Most of us feel like we don’t sketch or draw enough, but making a goal to “draw more” is completely unachievable. When do you know you have reached “more?” It puts too much pressure on you without giving you a solid goal to work towards.

I often feel like I need to “draw more.” I’ve never been a big doodler and often my own self-consciousness gets in the way of my sketching.

So, I’ve made a new rule for myself to assist in “drawing more” and to force myself to get past this strange self-consciousness about drawings that I don’t have to show anyone, ever. This is the rule:

If you are feeling bored, you must grab some paper and draw until you’re not bored anymore.

I want to be the kind of person who draws at every free moment. I’m not right now so, at the very least, I can get rid of any excuse to be bored and get more drawing time in.

I’ve made one other drawing rule:

You will NOT purchase fancy, expensive sketchbooks ever again.

With the exception of the Moleskine that I happen to have with me today, this rule is designed to help me get over any hesitance in my sketching. Buying an expensive Moleskine or other fancy sketchbook with thick paper and a nice hard cover only serves to make your sketching seem more precious. Sketching should never be precious!

Your sketchbook should be something that you carry everywhere with you. Something that gets beat up and abused from being carried around everywhere. The pages should be a mess. This is the goal for me, at least.

I’ve always had a passion for drawing but not really a passion for sketching and doodling. It’s time that fire was ignited for my own enjoyment and for the improvement of my illustration.

What does your sketchbook look like?