By: Jazzlyn Beltran
Coming from someone who gets art block very often, I’ll share some ways you could cure your artblock–starting with knowing the root cause of it. First, art block is something artists experience when they don’t have the motivation to conjure up an art piece. Sometimes it’s because of perfectionism, sometimes burnout, or even lack of inspiration, all causing them to feel like they’re unable to create art at the moment. Art block is temporary, but sometimes it can go on for a long time, up to years even. It can be frustrating when you have the urge to create something but simply lack the motivation to do it, some might sit and ponder about drawing only to not actually do it. Sometimes sitting down and starting is the most difficult part, other times their sketchbook is open ready to draw. So they scroll on pinterest for 2 hours only to not do anything but save a bunch of pins then lose motivation to actually pick up a pencil.
So on to the reason you’re actually reading this article, you probably want to cure your art block. First, if you haven’t already, get rid of perfectionism. You can’t fear the page or canvas, it has to fear you. Take away the idea that whatever you make has to be a masterpiece, there aren’t any rules to making art. It’s not wrong to draw the same thing 50 times just because you like it, or if a drawing comes out wonky, or if your drawing makes no sense to anyone else. The process of learning art isn’t supposed to be easy, in fact nothing is supposed to be easy. And if the wonky drawing really bothers you, you can stick another drawing over it or paint over it as a last resort. Think about it this way, “bad” art is better than no art, it’s better to make something that might look a bit out of proportion than to not make anything at all.
If you draw the same thing all the time like people for example, try to draw something out of your comfort zone like animals, food, scenery. Or experiment with the things you're already good at, if you aren’t at the level you want to be, there's always room for improvement. Like learning color theory, perspective, or trying to pose your drawings differently. Also experiment with different mediums; if you normally use pencil, try watercolor or something different. Draw something that you really like, like your favorite character, your friends, your pets, the cover of your favorite book, your favorite album cover, anything that you're interested in. Try to recreate a famous artwork like The Starry Night, draw a movie scene, or a portrait. Redraw old art and see how much you’ve improved, or redraw other peoples original characters.
If none of these helped, try looking up some youtube videos that will give you tips on getting rid of art block. If that doesn’t work either, take a break and do something other than drawing like reading, writing, watching a movie, or playing a video game, and get back to it later. Also one last thing, don’t compare yourself to other artists, instead you could take inspiration from the way they use elements in their art and use it in yours. I hope you found at least one of these helpful and cure your artblock!
