How doing a drawing a day changed my life | David Litchfield | TEDxBedford
2024 ж. 20 Мам.
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On the 1st July 2010, David Litchfield made a life-changing decision. He decided to do one drawing every day for a year, and make the drawings available online for people to react to and critique. It became a monumental project. Litchfield is now a professional illustrator and works for The Beano and The Telegraph, among other publications. He also teaches at Bedford College.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
Want to be an artist? Then make art. It doesn't even need to be GOOD, it just needs to BE.
🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
Spot on!
:0
Than BE Art.
true :)
if you draw something, or write something, or record something, or sketch, or build, or code, or sing something... you've just put something in the world that didn't exist before, but exists afterwards. that alone is worthwhile. and maybe someone else will like it even more than you do.
very positive statement, well made.
MrTingles pretty said mate. Good luck. I just started to work with drawings like maybe two weeks ago
Your Comment opened my eyes to a whole new view on life. Thank you and very intelligent statement you made.
I totally agree!
There's life in those drawings.
I watched this video almost a year ago. Immediately it inspired my to try doing the same. In a month I'll be exhibiting my first 365 drawings :D Thank you David Litchfield for inspiring me.
Ooooh... How did it go?
Congratulations!
Wow, good for you♥️
Is there any place we can see them? Would love to see them.
Don't EVER go on Google images halfway through a drawing and say "ugghh my drawings are so baaad" this is probably the best advice you will get when starting art. Just draw what you can and improve your own style and whatnot.
Emilia Marsh I agree, I would always used to look up to artists and I thought that my drawings looked terribly awful compared to theirs, but then I learnt that each and every person is a different drawer. I'm now a manga style drawer, and I'm still learning everyday!
Emilia Marsh So i cant use reference? wtf thats retarded
NWCrazyFox Yes you can, I never said you couldn't, use real life or movie objects and avoid looking at advanced artists though. And if you're using other art for reference, you're just stealing it.
Stealing it? That's just plain wrong, not to mention wishful thinking. You are 'stealing' inspirational every single day whether you know it or not, and whether you're even drawing anything that day or not. If you look at a selection of your drawings, then did the same for 99 of your peers..... then did the same for 100 people from the 90s, 70s, 50s and etc., you would find that they all look the same in certain ways. The catch is that it's hard to define how they are the same when it's the present day... as with many things in life you need retrospect to help you put all the peices of the puzzle together. And should writers never read? Painters never go to galleries and museums? Should art schools be abolished altogether? Actors never turn on a tv or watch a movie? Photographers not look at almost any printed media? Musicians never turn on the radio? And, as you suggest, illustrators never use Google Images? Obviously they are all absurd lifestyle clauses for any artist. If you need inspiration, try to find it. You're always going to end up copying your peers and modern culture whether you want to or not. Only a very, very small few create new genres and show people things they've never seen before..... but there's a whole hell of a lot of room left in the world for the rest of us to fill in the gaps. I'm a writer and my advice to anyone wanting to write goes along the same lines of this talk pretty much. For at least a month, set an alarm every day and when it goes off, get up and write for 30 minutes. Even if it's just rambling or complete nonsense or a short story of the dream you just woke up from..... just keep the pen moving or keyboard clacking and eventually you'll find that you *do* have a voice.
I post my art on instagram... then as soon as I do I scroll through my subscriber feed and see all the art and say "Ughh... my drawings are sooo baaad!" XD Draw with Jazza has a video about this. Most artists compare themselves to others. It is one of the struggles you have to overcome of thinking "I'm not good enough". But at the same time... I use that as inspiration to always perfect my drawings. I don't feel like my current level is good enough, so I must keep practicing to get better. And as a result, I am now in a never ending cycle of trying to perfect my art. :/
Was drawing him as he was talking. But man I've been slacking off lately. He's right. There's always time. Its just we chose to waste it on videos and entertainment.
Sadly this is true, I want to draw so badly but instead I plop on the couch and watch KZhead, everyday it's the same thing
The start of learning how to draw is the hardest because there are just so many fundamentals to learn. But after a while it will get easy. Also depends why you wanna learn. Professional or hobby. If not professional then you dont have to learn everything. Try the pomodoro method.
Godamn! Now i'm doing as you said!
So brutal, but true. I like/hate that truth.
My biggest enemy as an artists trying to get better is consistency and procrastination. If I had been consistently been drawing since I started years ago, who knows how good I would be..
It took me 38 years to realise I was an artist. 38 years to finally dare and express myself through art. And two months into my humble painting career I suddenly got commissioned, to my utter astonishment. Every since, I've been painting every single day and can't imagine my life without it.
I graphic designer but u know sketching , drawing is my passion I was thinking to learn drawing from 2007 but I had no courage I was afraid dn,t know why but now I decided I will learn n I start drawing from last month u know now I am 33 year old please tell me is it too late to learn drawing ? This is the only thing which discourage me I feel that I m too late .
I'm listening to this while drawing my 245th daily drawing! It started with Inktober, and I was rubbish, but over the course of the almost 250 days I've improved greatly. I would definitely advise any artists to set aside anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour of every day to draw, it will help you grow as an artist and it's a great stress reliever.
Young children sing, dance, draw, paint... Going to school helps the masses learn that they cannot sing, dance, draw, paint... If you are alive, you have time to do these things. Go for it.
Such a great thing to do...Well done...Now i will write a story a day...
did it work tho
i think im going to start drawing everyday i mean im not very good but it seems like good therapy
+Neo Goku Now all you have to do is get rid of the "i mean im not very good but" part
+rafael lewis fucking preach man!
bruh how'd it go? show us your art?
If you draw every day you can't stay bad. Things just don't work that way.
I was thinking about doing the same thing for anxiety except with watercolors.
I've drawn my entire life. I love it. It's something that sooths me and something I don't really share, but I really take pride in. I took 2 college art classes...1st being a basic drawing class...the 2nd was a figure drawing class. Both taught me so much! Unfortunately I haven't drawn in about 2 years now because of an illness called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. A connective tissue disorder that effects all my joints and all my organs. It causes immense pain in my hands and that has really caused me to lose one of my biggest pleasures and since of calms in my life...drawing. I was that girl who never left her house without her sketchbook. But now just holding a pencil for a few min will cause my hand to cramp and get stuck in that position. I've been really missing my art lately and therefore have been watching "sketchbook tours" here on KZhead like a mad woman, living a bit vicariously through those videos. But I can't not draw anymore. I simply cannot let EDS (Ehelers Danlos Syndrome) win. I know there has got to be some way to make it work. And I am not going to stop looking until I find a way in which I am able to put pencil back to paper. Anyone else have EDS or any other diseases that affect your joints (especially your smaller joints) who thought they could not longer sketch but have somehow found out a way to? Idk if it's going to take a certain kind of brace, maybe really tight compression, maybe only drawing in increments of 5 minutes, or....idk. Something! But I will find it. Lord knows I need this back in my life. It was my therapy, and outlet, a form of expression. It means so much to me and something I should never have been willing to sacrifice for 2 years, no matter how seemingly impossible it may seem to do these days. Anyhoo, if anyone has any tips or ideas (remember there are no stupid ideas) I would really really appreciate you sharing them with me! Thank you for reading. ♡
OMG I am so sorry for you😢, but you will make it, I believe in you!!! 😃
Stay strong you legend
Is it just the cramped position of holding a pencil, or any position while putting weight on your fingers? You could try fingerpainting, etc that put your hands in a different, more relaxed position.
Awe, yall are the best! I appreciate your support and encouragement. ♡
I used to know a fellow who loved to draw but snapped his neck on a trampoline and was paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. After a couple of years of depression and suicidal thoughts he saw a fellow on the street doing sketches with a 'mouth stick', a pencil mounted on a mouthpiece. He acquired one and his life changed within a few days. Within a year he was supporting himself and no longer relying on SSI, was no longer depressed, and in a couple of years had a thriving gallery and a (quite hot) girlfriend. If a mouth stick wouldn't work for you, how about a tennis ball or something that a pencil could be stuck through? (I'm sure that there are probably actual commercial devices like that, but a tennis ball would be a cheap way to try it out.) Can you draw on a computer? Either using a mouse, or a touch screen? Or maybe even a joystick? I know that there are labs experimenting with eye tracking to do tasks like navigation, check to see if any of them are doing anything that would help you. Good luck and good life!
A good way to practice drawing is carrying a small cheap notebook and pen, and draw people on the bus or in a park. If you mess up, try again. Don't erase, don't scribble it out, just try again. You will see progress after a few months, because I know i have 😊
Kim H Proof?
Kim H Very true! Beginners usually erase there bad work cuz they think it's embarrassing I guess?... But I find it better to keep my very bad work (no erasing or scribbling over it) that way when I do better work I have something to compare it to.
JezzeBoy How can you learn if you have mistakes?
NWCrazyFox Everybody makes mistakes and we learn from them... "Learn from your mistakes" is what some people would say.
Your hand eye coordination gets better as you practice, make mistakes, correct yourself and so on spending more time in this feedback loop..
I've been drawing everyday for 2 years and it really changed my life :) I'm so happy
Have you kept up with it? :)
I started drawing daily since I was 7. Now I'm 14 and still doing daily drawings. I have 2 bookcases full of sketchbooks...
Oh my god please show me
Im pretty sure you do not want to see what's lurking in there... lol jk do whatever u wnt >.>
You gotta post that somewhere
i'm curious as to how much u improve :)
Do you have Instagram maby?
I'm doing several drawings a day, I so get what this guy felt, I'm living it right now. I feel lost and that I'm not progressing but I'll keep on drawing. I'll be back here in a year If I remember, to post my experience.
I'll be there to read your story :)
killerzen188 Thanks! :D
+Google+ Sucks 3 months past, just 9 months left, i will be waiting!
+Google+ Sucks following :) I'm gonna start too today...wish me luck
SgtVip3r Luck!
I did a draw a day for a few months....and the weirdest thing was looking back and seeing how bad the first ones were.
Faith, Hope and Love how much better did you get?
Well that means you improved!
It actually happens.
I went to the exhibition when it was up and although u'd always loved drawing that gave me a kick that I needed. My brother and sister and I all loved it and to this day we all have posters from the exhibitions framed on our walls. As we were walking away from the exhibition we saw David Litchfield enter the place and start talking to people. I was too shy at the time to go and talk to him although I regret it now. I'm really happy that this has worked out for him and I can't wait to see what he does next.
So true, we have to make the time for what we want. We need to seek out what inspires us so we experience feeling passionate - this will drive us to make time. I am a artist (who works a day job) who had a baby two years ago and I knew time would be transformed. Time is scared, we have to adapt and become shape shifters so we can move and groove with and around distractions to make art - to be creative. Just keep moving forward and if it means going back and taking baby steps with your process just do it. We are all creative.
The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is writing my thoughts down that are still in my head about the dream I had before I woke up. When I read it an hour later I'm always like wtf... yesterday I wrote 'looked asleep looked away peter', and I remember it did make sense when I wrote it, lol.
+Willemijn Bolks XD
+Willemijn Bolks WILLIE KIJK JIJ OOK TEDTALK?!
That Skater YOU ARE A STALKER AND DONT CALL ME WILLIE WHEN ENGLISH PEOPLE ARE READING THIS FUCKER
That Skater jaa, jij dus ook? Xd
jaa ik wil slim worden hahaha
Learning to make better drawings is I believe one of the toughest tasks . It is an exhausting process and a very beautiful one too.
yes art a day keeps the anxiety and reality away also is escape from home without leaving home
I used to sit next to him in German at school and he would draw these amazing pics I always new he would make it! Well done mate...
I've managed to keep up daily drawing for 10 years, going on 11th right now. First year was by far the toughest, but after that it started becoming more and more of a "habit" and easier to do. That's not to say there aren't days I wished to skip, so you still need a certain amount of self-discipline. Enjoying the actual process of drawing over the end result helps as well.
David is one of my all-time favourite illustrators. His work is beautiful - especially his use of light and shadow.
Oh wow David!!! Your stuff is gorgeous. Strange and beautiful. Endearing. Loved it all xxx
The hope on this world is to construct more art, and "open the teenagers mind" Well done David, special thanks for TEDx
What a great guy. An original thinker!
I'm supposed to do my math homework for uni today and look where I ended up....
Same.
That's what's happening to me run to XD
I went for a run to get my mind focused before I did an English essay and here I am XD
Lara TPE Same. Drawing prevails!
Love his style !
Today is my fifth month drawing daily n_n
+Jesa - Congrats!
+Jesa I used to draw non-stop since I was born almost. I went to art high-school then to art college and kept on drawing util maybe five years ago when I just fell out of the habit and practice and I kept trying to relearn to draw again. Finally, about five months ago, it clicked for me again and I am not going to stop ever again. My life was miserable when I wasn't scribbling at least something.
Are you posting it somewhere?
have you stuck with it?
How are things after two years?
You said it buddy. People think their career has to make them miserable and that they can't do something they love, but we're ONLY supposed to do what we love, especially if we want to meet with any amount of success.
Why do we watch miserable people or those around us and learn from them ideas/beliefs about life and how to live it? It makes sense as children but after a while we need to start looking around for better role models haha! We need to look at people living the life we'd like to live! The happy/fulfilled people and learn from them and see what they're doing and who they get to be in the process? Being of service to others, work on something they care about and so on..
I was literally just talking to my artist friend tonight about how I felt like time was running out, and that I started doing art again. This is just what I needed to hear.
Very inspiring! I now feel motivated to follow my passions, I neglect for so long :-)
Go for it, I hope you succeed :-)
Well done David, always knew you would make an impact, even back in '98. Very talented.
6 years after you started this and 3 years after your Tedx Talk, your words and actions continue to inspire! Your talk has motivated me to start something. Thank you!
A great guy - what an inspiration you are David
I can't believe I found this now...so many years later! I too had completed a 365 Day Cup A Day project here on youtube (back 1/11-12/11...6 months after he started his journey). I made a cup a day for an entire year to learn how to throw on the pottery wheel, posting daily videos of my progress and then sharing the completed cups. I even had a gallery show the following year of all 365 Cups. Unless someone has completed a monumental journey such as a year-long project, it's difficult to explain the changes you encounter along the way. The growth in skills and even accountability and mindset...lead on the people that supported you throughout the project. The last cup I made bore the names of all the people who helped me through. A once in a lifetime experience. Over 500 videos later a 365-day journey, like you said, is the beginning of a new life...it was totally worth the struggles!!! From one kindred spirit to another ...WELL DONE!
His art reminds me a little bit of Edward Gorey, who did the illustrations for the PBS TV series 'Mystery'.
I’m going to do a drawing a day for a year starting today Thank you David Litchfield for your inspirational talk
Thank you. I was inspired by this during the beginning of the year so I started jan 1, 2018 and still been going. I am confident that I will get it done as I have had many challenges and still did it. Thank you as this helped me grow alot and can truly relate how u felt. I loved art but never went to this career as it seemed unstable and just went to the medical field.
Thanks for this in depth talk. I started to draw about a month ago and went into a “timeless zone” and it really seemed to rest the mind. A KZhead artist, Katy Jobling is wonderfully inspiring and she is self taught, and that also gave me a push to draw.
i try to do a drawing every day. like he said, often the drawings or painting i love get a warm response and works that i didn't like other people loved.
How has it gone?
thanks for asking, it is going well. i am improving every week from my mistakes. for instance, currently i am getting better at creating depth. besides the improvement of my techniques, i just enjoy the relaxing nature of creating art. i am having amazing fun, i think i will be doing this stuff the rest of my life.
And now!
Thank you I needed to hear that, it came on time, I was about to stop drawing but now I will keep going specially in these days and circumstances we need to inspire ourselves and the world
I wish we could have seen his first drawing next to his 365th one
Amazing that time and dedication can do for one person.
Thank you. I bless you with love and light.
I love painting,I forget time and the mundane life I learned to relax and slow down and create. Thank you,illustrator.
Thank you for sharing. I am encouraged to keep going. Love your drawings.
Congratulations, great great moment telling your story. Wish you the best
Good video. Today was my first day of drawing after a long long time, I stopped drawing after an incident when i was 12, and today I've started again after almost 28 years. It felt good and I hope it turns out to be therapeutic. I have a feeling deep inside that all of it is still stuck inside me and letting it all out will change my life for good.
Please do. It might be the perfect therapy. I pray that it heals.
What’s funny is that I usually listen to tedtalks when I draw. I was drawing my daily warmup before getting into my main project and this is really great to hear
I kinda want to try this...
Hey Dave, thanks for this.God bless you and your family always. God bless the TEDx team too and your families always! 🙂🙏
Tomorrow will be my first day to start illustrating! Thank you for sharing! So inspiring!
Very distinct style. Creative and inventive. Not your average doodle. He deserves to succeed in this field.
Excellent! And: CONGRATS!! Today you are my hero, David ! You ROCK!
Definitely want to give this a go as well. Thanks for sharing your story!
The finish of this talk was impeccable
I am a painter...and struggle at times on how to resolve and figure out how to paint an area of the image...drawing helps...helps me figure it out...simply and graphically. Seeking others help is precarious and vulnerable at best...but welcoming. Either way I will do the painting how I will do it...I can only say you have to get past all the excuses, your feelings, your tiredness and just sit down and do it. Keeping it simple is one key for me that allows me to do this on a daily basis. Thanks for your video.
This is an awesome Talk. Thank you for doing it
That was very well presented David, awesome work! 😃
I've started drawing after twenty baron years, so I can relate completely with this. And I'm loving it.
Just discovered this, so very inspiring.
Yeah, remember that you're not bad, you're just not as good as you want to be yet. Draw a lot. I say this because every time I feel stuck or feel like I haven't progressed at all, I look back at my old art that I used to be proud of and realize just how far I've come. It's a helluva motivator
I really like his picture sketches, especially that wolf in a coat done in blue pen on the pages of his film studies book. I can see his improvements. Nice speech.Thumbs up.
I love his illustrating style! I think Tim Burton would approve!
i agree has tottal tim burton feel
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you for sharing your story. :)
this is encouraging. thank you.
I started drawing when I was 10. Those dark times where I was constantly bullied, was always alone at break time. But I'm glad if happened cause I found my passion in Art. Art brought me so much joy in my life. Now I'm majoring in Graphic Design.
That so interesting for me i like it you inspire me to express my feeling day by drawing..that a nice way to fit into what i feel and i think
his drawing is very cheerful and hopeful
So freaking wholesome I love it
Great advice I needed to hear and follow.
I love his style!
There is this drawing challenge called "365 drawing challenge" where EVERYDAY you draw a drawing And it is challenging! At first you think it's easy but really it's difficult Sometimes you want to draw but you can't or you don't have time I love drawing but sometimes I can't do it ( I can draw but I'm not motivated) and I lagged behind the challenge So 2017 will be my 2nd year I will try to attempt the 365 drawing challenge and hopefully I won't fail this time
Skylar-Girl Well now I want to do this too... I think I will! I'm ready for the challenge
I would do this after I finish highschool.
metasprite I think after high school is a bit to late, your imagination usually runs wild when you're younger.. Now when I look back to my drawings, I wondered how I had the idea of doing that.. or how I even managed to think of that. A few years ago I believed that I was bad at drawing, but then I continued drawing everyday and I labelled them, now when I flick back to old drawings, I try to redraw them and improve them in the best way possible, mainly because my ideas now aren't as imaginative and crazy as they were before.. My drawing style now is usually based on manga, but now and then I draw other things.
GalaxyCat cool, my imagination hasnt really change so i can still do it.
@GalaxyCat This is false. I am now 28 years old, and all of my best ideas are coming now. My younger ideas were retarded. I am working on writing a book and when I go back and look at my old ideas I see a lot are garbarg because I wrote a lot of stuff for jokes and laughs, mostly stuff I personally found funny but no one else understood. Now that I have matured, my writing has as well. I draw concept art for all of my characters and ideas because I want them to become cartoons. But my best ideas have just started, and my brother and I are coming up with more every single day. Creativity can start at any age, at any time. You just need the inspiration and motivation. My brother is 23 years old and he just came up with his "final book idea", and I can honestly say it is a sci-fi story that has literally never been done before. He was explaining it and I was just like O_______________O; WTF... whoa! He even drew concept art for it and... well... it's strange, different, but really cool. I can't wait for him to finish the book, he is doing the first draft now. He's been writing it for 10 months just for the basic concept. So no, that is not true. You can create and imagine at any age. I'll be writing my own books and releasing animations soon, and as I mentioned before, I am not in highschool.
Goal...Brilliant. Loved the video, great artist...illustrator! I will begin my drawing a day today. (I mean I draw everyday) But I will like the strict guide of doing this!! Thank you for sharing~
I'm going to start doing this starting today!
awesome thanks for sharing your story! And thaAns to TED for letting people do this awesome speaks!
*thanks
I FEEL SO MOTIVATED.
I love this journey.
Love this video & your drawings ❤️!
They are just amazing thinking and drawings are fab.
I'm so happy for him!
*watches video* Woah that's really inspiring I actually feel really positive right now *reads comments below* Nevermind..
This is so inspiring!
Thank You , I needed to hear that :)
I'm gonna write a kids book (not even just an aspiration I actually am) and am looking for an illustrator and will look into this guy, I love his work.
he's worth it.
I love the drawings!
Hi art style is magnificent
ive always been a procrastinator..but i guess its time to change my life a bit.. so..challenge accepted ill draw once every year! starting soon
It’s the Spring of 2020 - every time he touches his face I feel a twinge of anxiety. This COVID19 experience has changed me.
That's ridiculous. You're allowing a virus which does not kill in the vast majority of cases to control your entire life. The consequences of paranoia are far worse than coronavirus in most cases. Look after your mental health.
I usually draw more than one drawing a day so this challenge is basically me everyday; except for the posting them online part.
XxPuffin Same... although I have posted some of my drawings online, but that was years ago.
hopedope exactly! I discovered early on NOT to post my art . Comments like ‘oh your granddaughter is much cuter than that’ railroaded me . My ART IS FOR ME
Art is the most beautiful thing sadly not everyone understands that it comes from the pain inside us
beautiful art :-)
reminded me that i should do what i love, which is also drawing
Being creative is a beautiful.
Good for him. Sincerely. It's not really instructive for the viewer though. I mean,he says he was already drawing every day, and describes it as his 'passion', says it's what he's always loved to do etc. I think it's pretty easy for someone in that position to decide to make that activity his job. What about if you don't have something you love doing? No passion? How do you find the thing you're 'meant' to do? There's no clues in this anecdote. Also he's still having to maintain a 'real job' evidently to continue with this, so he's not yet in a position to say whether it will pan out in the end. He's making the best of it, getting as much exposure as he can - and he feels good about himself and his goals. All positive things. But he's an illustrator because he's adopted the attitude that this word defines him, not because it's how he earns a living. How many people have I met who self-identify with a career they don't actually have? Lots. And most will never follow through. I think this guy will though. Good for him.
+WalterLiddy Well, I think his message was clear and is a good example, in my opinion. He started feeling confused about himself and a possible job, but set himself a goal and worked towards it step by step. Waking up 1 hour earlier is not easy for most people and setting oneself goals and pursuing them is not always so easy as well. This together with his perseverance has finally helped him find his life goal and learn a lot about his skills. In addition to this, he has managed to get other people (potential customers) to know his work.
my advice to u if u dont really have a passion just explore differnt things maybe music maybe writting or sculpting or even like walking or exploring or maybe you are a real humanitarian and maybe your passion is donating your time to a charity maybe cars maybe cooking or reading just explore differnt things something bound to spark you
+WalterLiddy I think it's helpful to people who does self identify with careers they don't have. This video will hopefully inspire them to get over their excuses and actually do something about it. Lots of people end up adopting an attitude that they had their chance and they lost it. They're too old now. This speaker sets an example for a case where the opposite is true.
The moment i put the pencil on the paper, and the moment after is like a meditative time. I can see the fact i'm in a process of something, without judging. All the expectation of the result is nothing compared to the time i spent for that thing. I hope this will last forever, i like to study body and gesture, but now i'm starting to understand colors
Great inspiration 🥰🥰
Today was the 40th day of drawing every day for me. Still going strong, I didn't think I had the commitment for it, but here I am