A Plan to Greatly Improve Your Drawing in 2025

[@lenefagerlund3755]

Hello, I am the example student! Oh gosh! Kenzo filled out this plan for me in september, and I kept to it for about 2-3 months. I then got very busy with comissions - so the comic book is on hold. BUT the fundamentals I am practicing in the study group I use with every comission and with the comission. One of the modt valuable things I've taken with me is precisely what Kenzo is talking about here - even when you are not 'studying' you can and probably will apply your studies in your personal and 'just for fun' work. And the pencil miles are great! I've taped my art journey to my wall over my desk, so I won't loose focus on what is important for me in my personal art journey. Wish you all a great 2025 with lots of pencil miles, practice and love for creating ❤️

[@lovelifedrawing]

Hey Lene! Thank you so much for being the example :) What a great reason - you have been doing commissions which is brilliant!

[@kattenihatten]

When I get to ambitious with art, I quickly burn out and can not touch pencil or paint for a few months. The most important thing for me, to be sustainable, is keeping it fun, and growing the love for art ❤

[@XD-rd8zd]

the biggest problem for me is being loose and having fun of the learning process.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Yeah sometimes I take it way too seriously

[@sacrebleu1371]

I give myself permission. Silly, maybe, but that simple mental action helps me... for so many reasons. May it be a wonderful new year for you/all.

[@drendelous]

me too, 100% my case. so what i would recommend myself and what im actually doing rn: watch Perfect Days to set the tone, read the book/watch public talks on it: how to do nothing (+saving time by the same author). if perfection is enemy of passion, this also helps me to defocus from urge to excel at doing anything. it requires so so so much strength and effort to make the shift, i totally understand if you feel that way. let's walk it through together

[@Hackrifice]

This used to be my problem! I hated the process and only enjoyed the product. I’d be really uptight, everything would take forever, and I hadnt yet figured out how to work broadly and progressively add detail. Figuring out this trick (which took me decades!) was when things clicked and now I almost have the opposite problem where allost everything is a quick, rough sketch and I find that I rarely ever complete an illustration. What helped me loosen up was committing to draw every single day, whether 2 hours or 5 minutes if I’m too busy, but always at least something, and on the days where I don’t have the time or the motivation, I’m forced to do something more sloppy, and I think that’s really benefitted me because now I’m less scared about messing up! It’s been 5 years now drawing every single day!

[@DingDong-bw7mq]

I started 3y9m ago watching one of your movies, didn't skip a day. Thanks, there's a lot of progress and still a lot to learn.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Great to hear!

[@AyselGwynith]

This video resonates perfectly with my current state of mind. I can make art that I am decently happy with, but the time I spend on it is ridiculous, and ultimately the main reason I don't draw more often. It takes too long to get to a point that it looks like anything beyond a halfway done drawing and by the end of it I am bored of said drawing. I finally realised I need to put in the effort to learn my basics, and therefore become faster and better at drawing the things I actually want to draw. So this is exactly my goal for 2025. I'll be saving this video to come back to.

[@lovelifedrawing]

awesome! building a sketching habit to strengthen your fundamentals of form and value etc will be gamechanger for sure

[@Nkanyiso_K]

Gonna be a wonderful year for art

[@TheLittleEconomist]

Exactly what I’ve been looking for. Love the idea of splitting practice sessions into, when I’m tired, when I’m switched on and what I want to create. I work full time and have a medical condition that makes me tired, realising I can still be practicing when tired is a revelation. Thank you so much.

[@lovelifedrawing]

It’s helped me a ton too. Enjoy your chilled drawing sessions!

[@hollowedboi5937]

I’ve been taking your pdf on the 12 fundamentals of figure drawing- and its been really helpful seeing your ways to help myself build a formula to draw with intentionality. I’ve been able to mix what I learned in the past about anatomy with these teachings and I’m glad I’m going through it. I’ve also taken the effort based on some videos and books to build a scope and timeline based on the “why” I draw and for “what” I want to do it for after writing down all my influences as a kid and now and seeing what I’m envious of. So this year I’m going to finish graphic design college and work with a more deliberate and intentional means as I’ve been the past month instead of before where i just did all the books and courses at once, switching and never finishing anything, just forgetting what I had done. Why’d I do that? Cuz I always said I wasn’t “good enough” and wanted to “catch up” to all my peers in life. And since I had been taking half a decade drawing and still didn’t see the progress I wanted, I would rush the learning process. But I’ve learned through this that both taking a slower step by step process and actually finishing projects I find way more lucrative and enjoyable. One last thing y’all if you read thus far, if you’ve done all this (find your why, what, and for how long or until when) then just follow that path laid before you. Don’t falter until after you’ve finished. A lot of videos online will tell you another way of doing things that may lead you astray or put you in a circle learning the same thing over again. But overall this is for you to learn and build up your skills to make the things you wanna make. So find that path and make that journey slowly and consistently up the mountain

[@koljak9395]

Love the practice habits page! It's exactly what I'm currently thinking about - when should I best practice what. Also, being articulate about e.g. what exactly one finds inspiring in the work of our hero artists is really useful. Happy new year!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Thanks Kolja! Yeah i think that's the most important page and something that's helped me a ton to get in more practice

[@huff-u8t]

thank you for making videos with great content. Your videos always calmed me down when the anxiety kicked in or when I didn't believe I could do what I was ambitious for. They've inspired me.

[@lovelifedrawing]

So glad to hear that and kudos for continuing!

[@tothemax3884]

Your focus on everyone’s possible perspectives is really refreshing, and necessary. Understanding that everyone is in a different place when it comes to art and sometimes they have no confidence or progress is really healthy and validating for people to hear. Thanks for taking the time to make this so inclusive

[@lovelifedrawing]

no worries! i know it all too well because it's so recent that i was totally failing to make any progress

[@thqwibble]

thanks for the advice but also id like to thank you for making these videos, i found your channel around november and they've been so helpful with achieving my goals

[@paulhaynes9306]

Thanks for the video. I’ll definitely fill in the plan. Practising when tired is a great point… after a full days work the evenings are just me poured into a chair. I do try and doodle but maybe I can use the time to reinforce some skills. I keep an A4 pad and pen by my chair so I’m all set. Happy new year 🥳

[@lovelifedrawing]

great! if you can get that doodling or sketching to be genuinely the most relaxing thing you can do, up there with watching a relaxing show or something, that's super useful

[@hazalaksoydan525]

thank you so much for this road map...sometimes artist could get distracted easily and lost their way in a second. that video made me grounded.

[@lovelifedrawing]

You're very welcome!

[@erinrants9371]

Fantastically helpful to hear about practicing (practicing, practicing) value simplification with figures before details!

[@dailydoodle42]

Im just soo bad at letting myself draw for fun, I tell myself its a waste of time if Im not learning anything new. Also Im scared the drawing I truly care about will fail

[@XD-rd8zd]

I feel ya!

[@hate_everlasting]

same, you just have to stop caring unfortunately.

[@Kiroguramuu]

I'm in the same boat. I find it difficult to allow myself to do anything for fun because I often feel I need to maximize my time to improve quicker. Then, it becomes a vicious cycle because what I'm studying is hard to grasp. Then, I lose excitement and enthusiasm. But I'm finding that showing up consistently and making it as simple as possible has netted positive results, and I've come to enjoy these simple practices because it's gotten easier. Which makes me excited for the bigger things I'm aiming for. It's cliche but true. Break stuff down as simply as you can and don't give up. You'll rack up the reps fast.

[@rebecalopesillustration]

One thing that helped me was to have an "ugly sketchbook" that I don't share with anyone. On the first page I make a list of skills I want to learn/work on, so when I don't know what to draw I check the list. And then I start doodling and get all the ugly drawings on it and I don't feel so precious/worried about the drawing. When I make something I like, I then try to make a better version of it until I'm happy with the result. And if I'm not, I repeat the process again. And always, always use references. Hope this helps 😊

[@lylewyant3356]

I do warm up stuff, (ovals,hatching and crosshatching) when I'm tired. When I have more energy, I may do chest, arms and shoulders with varying degrees of detail.

[@jamesrautha162]

Thanks for always being so transparent and sharing your thoughts with us like this - you're a really inspiring person

[@lovelifedrawing]

Thanks! :)

[@CCLinGameOnABC]

❤I especially appreciate that you listed out the part what to practice when one is tired and when energetic. The pointer helps me keep up with my goal to practice daily. Another one is to set the learning goal, and plan for it for the next five months or this year. I need to re-examine the skills I need for some of my projects. Thank you so much for the motivating and inspiring tutorial!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Yeah it’s really helped me a ton - good luck with it!

[@thotticusprime7333]

This is a great video! I love seeing topics lain out for different energy levels because we aren’t at 100% all the time, or even all day. Demanding that amount from yourself is dangerous, and it feels like a lot of schools of thought or methods don’t take that into account

[@lovelifedrawing]

Yeah it’s helped me so much to have that chilled type of practice :)

[@bonniek356]

Love the idea of having different categories of practice for different energy levels! Helps to avoid getting stuck on to do list items and practice goals.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Absolutely!

[@nofearxo9632]

Brilliant video, this is just what I needed to see! Thank you! I especially love your approach to practice. I've been struggling with practicing while tired and it would result in me just giving up (I realise now from watching this video it's because I was attempting to learn new art skills, that's where I was going wrong). Looking forward to filling in my own plan!

[@lovelifedrawing]

i'm glad it was useful! yeah the practice when tired thing really helped me get into daily drawing without it being draining. i actually got it to a point where drawing was restorative. like after a busy or stressful period, i wanted to sit and draw to get my energy levels back up (which isn't at all what it was like before!)

[@TheMrsWarhol]

I’m so excited - retired and starting my next phase of art school. I think this will be quite beneficial!! Thank you!!

[@cheese5939]

these are some really useful tips and guidelines and you do a great job at explaining them. also these can be aplied to anything, not just art which i think its cool

[@lovelifedrawing]

that's a great point. i actually don't apply these ideas for other things in life and i absolutely should. e.g. if i'm tired but i'm supposed to do squats at the gym, i could just switch to something less taxing so that at least i go

[@cheese5939]

@ exactly, you should i am going to apply that for studying at university (medschool) and also what you said about practicing the skill you learned in month 1 in the second month can also be translated for studying (repeating the study material month after month)-builds long term memory

[@janmorrison4141]

Wow, happy to find you! I'll do it.

[@FBrigdon]

This is very helpful. Thank you!

[@VorpalSnickerSnack]

Happy New Year to everyone!!

[@bayu_artist]

It's always great When you explain it❤❤

[@lovelifedrawing]

Thank you! 😃

[@calaberadecalcio2358]

gracias. Me esforzare, para lograr mis objetivos y mejorar en mi arte

[@1illusion]

It's a very useful video. Thank you!

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@AndyKing1987]

Great video, thanks Kenzo

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad you enjoyed it Andy and hope you’re well

[@MaxxRemKing1]

Thanks for the video. As someone trying to teach myself to draw it is sooo easy to get lost and lazy. These were great tips. Now I understand why people go to school for this 😂

[@lovelifedrawing]

Glad it was helpful!

[@adrianhughes1737]

Great advice, thanks !

[@MarmalaitArt]

Great video, this is exactly the approach I need because I keep struggling with the low energy days since I work full time. I was just wondering, would the study group also be useful for learning animal anatomy? I would like to focus on that but most courses I find online all focus on human anatomy instead.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Sorry it’s only human at the moment. It’s really good for that but no animals yet. Maybe later this year or next year

[@Si_Stannard]

Thanks

[@marymayhew7174]

Great video, and I am excited about the idea of the plan. I’ve downloaded it, but am having trouble with customizing it (in Files on my iPad Pro). How do I customize it?

[@KOSHER1212]

Thanks for the advice

[@Lupita311]

I decided to learn to draw as an adult. I've been a diabetic since childhood and now it is affecting my eyes. I lose my vision in one eye. The medication takes weeks to work and it is hard to draw with one eye. 😢 I need to find a plan to practice when my vision is back 90% and when it is 50%. Any recommendations?

[@lovelifedrawing]

Sorry I don’t have much experience with this, but check out Nathan Fowkes who had to deal with something similar

[@bestofrock945]

Whats the benefit of doing one skill for a whole month vs doing one thing everyday? So monday gesture, tuesday value and so on.

[@lovelifedrawing]

great question. so i'd suggest your 'practice while tired' can be various skills you feel comfortable with. but your focused study practice to gain new skills, i've found that is better to focus on one thing at a time

[@ONEstunnas]

Serious question, what if you have no skills and also no time when you are “energetic”? Like I’d love to draw but the only time I have is 9pm+ when I’m exhausted after my toddler goes to bed.

[@businessmanperson7874]

You can draw something you like and then try draw something your learning after the thing you like sort of boost your mood a bit

[@XD-rd8zd]

Can I suggest a future video? Using reference photo for drawing a completely different body type (f.e. well built woman ---> very skinny man). Since you're coming back to ninja turtles and comic books topics, I'd say this sounds extremely helpful. I'd love to see you doing such a drawing.

[@lovelifedrawing]

yes i'm planning a lot of 'stylising' figures and portraits, which includes this skill for 2025

[@sjalithaschop7634]

Is there a book or pdf available for this program?

[@lovelifedrawing]

you can choose from a pdf or a canva template (the latter you can customise more easily)

[@R_O_T_A]

Bonne année 2025 ! Moi j'ai problème qui est un blocage qui dure depuis un moment , j'ai beaucoup de matériel chez moi , vraiment beaucoup et je ne sais pas m'arrêter sur un seul et je ne dessine pas au final , je me dit "je vais dessiner au crayon" en fait non je vais dessiner à l'encre, en fait non je vais faire de l'aquarelle etc comment sortir de cet engrenage mental ?? Merci bien.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Check out my previous video just before this one. You'll see I have the exact same problem, but no real solutions yet!

[@XD-rd8zd]

can't you try a pencil for a month and an ink for the second month, etc? Just to actually try sticking to one thing, even for not a long period of time.

[@DingDong-bw7mq]

Anything would be better than nothing, just pick up a stick and draw in sand

[@Vennele]

Thank yoy so much. ❤

[@lovelifedrawing]

You're welcome 😊

[@Janna_Da_Fish]

Hello, I just signed up to Love Life Drawing so that I could start my own plan but I can't find the My Art Journey plan anywhere. The link in the description for the plan works, but it only gives you the option to start a new account, which I already have. Is there something I missed? Any help will be appreciated :)

[@fgsilva4]

14sec... Wow... I came flying on this one lol

[@lovelifedrawing]

Thanks for giving it momentum :)

[@EnterpriseKnight]

What about starting to draw?

[@lovelifedrawing]

then you can take this plan as it is - the order of skills in here is good for beginners

[@nadaart386]

Hey! I was wondering-do you think it’s okay to work on more than one skill in the same month? I have a vacation coming up, and I want to make the most of it. I’m thinking of focusing on two skills, maybe spreading them over two months if needed, but I find it hard to focus on just one thing for an entire month. What do you think?

[@lovelifedrawing]

Yes of course if you have the time and energy!

[@Otis_.]

I’m my own best teacher

[@TromboneAl]

Idea for a video: You asked in your video "2 Beginners INSTANTLY Improve?" whether it's good to see beginners draw. I say yes, and would go further. Have your wife draw something and then give her a lesson on how to improve. Critique the drawing with suggestions we could all benefit from. Thanks.

[@lovelifedrawing]

Thanks for the idea!

[@bocahdongo7769]

BTW I can do super basic gesture from 3D. But I feel disappointed when most of tutorial really push me to add detail (like drawing scapula or deltoid or breast), but when I actually tried to incorporate anatomy drawing to gesture, I don't know where to start and leads to me wasting time just for "realistic gesture" Is there any intermediate step for adding more detail to be 80% more "humane"? Or I actually need to learn anatomy and what I did before is considered normal?

[@JH-pe3ro]

If you're doing it from 3D, there's less information to observe than with a live model. When you go to add detail, you need all of the information, so you need to work with references that have that information. You can always combine multiple references and make cheat sheets and use that to give yourself hints, and that does gradually expose you to more information about anatomy without studying it directly. I use a lot of cheat sheets for illustration now - collages of subjects I collected from old book and magazine scans on Archiveorg, then printed and stored in prong folders so that I can flip through them and glance at them to give myself a reminder as I draw. It's impossible to draw a convincing image of a specific activity, like basketball players jumping for the ball, without studying from images of actual basketball games. And the process of collecting the images is important - I'm collecting the specific things that I already want to draw, and the details I want to include. So when I flip through the folder, it always has something useful to me. The same collection given to someone else would not have that effect.

[@strawbrryams]

is it recommended to draw everyday? or is that too ambitious

[@lovelifedrawing]

If you can include practice that is not draining (see practice when tired from this video) then I think yes. But you don’t need to do challenging practice everyday especially if you have a day job etc because you might get burnt out

[@troyingram716]

I've got to keep my little apartment but people are finding out about this.

[@eiwhaz-tina6528]

First KZbinr i see that ACTUALLY gives a ñractice template. Thing is, i still dont know how the fuck to design mine. I wanna do illustration, so that requires many skills at the same time. Help.

[@lovelifedrawing]

You would just need to add some skills to this plan - clothing, colour, composition, facial expressions, environments etc. but the structure of the plan essentially the same.

[@YuliaGrushevskaya-bi6he]

😂true it doesnt look like you planned😂😂😂😂😅

[@anca5480]

Purtroppo la mia attenzione è stata attirata di più dalla tua maglietta non stirata

[@skyhavender]

Drawing is a talent. Not a skill. After a year and two months i have found out this truth. Nothing is easy for me to practice. Only people with talent have it easy.😊 And if you tell me otherwise... Quess what. Your talented.

[@cl9279]

That’s the spirit 🙄

[@astrea555]

pointless, I stopped drawing last year.

[@errohaze2683]

Good for you.

[@hate_everlasting]

i started drawing thanks to figuary in 2021, have barely missed a day since, thank you kenzo! great video as always

[@RalphMailhot-ok5pz]

I like the way you explain the event.( As long as I don't get too excited) We all want to do it but we need to practice whatever we're doing. How do I get involved with taking lessons?