How Do You Prep Yourself For A Drawing Session?

[Ironscarf]

It's usually 2am and I just want to sleep, so ongoing cups of strong tea are a must. I clear away everything other family family members have left piled aroung the desktop, plug in my old Intuos 3 and try to set my chair to a comfortable position. Not too comfortable though, or the intuos will soon turn into a cosy pillow.

[NiLukka]

Depends on my mood, sometimes I want to put on some makeup and do my hair to feel "prepared" and "professional", sometimes I don't even change from my pajamas.

But what I always do is 1) make sure my stomach is full, 2) fill my water bottle (hydration is IMPORTANT), 3) throw the pile of clothes on my chair onto my bed, 4) put on my headphones. Usually I listen to music or watch Youtube or Netflix or something while I draw, but sometimes I notice I've just been drawing with the headphones on for 2 hours and never pressed play. Concentration ftw!

Stretching would be so good, I'll have to stick a note on my monitor to remind me..!

[NiLukka]

Yeah, full stomach is a must, I can't start anything if I'm hungry. When I get into a flow, I can draw for 7 hours without eating but starting - nope!

[XzynderVexymous]

I make sure there's nothiñ to do, put on my playlist of music and just start drawing. I have a set time for drawing. 8:00pm is the time that I am least bothered so I take advantage of it.

[DMBrigman]

• I give the dog a chew toy to keep him occupied
• Open up Netflix and pick a series to play in the background
• Settle on the couch
• Start up the Wacom tablet
• Start working

[shaylafarley5]

First I shut off the Wi-Fi to my computer.
2. Play a movie or listen to music that code wi th the mood of the pages
3. Make sure nothing is on the stove cooking.
4. Have food to eat because I will sit there for hours and say I'll eat after this part and never do!

[Mocha]

1. I make sure I'm dressed, because if I'm still in my pyjamas there is no way I'm getting anything done.
2. I put on a lo-fi hip hop playlist because it helps me focus and get in the artsy mood.
3. I get a cup of tea.
4. Pull out whatever materials and references I need and/or just plug in my tablet to my laptop.
5. Perform a ritual sacrifice to appease the powerful art gods.
6. Slap myself in the face and beat myself up until I finally manage to force myself to draw something.

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

1) Make sure I have all my supplies because getting up from my chair kills my vibe
2) find the right music for my mood
3) set a timer for non-stop art (just to get me started and focusing)
4) magic

[rmdooley]

Wake up.

Sit down.

Start.

[jordanthelass]

I usually just sit down at my desk, unlock my iPad, grab my apple pencil and start doodling until I come up with a funny idea.

Sometimes you just have to do it without thinking--which is what I usually do.

[J.Z.Castillo]

I open my program, lay on the floor for about 30 minutes thinking about all the damn work I have to do, try not to cry, cry a little, cry a lot, peel myself off the floor, then I start working

I work while watching Hell's Kitchen lol

[gateofselidor]

Get myself something to drink, switch my daylight lamp on if it's dark, pick something to watch and set it up so the window covers maybe a quarter of the screen vertically (full screen if I'm working on paper. Alternatively, find some music). Start drawing.

[Shanny8]

Not all the time do I get to set up the drawing ambiance- sometimes for me, I draw/ink/color/letter at my day gig during the quiet lulls that I sometimes have. Other times, I'm at home where I can shut my bedroom door, slap on my headphones and listen to music while drawing/inking/coloring/lettering(sometimes I'll turn on the TV/Netflix as background noise).

On the weekends that I do get to set up, I just grab a bottled water, something to snack on, either listen to music or Pandora, and get to drawing.

[ghostmaya]

Shower, think, Voila~!, Draw, think again, then Draw XD

[Wolven_Sister]

depends on how I'm feeling. If it's my monthly visitor, I just grab a cup of coffee, curl up in my PJ'S, put on some Let's Plays, and go.

But on a typical day it's:
Take a Shower
Brew a Cup of Coffee
Open ALL WINDOWS! (fresh air and sun!)
Light some Incense (for some reason incense really grounds me and puts me into work mode)
Turn on Youtube and either listen to music or Let's Plays (mainly Neebs Gaming and Markiplier) or Nostalgia Critic.
Turn on my Tablet & open up Photoshop.

[Saajing]

Surprised no ones said gesture drawing.

I go on Line Of Action and do a 5 to 10 minute exercise in one of their categories to kickstart my brain before going into a longer session (it also helps expand my knowledge/ better trains my eyes). Then I do all the other arbitrary stuff (equipment set-up, snack and/or drink, background noise) and get to work.

[akemikae]

I'm very very easy to distract, so I'll actually get on the computer, get caught up on anything and everything that I could get distracted by on the computer till there isn't anything left. So then I have no choice but to draw, since there isn't anything else to do. Haha.

I make sure to have some sort of drink (typically something that's really caffeinated and carbonated, cause I have no self control) and some type of snack. What I do in the background depends on what step I'm on in the comic. (So music while I do basic sketches, videos while I do line work...etc)

[Hodge]

I put on a twitch stream or music and just do some quick gestures or master studies. Usually have some hot drink at hand as well.

[Luminosophy]

Either grab a tea or coffee, watch something mindless in the background like the simpsons and draw on my tablet. I like to have shows I can just listen to because music gets stale and I start hating it. xD

[scythe]

I make a cup of tea then just park my arse and get to work, by which I mean browse Twitter for 10 minutes.