So I bought a Peterson Field Guide from 1970.

It cost $6 from ThriftBooks.com, fast shipping included. This beautifully designed book inspired me to illustrate a field guide page for the elusive insects in Atlanta. I’m sharing my process, so you can create one too!

Step 1. Find out what insects and plant life are in your area.

• Take a stroll in nature to see what’s out there.

• Snap photos or draw from life.

• Visit the library or do a quick online search to learn what kind of bugs are around you. (If you search for images online, I highly recommend setting a 5-minute timer to avoid falling into fun internet search rabbit holes.)

Step 2. Lay out the page. I used a yellow Cretacolor pastel to lightly mark where I wanted to draw the plants and insects. The scanner didn’t even pick up most of those marks, which was nice.

Step 3. Draw & label your insects and plants using your favorite materials. I used watercolor and filmed my process in the video for paid subscribers.

In the video:

I share my process from start to finish, where I battle indecision, distraction, and having more paint on my brush than I like. I share how to avoid muddy colors, and top secret a solution that solves most of my paint problems.

Materials & Mentions

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These charming creatures have been crawling around Earth for around 295 million years, so why not take a few minutes to paint them?

Step 1:

Fill a page with swatches using any material. I used gouache and watercolor, but use whatever any materials you like. Neocolor II’s, paint sticks, pastels, and markers also work well for this activity.

Step 2.

Add legs, patterns, and fun textures. You can draw from references, imagination, or mix the two like I did!

All the cool artists are trying it!

painted these beautiful beetles.

And this stunning selection is from .

created this lovely collection.

Thank you, , , & for being part of the beetle-painting fun with me!

Let’s swarm Substack with beautiful paint swatch beetles! 🪲

I’ll start a chat thread so we can all share our swatches, materials and inspiration!

Share your work!

Now is THE best time to join. You’ll get invites to all four live sessions, a bonus month of access to all session recordings, workshops, color studies, guided drawing videos, and a special bonus surprise! 💝

Subscribe now

We’re drawing Insects & Arthropods in June!

I hate to BUG you, but I think you’ll really enjoy drawing with us this month. Even if you don’t find them intriguing, these tiny creatures are worth exploring for the fun textures, colors, and patterns. We’ll definitely draw some pretty flowers too! 💐🐛

🐞Daily Reference Drop

I drop the references on Sundays in the chat, along with some techniques to try, prompts, material recommendations, and tips. It’s a safe space to share your work, ask questions, learn at your own pace, and get inspired! I love seeing everyone’s different approaches to drawing the images.

Week 1 References & Prompts

Week 2 References & Prompts

🪲 Upcoming Live Sessions

• Drawing Butterflies with Helen C Stark - June 12 at 1pm EST

• Bad on Purpose Session with Meg Lewis - June 16 at 2pm EST

• Drawing Insects with Kyle Beaudette - June 18 at 5pm EST

• Insect Tea Party with monkeymintaka - June 24 at 2pm EST

  Sign up to draw

🦋 Fun things to try for Insects and Arthropod Month

Draw in a grid. If you’re short on time, make a grid of 30 squares, and draw the references small. It’ll be so satisfying to see it filled it up on June 30!

Explore color. This is the perfect month to practice painting or mixed media techniques.

Draw them HUGE. Zoom in and explore the incredible textures, colors, and patterns!

Let’s chat 🪲💬

Tell us your favorite tiny, crawling, buzzing, or flying creatures in the comments and I’ll make sure we draw them this month!

We’re drawing DOGS for the month of May!

What a treat to practice drawing an animal that I find both challenging and charming in equal measure.

Two live sessions this month featuring two guest artist cohosts who draw the most delightful dogs!

🦮 Drawing Dogs with - May 12 at 12 pm EST

It’s high time we had the Dogs of Substack session we deserve, with the dog-drawing man of Substack himself, Jason Chatfield!

🐶 Dog People with - May 27 at 2pm EST

We’re playing a fun drawing game to create anthropomorphic dog characters with the wonderful Arati Devasher as cohost.

Dog Drawing Delights in the Archives

There’s already lots of great dog-drawing replays and guided videos to practice from, and two more coming this month for paid members.

Daily(ish) Reference Drop

I'll drop the references on Sundays in the chat, along with some fun techniques to prompts, material recommendations, and tips. It’s a safe space to share your work, ask questions, learn at your own pace, and get inspired! I love seeing everyone’s different approaches to drawing the images.

• Week 1 References

• Week 2 References

• Week 3 References

• Week 4 References

I’ve lowered membership to $5 a month/$50 annually.

This new price includes everything from before — live sessions, guided videos, replays, and all the archives. Join now to lock in that price for life!

Subscribe now

We have a magnificent month ahead — thanks for reading and drawing with me!

My on-again off-again love affair with graphite has grown quite serious lately. I don’t leave the house without a 6B pencil, and can’t wait to come home to my electric sharpener.

Graphite’s rich, delicious textures make my heart skip a beat.

It can be soft and smudgy or rough and gritty.

There’s no pressure to be perfect, because I can smudge anything I don’t like into something I love. Graphite lets me be the messy, imperfect human that I am. We’re perfect together.

In the guided drawing video

I expand on the last technique we covered by adding color, explaining each step as I go. Then I share some of my favorite pencils, swatching, smudging, adding water, and all sorts of fun stuff!

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Drawing different species of animals interacting together is the sweetest. It’s so fun that I made a reboot of the Unlikely Animal Friends Game with mamas and babies!

How to play:

1. Write down a random number between 1 and 5.

2. Repeat step 1! Now you’ll have 2 numbers.

3. Find the first number you chose in the Babies List below.

4. Find the second number you chose in the Mamas List below.

5. Each one links to a photo. Combine the two images to make a drawing!

Babies List

• Baby 1

• Baby 2

• Baby 3

• Baby 4

• Baby 5

Mamas List

• Mama 1

• Mama 2

• Mama 3

• Mama 4

• Mama 5

I can’t wait to see the lovely families you draw!

Feel free to tag me at @bethspencerart if you share on Instagram. Here’s a chat thread for sharing, feedback, and questions!

✨ Bonus tips, prompts, and links ✨

• After you’ve clicked onto the image, you can scroll down to see similar photos to draw from different angles!

• If you like this exercise, you’ll love the Unlikely Animal Friends Drawing Session Replay.

• The first technique in the video pairs well with the Mark-making Exercise we did in January.

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Let's give Spring a proper welcome with a month of drawing animal families!

It’s the season of birth, growth, and migration. We’ll be inspired by unconditional love in the animal kingdom as we focus on joyful interactions between mothers and their young.

I'll drop the references on Sundays in the chat, along with some fun things to consider trying.

You’ll also get two guided drawing videos delivered right to your inbox.

😺 Sign up for the live sessions here:

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You can apply these prompts and techniques to any subject, so revisit this post if you feel stuck or want to try something new.

1. Sketch in a light color, then add your midtone, and finally dark for details and shading.

   

2. Draw the spots first. You can do this with non-spotty horses too!

   

3. Sketch in yellow, then use negative space to shape their horsey figure.

   

4. Use one of your old sketches as reference.

   

5. Lightly scribble a box, then gently erase the graphite with an eraser to make your horse. Add details with a pencil as needed.

   

6. Use a rainbow pencil. Layering is fun!

   

7. Sketch using paint.

8. Draw a friend to keep them company.

9. Grab the first brown and blue you find. Sketch quickly because your aunt and uncle are on their way to take you to Taco Tuesday.

10. Set a timer for 1 minute, and then go wild!

In the video

I share ALL my horse drawings, personal and professional news. Thank you for watching! Feel free to reach out if you have any advice, questions, concerns, or thoughts to share.

More Horsey Highlights

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Our marks tell stories about our feelings. This is an entirely human trait; there is no AI feature to replicate the language of line.

Betty Edwards — Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, would sometimes surprise her students by “reading” their work. She’d call out the emotions they expressed through marks in their drawings.

“I can see you felt great joy in doing most of this drawing, but there’s an area of distress. What happened at this point?” or “I see you really liked drawing the shirt collar, but you didn’t much like drawing the model’s hair,” she’d say.

Our marks tell our truth.

From the lines below, can you differentiate between the fast and slow marks?

I bet you can. I don’t know exactly why you can, but it’s an inner language we all understand.

Now, let's do an exercise from Edwards' book Drawing on the Artist Within and you’ll see what I mean. Read all the instructions before starting.

Supplies needed: 1 pencil and 1 sheet of printer paper

We’re going to fold the paper like a 1-page zine:

Great job folding, we’re almost ready to make marks!

Label each section with the following words:

1. Rage

2. Joy

3. Peace

4. Depressed

5. Energetic

6. Exhausted

7. Beauty

8. Today

Recall times when you felt each emotion, then make marks to represent them.

IMPORTANT: Use marks only. No symbols or pictures, only marks with your pencil. You may use the side of your pencil, eraser, non-dominant hand, and varied pressure. Any kind of mark is the right kind of mark.

It is remarkable to see how different everyone’s marks are, while still communicating the emotions.

‼️ It is important that you do the exercise before looking at anyone else’s marks.

Upload your work here and celebrate incredible diversity of our human marks!

Share your work

Two sessions this week! 💐🐴 And an announcement soon!

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I have good news: horses aren’t complicated to draw when you break them down by shape.

They’re basically a bean with some sticks and triangles attached.

When you add a tail to all those shapes and put them together, they communicate “this is a horse.”

More good news: all horse drawings are good horse drawings.

Even if they don’t communicate, “this is a horse,” they're still a success. Showing up to sketch a challenging subject that's WAY out of our comfort zones is always a win. That’s where the good stuff happens!

In the video:

• Sampling new art supplies

• Horse drawing demo

• A sweet surprise at the end!

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HAY! I’m trotting into January with playful energy to practice drawing a challenging new subject: HORSES. Are you with me?

I’d rate horses pretty high on the “Hard to Draw scale.”

I’m glad you’re along for the ride in this group of awesome humans who embrace challenges and encourage each other. Together, we say NEIGH to perfectionism and YAY to helping each other out.

What to expect during our month of horseplay:

This is a more chill challenge than last year’s people-drawing month. No daily emails, but there will be bonus demos and a daily reference drop in the chat with tips and support.

As we approach the Year of the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac, there’s never been a better time to draw these magnificent animals together through January. Happy New Year!

Happy Horse Drawing!

Drawing animals is pure joy.

Capturing their personalities on paper keeps me excited to open a sketchbook.

This love of drawing animals wasn’t born overnight; many tiny moments of sketching them created an enthusiasm that I’m proud to share.

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Animals never overthink, judge, or doubt themselves.

This is the energy I like to bring to my personal art practice, so I can let go, trust myself, take risks, and have fun! Think of a lion’s approach to a blank page -- FIERCE!

Let’s spend 2026 observing and drawing furry, finned, scaly, and feathered friends together.

We’ll focus on a different animal type each month, with live sessions, demos, and inspiration sprinkled in to keep your pencil moving and grooving.

I’ll be back soon to tell you which animal we’re starting with!

But first… tell me which animals you want to practice!

Just like the Grinch’s heart, our to-do lists grow least three times their normal size at this time of year. It’s hard to show up and draw everyday when there’s SO much to do! It’s important to take time for creativity, even when life is at its busiest.

I made a special free trial for the whole month, to keep our pencils moving and brains sharp.

Get 30 day free trial

Get 30 day free trial

The free trial unlocks:

• Invites to upcoming live sessions

• 80+ session recordings (both unguided and workshops featuring guest artists)

• More than a year of color studies

• Chat with the creative community

• Access to all the drawing demos and painting process videos

Everyone here amazes me with their creativity and kindness. This community:

• kept me drawing during a crushing career blow

• encouraged me to dive deeper into color

• helps me carve out 14+ extra hours every week to draw and write

I am deeply grateful to all of you for being here. I hope you’ll accept this 30-day free trial as a token of my appreciation.

Get 30 day free trial

What are people saying about Introvert Drawing Club?

Beth has built something special here. An outstanding resource for fans of drawing. - Guisseppe Castallano, Notes on Illustration

Pure joy - India Knight, Home

A friendly community of other creatives, from professional illustrators to hobby artists. Fun draw-along sessions, encouragement and a safe space to share your work. - Libby Brewster, The New Illustrator

As we all learn as children, sticking pieces of paper together with glue is all sorts of fun. I made this guy as a twist on the classic “hand turkey” that you may remember from kindergarten:

In any medium, a turkey’s textures, colors, shapes are a sensory delight! It’s fun to capture all the energy in the feature patterns:

Below is another type of Turkey that I sketched with a yellow marker, splashed color on top, then add details on top with a fountain pen. There truly are no rules!

Turkey-drawing tips

• Think about your goal. Do you want a realistic, detailed observational drawing or to make a scrappy sketch for fun?

• Notice the features you’re drawn to. Color? Shape? Feather pattern? Focus on drawing the ones that make you excited about mark-making! For me, it’s feather pattern and color!

• Print it out. If I draw from photos online, it’s a guarantee I’ll get distracted by the pull of the internet. I like to print 4 - 6 photos on a page to work from. It’s a game-changer!

• Take some risks! That’s what practicing is for — Get WILD!

Whichever way you practice drawing a turkey is the right way, as long as you’re having fun.

Prompt: Draw a turkey!

I’ll make a chat for us to share our drawings, techniques, materials and tips!

P.S. Playful Mixed Media Retreat in France has a few spots left. Check it out!

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Each day, we’ll draw and paint in the light-filled studio and share tasty meals prepared by our own resident chef. Between lessons, there will be plenty of time to recharge, reflect, connect, giggle at my French accent, and make fun memories!

It’s all happening on 75 acres of fields, forests, ponds, and lush gardens in the heart of Lot-et-Garonne. You gotta see this place!

We’ll spend a day sketching amazing animals at The Réserve Zoologique de Calviac. I’m talking red pandas, pygmy hippos, ducks, monkeys, and many more!

The most charming dog models, Oscar and Nina, will be coming to visit us so we can draw them too!

We’ll visit a magical medieval town and explore vintage markets overflowing with inspiration.

We’ll be with you every step of the way, cheering you on and giving as much 1-to-1 feedback as you need.

We’ll explore:

• playful paper-cut scenes and characters

• approaching observational drawing with confidence

• drawing from imagination

• mixed media layering

• and of course, COLOR!

I’d LOVE to draw and paint in person with you for 8 days.

I’ll be there cheering you on, sharing everything I know about art-making joyful and light. We’ll be free of distractions, responsibilities, and pressure. What could be better?!

Book your spot

The cost of the retreat covers everything except airfare and travel insurance.

Got booking questions?

Uptrek’s staff is delightful to work with and happy to help: contact@uptrek.com.

Drawing dogs is a blast because they’re all so different, but that also makes them a more challenging species to sketch. My pup Reggie assisted me in sharing three BIG tips to help you capture the canine charm, no matter which breed you’re drawing.

1. Position them on the page first

Make marks on the paper to show where their head, paws, bottom, and tail belong on the page.

2. Take note of the nose

It's important. If you get the nose position wrong, it'll throw your whole drawing off.

3. Proportional pups

Pay attention to negative space. The areas SURROUNDING the dog are just as important to the drawing as the actual dog.

Materials & Mentions

• Cretacolor Hard Pastels (Vermillion light)

• Caran D’ache Museum Aquarelle pencil (French Gray

• For the Reggies above, I used an orange Crayola marker to sketch, a Supracolor Pencil (bistre), and cheap water brushes filled with watercolor to fill negative space.

Reggie References!

Bonus Reggie references from over the years 😭

More Dog Drawing Delights 🐾

Live workshops and sessions to practice drawing pups in your own wonderful way!

Did I mention we’re pausing in April? Join now and you’ll get that month for free.

Subscribe now

We canceled Netflix because we were spending more time searching for movies than watching them. A classic case of overthinking and indecision, leading to lots of of wasted time.

The same thing happens when we stuff our art bags full of too many crayons and markers. Don’t get me wrong, fishing for the perfect pencil in a sea of art supplies is fun. However, it’s probably not the best use of time.

Let’s help each other stop wasting time!

1. Dump everything out of your bag, box, or pouch.

2. Swatch each material. Don’t be fussy or label them.

3. Eliminate supplies1 that are similar.

4. Share in the chat!

Good ideas for this activity

• Mix and layer supplies. Swatch pages don’t need to be pretty!

• Look at your latest art. Which pieces brought you the most joy while you made them? The supplies you used for those are KEEPERS!

• Consider location. A marker and pencils could suit you just fine for sneaking in some sketching time when you’re out and about. If you’re spending an afternoon in a coffeeshop, then you might consider packing a palette of paint.

Let’s revisit this in six months and weigh our bags before and after!

Materials & Mentions

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I used whatever I could grab first, which happened to be an Inktense block, waterbrush filled with some kind of blue-y ink, and a brown pencil.

I scanned it and added it to my portfolio when we got home. Months later, I had a meeting with an agent who mentioned the drawing. She suggested creating a sequence with this character.

I decided to focus on sketching the environment first, and hoped the characters would fall into place. My only problem was I only spent a few minutes physically at the park and wondered how I’d develop new scenes from scratch.

Instead of adding several hours of drive time to my process, I went back to the park virtually using Google Maps! Watch the video for tips on transporting yourself back to magical locations you’ve captured in your sketchbook.

Practice Prompt

Revisit a location (on Google or physically go there, if you can!) from a sketch you love and make more drawings from it. Share links to your locations in the comments below, so we can visit and draw from them too!

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Drawing from memory calls on the hippocampus, which is the kind of like the backseat driver of the brain. It has the best intentions, but doesn't always get things right.

When drawing from a reference photo, my right brain takes the wheel, letting my hand paint the pigeon’s true shape on the paper. I see charming new features, like a longer neck and pink talons, that the left brain forgot to include in my memory drawing above.

Before starting this exercise, think about what you want to achieve.

My goal wasn’t to draw a beautiful bird, instead it was to observe and sketch features that communicate “this is a pigeon.” The original sketch didn’t do that as well. That doesn’t make it bad. Your memory can strip things down, leaving out important details.

Practicing both methods helps me push my drawings to make them more my own, and bridge the gap between imagination and reality. I strongly believe it'll do the same for you!

Prompt

1. Set a timer for 5 minutes and draw something from MEMORY.

2. Set a timer for 5 minutes and draw that same thing from OBSERVATION.

   ---

👯‍♀️ We had a whole session of Animal Memory Drawing and it was FANTASTIC.

Materials & Mentions

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Observational sketching won’t melt problems away, but it can make us better at solving them by getting us out of our heads for a bit.

A few other things drawing from life can help with

• pulling ideas out of hiding

• reducing screen time

• lowering the volume on a rude inner critic

Showing up and drawing your houseplants, pets, or appliances does magical things for your brain. You don’t have to make a masterpiece or even finish your drawing.

Prompt

This week's drawing prompt is from our friend Katie Moody's brilliant book, Sketchbook Joy! All materials and subjects are welcome. There’s also a giveaway!

Pick out something near you and practise your observational drawing skills. Draw it from multiple angles, such as above and below.

In the video

We go out to my new backyard, which is bursting with spring vibes, and draw this tiny gnome from every conceivable angle.

P.S. Let’s do this prompt together on Substack Live! Join me at 12pm EST for the premiere of Awkward Drawing Show, with special guest !

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