Intro
Welcome back readers. Here's a blog that I feel many of you can empathize with. Having artist's block is not fun, so I thought it'd be good to discuss what we as artists and creatives can do to alleviate the stress of artist's block. I decided to write this blog now because it's something I've suffered from for many years. As I got older and married my craft, it has happened much less. Getting stuck isn't fun, so I hope my experience and thoughts can help you get it off whatever rut you're in.
I'll be setting my thoughts up as a list, so you can read what is pertinent or expedient for you. These are tried and true methods that I have incorporated into my life and have been using for many years now.
The Methods
Heres the list, in no particular order. While each of these methods are strong in their own right, I find that incorporating all of these into a larger routine/ritual is the way to go. Nevertheless, let’s get started.
Go for a walk
Walks are a great way to get out of artists block because you give yourself a little time away from the pencil to let your mind wander. Walking in nature is a big plus too, but if youo happen to live in a city like me, it might help to walk at night, or around the quieter parts. Walks are revitalizing, inspiring and the perfect way to slow your brain down. By taking your mind off of what you feel you have to create and go for a 20 or 30 minute walk, you give your mind a rest so that when you are back at your desk, the ideas will flow a lot more naturally
Write down your ideas
Writing is a very important exercise. It lights up your ideas and is a great first step to making them real. Write down all of your ideas, no matter how weird or incoherant they are becase 1). With time you’ll get better at describing your ideas 2). Things that sound weird and crazy can also be a great jumping off point for future ideas. I’ve been writing down my ideas for a while, and when I’m feeling not quite creative, I’ll scroll through my lists and usually come out with something that inspires me to create again. It’s important to remember, we have more ideas than time to create, so by writing ideas down, you get to have your best thoughts in front of you to choose from or develop.
Pull reference from your experiences
This is something I talked about before but it bears repeating: enrich your life with other things that aren’t art. Learn more, do more, live more. The more enriched your life, the more experiences you have to pull from. The more experience, the more chances to be inspires. Simple as that.
Develop a routine
As I've grown older, it has become more apparent just how important routines in life are. They keep you, grounded, engaged and they become a roadmap for your growth. Art is no different. I'll give an example for one of my creative routines:
If I'm not inspired, I'll browse Instagram for cool art. This is just to find something that gets me excited about making something.
Once my energy level rises to the right level, it's time to put pen to pad.
If I'm at home, or roaming around, I like to sketch to build up my library. Sometimes I have an idea of what I want to make, but most times I don't.
If I don't, I'll pull up my notes with all my thoughts. I'll scroll through these until I find I thought that resonates in that moment.
Once I find something that energizes me, I begin loosely doodling. Just general shapes and compositions. At this stage, I'm just looking for something that would be pleasant to view.
Once I settle on a composition, I finish roughing it out.
After that point when the sketch is done, I move on to doing something else. Sometimes I’ll finish a picture in one sitting, but that’s increasingly rare these days as I’ve adopted a more mobile workflow.
Look at art that inspires you
I hinted at this in the last part, but this is a good way to find inspiration. Simply look at art that inspires you. There are 2 ways of following up with this method. The first way is my preferred way, which is to build up so much excitement that you have to create. For me, that means looking at a lot of my favorite pieces of art, sometimes 10-15 pieces until I feel motivated to create. The other method is to take a pice of art that inspires you, and copy it. You can do whatever you want. Focus on a specific point, put your creative spin on it, dissect it- the choice is yours.
Outro
It’s important to realize that you’re not always going to know what you want to make. That’s ok, you’re a person, not a machine. We can’t be expected to feel creative at the drop of a pin. We all process things differently, but these methods will help you be able to create reliably. I’ve been using these methods for years, and I haven’t had artists block in years. I’m always creating now, and to top it off, the type of content I’m making now is a lot better than what I used to make before I began following these suggestions. Let me know if you try them and if they work for you or not! I’d love to hear your experiences overcoming artist’s block, whether it’s my way or another way you discovered. That’s all for now, see you later!
