How Long Should It Take Me to Draw?

Yes, AI helped me visualise this

Let’s Talk About Time Pacing as an Artist

One of the biggest confidence issues I’m seeing in beginner artists at the moment is this idea that if you can’t draw fast, you must not be very good. How long should it take me to draw?

Somewhere along the way, the internet has convinced people that if you’re not producing a perfectly realistic portrait in 15 minutes, while filming it from three angles and making it look effortless, then you’ve somehow failed as an artist.

And honestly… it’s nonsense.

Drawing is not a speed test.

It’s a skill you build.

The Marathon Theory

I often explain it like this: if you ran a marathon in four hours, would you look at an Olympic athlete who ran it in two and a half and say, “Well, I didn’t really run it, did I?” Of course not. You’d be incredibly proud of yourself. You ran the marathon. You showed up, you pushed yourself, you finished something hard. The fact that someone else did it faster doesn’t cancel out your achievement.

Drawing works exactly the same way.

Some people draw quickly. Some people draw slowly. The difference is almost always practice and training — not talent. If you're consistent, and you put in the work, you will naturally become fast at some point.

Painting As A Professional Artist

When you’re learning to draw, your brain is doing an enormous amount of work. You’re judging proportions, comparing angles, measuring distances, translating something three-dimensional into a flat surface, and at the same time training your hand to do something it’s never done before. That takes time. That isn’t “being slow”, that’s learning.

Speed is not the starting point of skill.

Speed is the result of it, and to be honest, it doesn't change the outcome. No-one really see's you work. Sure, maybe in class you complete less than someone else, but if you're focusing, and still learning, it doesn't matter how much you finish in class. You can always finish an artwork at home.

What Comes First?

Accuracy comes first. Confidence comes next. Speed shows up later, as a side effect of all the quiet work you’ve been putting in.

I know it’s frustrating when you look around and it feels like everyone else is faster than you. But that’s usually because they’ve simply drawn more. They’ve logged more hours. They’ve made more mistakes. They’ve had more practice. And the genuinely encouraging part is that every single time you draw, you are getting a little bit quicker — whether you notice it or not.

What I also see happen a lot is people rushing through this early stage because they think they’re supposed to be faster by now. But this is the most important phase of learning. This is where your foundations are built. This is where your eye develops. This is where confidence starts to grow. If you rush it, you don’t skip the struggle — you just extend it and you actually don't learn anything.

Beginners Artwork

In my ArtistAnd classes, I actively encourage people to slow down, observe properly and draw deliberately. When you remove the pressure to “perform” or keep up with anyone else, people improve much more quickly and with far less frustration. And yes — over time, their speed naturally increases too.

Over 20 years as an artist

Listen, I'm not saying it'll take you 20 years to get good! No way!

But I've been doing this for 20 years, I've been learning my craft since I was a toddler (literally), and I've been teaching for over 7 years. It's not a linear process. I'm still learning today. I'm also forgetting things and having to re-learn them and to be honest, that's what makes the whole thing exciting. I'm constantly on a journey and improving and I can see the progress. That's what makes it exciting, you get to see the improvement all the time.

I love seeing how people learn and trying to teach them in a way that it sinks in.

One of my students gave me the biggest compliment recently. He said he likes the way I teach because I keep it simple, and only a master of their craft can keep it simple.

So how long should a drawing take?

However long you need today.

If today it takes you two hours, that’s perfect.

If in six months it takes you forty-five minutes, amazing.

If next year it takes you twenty, you’ve earned that.

You still ran the marathon.

Please don’t let the internet convince you that art is a race. It’s a practice. A relationship. A skill that grows when you give it patience and consistency. The only real failure is quitting because you thought you were “too slow”.

You’re not slow.

You’re learning.

And that’s something to be proud of 💛

Students Artwork

🎨 Want support while you build those skills?

If you’d like to learn in a relaxed, encouraging environment — with proper guidance, no pressure to perform, and a community of people at all different stages — you’re always welcome to join one of my classes.

You can browse upcoming sessions and find something that suits you here:www.artistand.co.uk/art-classes

Whether you’re picking up a pencil for the first time or returning to art after years away, you’ll fit right in.