12 Drawing Exercises to Improve Your Art Skills! Warm-Up Practice

I put together some useful drawing exercises great for ALL levels! These will allow you to build muscle memory and hand mobility which you can apply to more complex artworks. Have fun with these! I hope you found these tips helpful and I hope they have inspired you to create. Try them out and tag me on instagram - I'd love to see how they come out!
--------
-----------------------------------------------
B O O K L I N K S

________________________________________

M A T E R I A L S

________________________________________

V I D E O L I N K S

M U S I C
A Long Journey by WinnieTheMoog

Inspiring Advertising by Rafael Krux

* Some links provided are affiliate links but they have no effect on prices or reviews!

[kathrinesmoli]

I wanted to have a list of all the exercises. I'm putting it here so y'all have it too :)
0. A nice stretch for your hands.
1. Free hand circles.
2. Crosshatching with different supplies.
3. Continuous line drawing.
4. Value scales.
5. Getting into the zone.
6. Use the other hand.
7. Quick drawings.
8. Line variation.
9. Silhouettes.
10. Creating grids and checker boards.
11. Hand eye coordination – symmetry.
12. Mix and match.

[YenDraws]

Yes totally agreed on the drawing exercise. People may feel this is quite " childish" by drawing circles, oval, lines.But this is where foundation is! Awesome sharing Jess😊

[lindamurray]

As a woman in my 70's, I stopped drawing and painting years ago, but now I'm trying to start over again. My husband is an artist, and he always tells me less is more. I like it when you draw and teach, without speeding up the video. I learn more that way, and I feel if every artist who teaches would put less in one teaching video, us beginners would learn more.

[simonap__]

I'm a beginner and just this year I started to take art seriously, I got overwhelmed with all the things that I had to learn to get better and stopped doing anything in fear of not getting good.
I didn't know how to get back on it, even to just start somewhere, but I will definitely try this exercises, thank you so much for the video, needed it.
Love you keep the amazing work ! 😍

[slavneslavne]

Just added timing to contents
0. A nice stretch for your hands.
1. Free hand circles. 2:37
2. Crosshatching with different supplies. 4:05
3. Continuous line drawing. 6:59
4. Value scales. 8:19
5. Getting into the zone. 9:26
6. Use the other hand. 10:29
7. Quick drawings. 12:10
8. Line variation. 13:19
9. Silhouettes. 14:35
10. Creating grids and checker boards. 15:15
11. Hand eye coordination – symmetry. 16:46
12. Mix and match. 17:35

[jdnvideo]

As a newbie trying to learn how to draw (I have always said I can't draw), this video was exactly what I needed to try to gain some basic skills. When trying to draw things I can recognize, I find that I am missing basic drawing skills. I am hopeful that these training exercises will lead me down the path to actually be able to draw.

[stephenwilson]

Many thanks for that video Jess. As a 70 yr old total newbie I can see a shed load good common sense measures to get beginners started and help keep more experienced artists in shape. Best wishes & more to your artistry.

[annadee]

I haven't drawn anything since I was 17 when an art teacher at sixth form college told me I was trying too hard to draw like my twin brother (who is incredible at art). It crushed me. I ditched art there and then. I'm 52 now and found this video. I've just done all 12 exercises! So freeing. Thank you.

[whyvern]

I still do all these exercises everyday before I start drawing or when doing studies, it have absolutely helped me gain more confidence when doing my lines. Always a good way to warm up, will recommend other people if they haven't done this exercises yet.

[TinRoofVintage]

I was surprised by the exercise of drawing with the non-dominant hand. Since I couldn't control my fingers and wrist, I was forced to draw from the shoulders, so the drawing came out pretty good! What a lesson! Thanks 😊

[ireneb.t.]

This was soo helpful . I got a little busy with some things in life and didn't get much time to actually sit down and draw . I was afraid to draw after that loong break and didn't know where to start .Now I got a clear insight that I have to work on basics first and then build up . Thank you Jess for motivating me to pick up a pencil and draw !

[thebirdartistscottage]

A couple of years ago I did the “Draw a Box” course and doing their drawing circles and “ghosted” lines helped me so much. I gained so much confidence in my drawing just from those simple exercises. I look forward to trying these exercises as warmups and seeing where they take me. I think it would be fun to revisit the Draw a Box course, too, just as a refresher. Thanks for the inspiration and thoughts about how to continue improving my skills. Happy Holidays, Jess, and thanks for sharing your know-how with us!

[lennymayfield]

As a new beginner. Thank you for showing the different ways to hold and press using the pencil. I know that may sound like a basic thing. But I couldn't get the hang of something I thought that should be simple. Will definitely have to try these warm-ups. Thank you and we'll look forward to your videos

[chestermicek]

You can not only do a drawing, you can also articulate how you are using your body to produce the effect. I took an art class at a local arts & crafts center and the instructor certainly could walk the walk, but he couldn't talk the talk. Thanks for sharing.

[geoffivatts]

I just started my artistic journey and found all the things to learn quite overwhelming. Every time I have a blank page in front of my I want to draw the most elaborate picture, but didn’t know where to start.
This video has opened my eyes to the warm up idea (which now seems obvious) and I can’t wait to start doing this to help train my brain and muscles!
Thank you!

[mathieutherien]

Hi! I am very glad you put those up! These exercises are mostly what I do to warm up, but I have another one you might like: based on the continuous line, I write words in cursive (or any other continuous pattern) but when the end is reached, I proceed backwards on the lines I have drawn, then forwards again. This one increases your precision as it forces you to follow a established line, and if you use different words/patterns everytime, it grants you more control over time. Hope you like it!

[SavvySaxy]

I love these because they're so, dood-ly. They actually can help you improve but yet they're chill and satisfying to do. Reminds me why I'm doing this in the first place.

[jessisheaven]

Practice is the key, yes I'll do it even if I'm a little busy. Thank you for the tips! 🥰

[Vpedroza]

I am more of a cartoony artist that just starting to develop more and more…..but I’m glad that someone shares my same thought “ Everything begins with a circle!”

[lunaazul]

This is gold! So important for all visual artists! I’ve got to try them now 😁