Have you been drawing for a while now and suddenly you start lacking inspiration when seeing a blank canvas? You can’t even draw on your desk at school or work when you’re bored? Maybe you’re suffering from art block! It’s a normal experience for every artist, but oh boy how annoying it is. Here’s what I do to get rid of it in no time!
What even is an art block?
Art block, aka the archenemy of every artist, is when you lack inspiration and can’t draw anything for days, weeks or maybe even months. And even if you try to force yourself to draw, it usually ends up sucking. From my experience, art block is just what happens when you aren’t in a good mental space to be able to draw. Maybe you’re too drained from your everyday life at work. Maybe something happened in your life that is dragging you down and it’s taking too much space in your head. Anyways, the bottom line is you can’t draw anymore and your art is sucking more than ever.
But don’t get scared! You can usually get out of art block!
What can I do to fight it off?!
Well, I guess it depends on what you like to do. I heard some artists fight it off by using prompts to get their imagination going or doing art challenges from the community. Personally, this doesn’t work for me. In my case, artblock happens when I’m overwhelmed, or when I have been drawing for too long. In the first case, I usually try to not think too much about art block and go take care of myself first. When I have been drawing for too long, maybe trying other styles or just doing a short pause helps.
Sometimes, art block also happens when I am looking at other artists’ works for too long. I start comparing my work with theirs and I can’t help but find mine lacking. In those moments, the only thing you can do is log out. Simply focus on what your art does well!
Light at the end of the tunnel
At the end of the day, I think art block also has a positive side. I often find that it helps me question myself about my work, but also allows me to take a break. Usually, when art block leaves on its own, I realize that I got better at drawing because I didn’t force myself to. It allows me to keep my relationship with art sane and not obsess over it too much. Don’t get me wrong, I love drawing, but I’d rather take a break from it in difficult times, than feel even worse about myself because my art sucks.
Like I always say, keep art something that brings you good things and allows you to relax. When it’s not giving you those things anymore, take a break, you’ll get back to it when you’re ready.
