90 studies

30 Day Art Improvement Challenge: Foundations, Figure, Portrait

Thirty studies in an order that builds, with day 30 a second go at day 1 to lay beside it.

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All 90 studies

Foundations 30

Day 01: Benchmark: the hand you do not draw with, and one small object Draw both as well as you can today, date the page and put it away. Is the date on it?
Day 02: Dots scattered in pairs, each pair joined in one stroke Straight lines, no ruler, shoulder moving. Did the line arrive, or curve off?
Day 03: Coins at ten tilts, drawn between two guide lines Each tilt is an ellipse, from nearly flat to nearly round, touching both lines. Are the ends rounded, not pointed?
Day 04: A kettle drawn without one glance at the paper This is blind contour drawing: one slow line around the edges. Did your eyes stay on the kettle?
Day 05: The same kettle as a contour drawing, looking this time Outline only, no shading. Are the proportions closer than on day 4?
Day 06: The gaps of a chair Draw only the shapes between legs, rungs and back, the negative space. Does a chair appear anyway?
Day 07: Boxes drawn freehand, as if made of glass Draw the hidden back edges too. Do the far corners meet where they should?

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Foundations, continued

Day 08: A key, a spoon and a comb in outline Draw each at its real size, then lay it on the drawing. How close is the fit?
Day 09: A box, a cylinder and a ball under one lamp One lamp on, every other light off. Is each darkest side the one away from the lamp?
Day 10: A strip of five tones, from white to your darkest dark Five boxes in a row, bare paper at one end. Are the steps between them even?
Day 11: A lemon, shaded from its light side to its shadow side Light side, shadow side, and the shadow it throws on the paper. Does it look round, or flat with a dark rim?
Day 12: One cast shadow, drawn as the lamp moves around a jar Lamp to the left, behind and to the right. Draw only the shadow. Which way does it always point?
Day 13: Hatching on a ball: parallel lines and nothing else Set the lines closer together where it is darker, and never smudge. Does the ball turn?
Day 14: The same ball in cross-hatching Add a second set of lines at an angle to the first. Where do the layers pile up?
Day 15: A pale bowl against a pale wall Nearly everything is light. Can you show where the bowl ends without an outline?
Day 16: The height of a jug, counted in jug-widths Hold the pencil out, mark the width with your thumb and count the widths up. Does the drawing agree?
Day 17: A fence and its posts running directly away from you This is one-point perspective: the receding lines meet at one vanishing point. Do the posts shrink evenly?
Day 18: The corner of a room, each wall with its own vanishing point This is two-point perspective. Are both points on one level line, the horizon?
Day 19: A cup, a jar and a jug in a line going away from you The near one overlaps the next and the far one is drawn smallest. Does the far one look far?
Day 20: Your own foot, pointing straight at you This is foreshortening: the length you know is mostly hidden. Did you draw what you saw?
Day 21: One tin can standing, lying and seen end on Three views of the same cylinder. How does the ellipse change as you look down on it?
Day 22: Shoeboxes scattered on the floor at different angles Every box has its own pair of vanishing points. Does each box head for its own two?
Day 23: Three objects overlapping Arrange them so each hides part of the next. Is it clear which is in front?
Day 24: A plant in its pot The big shape of the whole thing first, then leaf by leaf. Do the leaves overlap?
Day 25: A dish towel, exactly as it fell Drop it and leave it. Can you trace every fold back to where it begins?
Day 26: One room seen from the room next door The door frame is the border of the picture. Is the far room lighter or darker than the frame?
Day 27: A kitchen corner in shadow shapes only No outlines. Fill in the shadows and leave the light as bare paper. Does it read from across the room?
Day 28: A still life of three things you chose, lit from one side The arrangement is yours. Is there one lightest light and one darkest dark?
Day 29: Out of a window: the frame, a middle distance and something far off Draw all three layers. Do things shrink as they go back?
Day 30: The day 1 drawing again: your hand and the same object Draw before you look at the first one, then lay them side by side. What is different in the second?

Figure 30

Day 01: Benchmark: a standing figure, from a mirror or a patient friend Head to feet, as well as you can today. Date it and put it away. Did the feet fit on the page?
Day 02: Ten gesture drawings, one sweeping line for each pose A gesture drawing lays in the action of a pose, fast. Can you name the pose from the first line alone?
Day 03: Stick figures with a bar for shoulders and a bar for hips A line for the spine and two bars across it, in ten poses. Do the bars tilt?
Day 04: The ribcage and pelvis as two boxes A box for the chest, a box for the hips and the spine between, in five poses. Can the boxes face different ways?
Day 05: Someone standing at ease, most of the weight on one foot This stance is called contrapposto. Do the shoulders turn a different way from the hips?
Day 06: A standing figure, measured in heads One convention draws an average adult about seven and a half heads tall. How many heads is yours?
Day 07: The head as a ball with a jaw, and no features Front, side and three-quarter, as blank as an egg. Does each one face a clear direction?
Day 08: The neck, joining head to shoulders From the front, from the side and from behind. Does the head look joined on, or balanced on top?
Day 09: A hand as a mitten The palm as one block, four fingers as one shape, the thumb apart. Does it read as a hand already?
Day 10: The mitten split into fingers Divide the finger shape in four and mark the joints. Are the four fingers different lengths?
Day 11: A hand holding a cup, built from blocks The palm block first, then the fingers wrapping round. Could that grip really hold the cup?
Day 12: A foot from the side, as a wedge Heel, arch and toes inside one sloping block. Does it stand flat on the ground?
Day 13: Both feet standing, seen from the front Draw the floor line under them first. Do they carry the weight above?
Day 14: An arm as two cylinders, straight and then bent Shoulder to wrist, with the elbow between. Is the bent arm as long as the straight one?
Day 15: A leg as two cylinders, straight and then mid-step Hip to ankle, with the knee between. Where does the knee fall between hip and ankle?
Day 16: Someone sitting down, with the seat drawn before the sitter Chair first, then the person. Does the weight go down into the chair?
Day 17: A figure bending to pick something up The curve of the spine first, then the rest. Would they topple over?
Day 18: A figure reaching for a high shelf One long stretch from heel to fingertip. How far down the body does the stretch run?
Day 19: A walker in mid-stride, one foot down and one lifting Draw it from the side. Do the arms swing against the legs?
Day 20: A back view of someone busy with a task There is no face to lean on. Can you still tell what they are doing?
Day 21: Someone flat on a sofa, drawn from the foot end Foreshortening again: the near parts hide what lies behind them. Did the feet come out larger than the head?
Day 22: A sleeve, creased where the arm bends Draw where the cloth bunches and where it pulls tight. Can you tell where the elbow is?
Day 23: A clothed figure, with the body drawn first A light figure underneath and the clothes over it. Do the clothes hang from shoulders and hips?
Day 24: Someone hauling a full bucket in one hand Draw the load first, then the body leaning away to balance it. Could they hold that pose?
Day 25: A child and an adult side by side, both measured in heads Use family or a photograph of your own. How many heads tall is each?
Day 26: Two figures together Shaking hands, or one helping the other up. Where do they touch, and who is leaning?
Day 27: A figure in three tones, with no outline Light, middle and shadow. Does it stand in space?
Day 28: Twenty small figures across one page From memory, doing ordinary things, each no taller than your thumb. Is every one doing something different?
Day 29: A whole figure in a place Someone at a sink, a desk or a doorway, with the floor drawn in. Do the feet meet the floor?
Day 30: The day 1 figure again, in the same pose Draw it, then lay it beside the first. What is different in the second?

Portrait 30

Day 01: Benchmark: a mirror portrait, as well as you can today Draw your own face, date the page and put it away. Is the whole head on the page?
Day 02: Your head from the front, as four large shapes Skull, jaw, hair and neck, with the features as light marks. Is the head taller than it is wide?
Day 03: Your head turned until one ear is hidden This is the three-quarter view. Which half of the face is narrower now?
Day 04: Your side view, caught with a second mirror Set the second mirror at an angle to the first. How far back does the head go behind the ear?
Day 05: Your head tipped up Lift the chin toward the mirror. Does the line of the eyes curve?
Day 06: Your head tipped down The top of the head comes toward the mirror. How much of the face is still showing?
Day 07: Your head from memory Put the mirror away, draw, then check. What did you forget?
Day 08: One eye The lids, the ball behind them and the inner corner. Does it sit in a socket, not on the surface?
Day 09: The pair of eyes, measured against each other Use your pencil. How does the space between them compare with the width of one eye?
Day 10: Your nose from the front No lines down the sides, only the shadow beside it and under it. Does it stand out from the face?
Day 11: Your nose from the side Two mirrors again: the bridge, the tip and the wing of the nostril. Where is the tip compared with the top lip?
Day 12: Your mouth, closed Draw the line between the lips first and make it darker than the edges. Does that line carry the expression?
Day 13: Your mouth, open The teeth are one light shape, not a row of posts. Is the inside the darkest part?
Day 14: One ear The outer rim, the folds inside it and the lobe. Where does the top of it sit against the eye?
Day 15: Your hair as one mass One outline for the whole shape, then a light side and a dark side. Does it sit on the skull?
Day 16: Half your face in shadow, the lamp level with your ear Where does the edge of the shadow run down the nose?
Day 17: Light falling straight down on your face Shadows gather under the brow, the nose and the chin. Which of the three is darkest?
Day 18: A lamp on the table, under your chin The light now comes from below. Which familiar shadows have turned over?
Day 19: Your face with a window behind you The face is mostly dark and its edge is bright. Can you keep the features quiet?
Day 20: Your face in shadow shapes only Fill the shadows in flat and draw nothing else. Does a face appear?
Day 21: Your face in three tones Paper, one middle tone and one dark. Where does each one go?
Day 22: The lights of your face in white pencil, the paper left as shadow Use dark paper. Did you draw only where the light falls?
Day 23: Your face in glasses, your own or borrowed The frames rest on the nose and the ears. Do the eyes still sit behind the lenses?
Day 24: Your face under a hat The hat goes around the skull, not on top of the hair. How much forehead is left?
Day 25: Your face with a hand against the cheek Compare the two in the mirror. How much of the face would the hand cover?
Day 26: An expression you can hold for a minute A raised brow or a half smile. What moved besides the mouth?
Day 27: A self-portrait half the size of your thumb Only what matters survives at this size. What did you keep?
Day 28: A self-portrait as large as the sheet The head touches every edge. Which part was hardest at this size?
Day 29: A self-portrait in ink, with no pencil first Nothing can be erased, so slow down. Where did you commit too early?
Day 30: The day 1 self-portrait again The same mirror and the same light. Lay the two side by side: what is different in the second?

How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-09-30: three months of thirty dated studies. Foundations runs from a benchmark drawing through line and shape, form and light, proportion and space and whole pictures; Figure is the body without the features of the face; Portrait is the visitor's own face in a mirror. Day 30 of each month draws the day 1 subject again. Every title opens with its day so the list reads in day order, and every hint ends with the one thing to check. Nothing is taken from a published or community challenge, and no day asks for a stranger as a model. Terms and conventions checked on 2026-09-30 in English Wikipedia: contour drawing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_drawing), blind contour drawing, done without looking at the paper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_contour_drawing), negative space (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_space), hatching and cross-hatching (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatching, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shading for closer lines reading darker), a circle seen from a side angle as an ellipse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipse), one-point and two-point perspective and the vanishing point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_point), the horizon line and foreshortening (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(graphical)), comparing measurements with a pencil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atelier, Comparative measurement), gesture drawing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesture_drawing), contrapposto (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrapposto), an average figure of about seven and a half heads as one convention (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_proportions) and the three-quarter view, a head turned somewhere between full face and profile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_painting). All were read again on 2026-10-03. A proportion is given only as the convention the article states. No title repeats a title in any other list on the site (checked with the day taken off). Licence: own work

How it works

This 30 day art improvement challenge is a month of studies in an order that builds. Day 01 is a benchmark and Day 30 draws it again. Print this list puts the month on paper with a box to tick for each day.

Read the full guide

Start with Foundations

Foundations is the 30 day art challenge for beginners, and its order is this page's answer to what to learn first in drawing: line and shape, form and light, proportion and space, then whole pictures. Begin at Day 01, at the top of the sheet.

Figure and Portrait

The menu under the button changes month. Figure is a 30 day anatomy drawing challenge, from gesture lines to two figures together. Portrait is a 30 day portrait drawing challenge on your own face in a mirror.

Draw it again

Day 01 of each month is dated and put away. Day 30 is a draw it again challenge: the same subject, drawn before you look back. Lay the two side by side.

Keep every page. The comparison on Day 30 needs the Day 01 drawing to still be there.
Each hint ends with one thing to check. Check it before you call the study done.
Most days need only a pencil and paper. A lamp you can move is useful from Day 09 of Foundations.

Questions and answers

What should I learn to draw first?

This page starts with straight lines, ellipses and outlines, then boxes, cylinders and balls under one lamp, then measuring and perspective. Figures and faces come afterwards, in months of their own.

Will thirty days make me better at drawing?

No page can promise that. This drawing improvement challenge gives you thirty studies in a sensible order and two drawings of one subject, made a month apart, to compare for yourself.

What is in the Figure month?

Gesture drawings, the ribcage and pelvis as two boxes, a figure counted in heads, hands from mitten to fingers, feet, arms and legs, a sleeve, and two figures together. The features of the face are left to the Portrait month.

Do I need a model for the Portrait month?

No. Every day uses your own face in a mirror, with a second mirror for the side views. No day asks you to draw, photograph or study a stranger.

Where do the studies come from?

They were written for this page and follow no published challenge. Each named technique, such as blind contour, hatching, contrapposto and one-point perspective, was checked against its Wikipedia article on the day of writing.