The article analyzes the theoretical and practical principles of organizing self-education activities of future engineers in the process of graphic training. Attention is focused on the peculiarities of higher education in crisis conditions due to the pandemic and Russian aggression. The peculiarities of graphic training of students are determined, which are associated with a high level of abstraction of the educational material and the conducting of educational classes during the last years mainly in a distance form. The current state of the student's self-education activities in crisis conditions is analyzed. The concept of "graphic self-educational activity of a student" has been clarified and its structure has been determined. The possibilities of distance learning and the conditions under which opportunities are created to create a high-quality, logically organized system of forming the graphic competence of the future engineer are revealed, which makes it possible to maintain contacts between students, participate in joint projects, and conduct scientific research. Pedagogical conditions for effective independent graphic training are determined and substantiated: creation of an integrated informational educational environment with systematic updating of educational content; introduction of the method of formation of students' readiness for self-educational activities; systematic involvement of students in scientific activities.