How to Improve Your Art Style FAST: 18 Creative Drawing Exercises Every Artist Should Try
- Anitoku
- Jul 30
- 4 min read
Do you ever look at your art and think, “Why does my style feel so flat?” or “I want to improve my art, but I don’t know where to start”?
You’re not alone.
Whether you’re a beginner, a self-taught artist, or someone just stuck in a creative rut, your artistic growth depends more on how you practice than what tools you use.
In this guide, you’ll find 18 dynamic drawing exercises specifically crafted to help you improve your art style fast. These exercises are pulled from personal experience and from my original art book, DIZZY! Sketch Collections, which focuses on raw creativity, sketching from intuition, and style exploration.
These aren't just warm-ups—they're powerful drills to build muscle memory, unlock creativity, and challenge the way you think and draw.
Let’s dive in!
🔥 1. Automatic Drawing (Freeflow Scribbles)
Let your hand move across the page without a plan. Just scribble. No expectations.
What it improves: Creative flow, intuition, subconscious imagery.
This is especially powerful for unlocking your imagination when you feel stuck.
✏️ 2. Freestyle Drawing (No Reference, No Plan)
Start drawing without any reference or guide—let your imagination lead.
What it improves: Artistic confidence, spontaneity, stylization.
This is one of the best ways to explore and develop your personal art style.
👋 3. Opposite Hand Drawing Challenge
Draw with your non-dominant hand.
What it improves: Coordination, muscle memory, loosening up.
Expect clumsy results—but that’s the point. You’ll stop overthinking and discover new shapes and forms.
📚 4. Manga Reference Study
Choose a manga panel you love. Recreate it with your own twist.
What it improves: Composition, stylization, inking technique.
Use this to explore how professional artists solve artistic problems—then remix it in your style.
📸 5. Photo Reference Breakdown
Pick a photo and simplify it into basic shapes and forms.
What it improves: Observation, accuracy, stylized realism.
This helps bridge the gap between realism and stylized drawing.
🙈 6. Eyes Closed Gesture Drawing
Close your eyes and draw a quick pose or face.
What it improves: Spatial awareness, muscle memory.
It may seem silly, but it teaches you to "feel" proportions and flow.
🕶️ 7. Silhouette Speed Sketching
Draw only the silhouette of objects, characters, or poses.
What it improves: Gesture, form, composition without over-detailing.
It’s one of the most effective drawing exercises for beginners to grasp the power of shape language.
🔺 8. Shape-Limited Character Design
Choose 3-5 shapes (e.g., circle, triangle, square). Use only those to design a character.
What it improves: Creativity, stylization, visual balance.
You’ll quickly learn how to push shape design for maximum visual interest.
🔄 9. Re-draw It in Opposite Styles
Take one of your drawings and redraw it in a completely different style (e.g., realistic, cartoon, anime, abstract).
What it improves: Versatility, creative flexibility.
This is one of the top drawing style development exercises used by professionals.
🖊️ 10. One-Line Contour Drawing
Draw a subject without lifting your pen.
What it improves: Line confidence, fluidity, control.
This is ideal for digital artists trying to improve line art and flow.
🧪 11. Layered Sketching (Transparent Overlays)
Draw the same subject 3 times:
Loose structure
Refined shapes
Final details
What it improves: Process control, cleanup workflow, refinement skills.
It mirrors how professional concept artists work.
😲 12. Emotional Expression Remix
Pick one emotion (like anger or joy) and draw 6+ versions of it in different styles or angles.
What it improves: Expressiveness, character acting, storytelling.
Your characters will become more alive and readable.
🔄 13. Upside-Down Drawing
Flip your reference upside-down and draw it as-is.
What it improves: Observation, accuracy, shape recognition.
It tricks your brain into focusing on actual form, not what you think you see.
⬛ 14. Negative Space Sketching
Draw the spaces around a subject instead of the subject itself.
What it improves: Spatial thinking, balance, composition.
This is crucial for artists trying to level up their drawing from life or imagination.
⏱️ 15. Timed Thumbnail Sketches
Set a 5-minute timer and draw as many thumbnails or quick scenes as possible.
What it improves: Quick thinking, composition, efficiency.
This builds your ability to create multiple ideas fast—essential for storyboarding or comics.
🧵 16. Texture Replication Drill
Find a texture (wood, fabric, metal) and replicate it in your sketchbook.
What it improves: Shading, surface rendering, observational accuracy.
Perfect for digital artists learning how to simulate materials like leather, skin, or stone.
🔄 17. Perspective Shift Challenge
Take one of your old drawings and redraw it from a new angle or perspective.
What it improves: 3D visualization, depth, dynamic composition.
It’s tough—but essential for artists who want to tell better visual stories.
🎬 18. Storytelling Sequence Sketches
Sketch 3-5 panels that tell a short story—no words.
What it improves: Narrative flow, panel composition, sequential art skills.
Whether you want to make manga or comics, this is one of the most important drawing exercises for storytelling.
💡 Bonus Tips to Improve Your Art Style Even Faster
Draw only in pen: Not allowing yourself to erase or hit the undo button will force you to be more precise and patient with each movement.
Track your progress: Revisit the same drawing every month using a different drill.
Mix exercises: Combine freestyle drawing with emotional remix or silhouette speed sketching.
Study other artists: Find artists with a style you admire and deconstruct their work.
Get feedback: Share your exercises with others and invite critique.
Don’t skip the “ugly” phase: Awkward drawings are part of the growth.
Why These Drawing Exercises Work (Even If You’re a Beginner)
These aren’t random prompts. They're strategic art style development drills that hit all the skills you need:
Muscle memory
Stylization
Line confidence
Visual storytelling
Spatial awareness
Composition and design thinking
By rotating through these exercises weekly or monthly, you’ll start seeing real growth—not just in technical skills, but in your ability to express your unique voice as an artist.
Final Thoughts: Start Small, Grow Fast
You don’t need expensive software or fancy gear to improve.
You need discipline, creativity, and direction—and that’s what these exercises offer. Try just 2–3 per week, and you’ll be surprised how quickly your art style evolves.
Want even more sketching challenges and behind-the-scenes pages from my sketchbook? Check out DIZZY! Sketch Collections—my art zine filled with freestyle drawings, nature sketches, and weird experiments that helped me build my art style from scratch.
💬 Your Turn
Which drawing exercise are you going to try first? Leave a comment and share your results—I’d love to see what you create.
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