I couldn’t make drawing a habit… So I tried the opposite

Summary

The creator documents an experiment in building a drawing habit by using a Chinese anatomy “bible” they bought with the goal of studying anatomy daily.

At first, they struggle to keep the pace (and deal with perfectionism, burnout, and leaving other resources unfinished). They then follow the book’s core structure:

• Start with simple 3D construction, especially boxes/cubes
• Build forms step-by-step, progressing like:
  • boxes → spheres → connected forms → carved details (e.g., skulls, heads, facial features)
• Reinforce through heavy repetition until it becomes muscle memory

They apply a 4-step eye method from the author, learn a “triangulation” approach for placing the nose using eye corners/eyebrow landmarks, and treat the mouth like a carved-out sphere/cave—using simplified tooth shapes before adding details.

Later, they jump ahead to learn expression construction, and finish with an integration exercise that combines multiple learned concepts.

When they realize they can’t finish the book within the planned timeframe, they pivot: rather than forcing completion, they apply what they learned to an original animation inspired by Look Back (a running scene). They record themselves running, redraw the character using box-based construction, refine for perspective, and struggle most with timing/smoothness.

They conclude that even without finishing the book, the structured learning and practice helped them restart drawing—and enabled them to create something new.

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Artistic techniques / concepts / creative processes shown

Habit strategy via intensity then pivot

• Attempt to force consistency (daily pace) using a countdown-style plan
• When motivation/feasibility drops, switch goals instead of quitting:
  • from finishing the book → creating an animation

Construction-first anatomy drawing

• Core form language centered on boxes/cubes
• Form progression described in stages, such as:
  • boxes → carve into head → skull
  • cubes → head → skull → character
• Loomis/alternate head construction is referenced as additional methods for different purposes

Form simplification & “carving”

• Mouth built as:
  • a sphere, then
  • “carved” into a cavity
• Teeth simplified into a horse-shoe-like shape before adding finer detail

Repetition-driven learning

• Emphasis on repeated drawing to build muscle memory
• Repetition is framed as a key pattern of the book’s method

Feature placement methods (measurable/triangulated placement)

• Eyes: use the author’s 4-step method
• Nose: estimate position via triangulation using:
  • the corners of the eyes
  • the top of the eyebrows as a landmark

Expression workflow

• Expressions are approached after gaining head knowledge
• Treated as something to “reference later,” rather than fully mastered immediately

Integration exercise

• A “checkpoint” combining multiple skills into a larger drawing/placement task
• Even with limited output, the concepts felt connected

Digital-to-traditional shift

• Shift from digital editing (e.g., liquify/undos) and perfectionism-heavy workflow
• To pencil-and-paper for faster, more honest iteration

Animation practice using the same construction principles

• Reference-based planning:
  • record self running
  • redraw the character using box-based anatomy
• Refinement focus:
  • perspective more than micro-detail (acknowledging stylization)
  • timing as the main challenge—seeking smoother motion without simply increasing frames

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Steps / materials / advice explicitly described (as a process)

Study plan math (to finish the book quickly)

• Target: finish in 9 days
• Pace calculation:
  • 47 pages/day, about 5.9 pages/hour
• Constraint created:
  • must draw ~4x faster than the prior day

Author’s eye-drawing method

• Use a 4-step process for drawing eyes

Nose placement approach

• Estimate nose position by triangulating from:
  • eye corners
  • the top eyebrow position as a landmark

Mouth construction

• Imagine mouth as a sphere
• “Carve out a cave” (shape the opening)
• Add tooth mass as a horse-shoe shape
• Then add finer details

Animation pipeline

• Record running as reference
• Draw the character using box construction
• Refine primarily for perspective
• Iterate on timing/smoothness (without relying heavily on adding frames)

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Creators / contributors featured (mentioned at the end)

• Look Back (referenced as the inspiration / original animation source)
• PewDiePie (referenced via a “video by Pewdiepie”)
• The anatomy book author (unnamed; the creator suggests checking the author’s Twitter for free pages)