How to Draw Faster – 10 Tips to Increase Your Speed
How to draw faster – ten easy methods to choose from! In this article, you will learn a whole variety of tips to help increase your drawing speed. You can use all the tips, or pick the ones that work best for you. The tips include helpful advice on sketching, improving your skills, and motivational techniques. Additionally, the tips work great for painters, hobbyists, comic makers, etc. Continue reading to learn more.
Overview of How to Draw Faster
Listed below are the ten topics in this article that will have you drawing faster in no time. Click a particular topic you find interesting to skip ahead to it, or scroll down to read the topics one by one.
- Plan Better
- Use References
- Try Sketching in Pen
- Use Less Lines
- Skip Details
- Use the Assembly Line Method
- Create Methods & Formulas
- Get Faster with Practice
- Manage Your Time Well
- Use Food/Drink
1. Plan Better
One great way to draw faster is to incorporate better planning into your art process. Better planning can look different for every artist. For example, comic artists can have their script done before they start drawing a page so that they will not waste time trying to figure out what to draw.
However, a tip that can help all artists draw faster is to make thumbnails. Thumbnails are tiny sketches that only take very little time to draw. They allow artists to quickly experiment and determine what they are going to draw. If a thumbnail turns out poorly, an artist has not wasted much time and can try another thumbnail. These aspects of making thumbnails helps artists speed up their drawing process.
Similarly, another way to plan better and increase drawing speed is to determine what you are going to draw. Take a short period to think about your goals for a drawing and what elements you want to incorporate into it. Once you have that idea down, you can draw faster, because you know exactly what your goals are.
Moreover, block out your sketch to help yourself plan better and draw faster. Below you can see examples of how I block out drawings before polishing them up. In this stage, I did not waste time getting the girl’s face right or accurate details drawn on her shoes. Instead, I first rough out her pose to determine what direction she is looking, her proper proportions, what perspective to use, etc. This process saves time because I avoid redrawing things and it makes cleaning up drawings a lot easier.
2. Use References to Help You Draw Faster
Another method to help you increase your drawing speed is to use references. Trying to create drawings from your head or imagination can take too long. This is because you have to figure out exactly how things should look and keep fixing them until they look the way you want them. However, if you find a reference of something you want to draw, all you have to do is copy what you see. That is why using references can help you save time and complete art quicker.
Related reading: Drawing References – Tips for Using References in Your Art
On the other hand, if using references slows down your art process, you may need to resolve this issue to help you draw faster. For example, try not to waste too much time searching for the perfect reference. Instead, combine multiple references or make your own reference. Additionally, try not to get sidetracked when searching for references or end up endlessly browsing the internet instead. Furthermore, do not be a “slave” to references. You do not need to use references one hundred percent of the time, so try not to be overly dependent on them. Using these tips will help you speed up your drawing time.
3. Try Sketching in Pen
A third tip to draw faster is to sketch in pen. This tip can be useful for traditional, as well as digital artists. For instance, if you work digitally, try not to use the undo button. The reason this tip helps you to draw faster is because it helps you to not waste time being a perfectionist. It also saves the time that would normally be spent erasing and redrawing the same thing. If sketching in pen seems to too daunting to you, at least try to erase less.
4. Use Less Lines
Another tip to increase your drawing speed is to simply draw less lines. In other words, try to place your lines correctly the first time, as opposed to drawing very sketchy. Avoid placing multiple, scratchy lines where only one is needed. Think carefully about each line you place. In your pursuit for speed, avoid being too sloppy and haphazardly placing lots of lines. Even if you do not quite like the look of what you drew, just continue on sketching the next area. Then, on your next round of cleaning up the sketch try and place the line in the right place. As you can see, drawing with this method saves time because you are physically drawing less lines.
5. Skip Details
A great method to help you draw faster is to skimp on the details in your drawings. A common drawing mistake is to add too many details in unimportant areas. Increase your speed of finishing drawings by strategically leaving out details where they do not matter. For instance, only add details to focal points and areas that are supposed to appear close. Avoid detailing things you do not want to draw attention to or areas that are far in the distance. Additionally, you can avoid over detailing things that are too small to be noticeable. This is especially true if your artwork is going to be displayed at a small scale. For example, if you are intending on sharing your artwork on Instagram, the size and resolution it will be displayed at are very small, and viewers will not even be able to make out tiny details.
You can also skip on details by trying to simplify particular areas of your drawing. Likewise, try using a bigger brush or fatter marker to draw, as thicker lines allow for less detail, which means they are faster to draw. Similarly, try using a small canvas size to avoid wasting time putting in too many unnecessary details.
In the illustration below, you can see how I skipped details to save time and finish the drawing faster. For example, as the characters are the focus of the picture, I was able to just do a simple background to save time. Adding a background adds context and polish to the drawing. However, since the background is just simple clouds, it only took a few minutes to create.
6. Use the Assembly Line Method
My favorite way to increase drawing speed is to use the assembly line method. As you probably know, Henry Ford used an assembly line to speed up the mass production of automobiles. Likewise, the assembly line method can be applied to drawing to increase output and productivity. For example, try starting a bunch of sketches one day. Then, the next day ink them all. And on on the third day, color them all. By focusing on only one task each day you do not waste time switching between them.
If you are a comic artist, the assembly line method is a great time saver. Artist, Ryan Estrada, uses this method and explains it in great length in this article: Speed Comicking, How to Hack Your Own Art.
In this same vein, try to multitask to increase your drawing speed. To elaborate, try working on multiple artworks at once. If you get bored of working on one and feel your productivity speed slowing down, try switching to working on another artwork. Later, return to the first artwork, refreshed with new motivation and excitement to work on it again. Using this method will help you to stay productive and working with high speed. Thus, your overall output and speed will be increased.
7. Use Methods & Formulas
A popular way to increase drawing speed is to use methods and formulas. Formulas are a commonly used tool to help artists draw people faster and more easily. For example, many artists always draw a head by first drawing a circle to represent the mass of the skull, adding a center line for the face, then adding in the facial features, etc. You can research drawing methods and find ones you like, or create your own.
Likewise, try to create a standard way you always draw things because this will allow you to be more familiar with your process and thus, do it with greater speed. With repetition comes familiarity, ease, and thus, speed. Experimenting or changing things up is okay too, but it often leads to slower drawing speed. Avoid wasting time trying to eyeball proportions and get volumes right. Instead, use drawing formulas to help you quickly and accurately get your lines placed right.
8. Get Faster with Practice
A great way to get faster at drawing is to practice. This may seem obvious, but with experience, you will get faster at drawing. However, experience only comes with patience and time. So, commit to practicing drawing a lot over a long time period to increase your drawing speed. In particular, the things you should practice drawing are the ones you are very slow at drawing. Practice drawing the things you struggle with and it is almost guaranteed you will become faster at drawing them.
Related reading: 10,000 Bad Drawings – The Journey to Good Art
9. Manage Your Time Well
An additional way to draw faster is to utilize time management. There are many different things you can try to help with this:
Firstly, be consistent; if you stop drawing for a month, it will take a while to get back into drawing again, and your speed will be decreased. So try to avoid doing that. Secondly, remember to take breaks as you draw to refresh yourself and keep you working at a high speed. You can try using a timer to keep track of your drawing time, such as the popular Pomodoro Timer or a timer app. During your breaks, remember to stretch and allow your hand to rest. Thirdly, try to draw when you have a lot of energy, rather than when you are tired. Everyone works faster when they are well rested and not tired out. Fourthly, set deadlines to motivate you to work harder. Lastly, if needed, cut out distractions, such as people disrupting you or scrolling the internet.
Using one or several of these tips to manage your time will help you draw faster. I was able to use some of these methods to help me create the illustration below in a relatively short amount of time.
Related reading: Productivity for Artists – How to Achieve Your Art Goals
10. Use Food/Drink
A tenth tip to help you get faster at drawing is to use food and/or drink to help fuel you. Keep some water at your workspace to keep yourself hydrated and refreshed. You will also save time because you will not have to get up for water in the middle of working and disturb your workflow. You can also try using caffeine – in moderation of course – to help increase your drawing speed. Additionally, if you cannot concentrate well on an empty stomach, make sure to eat before you start drawing, or take a break from drawing to eat. Drawing when you are well focused helps increase your speed. Alternatively, try using food as motivation or reward for once you finish getting enough drawing done.
Bonus Tip on How to Draw Faster!
A last piece of advice to help you draw faster is to keep organized. For instance, avoid wasting time searching for your drawing tools or trying to find where you saved a file on your computer. Likewise, keep a tidy workplace, as it is easier to work faster without clutter distracting you.
Summary of How to Draw Faster
Now you know ten ways to draw faster: plan better, use references, try sketching in pen, use less lines, skip details, use the assembly line method, create methods & formulas, get faster with practice, manage your time well, and use food/drink. Try implementing one or all of these tips to increase your speed at making art.
If you enjoyed learning about these tips to on how to draw faster, I would love to know. So, share a comment below on your favorite tips from this article.
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