Drawing is hard. There’s no doubt about it. There are times when it’s so hard that we just feel like giving up and quitting art altogether. If you’re feeling that way, you may be asking yourself if that’s the right choice. Should you stop drawing?
If you’re asking yourself if you should stop drawing, the first thing you should consider is whether you enjoy it or not, regardless of your drawing skills. Don’t get caught up in whether you believe you’re a good artist or not. As long as you enjoy drawing, it’s a hobby that’s worth continuing.
If you’re wondering if you should stop drawing, it’s clear that it’s something that isn’t working for your life right now. We’re going to dive into some things you can do to evaluate where drawing fits into your life and how you might want for your relationship to change with it in the future.
Along the way, we’re going to see if we can rekindle your love and enjoyment of drawing, which will be the real indicator of whether you should stop drawing or not.
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Figure Out Why You Want to Stop Drawing
If you want to stop drawing, or any activity that you’ve enjoyed in the past, it’s important to figure out where that urge is coming from. If possible, distill it down to a 1-2 sentence explanation that clearly states your desire to stop drawing.
Is drawing a hobby that you don’t enjoy anymore?
Are you getting discouraged that your skills aren’t improving as fast as you would like?
When you sit down to draw, are you not motivated anymore?
Do some soul searching and figure out what exactly is causing your desire to stop drawing. To be clear, we are talking about hobby artists here. If you are a professional artist, or have dreams of becoming a professional artist, that’s a different ball game. In this post, we’re going to be talking about drawing as a hobby.
Once you’ve figured out the reason why you want to stop drawing, it’s easier to make a decision about whether you really want to stop, or if you want to push through and try to make drawing an enjoyable part of your life again.
Here are some suggestions that can help.
Disconnect Your Drawing Skills From Your Enjoyment of Drawing
If you want to stop drawing because you believe you’re a bad artist, it’s time to rewire that thinking. Yes, it can be discouraging to feel like your art skills aren’t where you want them to be, but it’s important to learn how to enjoy drawing regardless of whether you’re a novice or professional.
I know this is a LOT easier said than done. It’s extremely important though.
There’s no doubt that drawing takes a lot of hard work and there will be times when you suck at it. I know that there are a LOT of times when I suck at drawing. These sucky times can’t completely squash your love for drawing though.
Even on those days when you feel like you can’t even draw a square, try as hard as possible to embrace the suck. Maybe your final product isn’t anything like you expected, but is there a way you can still enjoy it?
When you’re drawing, be conscious of enjoying the process of it. Instead of basing your enjoyment on the final outcome, try to enjoy drawing for drawing’s sake.
Now, you might be one of those people who really needs to be good or improving at their drawing skills in order to enjoy it. I get it. There are some things that we only enjoy when we can tangibly see the progress we’re making with it.
Let’s talk about ways you can work on your drawing skills in a stress-free and fun way so that you can maximize your enjoyment of this hobby.
Learn Something New to Get Re-Inspired to Draw
Don’t stop drawing just because you think you’re bad at it and don’t enjoy it because of it. There are some really fun ways to improve your drawing skills. Now, you might say that you’ve been trying to improve your skills for what seems like forever! But, maybe you haven’t found the right learning platform yet.
With YouTube, apps, in person classes, remote classes, self-paced classes, books, and more, there are SO many ways to learn art. If one way isn’t working for you, try a different way!
Once you find a learning method that jives with you, it could reignite your love for drawing and taking your skills to the next level.
For me, that learning method was self-paced classes with Skillshare. Honestly, whenever I’m frustrated with my art skills and want to give up, I turn on a Skillshare class. It works every time. The classes are designed for you to be successful. Follow a professional artist step-by-step as they lead you through the process of creating amazing art. What’s better than that?
Well, there’s one thing better than that – the fact that you can try Skillshare for free. Skillshare has a really generous free trial that will give you unlimited access to all of their art classes. This might be just what you need to get out of your drawing funk. Here are some of my favorite drawing classes that I’d suggest checking out:
Combining Lettering and Illustration
Mastering Illustration: Sketching, Inking, and Color Essentials
Character Design Crash Course: Dynamic Design in 4 Steps
If Skillshare isn’t your thing, there are a LOT of other things you can take advantage of. YouTube is a great place to explore.
There’s also a way to ditch technology and improve your drawing skills in other ways. If you thrive with classes, I really suggest checking out the art classes at your local community college. This will give you structure, consistency, a community of artists to connect with, and real time feedback from your instructor that will help you improve. A class can really help you improve your skills and reignite your passion for drawing.
I also have some blog posts that can help! I suggest:
5 Exercises to Improve Your Form Drawing
Does Drawing From Reference Help?
6 Fast Ways to Get Better at Drawing
Decide How and Why You Want Drawing to Fit into Your Life
If drawing is a hobby for you, don’t treat it like a job that demands a certain amount of your time and energy. Think about why you used to enjoy drawing and if that has evolved overtime. Then, think about how you want drawing to fit into your life now in a way you can enjoy.
Our interests change overtime. Just because we liked coloring in Kindergarten doesn’t mean that we’ll enjoy it in the same way as adults. We use different coloring books; we use colored pencils instead of crayons; we choose pictures of landscapes instead of puppies. Who knows.
It’s ok for things to change.
If you’re feeling an urge to quit drawing, it might be time to hit reset on your relationship with it. Maybe you want to draw different things with different materials; maybe you want to switch up your learning platforms or find a new art community; maybe you change the time and place of your regular drawing routine.
Whatever it is, shake it up.
Figure out if your “why” for drawing has changed and what you need to do to your routines and practices around drawing to accommodate that.
Ok, so maybe you’ve done your soul searching and figured out why you want to stop drawing. That’s all well and good, but finding a way to fall in love with drawing again just doesn’t seem appealing. Stopping really sounds nice! Maybe what you really need is a break.
Take a Break From Drawing
If you feel like quitting drawing, it’s ok to take a break from it for a while. You may find that a break is all you need to get excited about drawing again at a later date. Or, you might move onto a new hobby and realize that drawing already had it’s time in the Sun.
Taking a break from a hobby that you’ve lost interest in can be a really great way to give yourself some time and space to try something new. Pick up gardening, watch a few movies, finally clean the closet, whatever.
Put your pens and pencils away for a little bit and just see what happens. You might find yourself missing them at some point and naturally finding yourself falling in love with drawing again.
Or, you might move on to a new hobby and never look back. If you truly want to stop drawing, that’s ok. With your hobbies, it’s really important to spend time on things that enrich you, make you happy, and add flair to your life. If drawing doesn’t do that for you anymore, that’s ok.
So, should you stop drawing? That’s up to you!
Diana has been an artist for over 26 years and has training in drawing, painting, digital drawing and graphic design. Diana’s latest obsession is digitally drawing with Procreate and creating t-shirt designs with Canva. Diana has experience selling her art across a number of platforms and loves helping other artists learn how to make money from their art as well.