One of my biggest hurdles of being productive is worrying about how much time I should spend drawing. At some point, I want to work hours on end, but that's hard, maybe impossible to do if I can't commit to 10 minutes. I mean it's hard to win a marathon coming off the couch untrained. I thank you for this.
lots of great tips man! I agree it's a good thing to learn a lot of systems and then kind of custom make your own productivity system. also I have spent way too much time being jealous of other artists as well. focusing on my own goals and not comparing myself to others too much seems to be the answer with that!
You're hitting some great topics man! I spent this past weekend thinking about my productivity. I downloaded several apps on my Android to track habits. I settled on an app called Loop Habit Tracker. There's another one called Habitica, which is like an RPG and you level your avatar up. I was also binging on TH-cam and there was one tip that stuck with me. Whatever your goal is, repeat it out loud to yourself when you wake up EVERY morning. Doing this will keep you focused on that goal. It's simple, but it has gotten me back on track.
Brandon just discovered your videos and cant wait to catch up on them! The shoulds part was really enlightening. Something that changed my workflow was using Toggle and/or any app with a Pomodoro timer. Basically 25min work session then 5 min break. Really pushes you to give your self mini deadlines and finish things in stages or chunks. Sketch in 1 pomodoro (25min) Pencil in 2 pomodoros (50min) Ect. I used this when completing the 40pg chapter 1 of my graphic novel and figured on average how many pomodoros it took for each step. As someone with ADHD it changed my life. Hope it helps!!
"No, not *that* secret!"... hahah! Seriously though, these videos are so incredibly useful. Thank you so much for taking the time to put these together and post them.
I think u just putted it up in a general way that makes us all relate enough that it can be interpolated to all of us, great work!. As a personal way of being productive i just need to start working and then i just wont stop till its done so its all about begining to work. So, i've found that checking places like art station makes me feel guilty about not working and i need instantly to work and there u're it worked! Once im working i love listening to podcast or videos like the ones u make. Very nice to stay focused and learn a bit about other artists. Great work man, keep it up!
Thank god I found your channel. I relate so much to your perspective about art in general. I am also the type of artist who loves so many different techniques, mediums and styles and I try everything. I get stubborn and want to excell in all of them. It is absolutely overwhelming! One day I think I'm over my obsession for a certain media and can focus on one thing, and the next day I get obsessed by it again, as well as with ..like 10 other styles. I'm at a point where I do realize how beneficial it is to be like that because of how much I've learned, but the problem is...I still can't choose one or limit myself and it slows me down so much!
Amazing! I feel a lot of how I work is on the same wavelength as you. I can be very unfocused and have so many different interests that I want to find ways to implement them all. Being a "home bum" myself, I also tend to deliberately take on external responsibilities in order to motivate myself to make art, such as joining art classes or events. I know I'm capable of completing the tasks I take on, I'm just often not doing it. But I suppose that's the "Should" mentality I should be shedding now, haha. Frankly, the idea of going to a location outside of home to work on art is so simple and brilliant, I wish it'd have clicked in my head. I'll definitely look into scouting a proper location to work now. Thank you for this video and this channel. You, Your Creative Push and Jake Parker are a big help to me. :)
Thanks for sharing! A lot of great tips. Since I discovered the batching system, it's been great. Allows me to focus on the same activities in chunks of time and accomplish more.
The whole time you were talking about your diverse interests, I kept saying to myself that we could be the same person, lol. Sometimes I envy artists who have that "singular passion," as you call it, because my artistic interests are all over the place. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Love your videos, btw!
Funny that you mentioned the comic example. I struggled for years to release my webcomic online which I outlined long time ago and consulted an acquaintance who was responsible for the webdesign and was also paid by me back then. In some way he was also an advisor for me because he already worked with many other artists, so he had always more pull when it comes to contentwise decisions. The snag was that he always wanted me to adapt the workflow of those artists who had already prepared an amount of portfolio stuff before. On top of that he was not willing to put my comic stuff online until I have not finished at least a whole chapter which should contain dozens of pages. But I was not familiar with those workflows and started from scratch, so I was uncertain about every single page I made. In the end I could not approached to a point which could be considered as a completed chapter. I restarted drawing the pages again and again and always felt at loss for a really long time. In the meantime that acquaintance gave up on me. Fortunately a good friend of mine recommended me to start with small milestones and suggested taht I should release my single pages on a free webcomic hoster. Just a page per week - and it worked well. It may seem obviously easy in retrospect, but it was somehow impossible for me to see that simple solution... because I had a mindset which only let me setting objectives of large-scale back then. I am glad that I can move forward now. Setting down-to-earth-milestones and achieving them will extremly help your motivation and productivity. That's something you can't stressing out enough when it comes to creative processes and optimizing workflows in general.
A new video! I just got a part time job(I was unemployed before),so I'm going to have to figure out a new system. Like you said, doing mentally heavy work is best when your mind is fresh. I'm currently tackling portrait drawing, so I usually practice getting proportions of the face down early on in the day, before I start just doodling and losing my attention span to add a new skill in my art playbook. Also, if I ever felt out of focus I would just back off and come at it again. With a job, I'm going to have to be more aware of my time and not just approach drawing whimsically. I often feel like I've started doing art rather late in life, so I think I "should" be drawing more to catch up. I also went to a local library and saw a bunch of younger kid art work with some that are clearly more skilled than I am, so that's another thing that's kinda pushing me. I think that's a big ego problem right there too, though, because I find myself thinking, "these kids are younger than me, and I /should/ be better than them." Question: Lately, I find myself drawing a bunch of lines and circles. Like hours at a time. I'm trying really hard to practice hand control and keeping my hands light while using a brush pen. Do you think this is a waste of time? I don't know if I'm procrastinating from working on studying portraits or if this is actually a good pursuit. I usually start doing this out of frustration when I start drawing faces and some of the lines don't come out the way I want it. Thanks for the vid. Brandon. Your advice is always really helpful.
Hey Kevin, the drawing lines thing sounds like a great exercise. It also demonstrates an attitude of playful exploration. Sure, spend some time doing things like portraits, but also take some time to just try things out and experiment. It def. takes some time, so take it easy, have fun and stick with it.
Oh my gosh, I SO relate to the jealousy of having a singular focus! I am all over the place with my art and all this time i thought it was a bad thing that i needed to get over. I felt like i couldnt do anything or really improve on my art because i didnt have one thing or topic to focus on. I have also drove myself into a burn out. Couldnt properly do art for several months, it was horrible. I also got tendonitis in my hand because i was drawing too much every day, couldnt draw for a week after that. I also have a very big proboem with the "shoulds". Thank you so much, i'll try this method out :D
Hi! Thanks for your video ! If this can help some people reading the comments, I got 2 tips for motivation/productivity (I think that productivity comes with motivation). The funny tip: MADE A DICE that you roll each morning. It's easy to made a paper dice for exemple. On each face, you decide what to add (geometry shapes or colors or words or whatever, and assign a function to each face: for exemple triangle is for "studies", circle is for "landscapes", square is for "creatures"....). If you're motivate and have time, draw directly ALL the ideas you have. If you don't have time because you have to go to work, no worries ! You can think all the day about this dice face you roll this morning... and your brain will work all day. Be sure to roll the dice each morning. Maybe the first weeks you won't draw a lot, but more days and more days and then it should encourage you to draw the more you can... And most important: EACH DAY :) The "force yourself" tip: COUNTDOWN each time you want to draw but you're hesitating... because of this cool movie, or because of you have to tidy up, or whatever not so important task. Do a mental countdown (3 -2 -1) and if at the "1" you continue to procrastinate.... OK give up for the day and continue to procrastinate. Do the countdown at EACH OCCASION you're hesitating between "improve your drawing (or other) skills" or "watch a movie (or another non-productive activity)". Accustom your brain to this countdown, and then, if you do this each day, maybe you'll fnally end up doing what you were avoiding (drawing, or sports, or other "productive goals"). Or just try to draw for people you love, and not for yourself. Maybe you are that type of person who can't finish a drawing when they draw for themselves, and when you draw for people you care about, you a goal and you can decide of a "deadline" to motivate yourself for searching good composition and finishing your drawings Have a nive day ! :)
Great video. I’m in very early days of drawing frequently. It’s what I have always loved to do, and found most satisfaction in, but I have spent years talking myself out of it in every way. So now I am doing as you say - writing notes every day, soothing myself really!! Lol. It’s working though :)
Music is a great way to stay focused. I Heart Radio. Doing CO-OP project with other fellow artist's is a great motivator. Doing a type of commissions you know you will enjoy doing. Watching Bob Ross on youtube. :D
Thanks! One of the biggest problems I've been running into again is getting 85% done after grinding hard and then getting into this mindset that I can take a break...which lasts wayyyy to long and then jumping into the next thing while also trying to finish the last 15% of the previous. It can be good in that I rarely am starting from a completely blank page, but it's also overwhelming because the unfinished stuff piles up.
I totally know how that is. I think the technical term is "compensatory behavior", like how after you go to the gym you feel justified to eat crap the rest of the day. Taking a break is a good, but yeah, it can get out of hand.
great video! This is something I've struggled with a lot in the last few years. I've listened to self help audio books, as well as War of Art and The Now Habit as you mentioned. I've also tried the Emergent Task Planner. It seems my biggest obstacle is making time to give that stuff a chance. I'm able to keep up for maybe a week, filling out the lists and writing journals everyday, but then I guess I just get bored with it. I don't know. The only system that's worked for me (albeit slowly and painfully) is guilt for not being as productive as I want to be. hahaha... I know, that's a terrible way to go about it.
I think that's totally fine. The boredom may be a sign that you don't need to be using those tools as intensely at the moment, but at least you've got them in your tool kit. I'll pick up old techniques when I need them and then set them back down when things get more relaxed. I guess the point I'm making is that the process of trying all the systems is the real system.
Hot beverage. Sit at your desk/drawing and listen to an album- For the duration of which you commit to your art (headphones help). or 15 mins on, 15 mins off. Work for 15 mins, then take a break for 15. If you get into the zone, you can make two of the 15 min blocks consecutive. During the breaks, you can either assess your progress, plan, or do something unrelated to the art. For every hour you'll have half an hour's solid work without burn out, which is more than you'd have if you're a chronic procrastinator. Also keep your workspace uncluttered. Have only to hand what you'll be using for the current art piece.
You're not jealous, you're envious. Jealousy implies that you think those artists are going to take away your friends and lovers. Envy is when someone has something that you don't, and you want it.
I get jealous of artist with a distinctive recognizable style. I have always tried to be "realistic" and that means that the better I get at faces proportions or anatomy the more different my characters look. Which is bad when its the same characters from page to page.
You literally did that one sheldon borenstein course on new masters academy....its so obvious...sorry....it makes me sad how no one can afford art college in the us.. and they all just draw the same dang thing....it depresses me
One of my biggest hurdles of being productive is worrying about how much time I should spend drawing. At some point, I want to work hours on end, but that's hard, maybe impossible to do if I can't commit to 10 minutes. I mean it's hard to win a marathon coming off the couch untrained. I thank you for this.
lots of great tips man! I agree it's a good thing to learn a lot of systems and then kind of custom make your own productivity system. also I have spent way too much time being jealous of other artists as well. focusing on my own goals and not comparing myself to others too much seems to be the answer with that!
You're hitting some great topics man! I spent this past weekend thinking about my productivity. I downloaded several apps on my Android to track habits. I settled on an app called Loop Habit Tracker. There's another one called Habitica, which is like an RPG and you level your avatar up.
I was also binging on TH-cam and there was one tip that stuck with me. Whatever your goal is, repeat it out loud to yourself when you wake up EVERY morning. Doing this will keep you focused on that goal. It's simple, but it has gotten me back on track.
I like that. I'm actually gonna do another episode soon along these lines. Not as much goal oriented, but definitely productivity oriented.
Brandon just discovered your videos and cant wait to catch up on them! The shoulds part was really enlightening.
Something that changed my workflow was using Toggle and/or any app with a Pomodoro timer. Basically 25min work session then 5 min break. Really pushes you to give your self mini deadlines and finish things in stages or chunks.
Sketch in 1 pomodoro (25min)
Pencil in 2 pomodoros (50min)
Ect.
I used this when completing the 40pg chapter 1 of my graphic novel and figured on average how many pomodoros it took for each step. As someone with ADHD it changed my life. Hope it helps!!
"No, not *that* secret!"... hahah! Seriously though, these videos are so incredibly useful. Thank you so much for taking the time to put these together and post them.
I think u just putted it up in a general way that makes us all relate enough that it can be interpolated to all of us, great work!. As a personal way of being productive i just need to start working and then i just wont stop till its done so its all about begining to work. So, i've found that checking places like art station makes me feel guilty about not working and i need instantly to work and there u're it worked! Once im working i love listening to podcast or videos like the ones u make. Very nice to stay focused and learn a bit about other artists. Great work man, keep it up!
Thank god I found your channel. I relate so much to your perspective about art in general. I am also the type of artist who loves so many different techniques, mediums and styles and I try everything. I get stubborn and want to excell in all of them. It is absolutely overwhelming! One day I think I'm over my obsession for a certain media and can focus on one thing, and the next day I get obsessed by it again, as well as with ..like 10 other styles. I'm at a point where I do realize how beneficial it is to be like that because of how much I've learned, but the problem is...I still can't choose one or limit myself and it slows me down so much!
Amazing! I feel a lot of how I work is on the same wavelength as you. I can be very unfocused and have so many different interests that I want to find ways to implement them all. Being a "home bum" myself, I also tend to deliberately take on external responsibilities in order to motivate myself to make art, such as joining art classes or events. I know I'm capable of completing the tasks I take on, I'm just often not doing it. But I suppose that's the "Should" mentality I should be shedding now, haha.
Frankly, the idea of going to a location outside of home to work on art is so simple and brilliant, I wish it'd have clicked in my head. I'll definitely look into scouting a proper location to work now. Thank you for this video and this channel. You, Your Creative Push and Jake Parker are a big help to me. :)
Cool. Seriously check out Kinkos. Open 24/7 and totally free to work at.
Thanks for sharing! A lot of great tips. Since I discovered the batching system, it's been great. Allows me to focus on the same activities in chunks of time and accomplish more.
To fill ETP you can use apps like Clear Focus/Forest to help you focus.
I'll check that out. Thanks.
The whole time you were talking about your diverse interests, I kept saying to myself that we could be the same person, lol. Sometimes I envy artists who have that "singular passion," as you call it, because my artistic interests are all over the place. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Love your videos, btw!
Funny that you mentioned the comic example. I struggled for years to release my webcomic online which I outlined long time ago and consulted an acquaintance who was responsible for the webdesign and was also paid by me back then. In some way he was also an advisor for me because he already worked with many other artists, so he had always more pull when it comes to contentwise decisions. The snag was that he always wanted me to adapt the workflow of those artists who had already prepared an amount of portfolio stuff before. On top of that he was not willing to put my comic stuff online until I have not finished at least a whole chapter which should contain dozens of pages. But I was not familiar with those workflows and started from scratch, so I was uncertain about every single page I made. In the end I could not approached to a point which could be considered as a completed chapter. I restarted drawing the pages again and again and always felt at loss for a really long time. In the meantime that acquaintance gave up on me.
Fortunately a good friend of mine recommended me to start with small milestones and suggested taht I should release my single pages on a free webcomic hoster. Just a page per week - and it worked well. It may seem obviously easy in retrospect, but it was somehow impossible for me to see that simple solution... because I had a mindset which only let me setting objectives of large-scale back then. I am glad that I can move forward now. Setting down-to-earth-milestones and achieving them will extremly help your motivation and productivity. That's something you can't stressing out enough when it comes to creative processes and optimizing workflows in general.
A new video! I just got a part time job(I was unemployed before),so I'm going to have to figure out a new system. Like you said, doing mentally heavy work is best when your mind is fresh. I'm currently tackling portrait drawing, so I usually practice getting proportions of the face down early on in the day, before I start just doodling and losing my attention span to add a new skill in my art playbook. Also, if I ever felt out of focus I would just back off and come at it again. With a job, I'm going to have to be more aware of my time and not just approach drawing whimsically. I often feel like I've started doing art rather late in life, so I think I "should" be drawing more to catch up. I also went to a local library and saw a bunch of younger kid art work with some that are clearly more skilled than I am, so that's another thing that's kinda pushing me. I think that's a big ego problem right there too, though, because I find myself thinking, "these kids are younger than me, and I /should/ be better than them."
Question:
Lately, I find myself drawing a bunch of lines and circles. Like hours at a time. I'm trying really hard to practice hand control and keeping my hands light while using a brush pen. Do you think this is a waste of time? I don't know if I'm procrastinating from working on studying portraits or if this is actually a good pursuit. I usually start doing this out of frustration when I start drawing faces and some of the lines don't come out the way I want it.
Thanks for the vid. Brandon. Your advice is always really helpful.
Hey Kevin, the drawing lines thing sounds like a great exercise. It also demonstrates an attitude of playful exploration. Sure, spend some time doing things like portraits, but also take some time to just try things out and experiment. It def. takes some time, so take it easy, have fun and stick with it.
this is actually really in depth and not like a buzz list with general tips. Thanks man.
Oh my gosh, I SO relate to the jealousy of having a singular focus! I am all over the place with my art and all this time i thought it was a bad thing that i needed to get over. I felt like i couldnt do anything or really improve on my art because i didnt have one thing or topic to focus on.
I have also drove myself into a burn out. Couldnt properly do art for several months, it was horrible. I also got tendonitis in my hand because i was drawing too much every day, couldnt draw for a week after that.
I also have a very big proboem with the "shoulds". Thank you so much, i'll try this method out :D
Let me know how it goes!
Hi! Thanks for your video ! If this can help some people reading the comments, I got 2 tips for motivation/productivity (I think that productivity comes with motivation).
The funny tip: MADE A DICE that you roll each morning. It's easy to made a paper dice for exemple. On each face, you decide what to add (geometry shapes or colors or words or whatever, and assign a function to each face: for exemple triangle is for "studies", circle is for "landscapes", square is for "creatures"....). If you're motivate and have time, draw directly ALL the ideas you have. If you don't have time because you have to go to work, no worries ! You can think all the day about this dice face you roll this morning... and your brain will work all day. Be sure to roll the dice each morning. Maybe the first weeks you won't draw a lot, but more days and more days and then it should encourage you to draw the more you can... And most important: EACH DAY :)
The "force yourself" tip: COUNTDOWN each time you want to draw but you're hesitating... because of this cool movie, or because of you have to tidy up, or whatever not so important task. Do a mental countdown (3 -2 -1) and if at the "1" you continue to procrastinate.... OK give up for the day and continue to procrastinate. Do the countdown at EACH OCCASION you're hesitating between "improve your drawing (or other) skills" or "watch a movie (or another non-productive activity)". Accustom your brain to this countdown, and then, if you do this each day, maybe you'll fnally end up doing what you were avoiding (drawing, or sports, or other "productive goals").
Or just try to draw for people you love, and not for yourself. Maybe you are that type of person who can't finish a drawing when they draw for themselves, and when you draw for people you care about, you a goal and you can decide of a "deadline" to motivate yourself for searching good composition and finishing your drawings
Have a nive day ! :)
Love all these ideas.
Great video. I’m in very early days of drawing frequently. It’s what I have always loved to do, and found most satisfaction in, but I have spent years talking myself out of it in every way. So now I am doing as you say - writing notes every day, soothing myself really!! Lol. It’s working though :)
i like the genuine vibe of these videos
Music is a great way to stay focused.
I Heart Radio.
Doing CO-OP project with other fellow artist's is a great motivator.
Doing a type of commissions you know you will enjoy doing.
Watching Bob Ross on youtube. :D
all good stuff to have in your toolkit.
And beat the hell out of it...
Thanks! One of the biggest problems I've been running into again is getting 85% done after grinding hard and then getting into this mindset that I can take a break...which lasts wayyyy to long and then jumping into the next thing while also trying to finish the last 15% of the previous. It can be good in that I rarely am starting from a completely blank page, but it's also overwhelming because the unfinished stuff piles up.
I totally know how that is. I think the technical term is "compensatory behavior", like how after you go to the gym you feel justified to eat crap the rest of the day. Taking a break is a good, but yeah, it can get out of hand.
I love you so much Brandon, thanks for being you.
great video! This is something I've struggled with a lot in the last few years. I've listened to self help audio books, as well as War of Art and The Now Habit as you mentioned. I've also tried the Emergent Task Planner. It seems my biggest obstacle is making time to give that stuff a chance. I'm able to keep up for maybe a week, filling out the lists and writing journals everyday, but then I guess I just get bored with it. I don't know. The only system that's worked for me (albeit slowly and painfully) is guilt for not being as productive as I want to be. hahaha... I know, that's a terrible way to go about it.
I think that's totally fine. The boredom may be a sign that you don't need to be using those tools as intensely at the moment, but at least you've got them in your tool kit. I'll pick up old techniques when I need them and then set them back down when things get more relaxed. I guess the point I'm making is that the process of trying all the systems is the real system.
I just found your channel and I'm really enjoying it. Thank you for the inspiration!
Hot beverage. Sit at your desk/drawing and listen to an album- For the duration of which you commit to your art (headphones help).
or
15 mins on, 15 mins off. Work for 15 mins, then take a break for 15. If you get into the zone, you can make two of the 15 min blocks consecutive. During the breaks, you can either assess your progress, plan, or do something unrelated to the art. For every hour you'll have half an hour's solid work without burn out, which is more than you'd have if you're a chronic procrastinator.
Also keep your workspace uncluttered. Have only to hand what you'll be using for the current art piece.
Brandon.. Great info ..I like your way explaining and drawing it is keep me busy with it... what camera do you use for Clean shoot?
It's a shame I procrastinated watching this video, lol.
i just.. get hypnotized from the drawing
You're not jealous, you're envious. Jealousy implies that you think those artists are going to take away your friends and lovers. Envy is when someone has something that you don't, and you want it.
Is there a name for the white wash pen at 12:52?
Got all the info on tools here: th-cam.com/video/0aQUEZiHa3E/w-d-xo.html
we are of the same tribe.
I get jealous of artist with a distinctive recognizable style. I have always tried to be "realistic" and that means that the better I get at faces proportions or anatomy the more different my characters look. Which is bad when its the same characters from page to page.
I'm a little surprised you didn't utilize the banana in this video
Gotta be careful with how I exercise the banana option. It's a genie I can't put back in the bottle.
You literally did that one sheldon borenstein course on new masters academy....its so obvious...sorry....it makes me sad how no one can afford art college in the us.. and they all just draw the same dang thing....it depresses me