5 easy tips for improving your drawing skills

We all want to very quickly improve our drawing skills and to create astonishing artworks overnight. It's possible sometimes, but in most of cases it needs work - hard and continuous work. More specifically - qualitative and productive work.
So, let's begin with what you have to keep in mind while practicing drawing:

•  Draw everyday.

Keep a sketchbook with you everywhere and when you have some free 5 minutes (while waiting the bus or travelling by train) draw something in it. It's important to draw everyday as your hand needs to remain heated and always prepared for the next fabulous artwork. When the hand is exercised it easier represents what you have in your mind, that's why it's important to keep drawing everyday. It doesn't matter what you are drawing, nor the quality of it- it can be the people walking around you, the trees, the buildings or some interesting ideas you've got these days.
A good tool for gesture drawing practice is http://www.quickposes.com/ ( here you have challenges based on different categories and a timer, where you can set your own time as well). or http://artists.pixelovely.com/ (here you can practice hands & feet and animal drawing).

• Draw a big variety of subjects. 

Draw everything: from small flowers to big buildings, from cars to big scary monsters etc. You need to capture as many subjects as possible, not just the ones you like. A good artist need to know more than just how to draw a cute bunny eating a carrot :D. If you really don't know what to draw, here you have a list of subjects - drawing list . A weekly challenge like draw more would be helpful too, as well as 30 days Challenge on this blog. There are a lot of challenges like this, so just chose the right one for you.

• Draw with different tools. 

Try to use as many tools and materials as possible for giving you a sense of how and when to use each of them (and how to combine them). Try pens, pencils, watercolor pencils with pen or ink; try oils; soft and hard pastel, try gouache or watercolor and of course your favorite application for drawing, where you have (almost) all the tools that you had ever dreamed about. Just be curious and experimental when drawing, every tool will give you a different feeling and perception, and maybe new ideas.

• Don't copy. 

Copying is a practice too, but try to add always your personal touch, transforming it in a good practice. The more, the better. That's about creating your style. If you see a good photo, try to recreate it with your own resources and imagination, not just make a quick copy of it. When you're practicing life drawing, for example, either it is a real or photo-based session, always draw two or three gesture poses from your imagination or memory - it also helps you to see the progress you've made from the previous one. Copying is an automated process and doesn't develop neither your creativity, nor your style. So: change colors, shapes, add/remove elements, rotate or flip to get an original artwork created by you. Here is how you should use references for drawing references, photo references.

• Use different techniques. 

Every tool has it's own techniques, so just explore the tools you have and use them in different ways, try other ways than the usual ones to make them draw. Also try different styles - as many as possible, so that you won't be tempted to copy one style that you like so much, but instead creating your own, unique style through experimenting and practice. Here is a place with many videos about tools and techniques for drawing here I am.

Other tips would be drawing with your both hands, drawing with the closed eyes or without looking on paper, also drawing with your left hand (with the right if you are left-handed). Just go wild and experiment.
Create a drawing routine, but make your drawing different every time.