Do you have a drawing routine?

[MrTwennysebben]

I find that I work best if I set myself up at my computer the same way every week when it's time to crank out a comic. I'm usually just wearing a pair of shorts, I've got a can of Rockstar nearby, and I listen to the same albums. It seems to help me get into the right mindset to do the work I need to do.

Do you have a routine when you draw? Anything that really helps you focus or at least settle yourself into "art mode"? Is it intentional or do you just happen to find yourself doing the same things purely out of habit? Maybe it's the way you sit. Maybe the door has to be open. Maybe it has to be after 3pm in the afternoon. Maybe you have to have the cat sitting in your lap. Whatever works for you, what does it happen to be?

[GamerPrincessXI]

Yes, I have a drawing routine. It's called not drawing for a few days and then getting back to it, a couple days later. I draw traditionally with pencil and paper. I have a digital tablet but I haven't used it yet. I usually draw when I'm at work or home, laying down. It's a wonderful experience for me.

[ben]

Yes! I need a drawing routine because I do it full time and it gets extremely hard to get in the right mindset when you have to work from home for as long as I have to.

I have a separate office room in my house that is away from any leisurely activities. I wake up, take a shower, brush my teeth, I get dressed like I’m going outside. I have a problem where if I wear lounge-y clothes I won’t be able to separate work from home. And I start working everyday at 7-8am. At the end of the workday I write my to do list for tomorrow.

Before we moved we had a studio a block away from our apartment in a renovated church that I shared with my husband and two other friends who did comics and a publisher who operated out of the top floor and used the basement to stock and ship. That was the most ideal working situation because I got to have a reason to get up and get dressed and it was nice to go into work with people who were also doing the same thing as you. And since I didn’t wanna look like I was slacking off all day I really did a LOT of work....

We wanna get another studio soon though but we’re waiting since we might be able to buy a house next year and it’ll be easier to figure it out then.

[Kittosaurus]

I have a drawing routine but I don't know how productive it is... I try and thumbnail on Sundays and then I work on my panels Monday thru Wednesday typically after work &dinner. I work on my ipad while I have Netflix/ YouTube running in the background.

I also work on panels during my 15s and lunch!

[punkarsenic]

im autistic, so im MADE of routine

i work on twaw 2 days a week. i start with a bike ride and get working at 10am - 25 minutes of setting up and warmup drawing, then i get to the work of the day in 25 minute cycles with 5 minute breaks until 7ish. i use this timekeeping app that splits the time into these blocks, and it really helps me stay focused and also forces me to take breaks.

[Humbug]

Yup, I have a specific time set for drawing and I get extremely cranky when something interferes with it. I am that entrenched in my routine.

[irene_addler]

Ehhh, I get home from work and draw until bedtime with various breaks. And on weekends I draw all day...with a lot of distractions and breaks in between. It's very fluid...so maybe not a routine lol

[Ankur]

I use the early morning to work out all creative aspects like layout, poses, panelling, etc. and at night I do more mechanical tasks such as colouring and editing. I like listening to podcasts while I work.

[Anithia]

I always try to have routine. But its very hard, so i only try to start drawing at the same time every day and use one or two hours, sadly i cajt do this every day

[Anithia]

Oh, i have a similar "routine"

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I shut myself in my office, either sit down and play some guitar first, or I straight up find the most aggressive Metal I can and blast it loud. Can't draw without music.
(My wife and mother in law who lives with us are just thrilled about the loud music XD)

Then I draw, and only take breaks to refill my coffee and go to the bathroom. That's pretty much it.

[PaulDevers]

Wake up at 7 AM sharp every day, go get a bowl of cereal, and put on a YouTube playlist of music. I have SUCH a hard time drawing without music these days. Afterwards, I usually draw until either 9 (on days where I have to leave for my day job) or... usually until whatever I'm working on is done, ha ha. My usual thing is that I try to only get one big thing done per day. Like, 'today I have to finish my character lines' or 'today you gotta comp everything'. Usually more often then not I end up drawing at least 3 hours every day, usually more like 5.

[frgmnt]

Routine? That's for people who don't have ADHD :'D I have to force myself to draw, because welp, I need to force myself to do pretty much anything (that isn't idly scrolling through social media for hours or my current hyperfocus).
How... just how do you guys make yourself do specific things at specific times???

Making myself draw is an eternal battle, and I cry tears of happiness if I manage to force myself to draw for more than 10 minutes in a day. That's it. (it's gotten worse since I put my comic on hiatus, but this increasing inability to force myself to draw was one of the reasons why i put it on hiatus in the first place, lol...)

[magalise]

yes, my comics release once a week. And i also work on the side.
So i set aside 4 hours Mon-Sat to draw. My goal is to have 1-2 comics done in a week, and have a bunch of sketches done. So Mon-Tues i dedicate to writing, sketching. Wed-Fri i dedicate to inking and polishing.
I give myself a limit of 15 min social media during the day for each platform. Sat/sun i can browse as much as I want for new content by others.

[JRHoch]

Did I really need to know about the just wearing shorts part? I can't remember anything else you said.

[Shanny8]

I used to, but not anymore. In fact I wonder if my "routine" is one of the factors in my current art funk.

Been thinking about trying something new- like changing around my room and see if that helps.

[JRHoch]

I draw in the morning for a couple of hours while my brain is still working. Then my skills disappear and I spend twenty minutes redoing the same hand.

[MrTwennysebben]

It's more that I noticed that I usually get started right after I get out of the shower, so before I can remind myself to actually get dressed I've usually fired up my desktop and started checking the comics I read daily, then going "oh yeah, I should start on this weekend's comic" and I just go from there. Probably not essential information, it's just ended up being part of my routine rather than a requirement.

[JRHoch]

You lost me after "get out of the shower..."

[faisalhussein394]

Here's how it goes for me,

Consider I work six days a week I draw in the early morning in about an hour or two before I go to work and spend another hour or three after work from Saturday to Thursday.

As for my day off, it depends. Sometimes I got so bored I play some games or read some histories or even laughing at a gamer who made some hilarious mistakes, Dashiegames for example. I spend 4 to 8 hours of drawing a page and consider how detailed my pages look like, well I will send you the link for you to be the judge on that.

Mukhtar | Tapas