diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/artist.py b/lib/matplotlib/artist.py
index ced1e002d385..b6f13f898f50 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/artist.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/artist.py
@@ -1004,7 +1004,15 @@ def set_visible(self, b):
 
     def set_animated(self, b):
         """
-        Set the artist's animation state.
+        Set whether the artist is intended to be used in an animation.
+
+        If True, the artist is excluded from regular drawing of the figure.
+        You have to call `.Figure.draw_artist` / `.Axes.draw_artist`
+        explicitly on the artist. This appoach is used to speed up animations
+        using blitting.
+
+        See also `matplotlib.animation` and
+        :doc:`/tutorials/advanced/blitting`.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
index b85275bce970..84647e459896 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_base.py
@@ -2930,8 +2930,8 @@ def draw_artist(self, a):
         """
         Efficiently redraw a single artist.
 
-        This method can only be used after an initial draw which caches the
-        renderer.
+        This method can only be used after an initial draw of the figure,
+        because that creates and caches the renderer needed here.
         """
         if self.figure._cachedRenderer is None:
             raise AttributeError("draw_artist can only be used after an "
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
index f4e5183e3838..eb4e67e7fc33 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -2673,9 +2673,10 @@ def draw(self, renderer):
 
     def draw_artist(self, a):
         """
-        Draw `.Artist` instance *a* only.
+        Draw `.Artist` *a* only.
 
-        This can only be called after the figure has been drawn.
+        This method can only be used after an initial draw of the figure,
+        because that creates and caches the renderer needed here.
         """
         if self._cachedRenderer is None:
             raise AttributeError("draw_artist can only be used after an "
diff --git a/tutorials/advanced/blitting.py b/tutorials/advanced/blitting.py
index 32486b236732..868b48a497bd 100644
--- a/tutorials/advanced/blitting.py
+++ b/tutorials/advanced/blitting.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 """
-=================
-Blitting tutorial
-=================
+==================================
+Faster rendering by using blitting
+==================================
 
-'Blitting' is a `standard technique
+*Blitting* is a `standard technique
 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_blit>`__ in raster graphics that,
 in the context of Matplotlib, can be used to (drastically) improve
 performance of interactive figures. For example, the
@@ -11,25 +11,29 @@
 internally. Here, we demonstrate how to implement your own blitting, outside
 of these classes.
 
-The source of the performance gains is simply not re-doing work we do
-not have to.  If the limits of an Axes have not changed, then there is
-no need to re-draw all of the ticks and tick-labels (particularly
-because text is one of the more expensive things to render).
+Blitting speeds up repetitive drawing by rendering all non-changing
+graphic elements into a background image once. Then, for every draw, only the
+changing elements need to be drawn onto this background. For example,
+if the limits of an Axes have not changed, we can render the empty Axes
+including all ticks and labels once, and only draw the changing data later.
 
-The procedure to save our work is roughly:
+The strategy is
 
-- draw the figure, but exclude any artists marked as 'animated'
-- save a copy of the RBGA buffer
+- Prepare the constant background:
 
-In the future, to update the 'animated' artists we
+  - Draw the figure, but exclude all artists that you want to animate by
+    marking them as *animated* (see `.Artist.set_animated`).
+  - Save a copy of the RBGA buffer.
 
-- restore our copy of the RGBA buffer
-- redraw only the animated artists
-- show the resulting image on the screen
+- Render the individual images:
 
-thus saving us from having to re-draw everything which is _not_
-animated.  One consequence of this procedure is that your animated
-artists are always drawn at a higher z-order than the static artists.
+  - Restore the copy of the RGBA buffer.
+  - Redraw the animated artists using `.Axes.draw_artist` /
+    `.Figure.draw_artist`.
+  - Show the resulting image on the screen.
+
+One consequence of this procedure is that your animated artists are always
+drawn on top of the static artists.
 
 Not all backends support blitting.  You can check if a given canvas does via
 the `.FigureCanvasBase.supports_blit` property.