Feb
02

Finding Inspiration Lately I’ve been on a bit of a vacation from my art. It hasn’t been so much that I needed one but rather I haven’t been too inspired or motivated to draw. It’s inevitable that anyone who is in the craft of creating art will have such moments. For me, it happens about twice year; I’ll open up my sketchbook or drawing pad and my mind just goes blank. Sometimes these moments will last for a day or two, sometimes for two to four weeks. Eventually I come out of it but it can be a bit agonizing when the desire to create is there but you just can’t come up with anything. Here are a few things I do to get through my creative slums. Doodle - Sometimes it just seems pointless and I admit, at times I feel a little silly when I step back and look at my “doodling” and think “What the hell is that?” But there’s just something cathartic about taking a pencil, holding it like a three year old and scribbling like a mad woman or aimlessly drawing circles and squiggly lines. It helps get out some of the angst and frustration that comes with trying to get ideas from my imagination to the paper. I like to call it “mental dumping”, getting rid of useless energy so that I can free up some room for more creative and productive energy. Relax - Like I mentioned before it’s inevitable to have moments like this. The worst you can do is fret over it, which I’m guilty of. So I go out for walks, go out for a nice meal, visit friends or take a nap. It helps to keep me from worrying about whether or not I’ve lost my creative mojo. Change - Try something different creatively. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to try then try it. Or if you’re like me and have other creative skills then switch to one of your less prominent skills. I’m mainly a pen and ink stipple artist but I also like carving linoleum blocks, digital drawing, flash animation and sketching. If I’m having a slump with my stippling switching to one of my other skills for a little while helps to get my creative juices going again. Other Artists - There’s nothing that inspires me more than looking at the art work of other artists. I LOVE drawing so a big treat for me is when I go to an artist’s website and they have sketches from their sketchbooks up. I like all the “behind the scenes” work that goes into a painting more than the actual painting. I’m the type of person who will buy books like “The Art of Star Wars” not so much because I’m a big fan of the movie but because I want to see all the sketches that went into the concepts of the costumes, the stage setup and what-nots. Music - Nothing transports my imagination like music. When I’m listening to music I like to create my own videos inside my head to express the meaning I think the song is trying to convey. I typically come away with some good ideas for a drawing. Some of the music genres that work best for me are: trip-hop, downtempo, electronica and world. Movies - Watching visually appealing movies are another source of inspiration for me. I get all into the lighting, mood, design of costumes, colors, art direction and imagination that goes into a film. If the visual imagery is captivating than the plot doesn’t have to be much for me to like a film. A couple of my favorites are The Cell and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, particularly the ending credits. Just Draw - In the end, when all else has failed the only thing you can do is just draw. Sometimes you won’t find the inspiration. If all you do is sit around and wait for inspiration you won’t get much art created. Sometimes the inspiration comes before, sometimes in comes during and sometimes it doesn’t come at all but don’t let inspiration be your down fall. Creating art is more work than inspiration so in the end you just have to grin and bare it, pick up your pencil and get at it. Now, with that being said let me go grab my sketchbook and get to scribbling.

Finding Inspiration

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a vacation from my art. It hasn’t been so much that I needed one but rather I haven’t been too inspired or motivated to draw. It’s inevitable that anyone who is in the craft of creating art will have such moments. For me, it happens about twice year; I’ll open up my sketchbook or drawing pad and my mind just goes blank. Sometimes these moments will last for a day or two, sometimes for two to four weeks. Eventually I come out of it but it can be a bit agonizing when the desire to create is there but you just can’t come up with anything. Here are a few things I do to get through my creative slums.

  1. Doodle - Sometimes it just seems pointless and I admit, at times I feel a little silly when I step back and look at my “doodling” and think “What the hell is that?” But there’s just something cathartic about taking a pencil, holding it like a three year old and scribbling like a mad woman or aimlessly drawing circles and squiggly lines. It helps get out some of the angst and frustration that comes with trying to get ideas from my imagination to the paper. I like to call it “mental dumping”, getting rid of useless energy so that I can free up some room for more creative and productive energy.
  2. Relax - Like I mentioned before it’s inevitable to have moments like this. The worst you can do is fret over it, which I’m guilty of. So I go out for walks, go out for a nice meal, visit friends or take a nap. It helps to keep me from worrying about whether or not I’ve lost my creative mojo.
  3. Change - Try something different creatively. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to try then try it. Or if you’re like me and have other creative skills then switch to one of your less prominent skills. I’m mainly a pen and ink stipple artist but I also like carving linoleum blocks, digital drawing, flash animation and sketching. If I’m having a slump with my stippling switching to one of my other skills for a little while helps to get my creative juices going again.
  4. Other Artists - There’s nothing that inspires me more than looking at the art work of other artists. I LOVE drawing so a big treat for me is when I go to an artist’s website and they have sketches from their sketchbooks up. I like all the “behind the scenes” work that goes into a painting more than the actual painting. I’m the type of person who will buy books like “The Art of Star Wars” not so much because I’m a big fan of the movie but because I want to see all the sketches that went into the concepts of the costumes, the stage setup and what-nots.
  5. Music - Nothing transports my imagination like music. When I’m listening to music I like to create my own videos inside my head to express the meaning I think the song is trying to convey. I typically come away with some good ideas for a drawing. Some of the music genres that work best for me are: trip-hop, downtempo, electronica and world.
  6. Movies - Watching visually appealing movies are another source of inspiration for me. I get all into the lighting, mood, design of costumes, colors, art direction and imagination that goes into a film. If the visual imagery is captivating than the plot doesn’t have to be much for me to like a film. A couple of my favorites are The Cell and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, particularly the ending credits.
  7. Just Draw - In the end, when all else has failed the only thing you can do is just draw. Sometimes you won’t find the inspiration. If all you do is sit around and wait for inspiration you won’t get much art created. Sometimes the inspiration comes before, sometimes in comes during and sometimes it doesn’t come at all but don’t let inspiration be your down fall. Creating art is more work than inspiration so in the end you just have to grin and bare it, pick up your pencil and get at it.

Now, with that being said let me go grab my sketchbook and get to scribbling.

Aug
10

Jan
31