THE EXERCISE BOOK--.

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 · welcome ·
This exercise booklet is a companion to The Style of Loish,
which contains exercises and tips for artists who are
searching for their own style and artistic voice. This booklet
will make a lot more sense if you read the book first, so be
sure to give it a read before jumping in!

In this booklet, you’ll find a few drawing exercises, including a

few from the artbook. There are also some worksheets that
can help you reflect on your own artistic journey and help you
formulate goals for developing your own style. My hope is that
these will inspire you to fill up the blank pages in the rest of the
exercise book with your own notes, sketches, and ideas.

I hope you enjoy this booklet, and that it will help you on
your path to developing and strengthening your own skills
and artistic voice!

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 part 01 // worksheets
This section contains worksheets that can help you reflect on your style and your creative goals. Don’t feel
the need to rush through them in one sitting! You can skip over the ones you don’t like, and take as long as you
like to do them. The end goal is for these worksheets to give you some ideas and direction for your own art, so
approach them at the pace that works for you.

· mapping your interests ·

Developing your personal style is all about leaning into the things that fascinate you, and exploring them more
deeply. If you do this, your artwork will become a more genuine reflection of your own mindset and personal
vision. Use this worksheet to clarify which things fascinate you, so that you can focus on these things in your
artistic practice.

What kind of visual elements are you drawn towards?

Eg. lighting, bright colors, faces.

01 // 02 //

03 // 04 //

What kind of themes or storytelling elements are you drawn towards?

Eg. complex stories, nature, fantasy characters

01 // 02 //

03 // 04 //

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 Brainstorm or sketch out a few ways in which you can combine these visual elements with your
thematic interests.
Eg. I can use impactful colors to create an emotionally themed piece.

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 · reflect on your inspirations ·
Our inspirations are the seeds from which our own style and artistic voice grow. Reflecting on the things that inspire
you will help you gain a greater awareness of what drives you as an artist.

What three things inspire you most as an artist? This can be anything from an artist, to a game, movie, style, or
something you’ve seen. Try to be specific.

INSPIRATION # 01 INSPIRATION #02 INSPIRATION # 03

filtering our inspiration

It’s important to be aware of why certain things inspire us. For each inspiration, write down the 1 thing that you love
most about it. Try to be as specific as possible.

INSPIRATION # 01 INSPIRATION # 02 INSPIRATION # 03

making it your own

What are some ways that you can implement these inspirations into your own work?

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 · reflect on your themes ·
What are the themes you want to address with your creations? Circle a few from the list or write some of your own.

nature emotions femininity love/romance

stories psychology masculinity happiness

people society culture childhood

autobiographical good vs. evil dreams fantastical worlds

experimental strange & weird gritty & dark comfort

translating into a style

What are some techniques or visual cues you can use to express these themes? Write down or sketch some ideas
that come up.

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 · setting goals for your style ·
Describe your style, as it is right now. What do you want your style to be like in the
future? What are some stylistic elements you’d
like to incorporate into your work?

How can you get your style to be closer to how you want it to be? Think of 4 different actions you could
do to achieve that. Try to make these as specific as possible.
For example: make studies of my favorite style, improve at color.

01 // 02 //

03 // 04 //

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 · comfort zone ·
As an artist, it’s important to challenge ourselves in order to learn new skills. However, sometimes it is also helpful
to know what our comfort zone is, so that we can return to it when we are feeling overwhelmed. This worksheet can
serve as a guide in both situations.

comfort zone
What is your creative comfort zone? What do you love creating, what comes easily to you?

comfort zone activities

Write down a few creative activities that let you be
in your creative comfort zone.

uncomfortable zone activities

Write down a few activities that are outside of your
comfort zone, which you could learn from.

uncomfortable zone
What is outside of your comfort zone, that you’d like to become better and more comfortable with? What would
you like to bring INTO your comfort zone?

Don’t be afraid to retreat to your comfort zone if you feel the need to draw for fun or indulge in your favorite
subject matter. When you’re feeling bored or stuck, look at ways that you can move outside of your comfort zone
and challenge yourself to learn new skills!

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 · positive self-reflection ·
Finding your style is all about embracing your creative strengths, and leaning into them. Artists tend to be
quite negative about their own work. Use this worksheet as a way to look more positively upon your own
artistic abilities!

Describe your own creations in the most objective way you possibly can. Avoid any value judgments.
E.g. I make drawings of female characters that are colorful.

Reflect on your creative strengths. What are you good at? Circle a few from the list below or write down a
few of your own.

technically skilled expressive detailed beautiful

fast / efficient strong message engaging imaginative

original well-researched fun & entertaining relatable

accessible complex prolific moving

Revisit your objective description of your own work, and rewrite it, this time describing your own
creations in a positive way.
E.g. my drawings are joyful and fun to look at.

For some, this might feel weird to do at first. Try to make a habit out of complimenting your own art and noticing
your strengths! The more you do it, the more you’ll gain confidence in your own artistic voice.

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 · moving forward ·
After doing these worksheets and reflecting on your art and interests, it’s possible that your view of your own art
has changed. Maybe you have some new ideas for future artworks or specific things you want to practice. Write
them down here so you can return to them later if you need some inspiration or motivation!

goals
Write down some goals you’d like to set for yourself moving forward. What are some goals you can tackle in
the coming months or year?

areas of study
If there are any specific things you want to work on, write them down here. Try to be specific. Having a clearly
defined area of focus leads to greater improvement!

ideas
If you have any ideas for future drawings that you can work on, write them down here.

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 part 02 // exercises
This section contains some drawing exercises. You can draw them directly into this book with a pencil or pen,
or use them as a jumping off point to draw digitally. Don’t worry too much about doing them perfectly! They
are mainly intended as tools to get you to reflect on your artistic style and growth.

· find your shape language ·

Adapted from The Style of Loish, page 58.

This exercise is intended as a way to explore different
styles, which can help you figure out which approach to
shapes feel most intuitive to you.

Use this photograph as a reference. What are the

first things you notice about it? Which shapes stand
out to you?

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 Make a few quick sketches in which you simplify the basic shapes and forms of this tree in a few different ways.
You can try the examples on the opposite page or try a few of your own ideas too.

Take a moment to reflect

Which way of simplifying the tree was the most interesting and fun for you to do? Which shapes did you
notice first, and did you find the most satisfying to capture in your sketch?

On the next page, try this exercise again, but with subjects of your own choice. It can be anything, from objects
in your house to animals or model poses.

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 · capturing the movement ·
Adapted from The Style of Loish, page 108.
This exercise can help you to figure out which tools feel most natural to your drawing process when you’re trying
to capture movement. Pick 3-5 different tools, such as ink, crayon, or pencil. Try using tools with different textures
and thicknesses.

Choose a pose to draw. It can be the pose shown

here, or you can draw a different pose.

Set a timer for 30 seconds and quickly draw the pose.

Try to draw as quickly as you can and don’t sweat the
details too much!

Try it again a few more times, each time with a

different tool or brush.

Take a moment to reflect

Which one conveys the most intent and movement best? Which one felt the most satisfying to use?

Grab the tool that worked best for you and make a more detailed version of the same pose. You can also add
decorative elements to it to push the movement further.

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 · speed sketching ·
Speed sketching is a great way to develop your skills
and style. Because you don’t have time to convey
everything, you’re forced to focus on a specific aspect
of the reference.

On the opposite page, try to capture each pose

within 30-60 seconds.

Take a moment to reflect

Reflect on your sketches. What do you tend to focus on most when you draw speed sketches?
E.g. movement, shape, personality.

All references featured in this exercise are credited to AdorkaStock.

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 Try the same speed sketching exercise again, but this time with different head angles using the reference above.

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 Try the exercise once more with hands. Use the blank pages after this exercise to create more speed sketches
from reference material of your choice!

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 · finding inspiration in daily life ·
Adapted from The Style of Loish, page 130.
This exercise is about channeling inspiration from daily Sketches/ideas:
life moments.

For a few days, observe everyday things around you.

Make a note of some things that stood out to you, or
evoked an emotional response. You can take a photo, or
make a quick sketch or note of it here.

Pick one of these moments. How can you use it as a starting point for a new drawing?

On the opposite page, make some initial sketches for this drawing. You can use it as a starting point for the final
piece, which you can create using any medium you like!

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 · focused studies ·
Adapted from The Style of Loish, page 59.
When drawing from reference, it’s helpful to choose a specific area of focus. This will help you improve and develop
your style. For this exercise, try to capture different aspects of the image in separate sketches.

Sketch 3-4 different versions of this reference

image, choosing a different focus for each one.
For example: movement /values
/ lighting / shapes.

Use the blank pages after the opposite page to

repeat this exercise with different subject matter,
like animals, objects, or whatever you want to
explore! Try to draw each subject 2-3 times, each
time with a different focus.

The reference featured in this exercise is credited to AdorkaStock.

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 · light sketching ·
For my intuitive digital workflow, it’s important to be able to sketch with light and loose lines. It’s not about
accuracy, but about showing movement and confidence without making the lines too heavy.

On these pages, make a few quick sketches with light and loose lines. You can draw them from reference or from
the imagination, as long as you try drawing in a loose, light way. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect right away!
Your lines will get more confident over time.

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 · remake an older sketch ·
Dig through your old artwork and find a sketch that you struggled with. It can be something you drew last month, last
year, or during a totally different phase of your life. On the opposite page, redo this sketch with your current skillset.

Once you’ve finished the exercise, reflect on your improvement. What are the main areas you’ve improved in
since your first sketch?

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 · study your influences ·
Studying the styles of our biggest inspirations can be an
incredibly valuable learning experience. We learn the
most when we don’t just copy their style, but analyze and
interpret it. This exercise is designed to make you think
critically about the style you’re referencing, rather than
just copying it.

For this exercise, use this pose as your starting point. Next,
on the opposite page, try drawing this pose in the style of
one of your biggest inspirations.
After that, use the next few pages to do studies of drawings,
artists, or styles that inspire you.

The reference featured in this exercise is credited to AdorkaStock.

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 · move from realistic to stylized ·
This exercise allows you to try out both realistic and stylized treatments of the same subject matter. Don’t worry
too much about getting it right and see it more as an interesting experiment to see which treatments feel more
natural to you!

On the opposite page, make a realistic interpretation of this reference image.

Once you’ve done this, draw the same subject again, but this time heavily stylized. You could try a really cartoony
version, or a really simplified version. Try to divert from realism in your stylized sketch.

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 Draw your realistic sketch here:

Draw your stylized sketch here:

Use the next few pages to try a few more exaggerated styles, and see how far you can push the sketches in different
directions beyond your comfort zone.

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 · comfort zone ·
Sometimes, drawing inside of our artistic comfort zone can help us recharge and reconnect with what we
love. Use these pages to make some sketches that are well within your comfort zone. Let yourself enjoy
it without any guilt!

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 · ugly sketches ·
In order to learn and grow as artists, we need to let go of perfectionism and let ourselves mess up sometimes.
Make a few sketches with your eyes closed, or with your left hand. Let your sketches be bad and don’t worry
about the end result!

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 · expanding your artistic world ·
With your style, you’re creating a visual world. How can you expand this world and bring more new
things into it? Here are some prompts that might help you on your way.

01 // Sketch a few plants that you’ve never drawn before.

02 // Sketch an animal that you’ve never drawn before.

03 // Sketch some types of people that you’ve never drawn before. For example, a different culture, age
group, or appearance from what you normally draw.

04 // Sketch some vehicles that you’ve never drawn before.

05 // Sketch some monsters, aliens, or fantasy creatures.

06 // Use the remaining pages to draw a few other things that you’ve never drawn before – have fun!

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 · blank pages ·
The rest of this sketchbook is empty. How you want to fill these pages is completely up to you! You can use it
to repeat or continue exercises from previous pages, make sketches and studies, or develop some of the ideas
that came up from the worksheet pages. If you’re out of ideas, try going back to the worksheets. Some new
ideas may come to mind when reading them!

Whatever you do, just remember that artistic growth is built on experimentation, playing around, and trying
things out. Every drawing we make, whether it’s our strongest piece or our silliest doodle, is a part of that
journey. Allow yourself to explore at whatever pace and in whatever way feels right to you!

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