Advice on creative block

[TessaW]

I love this thread and I've loved reading through the very smart responses. I can really relate to you @Mike-C. I struggle with this too, but have gotten to the point where I can at least keep returning to art over the long run, and have been able to see progress in my skills. Still have mental healing to do, but a few things that have helped me:

1. Seeing early sketchbooks and early work of artists I admire. Seeing their humble beginnings compared to the level they are at now really is inspiring. If they had given up at any point along the way, we wouldn't have their amazing work now.

2. Becoming a parent! Lol, of course this can't apply to everyone, but experiencing the unconditional love for a child, has helped me view myself in a kinder light and extend some of that love to myself. I would hate it if my children are as hard on themselves as I am to myself. I want them to be able to make mistakes and to keep trying even if things aren't perfect. Why shouldn't I want that for myself? When I'm over critical of myself, I try to be my own parent. What advice would you @Mike-C , personally give to a kid who feels like they shouldn't draw because it's not perfect? You can extend that advice to yourself.

3. Drawing on cheap-ass paper and sketchbooks. My first sketchbooks after coming back to art were line-less marble composition books, bought 50 cents a piece on sale. The paper is very thin and they are practically falling apart by the time I'm done with them. I tell myself that the drawings on them are allowed to be super ugly. My kids are allowed to draw in them if they want. It takes a lot of the pressure away.

4. Giving myself a mantra. Some mantras I tell myself to keep away perfectionism "Finished not Perfect". "This is Not a Life or Death Situation" or "It's Not a Tiger" (our primitive brain is very good at treating inconsequential situations as if it's a life or death situation, when it's not. Me making an ugly drawing is not as big of a deal as I'm making it out to be). "Nobody Cares" This one may sound negative, but coming from my background, it helps me relieve pressure. Nobody cares if I make an ugly piece of art, but this ugly piece of art will help me get better in the long run. "I am a Robot". Sometimes when I lose motivation and have to get a certain task done, I just pretend I'm a robot that needs to complete the task without hesitation or emotion (this is super silly and I can't believe I'm sharing this).

SVS has also had big impact! Reading everyone's view points and being able to commiserate with others on similar hangups is a huge help. Thank you fellow SVSers!

[Neha Rawat]

Thank you, @Mike-C for starting this wonderful thread! Self doubt is certainly an emotion that everyone faces at some point in their life, no matter how far down the road they may be. It becomes crippling when you’re not able to think of the flip side and you just dig yourself deeper in your own grave. The best thing to do at this time is ask for help. And you’ve done exactly that so you’re already on the right path! It’s perfectly ok to look to others for support, and with time you learn to pick yourself up. Just like what Vanessa said about a baby learning to walk. They start with help from their parents till they’re able to walk on their own. This doesn’t mean that they won’t fall again even though they know how to walk, so doubts will always be a part of life. But it’s about getting up and walking again, with, or without help.
Interestingly, if you follow Pascal Campion’s work, he occasionally posts about self doubt And other such struggles too. I mean, you would imagine that a brilliant illustrator such as himself would have everything sorted right? But no. He’s human, just like us, walking on the same road, just a little ahead. With time, he’s learnt to pick himself up, as will you with the right mindset

[cristamay]

Hi Mike!
I've always drew since I was a kid like you but during and the arts baccalaureate it stopped being funny because we had to draw for the sake of filling a 90 page sketchbook every 3 months I guess so I got sick of making drawings like a machine. So the following 8-ish years (university+master+not thinking about drawing) I only drew for class assignments until I started to journal-drawing and making tiny comics of funny things that happened to me only for fun and trying new media but I always struggled with the starting part (sketching blabla) so I tried digital drawing with an oldie wacom bamboo I had from the master and it was hard in the beginning until you get used to it but then it was great! Ctrl+z is a good friend.
It really was life changing when I got my iPad (the regular one, not the pro). Everything feels easier and more natural to me as I can mess without worrying about wasting nice materials plus I have all the colors in the rainbow and looooots of tools and textures and I don't need space to store different materials. I feel that now I have all the tools I needed to achieve what I want to make because for example I realised that my sketching process is not linework as usually people do on paper: I start blocking shapes and then linework (which you can guess it's not that easier using pen and paper...).
Sorry for the super long story but in the end I meant that you have to just try things and find what fits you. You are only drawing for fun so don't put so much pressure on it!
The only thing you have to do to make it something regular on your everyday is start drawing maybe an hour a day then a little bit more and so on. It's like exercising a muscle.
I hope this helps you in someway.

[LauraA]

Wow, you've gotten a lot of great advice from people who are really good, and yet still battle with self-doubt! I have a feeling that self-doubt is simply part of the artistic territory. I was asking some friends just yesterday how it could be that I spend so much time on each piece I make and still hate them by the time I finish, because...they no longer feel spontaneous and fun! In fact, today I woke up with the specific goal of getting the spontaneity and fun back.

I really do think part of the problem is feeling pressure to make a go of art. Everyone has reasons that they might put pressure on themselves. Mine are that I am not young (not even close) and that I have some family members' voices in my head whom I have to ignore. Also, I see so much great art out there and think, "How do they work well so fast?" And being fast, they get more practice and improve, etc.

Two things keep me going: One is that when I see a really good illustration it just makes me happy and makes me want to do one myself. I don't feel that way about anything else other than doing volunteer work with people (which is a nice changeup from drawing alone all week and teaching English). The other is knowing that the only way to get better is to keep trying. For this reason every now and then I go back and look at my work from 2-3 years ago and think, "Hey, you did get better!" And that gives me the courage to go on.

So what I would say is, if at all possible just silence that voice in your head for now and give yourself time to play with as little self-judgment as possible. Don't worry about posting on social media, etc. If it helps, say, "I'm going to give myself a year." Or six months, or whatever you think you can realistically carve out in your life. Then, at the end of that time, I'm betting you will look back and see improvement, which hopefully will give you the encouragement to keep going!

P.S. Does anyone remember which SVS podcast had the four stages of becoming a professional artist? It outlined how long it will probably take for each stage and what you should concentrate on during each. It seems very relevant to this conversation.

P. P. S. There is also a graphic that floats around on social media that shows the artistic cycle of learning and confidence. I don't know where to find it, but the point was that when you feel less confident, it's often because you are learning so much!

[nadyart]

@Mike-C Have you heard about the books of Austin Kleon? They are full of wonderful anecdotes and ways to break through creative blocks. Their titles: "Steal like an artist", "Show your work", and "Keep Going". The last one being the best for your particular questions Good luck!

[Rachel Horne]

@Mike-C Oh my goodness, totally! I think the key is to try not to think too hard and just do it. My technical skills are not great and I regularly have those feelings of wondering if I'll ever be up to scratch but then I think that every day not drawing is one day less of getting better. I don't know if it's something you already do but maybe take out a sketchbook and do some observational drawing - since it's quick it might encourage you to loosen up and not be so hard on yourself. But know this, you are not alone!

[ArlMon]

@Mike-C Hi! I can totally relate to what you're saying. I'm getting back into drawing after years of not making any art because I was scared to put pencil to paper. Anytime I did try to sketch or draw something I was so ashamed of the result I gave up immediately, I wasn't able to let myself play and experiment and be ok with my mistakes.

What changed everything for me bizarrely was taking acting classes. I wanted to do something that I was afraid of (speaking in public) and by chance found a great teacher whose mantra was "never judge anyone, especially not yourself".

So the fact of being a beginner/learning a new skill meant for sure I made a lot of mistakes! But because I was in a group of non-judgemental people who were very supportive I was able to relax and laugh at myself again and have fun, and this spilled over into my private life.

Those classes have given me so much more confidence and I met a lot of creative people there which was what I needed too- to get out of my "bubble" and see new things to get inspired again.

Everyone is different but I think getting out of your comfort zone, facing your fears and trying new things is a huge help. The fact that you want to progress and grow means you care and you will succeed I wish you all the best!

[Coreyartus]

@Mike-C Here are some more books:

1st: I echo @nadyart 's suggestion of Austin Kleon's three books. They're fantastic! I buy them and give them as gifts, and have several copies of each. They're SO worth it. They're on Amazon but his website is HERE.

2nd: The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. This is incredibly powerful and has had a profound impact on many many of today's creatives, regardless of their particular discipline or field. Stephen Pressfield's website is Here.

3rd: Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. There's no specific website for this, but WOW there are a lot of reviews about it--do a Google search and you'll see. It's a great book, much along the lines of Pressfield's book. SO worth it, in my opinion.

4th: I think this Cory Kerr video on YouTube directly addresses some of the instances you're articulating. I enjoy his YouTube Channel, as well as [Dan Ekis's](link url). If you spend a bit of time you can find the folks that speak to you and drop the ones that just don't. Will and Jake and now Lee all have channels of their own. But I've found a lot of inspirational people on there that simply weren't as inspirational as I thought they were and they become a bit bombastic and pontificating... It runs hot and cold, but you might find some there that click. I listen to them while I draw a lot of the time.

Hope these help!

[jdubz]

"Drawing used to be fun, but these days it's just a grueling battle with myself to do everything perfectly and effortlessly"

I think what might be a good idea is taking the last part of that sentence and each morning for a month remind yourself that's actually a bad thing. Perfect and effortless work is how you wake up 25 years in the future and wonder why your life flew by so fast and you somehow missed it.

You want struggle. You want effort. You want to have a hard time figuring things out and solving problems. Because without that, you're not growing. Embrace the struggle! Build those muscles! Becoming a great artist with a lot of consistent work would never be about perfect or effortless work anyway

[NessIllustration]

@jdubz @Mike-C That's very true! When you're doing a workout and it's effortless, that means you're not getting anything out of it. There is no progress that doesn't feel like walking uphill and against the wind. But that just makes it more rewarding when you reach a goal, what a great feeling to beat adversity! And after you reach a goal, you look up and hope there's still more mountain to climb because you don't want that great journey to ever end. I honestly live in fear of the day I peak and there's just nowhere else for me to go. What a sad day that will be! I guess if that happens, I'll have to take up something new like the ukulele or maybe knitting...

[LauraA]

I found the two resources I mentioned yesterday and will put them here so they'll be on the thread if anyone wants to refer to them:

1. The podcast about the four stages of learning (which are universal despite the title of the podcast): Am I Too Old to Get Started?

2. This is not the exact chart I saw about artistic growth, but it's similar: How to Avoid Climbing Up Mount Stupid or Into The Fraudster's Cave

3. Oh, and let's not forget Jake Parker's Avoiding Creative Block!

Hope this helps!

[frankiiij]

I would like to share tow things with you.

First, I have these cards of lessons i learned from some YouTube artist advice videos. We have a lot in common when it comes to art. I try to rehearse these like a mantra. “Fall in love with the process” “Just create” and “You are not the judge”.

Second I believe we live in a world that constantly preaches how we need to become a product. It was until I decided to run from that and simply just be myself that i felt a sense of freedom. It all seemed from this post centered around this idea that “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly”. Sorry for any foul language.

Hope this helps fam. Remember you have what it takes to make a difference. Much love and God Bless!

[A Former User]

The authors of the book Art & Fear wrote at the end that it was answering the question "Do artists have anything in common with each other?" that got them to write the book.

My own response to to what you're experiencing @Mike-C was to quit for over a decade. Notice that I didn't mention that in my first comment because it's such a big regret that it's hard to even admit that I did that sometimes! It's time I can't get back. I know I lived my life just fine without making art every day, but I also know my life would have been so much richer and better with that struggle in the mix.

Great to see that question answered here by illustrators whose work I already know and love. It's always surprising to hear about artists struggling when they already produce work at the level we aspire to ! I think we share elements of our process, but really what we share is the ability to keep making art anyway. These last six months I have been so uncomfortable with the art I have made, but at least I know for sure I won't be quitting for the rest of my life. I'm very thankful for this forum for helping me get to this new state of mind, being ok with the struggle.

[demotlj]

I am reading a biography of Louisa May Alcott which said that when she was writing "Little Women," Alcott felt quite uninspired and thought it was not her best work. In previous work she had depended on being seized by inspiration but for "Little Women", she just had to slog through because she needed the money. The biographer commented that after the success of "Little Women," Alcott came to understand that an iron will is more important to the creative process than inspiration.

I personally have been feeling very empty of inspiration these days probably because there is so much going on in the US to deplete our emotional energy but as I thought about Alcott's experience, it occurred to me that maybe the loss of artistic inspiration is not as much a lack of inspiration as a weakened will. Maybe willpower can get flabby and out of shape and what I think is creative block is actually just willpower that has gone to seed for lack of working it, like every time I have excused myself for eating cookies because "why bother to resist them when there's a pandemic." I decided to test this theory by changing my goal from "working on my art" to working on "developing an iron will." Every day, I am trying to do something to develop an iron will -- whether it is going for a run when the last thing I want to do is run or drawing when the last thing I feel like doing is drawing. I am trying no longer to think about the end results of my art but rather to think about putting pencil to the paper as one more exercise in the overall goal of strengthening my iron will. I am hoping that this approach will increasingly help me to ignore my feelings of fatigue, restlessness, emptiness, and doubt whether it is in exercise or art or any aspect of my life, which in turn will increase my ability to push through creative block.

I'll let you know if it works!

[xin li]

@Mike-C when reading your post, I remembered Lee said in some of his lectures about "failing forward with a painting". When I learned about this, it really helped to calm down my fear of making art.

The idea of "failing forward" is you just put down something on canvas, it will probably look bad, but then you have something to react to , something to improve on. You just keep doing this, until the painting slowly moves to the direction you want it to be.

Most of us artists are very hard on ourself. I often felt like I have ruined a paper when I just put down something on it. I could not buy nice sketchbooks, because they would just be left on the book shelf and never get used because I am afraid of ruining them. With "failing forward", it sort of changed my way of processing thoughts. Instead of thinking "I have ruined the paper", now I am thinking "what can I do to make that mark look more interesting." Suddenly, making art is a lot more fun, because I was paying more attension to what I can do, rather than what I have done.

Hope this makes some sense.

[xin li]

@NessIllustration Once I was working together with my husband on a creative project, we made a little sign which says "80% good is good enough" to remind ourself it does not have to be perfect, and just have to be done. We still have not got that project out of our hand, but the sign still helped when having two over-thinkers sitting in the same room.

[NessIllustration]

I love this thread! It has resonated with so many people, and it seems obvious this is common, key problems that comes up with us artists as a normal part of the creation process. It's comforting to see so many also struggle with it even those at top tier skill level, and it's especially helpful to hear all of your own tips and tricks of what helps you deal with this. My takeaway is that we all struggle with this at some point (or constantly) but there are ways to keep creating despite of it.