This week in my Illustration Quest, I experienced a mix of small wins, struggles, and some interesting creative revelations. I eagerly began with drawing practice for building my foundational skills. But as with all adventures, I had some challenges along the way—ones that reminded me that progress isn’t always easy or linear.
Fast and furious flash poses
I added something new to my practice this week: flash pose drawing. For those who are unfamiliar with this type of drawing, it’s a bit like gesture drawing but with a focus on speed—quick, rapid sketches to capture the essence of a pose in seconds. And let me tell you, it’s harder than it sounds.
To begin with, I couldn’t find an adequate model online. The model is supposed to rush to the stand, hold a pose for a second, then rush off. This gives the artist a second to see what they are drawing. I could’ve asked my son or my husband to do this, but I don’t think they would’ve wanted to. The entire practice session time was supposed to be 15 minutes.
So I ended up going to a YouTube channel for a ballerina. The video was just of her doing some practice dances. I’d run the video for a few seconds then stop it and try to capture the last pose that I’d seen.
Wow, was this difficult. I certainly couldn’t remember her entire pose. I’d get her legs right, or her arms right, or maybe the twist of her body, but I didn’t get the whole thing. My lines felt sloppy and rushed. I felt like this would be very useful practice when I’m out on an urban sketching trip. The point is to draw only your initial reaction, the energy that you see. Talk about a challenge! And how cool was it to be able to use YouTube for this!
Settling into contour and gesture drawing practice
On the flip side, contour drawing is starting to feel a little too… slow. I’ll be honest—I reduced the time I spent on it each day because it was putting me to sleep. Reducing the session to 30 minutes has made a big difference in keeping my focus. However, I’m continuing with the recommended time (an hour a day) of gesture drawing, which feels more dynamic and keeps me engaged. It’s in these looser, quicker drawings that I feel more connected to the energy of what I’m creating. And some of them are actually nice!
Visual storytelling through op-eds
A fun thing that’s kept me motivated this week is the op-ed illustration exercise. I love that it forces me to think fast and work within constraints. Each day, I sit down with a prompt and give myself a limited amount of time to develop a concept and execute it. It’s not always pretty, but that’s okay. The real lesson here is in learning to communicate an idea visually—sometimes with just a few lines or simple symbols. It’s teaching me to build a visual shorthand, a toolset that I know will come in handy for future projects.
Insights from "The Education of an Illustrator"
The real highlight of my week came from diving deeper into The Education of an Illustrator by Steven Heller. I mentioned last week that the book is out of print and a bit outdated, but this week, I realized that its age is actually part of what makes it so insightful.
Several essays in the book explore the fear of illustration becoming obsolete with the rise of digital tools, especially Photoshop. It’s fascinating to read about illustrators in the late 90s using digital tools in ways that felt revolutionary back then—like scanning their hand-drawn work, fine-tuning it digitally, printing it again, marking it up, and repeating the process. This iterative approach sounds familiar now, but it was cutting-edge at the time.
We all know how that story played out. Some illustrators went fully digital, while others stuck to traditional methods, refusing to even touch a computer. But I’d bet most illustrators today use digital tools somewhere along the way—even if it’s just to scan and share their final work online. And for many, the computer is an essential part of their creative process.
Reading these essays was a huge relief for me. It reminded me that illustration has always evolved, and every generation of illustrators has felt that their craft was under threat. I suspect AI will turn out to be just like Photoshop—a tool that, while it shakes things up, ultimately enhances our ability to create rather than replacing us entirely. Illustrators have survived these changes before, and we’ll adapt again!
What I learned
The biggest takeaway this week? It’s okay to adjust your routine. Sometimes, you need to push through the tough exercises, and other times, you need to pivot and find what keeps you engaged. Flash pose drawing challenged me, contour drawing bored me, and op-ed illustrations sparked something new in me. But all of it is part of the bigger journey toward becoming the illustrator I want to be—someone who can communicate visually and create work that’s meaningful both to myself and to others.
I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever tried flash pose drawing or struggled with any part of your own creative practice? What’s helped you push through the tough moments? Whether you’re just starting out or have been drawing for years, I’d love to know what keeps you going. Share your thoughts, tips, or questions in the comments—I can’t wait to hear your stories and continue the conversation!
Also, don’t forget to sign up to my Substack newsletter. It’s how I’m sharing personal discoveries that don’t make it to the blog. Plus, you’ll get notifications of new posts in your inbox. Just fill in your email below, it’s that easy!
