365 Day Sketchbook Challenge: Instructions for turning your creative dreams into a reality

Building a Creative Habit starting Today!

Dec 31, 2023

Your outcomes today are a lagging indicator of your habits.

By changing your habits today. You can change your future outcomes. Aim at something then take daily steps to get there.

I had 4 books out last year and another 4 in the coming year, and it looks like the trend is quite likely to continue - because I completely changed my daily habits and routines years ago.

The habit that accompanied my greatest growth spurt as a creative, 20 years after graduating from art school, is sketching daily.

Today, whatever day it is for you, I’m inviting you to begin the habit of being a Ten Minute Artist.

Drawing for 10 minutes a day every day for a year.

It is a habit that involves making the ideas in your head enter reality in the form of a drawing or some other form of creation that can fit on an open spread of a sketchbook.

Think about it you are turning ideas into substance every single day. The confidence of knowing that you can turn ideas into reality will completely reshape your future outcomes. For me, that was turning my dream job into my day job.

I can’t wait to see what it will do for you.

Imagine holding a year’s worth of your daily ideas in your hands. Feel the weight. It’s not a year’s worth of pretty pictures we are after, but rather ideas in visual form.

These are your instructions (rules)

The only rule is that there are no rules really and that you are free to make your own rules.

Use these as a guide and customize them to work for you. However, if you don’t want to figure out everything on your own, I thought it might be useful to give you, some ‘rules’, to use until such a time you feel confident enough to make your own rules.

1. Have a clear reason for pursuing this habit

Here are some reasons one might have for pursuing this habit.

The sketchbook is your Creative Gym
You earn Credibility
You learn to Battle Creative Resistance
It’s a Cradle for your Ideas
It’s a Moment of Mindfulness
It’s the foundation of Masterpieces
It’s Crafting Your Artistic Voice

My reason for drawing in my sketchbook every day this year is to capture the fleeting daily creative sparks into a container that I always have access to. I see this practice as the engine of my creative vehicle.

Everyone has their own reasons, know yours, and stay true to that!

Take Action: In your sketchbook write down your reason for wanting to build this practice. Borrow and adapt some of mine, or write your own.

Bonus points for sharing your reasons with everyone in the comments:

2. Fill a spread in your sketchbook daily.

Here’s how to start.

Here’s why.

Here’s how to build a habit

Think of the sketchbook spread as a container, fill it with whatever you have.

If that’s just a drop of creativity that’s good enough. And if you have so much it needs to spill over to the next 7 pages, that’s fine too! Consistency is what’s important.

There are many ways to fill a spread.

For Example:

Collage
Drawing
Print
Calligraphy
Diagrams
Comics
Doodles
Paint
Abstracts

What to Draw?

Draw ANYTHING YOU WANT!
Draw 52 Projects: I’ll be providing 52 TenMinuteArtist projects this year one each week. Feel free to repeat them, modify them, or even do something completely different. This will be provided to all subscribers for free.
Draw the 21-Day Sketchbook Challenge: Paid subscribers will get an additional 21 daily emails to help you kickstart your new habit, expanding on the first 3 projects.
Draw along 12 Drawing Workshops: Each month there will also be skill-building drawing workshops for paid subscribers.

Make your sketchbook an inclusive place, it’s a container for collecting and filling as you please.
That means you can use it to participate in a DTIYS challenge or use it as part of a class you’re doing.
Wendy MacNaughton
is leading a 30-day drawing challenge, and I’ll be doing that at least for some of my days! Also,
Beth Spencer
‘s drawing sessions are my go-to to get a lot of drawing when I don’t feel like drawing!
These are just a couple more ways to connect with other artist and keep going (especially when you don’t feel like it!)

3. Keep Score and Share your work in daily galleries

Keep Score.

eg. 🗓️24/24 Sketchbook Streak, 🗓️22/24 Sketchbook Streak,

“What … I need to share?!? I thought this was a private practice, I don’t want to share my imperfect art with the world. “

Remember, there are no rules. Share, or don’t but if you do… each of the 52 projects will include links to posts you can share your work on as comments/replies.

It’s a way to meet the others, encourage each other, and have a sense of accountability.

You can also share your work anywhere with the #TENMINUTEARTIST (all spelled out)

Go here to get the first of 52 projects!

Go here to get Day 1 of 21 Sketchbook Spreads!