Live drawing sessions (and their replays) are incredible for many reasons but let me tell you about the two most important ones (in my humble opinion).

Reason #1: They get you drawing in your sketchbook like nothing else.

• They’re dedicated time to sit down and use your sketchbook but with a smidge of social accountability thrown in to make sure you really do it. You aren’t likely to multitask by watching a K-Drama while you’re supposed to be drawing, for example.

• They’re guided. The host of the drawing session does all the upfront work of preparing a theme, choosing timers, sourcing reference images, etc. Basically they run the show so all you have to do is turn up with some supplies and get to drawing.

• They’re timed (usually). This helps you let go even more and just focus on the act of creating in your sketchbook. Short timers are especially great because they don’t give you enough time to be a perfectionist. Sometimes they’re so short you’re just scrambling to get the gist of the image complete! In essence, they keep you moving, grooving, and drawing.

Don’t let the idea of timers scare you. If you’ve never tried drawing with timers before it can inspire feelings ranging from mild discomfort to flat out rejection (as in “Timers? Nah, I’m out!” — a real reaction I saw once!) If the later is your reaction, I suspect it stems from the misconception that everything you draw has to look good.

*shuffles notes for incoming lecture*

Not everything you make needs to be finished or look good. In fact, it doesn’t even need to look remotely good. It can look horrible! And that’s fantastic! It’s amazing, really. You made something.

That’s the important part.

It can be horrible. It can also be stunningly beautiful. It can be anything at all. The point is that you are dedicating time to making art.

Okay, #endrant.

I could write a whole post about the benefits of using timers, and maybe I will in the future, but for now just trust me and try it. Even if you’ve tried it in the past. Try it again with the new perspective you gained from the above rant and a growth mindset. Okay?

Timers might not be for everyone. That’s okay. Just try them out if you’re new to it and don’t let them scare you off.

If they’re just not for you, you can still join and enjoy drawing sessions, I promise. Not all sessions use quick timers, some have long leisurely timers like 30-45 minutes per image. And even for the fast ones, you can always go at your own pace and spend more time on a drawing if you want to.

Reason #2: The community is amazing.

In each one of the drawing sessions I recommend below, the community is absolutely fantastic. They are welcoming, supportive, and just generally super cool people.

If you’re anything like me, you might feel a bit unsure or shy when first joining a new session or drawing sessions in general. It took me a few sessions of just drawing quietly and listening with my camera and mic off before I felt comfortable jumping into the discussion. I still do from time to time, to be honest. Sometimes you want to draw and listen but don’t necessarily feel up to participating and that’s totally okay!

You can still be a part of the community vibes just by being there or participating via chat.

If/when you feel ready to jump in during chatty sessions, you’ll find an incredibly welcoming and supportive community in each and every case.

Since the layoff, my day-to-day has gotten a lot more isolated. When I was working as a software engineer I had a daily stand up meeting with my coworkers and often many other meetings through out the week. Without those daily interactions, I suddenly had long stretches of time where I wouldn’t see anyone other than my husband and Ratchet (they are both amazing, it’s true, but we all need to socialize with others!)

Going to drawing sessions allowed me to join this amazing community and have a little bit more social interaction in my weekly routine. That led to finding some new friends in this community, and even starting to co-host my own session with one of those new friends (Hi, Libby!)

To recap, drawing sessions are great. You should try them. Especially if you need a little bit of help making time to draw in your sketchbook or not knowing what to draw when you crack it open.

And to remind you of this one really important thing about drawing sessions, allow me to present this spread from my sketchbook after I was feeling down one day about how my drawings had turned out:

All drawing sessions listed below are ones I’ve tried myself. Some sessions are free, others are paid. Of those that are paid, some are subscription based (via Substack or Patreon) and others are one-off payments. A lot of them have massive backlogs as well, so you’ll likely never run out of sessions to try.

I’m not going to write about each one to save you some time, but I just have to highlight one of them which is:

Introvert Drawing Club hosted by Beth Spencer

This is the one that started it all for me. The gateway into online drawing sessions. I joined last year, shortly after getting laid off, and it really opened me up to this whole new community and the world of online drawing sessions. Beth’s sessions are so playful and full of joy and just plain fun. I can honestly say joining her membership was the single best thing I did for my creative practice in 2024.

Beth also puts together a list every week of all the different drawing or co-working sessions that are happening. It’s a great resource!

Okay, now on to the list!

Great Big List of Drawing Sessions:

I’ve separated the sessions based on what platform they’re hosted through (i.e. here on Substack, through an artist’s Patreon, or on their own site)

Substack:

Introvert Drawing Club hosted by Beth Spencer (see above)

Art Gym hosted by Adam Ming and Katie Stack

Robyn Hepburn Illustration hosted by Robyn Hepburn

The Sketchbook Games hosted by Citlaflor

The Picturebook Studio hosted by Holly Surplice and Emma Levey (Holly also hosts another session called Animal Life Drawing which is mentioned below!)

ART HANG PARTY! with Melissa Martin (hosted on YouTube and has an huge backlog!)

Patreon:

Katie Moody

Emma Carlisle

Sarah Dyer

TJ Marston

monkeymintaka

Other:

Odd Orange

Animal Life Drawing

All in Gesture Workshops with Todd Bright

That’s a lot of drawing sessions for you to check out and dive into! And I know there are so many I haven’t yet had a chance to join, or even to have heard of yet. So, tell me. What are some others you’ve enjoyed? Do you host one of your own? Let us know in the comments!

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I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the drawing session Libby Brewster and I hosted last year. While we don’t have any strict plans to host another one…you never know! Here’s the replay:

Party Pups! Drawing Session

Jenni Macklin and Libby Brewster

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August 22, 2024

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P.S. One final note regarding memberships and subscriptions: I have tried all of the listed sessions but I don’t maintain memberships to all of them all at the same time, joining too many at once can lead to overwhelm! Instead I tend to keep a couple of my faves and cycle through others, joining when I can. If I had unlimited funds and no other obligations on my time I would just join them all forever! Alas.