The Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day Challenge: Episode 4
Welcome to the final installment of the Learn to Draw challenge! In this series, I have taken on four excercises from Richard Taylor's Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day to develop my artistic skills and establish positive, creative habits in the new year.
If you missed the first three episodes, you can catch up here, here and here.
With this project, I took on a slightly more complex subject matter: shading on round objects. Using a mug as reference for the shape, I followed the step-by-step instructions for two projects: the pencil-shaded mug, and the watercolour jug - I was keen to add a splash of colour to today's piece, so I merged both references together.
Combining two references was a fun experience, and allowed me to be more free with my painting - but I did make an error in choosing a very oddly-shaped mug to draw! Despite this, Richard's clear advice guided me through the process, and I really enjoyed adding the illustrative design onto the body of the mug. You may notice that I took some liberties here rather than copying Richard's pattern to the exact line - I found this to be a perfect opportunity to let my creative juices flow and relax into the drawing, letting the pattern dictate itself slightly.
This is one of the many joys of working with Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day: you can rely on Richard's expertise to provide the technical artistic framework, but you are free to implement your individual flair when and where you choose to.
This project draws us to the end of the Learn to Draw challenge! I was surprised by how quickly working with this wonderful book drew out my creativity, and I found it to be a really peaceful part of my daily routine; my artistic skills also developed faster than I expected, and with the foundational techniques laid out so clearly, it was easy to move on to more complex subject matter.
Following along with the entirety of Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day would be a fantastic way to improve creativity, focus, mental health and more - getting some distance from all of the devices and finding the time to simply be creative was a fantastic experience, and with all of the advanced experise in the latter pages of the book, you could certainly end the project as an accomplished artist! I can't recommend taking on this challenge enough, especially if you're looking to add some fun hobbies to your life in 2026.
- Jenny, Bookmarked Hub Team Member
Read on to discover how you can be in with a chance to WIN this unique book!
Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day is the complete guide to learning how to draw at your own pace, whether you want to flex your creativity every day or take the whole course over a weekend. Packed with tips, techniques, exercises and practice projects, this handy book is useful for artists of all levels whether you've never picked up a pencil before in your life, want a refresher on your dormant skills, or are looking to improve your future artworks with some formal practice.
With Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day publishing in just 2 weeks, we're celebrating this wonderful book by giving you the chance to win a copy! Here's how to enter:
- Head to our Instagram profile Bookmarked Hub, and follow us.
- Like our giveaway post for Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day.
- Leave a comment tagging a friend.
- For an extra entry, share the post to your story.
That's it! We'll be announcing the winner on our Instagram story and in the comments of the giveaway post at Midday (UK time) on Tuesday the 10th of Feburary 2026. This giveaway is open WORLDWIDE, and standard T&C's apply - feel free to DM us on Instagram if you would like more information.
You can pre-order Learn to Draw in an Hour a Day now at the link here - if you win the giveaway, you'll have a second copy to give away as a gift! If not, then you've just secured this great book for yourself.
