Sketching something once a day is a great concept! It can not only help you to improve through practice it can also help you to make drawing daily part of your routine. But there are problems with it, sometimes you just don’t know what to draw or you will draw the same things over and over again. A friend from Slowly(another great app which I can highly recommend!) told me about this app called “Sketch A Day” which I want to present and kinda review for you here today 🙂

Sketch A Day basically looks like a light version of Instagram, where you can upload pictures and other people can like or comment on them. But if you dive deeper into the functions of the app, you will see that it’s a lot different, because it’s made with artists in mind. When uploading an image you can for example tell the app what kind of medium you have used, so that later your drawing can be sorted accordingly and found by the people who enjoy exactly that. You can choose between very common ones like digital, pencil or ink, but you have many more options such as gouache, charcoal or pastel. You can also talk about the reference you have used if you have used any. Which I mostly used to share and find new cool tutorials. But the biggest advantage of the app, are their prompts!

As I mentioned before, there are those days when you look at a white sheet of paper or a white screen and your mind seems empty. A prompt can not only help you start it can also make you try out motifs and styles which you might have never thought of yourself. Prompts can also be interpreted in many different ways, making it a fun challenge to come up with something interesting. One prompt could be the word “story” which might lead some people to think of some kind of storybook right off the bat. Other people might think of their favourite story and draw something out of that, while others might draw a storyteller.
A prompt that really made me think was “symbol” because that could be almost ANYTHING! It could be an icon used to show people where the restrooms are, it could be referencing something or symbolizing a feeling. In the end, I decided to go for drawing the sign which I have often seen used as a symbol for sign language in general. It’s actually the international sign for “I love you” often used by deaf celebrities when posing for a picture. But drawing that was more difficult than I thought… I went from drawing a realistic hand to an emoji hand to adding an emoji heart but still, the canvas looked empty. So I tried out different things and in the end, created something that itself references old comic books. I don’t think I would have ever come up with that idea if it were not for the app.

There is also the option to become a gold member, which I personally have not tried out yet, but I still want to talk about it. One of the functions which you are gaining by signing up for it is being able to create an artist profile, which basically means adding a background picture, description and everything to your already existing profile and being able to show off the artworks you have made on there in a better way. Which to me sounds a bit… underwhelming considering that I could do almost all those things on Instagram for free. The other function which will be opening up to you is chatting with other members, which I know you can do on Instagram too, but hear me out! Because that’s actually the function I would love to have the most, which made me consider signing up sometimes already xD Because compared to Instagram, which basically everyone can use, on Sketch A Day there are only artists, many different ones with many different styles. And more than once I would have wanted to be able to ask someone how they drew something. And I feel like if I have had the option they would have answered.

But even without these features, I feel like the app is still worth recommending! One of the things that gives me additional motivation is my streak meter which is showing me how many days in a row I uploaded a drawing. At times it can be stressful to come up with an idea inspired by the prompt, but you can always see the prompt coming the next day and if you watch an advert (which sometimes works, but sometimes it does not for some reason) you would get to see all of the upcoming prompts for the rest of the week. So that way you can at least think about what your next drawing could be, which I find super helpful^^ Also there is a kind of library with texts other members have written about how to draw. Recently I read one about how to draw hair the correct way. I am still not able to do it(because I suck I guess xD), but I think it’s cool to have this kind of knowledge collection on there.

All in all this app seems to be made by artists for artists, it’s a way to connect to a creative community and not only be inspired by them but also motivated to draw. It gives you ideas and hints, that keep you drawing on a daily basis and thus practising and getting better with time. I feel like it makes sharing art, for someone who might be still a bit insecure(like ME) about their work, easier because as of now I have never gotten a bad comment or no likes on a picture. So it might be a good first step, before switching to another app one day. Therefore I would highly recommend it for beginner artists, but also don’t see why a professional artist could not have fun with it. I guess this app is for everyone, who like to create something visually. If you got curious now and want to check it out, you can do so here on android and here on apple devices 🙂

Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress