Ever feel like you’re starting from scratch every time you sit down to make art?

You’re not alone. Many self-taught artists I work with tell me they want to make more art, but they struggle with time, confidence, or knowing where to begin.

That’s where batching comes in.

Hey there! 👋 I’m Carrie. Here on Artist Strong, I help self-taught artists go from unsure to unstoppable, so they can create their first real series of artwork and start building a portfolio they’re proud of. 

If you’re ready to stop the DIY learning and get the support and structure to finally draw and paint whatever you want, I’m here to help. Sign up and watch my workshop, “How to Create Art from Your Imagination.” To date, thousands have joined the community. The workshop is completely free, and the link is in the description below.

Batching is simply making several works at the same time: having multiple pieces in progress that share a theme, subject, or technique. It’s not just a productivity trick. It’s a creative strategy that helps you:

• Build momentum
• Explore ideas more deeply
• Develop your personal style

Today I want to share my personal Batching for Artists Starter Kit: the exact steps, templates, and ideas I use in my studio and with my students to make batching feel exciting (not boring).

💡 Why Batching Works for Artists

At its core, batching is about getting into flow and staying there. When you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time you start something new, you free up mental energy to play, explore, and experiment.

This method works for:

• Building a cohesive series
• Developing technical consistency
• Making time-limited sessions more productive

Many artists throughout history have used this approach without calling it batching. Here are a few examples:

• Cindy Sherman staged and photographed multiple portraits at a time, using a shared setup and lighting scheme to explore identity and performance.
• Yayoi Kusama created hundreds of polka-dot works and mirrored installations through repeated materials and themes.
• Sheila Hicks works on many fiber-based pieces simultaneously, testing scale and thread through iterations.
• Claude Monet, in his later years, often painted the same subject in series, like haystacks or water lilies, to explore light and color in a focused, repetitive way.

Even if your work looks nothing like theirs, batching can help you uncover your own creative rhythm.

🧰 Your Batching for Artists Starter Kit

Here’s what’s inside your starter kit: no opt-in required, just keep reading and try it out in your own practice.

✅ The Batching Checklist: Prep, Practice, Production

This checklist helps guide your creative sessions so you aren’t left wondering what comes next.

Prep:

• Choose a theme or prompt
• Select 3–5 surfaces (paper, canvas, cloth, etc.)
• Set out a limited palette or medium
• Block off time for studio sessions

Practice:

• Start each session with 5–10 minute warm-up sketches
• Work on multiple pieces at once (rotate when you get stuck)
• Let each piece inform the next: same mark, different shape, same gesture, different color

Production:

• Finish pieces in stages (backgrounds on all, then details)
• Photograph or document progress
• Review: What worked? What surprised you?

📅 3 Planning Templates for Batching

These simple templates will help you organize your ideas without stifling your creativity:

1. Sketching Template
   A one-pager for quick thumbnail ideas, notes, and compositional tests.
2. Color Palette Planner
   Choose 3–5 core colors and note how you want to mix or limit them.
3. Study Schedule
   A weekly or monthly planner to batch learning goals: like trying a new technique across multiple pieces or practicing one theme in different formats.

🖼️ Examples of Batching from My Studio

Here are three real ways I’ve used batching to support my art:

1. Choosing a limited color palette for my Anonymous Woman Series to use across all of the artworks. I looked up colors and patterns from the 1940s to decide the colors and patterns I might use across works and printed them out in advance.
2. Instead of finishing one sketchbook page at a time, I collage across my sketchbook. I’ll batch cutting a bunch of magazines, then batch working on all of my collages at once. I’ll find a cutting I really like and flip through all of my collages to see where it wants to live.
3. Other simple ways I’ve used batching include: cutting a bunch of paper to the same size, printing a bunch of image references at once, gessoing a bunch of canvases at once, and finishing artworks (sealing, framing, putting hanging hardware on them, etc.).

You don’t have to batch full artworks. You can batch warmups, color swatches, or experimental studies. It all counts.

✍️ Reflection Prompts to Guide Your Next Series

Batching becomes even more powerful when it’s connected to an overarching idea. These prompts can help you clarify your theme:

• What’s a subject or question I keep coming back to in my art?
• What medium or technique do I want to get better at?
• What emotion or experience do I want to explore visually?
• What would 3 variations on this idea look like?

Write these down and use your answers to guide your next creative batch.

🔄 You Don’t Need a “Big Idea” to Start Batching

Batching isn’t about being perfect or polished. It’s about building momentum. So if you’re feeling stuck or creatively flat, try this:

🎨 Pick one element to batch this week: sketches, palettes, backgrounds, or motifs.

📦 Start three small pieces using the same materials and see how far you can go.

You might just find your flow again.

🗨️ Let’s Talk in the Comments:

🧵 Have you ever tried batching before? What did you notice?

🎯 What theme or material do you feel pulled to explore in a batch?

📌 Which part of the starter kit will you try first: the checklist, templates, or reflections?

I’d love to hear how you use this approach: drop a comment below and share your process. 👇

No matter where you are in your art journey, batching can help you move forward with clarity, and more joy.

Thank you so much for watching. As always please like and subscribe to my work to never miss an episode. And tell me what you’d like to learn about next in the community tab: your ideas determine the content I create!

Remember: proudly call yourself an artist.
Together, we are Artist Strong.