance? I have other hobbies as well that I like doing. Hobbies I would like to keep putting time into if my drawing time will allow.

[Seedling]

I am a pro. :P Having a good, hard-working work ethic is a must. Being smart about how you use your time to develop your skills is a must. Putting a lot of time into your studies and keeping up daily art habits is a must. And having friends, fun, and exercise is also at some point a must. These things can be left out for brief periods of time if necessary, but over the long haul if you don’t make sure to include these things in your balance, you’ll hate all of life, including art.

[Greyhawke]

Personally I would say that having been through an intensive program where we painted 10x the normal average for an art school per term I would say that you have to have a balance. If you are drawing 8 hours a day and not learning, something is wrong. You should be learning as you draw, that is the most important thing. But I can tell you, the person who does 3000 drawings is going to have a decided advantage in drawing (the foundation for all art,) over the person who sits around theorizing about what makes a good drawing, arriving at the conclusion, then making that 1 good drawing. There is a lot to be said for the mileage of 8 hours worth of drawing.

[grenogs]

i think its a personal choice, how you work best and what way you most enjoy, after all if you enjoy something then the learning curve is often faster and easiest. But then again if an intence work load with loads of work and lots of hours didn't work, then art colleges wouldn't push students the way they do, instead they would say, "in your own time, dont rush,no hurry, and you'll be the best" Also the other facter to concider, if anyone is planning to be professional, then its always a good idea to get into the habit of working 8-12 hours a day every day. But most of all, you have to enjoy your art, and still have a life away from your art, simply becouse art as a business can be a very lonely job, and so outside activities are very important to keep your mind fresh and alive.