Losing Inspiration

[elrotram]

Okay, so maybe it isn't a life issue so much as an art issue, but I've been lacking real, true inspiration for a year now. I've just been in a total creative slump. I can only really drag myself to do sketches, or inked linework - just people, no backgrounds, and rarely any color anymore. Nothing I do is as good as I want it to be and I get really down on myself for it and then my little, shallow pool of creativity sort of dries up. It's driving me absolutely nutso-boingos. (Yes, that's the technical term.) Does anyone have any ideas for how to recharge my creative batteries? Has anyone else gone through this weird phobia/down on themselves period, and if so, what did you do to pick yourself back up again? I try to pick up a pencil and just draw, but somehow, I can't get myself to go beyond the basics. Gr.

[xkrazydog]

I'd say go out and get your mind off of it. Pick up a book and read it, watch a movie, hang out with friends, chat, do something else.
Seems like your forcing yourself and not enjoying yourself and its biting you back hard. So I'd suggest finding that inspiration. Sitting inside day in and day out does you no good but get you depressed and bored.

I find my best inspirations are when i'm with other people.

[Erdgeist]

Ohman, art blocks definitely suck. I don't think there's really a good way to get rid of them forever-- I almost always experience an art block for at least a few days after each drawing lolsob-- but I've found a few things that usually get me going again!

1. Check out some of your favourite artists or pictures or images ever!
I know people say this a lot, and I was initially like hey man this is my work we're talkin' here; how is looking at someone else's stuff gonna help me
But it can really help when you're stuck and have no idea what to do! You might get a new idea for a drawing, or maybe want to try drawing something different (different time period, genre, pose, composition, etc), or even try emulating their style for fun!
People sometimes seem to draw inspiration from film and music, too. Or whatever floats your boat.

2. Check out improvement memes!
Sometimes we might be all like "man my art looks so shitty why can't it be sexy like that other person's", and this is really, really common! I think all artists experience this, actually! You kind of look at your own work and then look at someone else's, and you see this crazy gap in quality and feel like you could never get there!
But their art wasn't always sexy, you know. It's really neat when you look at a favourite artist's improvement over the past several years and see how far they've come! Kind of like "whoa, what? That artist used to draw shitty weeaboo stuff when they were younger, too, and now they're amazing?! Then there's hope for me yet!"
I mean yeah, sometimes we might look at some crazy-good artist and see that they've improved drastically and amazingly in like a year or something while we haven't really improved much, but not improving much this year doesn't mean you won't improve a ton next year!
I also heard this analogy once where it's like gaining EXP in Pokemon-- it's much faster and quicker during the early levels, but you're kind of level-grinding later on and it takes muuuch longer.

3. Draw ugly things on purpose!
Sometimes I get all worked up over being able to draw sexy people, and then when my drawings aren't sexy enough, I get frustrated.
Try drawing UGLY people! Go through every little gross detail of the face that you can think of; it also kinda helps with regards to developing varying expressions and facial structures.
Or I dunno, man; it's kind of fun to show people just get a laugh, too!
And then you can look at your regular drawings and then drawing sexy people will come easier to you. Or something like that.

4. Do art trades!
Knowing that someone's anticipating your drawing can kind of up the pressure, and pressure's sometimes a good thing. And since it isn't just for you, you might work a little harder!
Plus there's that extra incentive of getting a drawing from the other person! Nothing satisfies like giving and receiving sexy drawings!

5. Collaborate!
Maybe you could colour someone else's drawing and/or they could colour your drawing!
It's really, really cool seeing what your drawings look like in another person's colouring style, and vice versa! Plus when you colour someone else's stuff, you can kind of feel the difference and even pick up some ideas from their drawings.
Like I remember doing a collab with this fantastic artist, and when colouring her stuff, it was like whoa, the eyes are smaller and the body is bigger! And I can never tell if there's something wrong with my drawings until months later, so that might be a heads up to me that maybe my drawings' proportions are a little off! And you can also really learn from how the other person's coloured your stuff, too! I learned quite a bit with regards to different ways to colour things.

6. Take a break and do something totally different!
Don't force yourself to draw if you really don't feel like it! People can sometimes feel like they have to draw for the sake or drawing or being popular, and that can really take the fun out of drawing. Draw whatever you want whenever you want, and make sure it's something you actually want to draw!
And yeah, sometimes we have those days when nothing we draw looks good at all, and it's really frustrating. Don't push yourself. Do something fun and come back to it later! Coming back to it later or after a good rest sometimes gives you a fresh eye, too, and then you can more easily pick out details that were really messing up the picture that you hadn't noticed before!

7. Don't let comparisons get you down!
Here, read this thing: 5 Steps to Ending Comparisons for Creatives!
You're your own person and have something only you can offer!


Whoa, tl;dr. But yeah, I hope some of that helped! Best of luck with the drawing endeavours; keep at it!

[ParadoxComic]

I just ended a very long period (6 months!) of me hating, DESPISING art. I had to force myself to pick up my tablet pen and everything I made was horrible. I lost readers because "the art is getting worse", which just made me hate art more.

It finally ended when I just changed the way I colored things. Instead of soft-shading, I moved to hard-shading, and suddenly I loved drawing again!

So maybe try something new. Nothing fancy, just something that will refresh your mind, like a new inking style or coloring, or instead of drawing people draw animals or whatever!

[elrotram]

Thank you guys so much! I know exactly what I need to do now - write! XD

[blankd]

If you're still in a slump, I'd recommend working with different mediums just so that you can get a different feel for them. Sometimes going to a museum and just sort of meditating can be very helpful. 8V

[mitchellbravo]

Yeah, a change can be really cathartic. For me it's like I have a jar of energy for each mode of art I partake in. Sometimes if I use up my comics jar I have to go sit with my literature jar until the comics jar fills back up again. Though I usually just end up sitting unproductive for a month or so until I'm ready to dive back in.

[desideraht]

I just got out of a slump like that. I basically picked up a new medium. I would recommend trying that. It can garner inspiration for your most skilled medium.

[Thira]

Ouf, blocks like these suck big time I have been fighting mine for 4 years now, ever since I entered uni. I would say not to try so hard and do something else, like the other said. I for one get all pumped up when something happens to me like when I'm out in the city with my friends, travel, but a simple book or movie can inspire me a lot too, after which I draw like crazy for a short period of time.

[Disturbed Goth]

Try listening to new music! Like some genre or band that you have never heard of before. Music is a HUGE motivator for me. Do watch movies? Sometimes I find watching movies to be very inspirational as well. I hope your inspiration back!

[Wulfmune]

I just ended a very long period (6 months!) of me hating, DESPISING art. I had to force myself to pick up my tablet pen and everything I made was horrible. I lost readers because "the art is getting worse", which just made me hate art more.

It finally ended when I just changed the way I colored things. Instead of soft-shading, I moved to hard-shading, and suddenly I loved drawing again!

So maybe try something new. Nothing fancy, just something that will refresh your mind, like a new inking style or coloring, or instead of drawing people draw animals or whatever!

Oh I really related to this post. Sometimes I wonder if I ever like doing art. Its such a hate/hate love relationship.
I switched to doing color and it really inspired me. When I get tired of color, I'll probably attempt to switch my style of coloring.
It really does seem to "refresh".

[Elastikid]

Normally when that happens to me, I just take a break for awhile. Then, some inspiration or great idea that I want to do will come to me and I will get the urge to make something.

If you aren't confident in your drawing skills, just remember that there are many people both within and outside of comics who can't even draw all that well whose work has been critically acclaimed. Your art is only secondary to your story. If you have a great story you want to tell, then there shouldn't be anything stopping you. You could probably draw it in crayon and if it were good enough people would still read it.

Don't let that stop you from trying your best, though, because art is still important

[mikejari]

You must focus or concentrate on the thing which you love the most. Do not get disheartened and acquire as much confidence as you can. Think that you can do things in a much better way as you are an expert at it. Just believe in yourself.

[Sophi0900]

Search for the Website : StumbleUpon
Log in and set your intrests to art, and literally stumble upon LOADs of artist websites---
Some of the stuff is sooo coool! So draw bits and pieces from what you see and you'll have loads of new ideas in no time!

[corruption]

I know this may be a little bit necro-threading, but here is my solution: go nuts!

Don't focus on your comic, or any one style. Just go totally nuts, and throw all kinds of ideas together. This you would never consider because they don't fit. Sometimes when things seem to be going dry, that is because you have not dug deep into you own twisted mind. Forget your comic, put it on hiatus. Forget anything else. just see what the wierdest and most twisted thing you can think of is. Who knows, you may end up thinking about dwarves made from pulped magazines going through time, pantsing Hitler, giving Nero a noogie, and wedgying Ben Franklin.

Take ideas from elsewhere, that normally don't fit, and make them! Even if you have to tear them apart to do so.