How do you start drawing without pressure? The association game and your first sketches
How do you start drawing without pressure? – Have you ever longed to create something, yet found yourself staring uncertainly at a completely blank sheet of paper? The wish to overcome fear of the blank page is perfectly natural, and the best way to do it is to simply start playing.
Today I’m sharing my favourite exercise for warming up the imagination. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a professional illustrator or you last held a pencil in primary school – the goal of this exercise isn’t a “pretty” drawing, but rather setting your creative flow free.
Step 1: Set the mood
Before you begin, look after yourself. Let creating be your little ritual. Put on some music that soothes you, play your favourite podcast, or simply tune into the silence and the sounds around you. Sit down at the table, take a deep breath and feel the pencil in your hand. That’s it.
Step 2: A storm of associations (45 seconds)
Take a sheet of paper and set a timer on your phone for 45 seconds. When you press start, write down random words on the paper. Whatever pops into your head: objects, colours, emotions, smells, ideas … don’t think, just write.
Step 3: The finger of fate
When the timer stops, close your eyes. Circle your finger over the paper a few times and let it land at random. Open your eyes and see which word you’ve picked. That word is your starting point for today.
Step 4: Create your own personal “library”
Let’s say your word is CHEEKY. Write it in the middle of a new sheet and draw lines around it like a mind map. String together new words that this idea brings to mind:
- cheeky kitty
- cheeky child
- cheeky car
- cheeky lady
- cheeky book
The connections don’t have to make sense – the more unusual they are, the more fun it’ll be!
Step 5: First sketches (no pressure!)
Pick five ideas from your mind map and sketch them. That’s your first exercise for today.
Important: Don’t worry here about shapes or whether it’s drawn “correctly” or “prettily”. This is about playing and dreaming up concepts. Let your car be properly cheeky – perhaps it has eyes instead of headlights, or its wheels are shaped like little stars?
Enjoy the process, be childlike and bold. Next time I’ll show you how, from a simple dot, line or shape, you can create simple human and slightly less human characters and forms.
Happy sketching!
p.s. Feel free to pop one of your sketches in an email to me and we’ll have a little chat about it. I’d be so happy to hear from you! Z.
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