# How long does it take for you to draw?



## Sunburst_Odell (Nov 28, 2018)

Title is pretty self-explanatory. How long does it take you to draw, from sketch to finished product, on average? And if you want to go a little more specific, how long does each step take?

For me, I take about an hour and thirty minutes to three hours, but sometimes goes up to six hours on fake screenshot-type pictures. Sketching takes me about twenty to thirty minutes per person in the drawing, lining about ten minutes for each one, and coloring goes from ten to thirty minutes. Shading takes ten to twenty minutes, and backgrounds range heavily from five minutes to an hour. Then I finish up the drawing and make everything look uniform and nice, this ranges from five minutes to thirty depending on how complex the drawing is.


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## Infrarednexus (Nov 28, 2018)

I've been able to draw full traditional sketches on paper in less than an hour actually.


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## Lexiand (Nov 28, 2018)

When I draw I think It would take me like about an hour to draw a simple head because I keep erasing and erasing again and again because I can't draw good.


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## Dongding (Nov 28, 2018)

Can be long (even months inbetween submissions) but I'm lazy too so...

If I bucked down and did something of reasonable quality I'd say it takes like, 10ish hours of proper effort to make something I'd make.


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## AcerbicSeth (Nov 28, 2018)

...It takes me quite awhile.
Sometimes I can finish something within a few days, and then there are drawings like the one I'm working on now where I've been working on it for 16 days and I'm not even happy with the construction yet.

But construction definitely takes the longest.
I start with something really rough, then create a new set of construction lines and slowly start refining it over time.
I'll usually go through 12ish sets of construction lines.

The linework usually only takes me 3-4 hours, and the coloring/shading probably the same.

But my drawings are fairly large, and I use a mouse still, soo...


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## DimskyTheOwl (Nov 28, 2018)

When it comes to a full-drawing, background, shading, highlights, and everything, I can take up to 8-13 hours usually over a week or two. When I'm really motivated maybe just the same day.
I spend the most time fixing the sketches in the first few hours.

When it comes to simple things, that can range anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours.


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## Pogo (Nov 28, 2018)

5 to 15 minutes. If i get really into a piece and start adding color i may take 30-50 minutes.

My drawings are more akin to doodles. They're nice to look at imo. Whenever i attempt to add details i feel like it just muddys my pictures. =w=


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## Fallowfox (Nov 28, 2018)

Too long.


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## tinybuggy (Nov 28, 2018)

It really depends. 

Something like this takes about 30-45 min. I'm not too fussy about the lines, so once I sketch out a rough construction lines, I'm pretty much done. 







If I'm going for something more finished, I spend a lot more time on the lining and shading so this is probably around 4hrs or so. Especially since I overlay the lines for this style so I'm going back afterwards to make sure the lines look clean and smooth. 






And actual scene like this one probably took somewhere between 8-10hrs. Because this is set in a dark space, the base colors for everything is darker so it take a long time to make the colors look correct in relation to each other. 






Sorry for the long post, but it's easier for me to explain when there's pictures.


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## Ravofox (Nov 29, 2018)

I'm usually pretty slow, partially due to lazyness, being busy, and not getting it to look quite right. This is especially if i'm drawing a comic, very difficult to draw characters consistantly. So it can sometimes take several months for me to finish even a relatively simple piece.

However, i have found i've started to get quicker, just taking a couple or even just one day for something. I hope this is a good sign! 

Also, it's very interesting to see how varied our drawing rates are!


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## bopan (Nov 29, 2018)

man, it really depends on what im drawing and how im feeling! cheebs can take like 15 minutes but a full rendered piece can take daaaaays!


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## Fruitythebeetle (Nov 29, 2018)

several mins to several hours at most. one piece took me days to do.


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## pandasayori (Dec 1, 2018)

Admittedly I can be lazy and I work slowly to keep myself from being burnt out. I enjoy sketching more than doing fully lined, colored / shaded pieces when it comes to digital. For traditional I throughly enjoy the painting process with watercolor. It can take me a few hours to a few days to complete something from start to finish. Sometimes weeks depending on how bad my depression and anxiety are.


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## Renneon (Dec 6, 2018)

classic answer, but yeah, it really depends ! A clean traditionnal pencil sketch will take something like 20 minutes, but a full illustration can be something from 4 to 8 hours ! (not in one go, of course x) )
But sometimes i also like to do some doodles in a few seconds/minutes 
I think it's really nice to experiment and try spending more/less time on a piece, it's definitely a good training and it can be really fun ! Sometimes the time you spend on a drawing does not affect the quality, but gives different results style wise ! 
Something great i learned in art school is to do life drawings of anything in 5 minutes, using different tools/techniques (not looking at your paper, drawing with your opposite hand...) It gives funny results sometimes, and other times you get something really beautiful and unexpected !

This is something that helped me sketch quicker, and without worrying and re-doing my lines so much !


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## Tattorack (Dec 15, 2018)

The most common thing I get commissioned is full body artwork. For something like pictured below it can take between 3 to 5 hours to get it done, depending on lineart/colour/shading complexity:


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## inkycoils (Dec 15, 2018)

Really depends. Line art typically takes a couple hours if it's only a single character, but can take less depending on the requested style. A full-age color painting can take anywhere from 8 to 40 hours, depending on # of characters, objects, etc. I often end up using personal projects to experiment with new techniques, so they almost always take 2-3x the amount of time to do as commissions.


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## Fallowfox (Dec 15, 2018)

I literally still work on art from 5 years ago.


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## Darin Waller (Dec 16, 2018)

I guess I don't usually count the hours alone, but what I've noticed is that my sketches often take from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how much I work to refine them and the size. If I'm just doing gesture practice (which I do a lot lol) the exercises don't take longer than 5 minutes.





On bigger/cleaner projects I can take from 12 to 48 hours, usually trough a week or two, but I certainly could work even faster if I didn't distract myself so often!

I think I have the hardest time working on lineart. It ain't my strongest suit, and again, I find it easier to get distracted while working on that part! Therefore a lot of my personal pieces end up as dirty sketches with some coloring and shading (like the one above). I'm still trying to work on that though.


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## Juju-z (Dec 16, 2018)

Complexity and planning play a key part in how long obviously, so the time ranges can vary quite wildly but I like to think I am a pretty fast artist all things considered.




Spoiler








5-30 min





10-60 min





50-90 min





80-120 min





4-6 hours.

Slightly nsfw, so double spoiler


Spoiler








12-16 hours


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## Rina_Lagartija (Dec 16, 2018)

It really depend of what I'm drawing, I don't usually have time to draw and paint as I would like, but If I set aside time I spend on my work or doing chores :s I think  it takes 5 or 6 hours average, I spend most of time doing the sketch and lineart, when it comes to paint, and shadows and lighting i'm faster  also it takes more time if I'm working with perspective, more characters and backgrounds :O


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## Sunburst_Odell (Dec 17, 2018)

Juju-z said:


> Complexity and planning play a key part in how long obviously, so the time ranges can vary quite wildly but I like to think I am a pretty fast artist all things considered.


Dang, you're able to draw a fully colored/shaded scene-drawing in just two hours? If I drew something like that Christmassy one it'd take me like, ten, haha. I envy you.


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## Juju-z (Dec 17, 2018)

Sunburst_Odell said:


> Dang, you're able to draw a fully colored/shaded scene-drawing in just two hours? If I drew something like that Christmassy one it'd take me like, ten, haha. I envy you.


Line art usually takes the longest for most people, with shading and coloring as a after thought. Instead of line art, shading and coloring is how I define characters and environments. My style is basically designed for speed. : P


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## Skykristal (Jan 13, 2019)

Really depends on what I draw. Mostly my sketches take about 30min up to an hour. Sometimes longer. Lining and basic color is probably the fastest part. I love lining and got faster and faster over time. Shading/rendering is what requires the most time. Mostly 5 hours and more. Sometimes even days or weeks if it's a group picture /multiple characters with background. I don't do these very often tho.


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## FuzzleTheMintyDog (Jan 13, 2019)

*Anywhere from 1 week to 1 month. *


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## PercyD (Jan 13, 2019)

Depends on the piece.
The quickest things I do are action sketches with flat colors. I use 3 to 5 colors with minimal shading, mainly different values of temperature. If I have a reference, it takes me *less than 20 minutes*. Most of the time is spent getting the pose, anatomy, and perspective right.

If I am working on something with full shading and effects, it takes me about *3 hours*-
Most of the time then is spent applying the effects- different shading levels, textures, and color corrections. It takes even longer since I get up every hour and  a half or so.
Plus I always work in 4 hour blocks, so a piece of work like the later can get divided up between sessions


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## Keroki (Jan 13, 2019)

My sketches take me like 10 minutes, but the lineart... I hate lineartttsss.
Once the lineart is done, after like 1-2 hours, painting and shading goes on so easily.

All in all about 3-6 hours depending on the detail and if theres a background.


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## SkyeLegs (Jan 13, 2019)

Sketching is always the hardest part for me, trying to get the posing and perspective just right. It can take me well over an hour. Line art is probably my favourite step, I find it relaxing and I can get into a nice flow. Takes me about an hour or two depending on the piece. Then colouring and shading usually take the longest, another couple hours for stylised shading or several hours for detailed fur and texturing. So typically anywhere from 4-10 hours, depending on complexity.

That said, in reality, it takes me days or weeks to actually finish a piece because lazy.


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## MikeTheBrownFox (Jan 31, 2019)

For me, it can take me about 6 hours to finish any drawing. Even drawings that look simple and quick to draw can take me a long time.

I really need to improve my drawing speed, I'm tired of drawing for hours on end while everyone else makes quality drawings in about less than 2 hours. I really need advice here.


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## Keefur (Jan 31, 2019)

Yes.  It takes me a while, too.  At least three or four hours at minimum.  I don't use a tablet.  I draw with a mouse.  I do like shading.  I don't do a lot of commissions, although I have been told by others that I should.  Here's one I did.


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## foussiremix (Feb 1, 2019)

Around 7 hours or 13 hours.
I take alot of time while drawing and because of the shading.


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## Patchclaws (Feb 4, 2019)

my usual art generally takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours, but it goes up from there if there's backgrounds, several chaacters, or lots of painty style rendering. 
this took me like 20+ hours if i'm remembering correctly




and its always the rendering that takes me the longest for this style of art
also finding references for background elements -_-


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## Galaxseed (Feb 9, 2019)

Depends how energetic I am that day. Sketches take me about 10-20 mins , lineart about an hour and a half , coloring - 40 / 70 mins and last adjustments may be up to 20 mins to an hour (because I'm so indecisive with colors sometimes). I can def finish one piece within a day or two if I was really REAALLY motivated.

If I was exhausted tho , It would probably be double the time sob and take me 5 days or even more sob


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## TazTopaz (Feb 9, 2019)

It depends, it can take me about two hours to a day for a full scene but if I'm just going for my usual portrait style it takes about 45 to an hour and a half to do it depending on if I need references, how I'm feeling that day and how well I can draw hands.


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## Casey Fluffbat (Feb 9, 2019)

20 minutes for just drawing a quick concept of something to 2 - 3 hours for something that fills the page. It sounds fast for a full-page drawing, but I get away with it using bastard techniques to make drawing detailed backgrounds quick.


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## Jane Hollywood (Feb 9, 2019)

Patchclaws said:


> my usual art generally takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours, but it goes up from there if there's backgrounds, several chaacters, or lots of painty style rendering.
> this took me like 20+ hours if i'm remembering correctly
> 
> 
> ...



Right because you actually do this shit the right way and make gallery level.


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## Deathless (Feb 10, 2019)

It all depends on whether it's digital or not but usually digital art takes longer then traditional paper, pencil, outlining, coloring. Not sure why but it's more relaxing drawing on paper which makes me more motivated to finish it... maybe it's because of the screen, I don't know.
Usually, since I procrastinate more than usual on a digital art piece, it takes (depending on complexity) at least one or two hours, but a paper and pencil piece takes a good 30 minutes (unless it's something I really care about or I get shading involved will take longer, making the most time spent about 2 hours)


Spoiler: Non-digital best work
















Spoiler: Digital best work


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## kaviki (Feb 10, 2019)

About 8-10 hours (digital)


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