How to Draw Faster

Learning to draw faster has a twofold benefit. Not only will your productivity increase, but you'll also improve your technique as you let go of perfectionism and put more effort into your projects.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Keep scratch pads and the writing tools of your choice in the car, in your purse and all over the house. When waiting in line, doodle on your grocery list. When on the phone, put pencil to paper and free-form sketch any shape that emerges. Concern yourself with quantity, not quality; it's the process you want to encourage, not the end result of every doodle.

2. Speed-sketch simple items repeatedly. Draw a page full of circles, ovals or rectangles. Draw them as quickly as you can without giving the process much thought. In this manner, you "train" yourself to speedily improve shape and line technique.

3. Sketch your project quickly by using basic shapes as outlines. Use circles, ovals and lines to create a rough sketch before drawing final lines with time consuming details.

4. Focus your attention on the picture as a whole, rather than details. As you work, you'll correct the details naturally.

Tips & Warnings

• Sketch all large projects in pencil. Even if ink, pastels or markers are your preferred medium, you can quickly manipulate and change light pencil sketching without undue frustration.
• Consider your work as an unfocused picture that you're tweaking into shape.