CONCRETE TIPS TO COMBAT ARTBLOCK

​

Tried and validated by yours truly. Experience is the only master you need!

The most important tip is to do.

​

I´ve found that finding your very own workflow elevates alot of artblock - and getting comfortable with the idea of iteration of lots of thumbnailsketches from your own briefs!

​

• Identify why and what is making you not want to draw and list possible solutions .

• Identify what kind of art you like and want to be able to do

• Find the idea generation technique that works for you (research!)

• Writing in Art idea journal with mindmaps (my technique)

• Idea notes app in phone for on the go

• Record idea asap or it´ll be gone forever!

• Try to generate atleast 5 new ideas daily - the more the better!

• Split your day - ideas in the morning, art in the evening for example

• Writing helps you stay as non-judgemental as possible.

• Keep a visual idea sketchbook where you sketch those written ideas

• Really let your ideas get on the page before judging them!

• Keep it simple & readable - try to describe what you see in your art vision.

• Pick the ones that interest you most - keep the rest as "backburner ideas" for those days you really don´t feel like drawing! 

• Try to draw things you love - fanart is powerful to re-ignite your art love again

• Set aside x hours for just sketching daily to build habit.

​

​

​

PRACTICE THOSE IMAGINATION SKILLS DAILY! 

• Read books AND try to paint the scenes in your head as you mosey along

• Expose yourself to as many genres of things as possible! 

• Music, movies, videogames, books...

• Expose youself to new ways and new experiences or perspectives, nurture your curiosity and always try to find out more about stuff or how the world works!

• Combine refs together is the core to what really ideas are - say 80%. The 10% is how you combine them and is your personal flair.

• RP! RP stimulates your imagination and visualization skills endlessly as you learn how to describe scenes, characters and scenarios in words. It´s fun! 

• Combine things IRL together in your head as you see them 

• Ask questions - why, what, where, how, who, what if? etc

• Take an existing IP and play pretend you´re redesigning it - use screenshots, lore as base and try to come up with new scenes ;)

​

The real core of artblock is lack of ideas and a proper workflow.

It is essential to learn how to put down ideas in their most crude form, learning to

ITERATE.

​