Tips for drawing from life (while terrified of drawing in public)

Disclaimer: If you're totally confident in a public space this will all sound insane

Apr 10, 2023

The advice is always to go and draw from life but it’s SO SCARY to draw in public!

My brain is always shouting “what if someone notices me?!” “what if someone looks at my sketchbook?!” “What if someone talks to me?!” “what if I’m judged by a total stranger!?”

I get all in my head about going drawing in public

There is no way I can go into a public place and instantly knock out the kind of glorious landscape that I see on other people’s instagrams . . . it’s about getting over the fear before it’s about the drawing.

I’ve learned a few practical things that make drawing in public less scary. Here are my top 3:

✏️ 1. The busier the place the less likely anyone will notice me

If I draw in an empty park the one and only dog walker will come over and offer both their input and their life story. If I draw on a bench in a busy bustling high street no one cares what I’m doing.

These people were waiting for Kraftwerk to come on stage. They were too busy to notice me. Except that one nosy parker, but she was too far away to talk to me

Twice I’ve tried drawing at a music festival and it was brilliant both times, no one was interested in my sketchbook at all. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend drawing at some kind of busy event, it’s much less scary.

Middle aged white men at another music event. They were having very serious thoughts about synth music so they didn’t notice any sketchbooking happening

✏️ 2. Keeping materials as simple as possible and my sketchbook small

When I’m having a wobbly day I only take an A6 sketchbook and a pencil or two out with me. They fit in my coat pocket and can easily be popped away or covered over. Mostly, this is to do with tricking my own brain into feeling safe. If I know my materials won’t attract attention I can feel braver about going out.

A6 sketchbook, a tombow brush pen and a Sailor fude pen. If necessary, all of it can be hidden with one elbow

I also have the tiniest sketchbook in my coat pocket at all times so I can make little visual notes even when I’m not out for a drawing session.

A sketchbook so tiny it's almost useless. A mechanical pencil stays sharp enough to make tiny visual notes so the sketchbook isn’t so useless after all.

✏️ 3.Windows

Drawing out of my own windows at home can help to get started. But I find it quickly becomes a bit boring looking at the same view.

One of many many drawings from my kitchen window. This one was made a bit jazzier by painting at sunset and using bleach for the chimneys

Windows in public spaces are great. My top favourite place to draw is in the windows of cafes. If you have a cafe near you that has those tall stools in the window and a small ledge for drinking coffee then you have a perfect drawing from life spot! No one outside the window can talk to you, and everyone inside is mostly facing away from you so they don’t notice you either.

Drawing from the window of a Costa. There were passersby as well as people in the smoking area on the other side of the window

I think the windows in a library would be good too, but every time I go to my local library the windows are full of other introverts so I haven’t been able to try it yet.

✏️ Bonus Important Tip

Those are my top three tips, but there’s one other to keep in mind. When I’m drawing from life while being scared I find it really helps to relax my expectations of the drawing itself. There is no way I can go into a public place and instantly knock out the kind of glorious landscape that I see on other people’s instagrams. The first few drawings I do will be clumsy and awkward and that doesn’t matter, it’s about getting over the fear before it’s about the drawing.

Going out and actually doing the drawing from life means you’re winning.

Here’s me drawing construction vehicles from life - and winning!

If you have any other tips for drawing in public when you’re scared, do please share them in the comments - I’d love to hear any other strategies. Let me know if this is helpful or if you’d like to hear any other useful tips I use when I’m trying to get over myself.

See you later, lots of love xx

Share Secret Sketchbook

Useful links:

📻 Jon Ronson podcast episode called “On how to be invisible” - if anyone tries going drawing wearing hi vis in order to go unnoticed please let me know, I’m not brave enough to try it!

📻 We Heart Worry podcast - not related to drawing but comforting and very funny discussions about being someone who worries about the everyday things that everyone else seems to manage. The episode about worrying about WeTransfer files felt very relevant to my illustration client work.

📻 Good Ship Illustration podcast - everything these 3 ladies share is brilliantly useful. The Essential Drawing Materials Every Illustrator Needs episode is perfect for making me chill out about what materials I’m taking out with me.

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