088: The DAILY Drawing Routine!

Wherein we discuss the power of setting a routine AND being part of a community!

Nov 26, 2023

It’s week 88 of the Draw or Die Newsletter for Visual Storytellers. This week I want to talk about how setting a daily or weekly routine can level up your art AND change your freaking life. Oh… and I have a very special offer for you.

REAL QUICK! LAST CALL to join our holiday Art exchange by Dec 1st.

JOIN ART EXCHANGE HERE, on Elfster -

NOW, the POWER OF ROUTINE…

88 Weeks ago, (1 year and 8 months) I started this weekly newsletter to speak artists on a range of topics that artists deal with or care about.

508 days ago I started the DAILY DRAWING CLUB, which essentially is there to remind and encourage you to DRAW EVERY DAMN DAY. The daily prompt comes out at 5am Mon-Saturday. (Sunday’s drops in the weekly letter) - Yeah, it’s a paid thing, only $5 a month, with some other perks and a deeper sense of community.

Honestly, I think it might be the longest running creative thing I’ve done consistently in my entire life. I’ve done regular comics, webcomics, blogging, completed BIG jobs….. but this was different.

A lot of times, I felt completely adrift and kinda directionless.

This time I actively committed to setting a REAL routine… for keeps.

rou·tine
/ro͞oˈtēn/
noun
a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program.

Every week, without missing, I have a routine where I usually sit down, usually on Saturday morning bright and early and write the Sunday letter. The topic is whatever is on my mind for the week, or sometimes spawned from a conversation with an art friend from that previous week, or some breaking news about art.

My routine for the daily drawing prompts is usually on Sunday I write the prompts for the week and pre-schedule them so they show up at 5am (for you, AND for me!) I sometimes get a few days behind, but I’ve only ever missed a 5am drop IF I accidentally mark 5 PM instead of AM. (it happens! 😂)

Routines don’t mean a lot without GOALS. So my goal with Draw or Die Club was simple… I wanted to build a community of like-minded artists who can help support one another.

And I guess you could say “mission accomplished”. We have 2200+ weekly free members, and as of writing this 126 in the DAILY DRAWING CLUB.

That might not sound like BIG numbers to you. But remember… THAT wasn’t the goal. The goal was to create a community… and that’s exactly what Draw or Die has become.

I look forward to engaging every week, in DMs, e-mail, Discord. I look forward to my “routine” every week.

I knew daily motivational content could help you (and me) draw MORE, and feel better, but I had no idea that it might actually change a lot of lives for the better.

Here are some real quotes from members of the DAILY CLUB…

For me, Draw or Die Club is more than just the daily prompts that keep my creative mind in gear. It is the community, comradery and creativity of fellow members that keeps me inspired and feeling creative, even on the days when I am feeling less than motivated to draw. - Jim P. (Of the council of Jims)

This community has been so helpful during the most challenging year of my life. I really can’t thank you guys enough for the creative outlet and the fostering of such a rad community in our corner of the web. Cheers! - Lola_Clay

It the 2nd year doing this and had a blast! It was just so motivating to see the community sharing their art and engaging with one another. - Larry - bgwlldraws72

It's helped me incorporate drawing into my morning routine, which is HUGE for me (I like to sleep!). - Sara W. (Sara without an H!)

I drew more in one month than I have in years!! - Michael C.

As a former graphic artist who is recovering from a pandemic induced career change, the Draw or Die Club has been a balm to my creative soul. DJ and Ally have not only created a fun daily exercise to get your creative juices flowing, but they have fostered a wonderful creative community via the Discord group that is supportive and inspiring to one another. Wherever you find yourself in your artistic journey, whether it be beginner or professional, if you doodle, noodle, or draw I urge you to check it out! - Jim K. (of the council of Jims)

I’ve never been more motivated and inspired to create art before! Thanks to this amazing community, I now look forward to drawing every day! - Steven F

Thank you for helping me keep active during the stressful month of teaching, it made my days a bit better ever moment I had a drawing time for myself. - Stacy F.

The Draw or Die community has restored my confidence and faith in myself and in the art community as a whole. - Nathaniel M.

I am so inspired by all the fellow artists who are together simply to support creativity and to create! - Deborah A.

I hadn't drawn consistently in years and this little group really helped get me back into the habit, even if it's a tiny sketch. I'll be sticking around. I also noticed that even over the 1 month I've been with them so far, my drawing confidence has grown tremendously. - Jessica S.

The Draw or Die Community is so supportive and fun! The Promptober 2023 challenge, was exactly that: challenging... But the community of support and the culture of fun keep me going all month. Joined the club over a year ago; no regrets! - Mark C.

Wow.

Look, we have a “Council of Jims”. What other drawing club has that?

You know, it’s humbling to read all of that, and there are MANY more just like those. But I don’t want this to be a glowing infomercial or anything… but I wanted to highlight and bold the word “community” there and how often it’s repeated.

I actually needed to read it for myself. It reinforces the amount of energy I (and Ally) put into this brand every week.

We want YOU to join the DAILY CLUB… on us!

Our mission now is to GROW the daily drawing club community. And we want to give those on the fence a shot at 1 month free. Just use the code DRAWNOW at the checkout here. this is for new members only and we’ll close this coupon down in a couple days.

Do you have to draw at 5am every day? Heck no!

But many artists actually DO! It’s become a part of their daily routine. It makes their day brighter and sets the tone. And believe me, if that prompt doesn’t show up at 5am I hear about it!

But, it’s way more than just a Daily drawing prompt, it’s a deeper community. You don’t have to take part every day, you can still lurk from afar and still feel energized.

NO, you don’t have to join…

My routine isn’t changing, I’ll still put out the weekly letters and weekly drawing prompt as per my routine. I enjoy it! BUT… I do hope to see some of you on the other side.

I really didn’t want this week to feel like a sales pitch for the club. 😂 I’m just feeling super proud of what we’ve built so far, and hearing from so many that it’s helped that I feel like it could benefit so many more of you. So give it a shot for a month (use code DRAWNOW) and see what ya think! No strings attached.

Either way, I challenge you to set a regular routine this week!