On Drawing Every Day and Scheduling

[John]

What do you think is the best way to make drawing every day a regular thing? How do you go about minimizing distractions and getting into the zone of art practice?

I remember this old John Romita Jr. story where he asks a veteran comic book artist how does he manage to work so fast. The veteran said: "First thing you do, spend all your money, don't leave a single cent unspent. Then hit the drawing board. You'll be amazed how fast you're going to draw just to make ends meet."

It's a joke. But there's truth in it. Sometimes, the only way to get what you want is acknowledging that you're trying to get what you need. A change of perception.

Often I got discouraged and stopped studying for a while because I felt I was failing miserably at something.

It seems you're doing it the right way because that's the entire point of studying. It's getting discouraged and overcoming discouragement, figuring things out, and failing miserably over and over again until you find a rhythm to success. Otherwise, it's not studying at all, but, probably, doing an exercise or just drawing for fun. It's not that there's anything wrong with them. It's just not studying. I get you because I hate studying as well, but I hate not being good enough even more!

Wish you all the best!