I get asked lots of questions about where to start when it comes to drawing in coloured pencil, as well as how I have been successful with my own art and business, so I thought I would share my top three things for kickstarting your successful coloured pencil journey, as well as answer a few other frequently asked questions.

Make sure to read on if you are wanting to start off on the right foot and achieve coloured pencil success…

3 Tips to Kickstart your Coloured Pencil Journey

My three tips for success are as follows, set goals, be committed and put in the time, and get into the right mindset. What do I mean by this? People can often feel overwhelmed or become discouraged by their goals, but this can be avoided by setting goals that have some level of fluidity. Remember that goals can adapt and change as different opportunities become available to you because, at the end of the day, we don’t know what our life is going to look like next week, next month or even a year from now.

Time and commitment are going to play a huge role in your development and help you to see changes along your creative journey. If something is really important to you then you should make sure you’re setting aside time to do it. If other things are more important, then that’s ok! Just remember, we all have 24 hours in a day and it’s up to you to decide what takes priority and how you want to spend your time, to live the life that you want to live.

Finding the right mindset is going to be helpful in all aspects of life, not just your coloured pencil journey. I’m not saying you have to be positive all the time, because that’s unrealistic, but being able to look at your critical inner voice and assess the way you speak to yourself will really help.

Consider ‘negative’ words and change them to something more positive. Instead of telling yourself you need to set aside time for your art, say I want to set aside time for my art. This will take away some of that pressure.

How to prevent doubt from stopping you from achieving your goals:

To me, this is all about your mindset and surrounding yourself with a community of people that are there to help support you and build you up. Having this support will have a huge impact on breaking down those walls of doubt.

When you walk into a room of amazing people and everyone is uplifting and happy, it puts you in good spirits. When you walk into a room of people who aren’t very motivated and are a bit miserable, then that is likely to pull you down.

Finding the right network of people that cheers you on, celebrates your wins and offers you help and advice when you need it is going to be a real help in the future.

How do you know when your artworks are ready to sell?

This is a question that I have been asked a few times and, honestly, there is no perfect time to start because we are never going to be perfect. We are always learning and growing, and if people are starting to show interest in your artwork then you should go for it! I completely understand that, when you’re starting out, it can be scary to put a price on ‘yourself’ and your work, but set a price and be confident with that amount and, over time, you can start to increase that. It’s all about visualising what that amount of money is worth to you and what you feel comfortable and confident with. To hear me talk in more depth about my three tips and answer more questions, make sure to watch the video at the top of this page.