1/ Good morning.

Drawing and painting for 8+ hours a day can do irreparable damage to your body, even if you are young. Instead may I offer the following helpful advice that works and is healthier for you?

Deliberate and dedicated study of 3-5 hrs > 8+ hours of non stop paint.

2/ Deliberate study: to give your studies an honest intent. To find what you are weakest at, and study *that*. Have a goal when practicing, even if small.

Dedicated study: to focus on your drawing/painting. Think every time you lay down a line, and ask why it needs to be-

3/ there. Also study time is sacred. Aim for no distractions, both outside and internal (self doubts and frustrations im looking at you).

Lastly, aim for every work that you do to be better than the last! You’ll inevitably fail at this, but that’s ok! This goal truly helps!

4/ This is far more effective than doing non stop work for more than 8 hours. And I know, formulas exists that say “if you do x a LOT, you gain mastery”. The answer to that is sort of (more on this later), BUT not so crammed that you’ll hurt yourself and ends up backfiring on you

5/ Consider the following: Most Olympic level athletes typically train 20-25 hrs a week (2-3 hrs). Even Symone Byles at 32 hrs a week is still 4.5 hrs per day. These are Athletes at the top of their game, who not only need to hone their craft, but also not over train and injure

6/ Now here’s the kicker. A 2016 study at Case Western Reserve University looked at 3,000 athletes across 34 separate studies. They found practice only accounted for 18% of performance. Now don’t get me wrong, that is not a small percentage, nor its to demean practice. This is a-

7/ study of professionals who already had the dedication needed! But they did find that other factors contributed to athletes success. Such as sleep, body nourishment and *taking care of their mental well being*!

Now let’s quickly talk about that 10k hour number by Gladwell-

8/ Well it turns out the guy who wrote a book around the figure of 10 k hours VASTLY misrepresented the actual study his claim was based on. And I’m not saying this. This is the folks who wrote the study saying this. They said- https://www.inc.com/nick-skillicorn/the-10000-hour-rule-was-wrong-according-to-the-people-who-wrote-the-original-stu.html

9/ 10k hours was an arbitrary number chosen by the author. That chances are 10k hours is only halfway there as most artists create their best work after their 30’s. And more importantly, that practice isn’t enough. One must have *deliberate* practice!

10/ So if Olympic level athletes aren’t training past 5 hours at most, if the 10k hour thing is a myth, then please PLEASE don’t overtrain. Because you know whats not a myth? Injury.

And that’s something anyone in this industry can talk to you at length of. I myself suffer-

11/ from chronic RSI, (repetitive strain injury). If I overwork too much, I will have debilitating pain on my hands and shoulders, and be out for days if lucky. That’s why I don’t ever over do it and even when I am working overtime I’m very mindful of taking breaks,posture, etc

12/ I know TOO many people in our industry who suffer from one injury or another. And we are lucky to be able to continue to work, as I do know of some folks who are completely out of the game due to non-stop overworking causing permanent and devastating injuries.

13/ So again friends, let’s be done with the “DRAW 24/7 TRAINING OR DIEE” mentality that can lessens the life span of our careers.

Let’s instead focus on the more helpful 3-5 hrs “Deliberate and Dedicated” (D&D lol) study! Healthier and better in the long run!

<3

Ps. Also not sure why this particular subject is being discussed today, so this isn’t really a subtweet. Just know I always have a LOT to say about the studies that influenced the 10 k hour rule, and health dangers of over-training ! :)