It happens to every artist. Whether you’re a novice artist or a professional, artist’s block is bound to take hold of you. You feel unmotivated, and whenever you try to narrow it down to just you and your canvas, it seems to get even worse. To help artists like you to get back to doing what you love, I’ve decided to provide some tips that I found helpful whenever I went through artist’s block. Although these tips may not 100% help you get over it, they may help you get one step closer towards creating pieces of art again.
1. Reference Time
Whenever I’m in an artistic slump, I go straight to Google and search up references to draw. It ends up serving as a great way to not only improve my art, but also burn a lot of time. Another perk of looking up references to draw is that you may be inspired to draw more based off your references. Something I will mention is that everyone has different art styles. For me, I try not to draw the reference exactly as it appears, in other words, I try not to draw hyper realistically because that’s not the art style I’m comfortable with (but if that works for you, go for it). I’d say the only “con” of doing this is that your search history might look a little odd with searches like “model,” “palm tree,” “person sitting,” or anything of that sort.
2. Switch Up Your Medium
My preferred medium is graphite. I find it easier to draw details and add value to my art with graphite, but that doesn’t mean I dislike other mediums! When I’m dealing with a case of artist’s block, sometimes I try to change the medium I’m using. Instead of graphite, I may switch to charcoal. In some cases, I might try something even less similar to graphite, like oil pastel. Whether it’s just experimenting with the medium, or creating a piece with it, changing my medium helps me conquer my artist’s block and gives me more ideas for what medium I should experiment with next. I honestly didn’t think changing my medium would work at first; I thought it was going to frustrate me. But in the end, it helped motivate me and became a fun learning experience.
By the way, you don’t need to buy any high-class expensive mediums if you’re experimenting with a new one. I’d recommend getting used to the medium first, and if you think that it’s the perfect fit for you, go ahead and splurge!
3. This isn’t the Italian Renaissance
This tip is a tip for the mind. To get over your artist’s block, you don’t have to create a fully elaborate, complete work of art. It’s totally okay to draw a couple of scribbles or doodles and call it a day. At least you were able to express your creative side, right? The art you create doesn’t have to be revolutionary. I always used to keep myself locked within the mindset that I just had to create a complete piece in order to conquer my artist’s block, and that doing so would make me feel like what I created was valid. In the end, this only frustrated me more because nothing is worse than a giant blank canvas. Just keep it simple for yourself!
4. Art Challenges
If there’s anything I love, it’s art challenges that I find on Instagram. For anyone that hasn’t heard of an art challenge, they are activities created by other artists that give prompts or inspiration that other artists can draw. They’re called challenges, but they’re not necessarily difficult, so you won’t need to get competitive or stress out. My favorite one is Inktober, which rolls around every October. There’s plenty of other art challenges you can find. Some are popular and well known, while others are only well known within a specific community of artists. I’d recommend looking for ones that suit you and your art best. Hopefully you’ll feel inspired!
One Last Thing
Don’t feel pressured to create art. Ever. Art should be an escape from reality! It should be an activity that you can use to relax. If none of these tips seemed to work for you, that’s okay. Inspiration and motivation come and go like a bolt of lightning; maybe you just need a little more time!