What to do before even picking up a pencil

Warming up before starting gets you in the drawing zone!

Imagine sitting down at a piano after years away and immediately launching into a full concerto.

Or lacing up your running shoes and sprinting flat-out before you've even stretched.

We'd never do those things. And yet when it comes to drawing, so many of us sit down, stare at a blank piece of paper, and wonder why nothing is flowing.

The blank page is its own kind of pressure. And sometimes the hardest part of any drawing session isn't the drawing itself - it's getting started.

This is why I'm a big fan of the warm-up.

Before I begin a new portrait, I like to spend a little time with some simple, low-stakes mark-making. 

Loose circles. Pressure scales - going from the lightest whisper of colour to a firm, saturated stroke. Layering two or three colours together just to see how they interact. 

Nothing precious. Nothing that needs to be saved.

It gets my hand moving. It gets me into the rhythm. And by the time I sit down to the actual portrait, I'm already in the zone.

But the other thing I do - and this is something I recommend for beginners especially - is to start from a perfectly traced outline rather than a blank page.

Tracing the outline of your portrait at the very beginning means that everything is in the right place from the start. 

The proportions are correct. The eyes are level. You're not spending the first hour anxious about whether the composition is right - you can just draw.

It removes a huge barrier and lets you focus on the really enjoyable part: the colour, the texture, the detail, the life.

So before your next session, give yourself permission to ease in gently. Warm up those hands. And start with a solid foundation.

Happy drawing!