Here are some animal drawing tutorials to have fun with. Some, particularly the fish, turtle, frog and horse - are very easy and suitable for kids. Occasionally readers comment that these are 'too easy' and childish - but it's important to remember that not everyone wants a challenging tutorial, and some of these easy lessons have been turned into wonderful classroom projects and crafts by About.com readers. If you'd like a more detailed project, do have a go at Michael Hames' excellent wolf tutorial. In coming weeks, we'll have a new lesson for horse lovers from a talented guest artist who specialises in equine art.

Draw a Tropical Fish
Draw a Turtle
Draw two Cute Frogs
Draw an Easy Standing Horse - beginner
Sketch a Dog
Draw a Wolf - advanced.

Some people are fortunate to have an art teacher or creative friend willing to give honest advice - and who has the technical knowledge to give helpful advice. "Oh, it's really nice. It doesn't really look like Mary though..." doesn't count. Why doesn't it look like Mary? (Most likely because you've made tiny errors in judging proportions of the face - individuals vary in the most subtle ways.) But you're stuck with figuring out your drawing for yourself, it can be hard to know what you need to work on. So take a look at this article on the Top Ten Mistakes Beginners Make in drawing and see if you're making any of these common errors - and find out how to fix them. Don't forget, you're always welcome to post a drawing in the Drawing Forum for feedback.

I'm not a big fan of the 'life is a journey' metaphor, but sometimes it's a useful image. With the New Year approaching, it occurred to me that I wouldn't dream of heading to Melbourne for a day without the latest inch-thick volume of roadmaps; but I habitually head into a whole year of my life without even an A5 page of directions. So this year I'm going to make a plan. It won't be a precise SatNav route, but a rough map that allows me to see where I want to go. I might make changes along the way, head off in a different direction; but at least I will know which way North is.

First, I'm taking a look at the year gone by. In his blog post What's Your Trajectory blogger Jonathan Fields asks whether our daily actions in 2009 took us in the right direction. I found Jonathan's post helpful, as reflection is something that we don't do well in our busy modern lives.

Where could we improve our art practice in 2010? Here's a few ideas -

• making art that means something
• taking on clients that respect your expertise
• developing your weaknesses
• selling your strengths
• finishing projects,
• archiving your work
• good daily habits
• listening to worthwhile criticism
• trying something new
• quality input - literature, philosophy, art
• taking time to reflect, not filling every moment with noise.

Where are the dead-ends and traffic jams on your creative roadmap?

Useful links:
Making Lasting Changes
Effective Goal Setting
Quotes on Reflection
Prepare a Business Plan