If you’re going to draw for a living, drawing faster will certainly make things easier. If you can draw faster you can draw more. Drawing more means you can work more. Working more equals more money. Draw faster, earn more money. Can it be so simple? Let’s find out.
Faster is a Lie
Sorry, but it’s true. Faster is a horrible, horrible lie.
You don’t actually want to draw faster. Unless your client or boss wants a series of gesture drawings, striving to physically draw faster will cause more problems than not. Instead, focus on drawing efficiently.
Merriam-Webster defines efficient as “productive without waste.” For illustrators, this means eliminating anything that might get in the way of drawing and identifying repetitive tasks that can be streamlined. Speed turns out to be happy biproduct of efficiency. If you work efficiently, you will find you are indeed working faster.
Prepare the Chamber
The physical space where you draw greatly effects your efficiency. If your space is cluttered and unorganized it gets in the way of you drawing. With efficiency in mind, create a space that maximizes your drawing time.
Invest in a decent drafting table. You don’t need something that will transform and roll out, but you will need a sturdy enough table that you can set to a comfortable angle. Drawing on a flat table forces your body into an awkward position. You have to hunch your back and strain your neck to get a proper look at what you’re drawing. This creates a lot of unnecessary muscle strain and you will tire faster preventing you from drawing at your best. A drafting table will allow you to set your drawing surface to an angle that allows you to sit up straight allowing your body to relax and just draw.
Along with a drafting table, you will need a comfortable chair that allows you to set height. Once you’ve found a proper angle for your drawing surface, you want to find the right height for your chair. You want to be high enough so that your arms feel relaxed and natural while drawing. If you sit too low, your arms get folded up creating unnecessary tension in your arms which tires out your muscles.
Put all your supplies in their own place so you always know where they. This lets you spend more time drawing and less time fumbling around for pens or ink or paper.
To Rock or Not to Rock, That is the Question
Most of us illustrators have some tasty jams running in the background as we work. The noise occupies our ears and lets us concentrate on drawing, right?
Wrong!
Sorry, but your poor brain meats can only concentrate, and I mean really concentrate, on one thing at a time. If you want to rock out, get your groove and turn up the jams. If you want to draw, draw. Turn off the radio, the iPod, the TV, and draw. Efficiency is all about eliminating distractors and as long as there’s something rocking out in the background, part of your brain is processing those jams. When all of your brain is totally devoted to drawing, your creativity will be free from distraction.
While we’re talking about distractors, turn off your email, chat client, twitter, anything that will get in the way of drawing. Just draw. Draw!
Perfect Practice Makes Perfect
Drawing more often will most certainly improve your work. You probaby have a sketch book or two lying around already. Sketchbooks are great for capturing ideas. But they’re also great for working out problems. If you fill your sketchbook pages with things that you know you can draw well, your problem areas will still suffer. Use your sketchbook to work out your weak points. If you hate drawing hands, fill an entire book with hand sketches. If hair is your bane, take a few pages to work on those hair styles. Focusing on those problem areas will improve your work overall.
Just Draw
Draw, draw, draw. The more you draw, the more efficient you’ll become. You’ll have more confidence in your work and discover short cuts. Instead of using small strokes to draw large curves, you’ll might find yourself drawing those lines in one motion. As you draw more efficiently, the time it takes to finish your pieces will decrease.
You will, in fact, draw faster.
