When im in a art block i find an art class on youtube or proko.tv and watch along and learn how to draw something (like bones or muscles). Then usually i end with some bases of what i learned. Then from there i turn it into either what im finally feeling like drawing ir fanart.
Other times i find someone to do an art trade with so then im drawing for not me. That helps.
I have a sketchbook where I will sketch characters. I will sometimes draw old OCs or character that only very briefly appear in my series. I also sometimes will doodle little creatures and such. I do this 100% for myself with no plan to post in online, so I can just draw whatever. I also sometimes will draw the characters in different art styles just for fun.
i think the biggest thing thats helped me is not thinking about it and creating a space where i can create for no reason beyond for myself and the fun of it
it's more personal opinion than anything but i think one of the biggest downfalls of artists at time is that we either overthink things, fail to rest ourselves when needed, or burden ourselves with goals too high or workloads to big. for all these reasons i try to have a space to just draw for no reason but to draw. big messy sketch pages full of scribbles and rough sketches and messy coloring and it's helped for those periods of art block.
a big thing too is entering the canvas with no plan and just kind of going with the flow. if an idea comes scribble it out but dont focus on clarity or rules or whatever just jot down enough to get the vague idea out. then from that point i can choose do i want to flesh it out or do i just leave it it's messy self and the big thing is reminding yourself you can say no. if anything i think more of my art files are these big messy sketch pages than finished stuff but i genuinely have more fun sometimes with those and if there's any idea in particular i still like down the line i come back to it and finish it up then
Sometimes, I just choose to stay in my comfort zone. I don't do anything crazy, I just try and have fun with my work. I let the art look bad, and don't pressure myself to get anything done. If I'm not feeling it, I usually just take a break and work on something else, usually I'll come back when I want to draw.
If I really need to draw, but I don't feel like it, like say I need to get my pages done or I have a commission with a deadline, the first thing I do is see to all other needs first so nothing can get in the way.
I eat some food, I get a hot drink, I have a shower and a good stretch, and I make sure I know what I'll be doing for dinner later so there's nothing looming I need to take care of that will distract me. I set myself up on a comfortable chair in a comfortable place and I make sure there's something either to listen to or watch while I work. If I need any research or reference, I get that out of the way first.
Then I can just get into the zone without anything looming that might pull me out of it.
If I'm having trouble getting into the zone, usually drawing practice sketches or looking at inspiration somewhere like Pinterest helps.
Another thing is just reminding myself that readers would rather have a pages that look okay and are consistently on-time moving the story along than pages where every panel is an exceptional work of art but they're only released sporadically.
Artist block is a term I don´t understand.
When you want to draw then draw.
The inspiration will come after you started, not before, sometimes it doesn´t come
and you just doodle around
I get like that sometimes. I’ve had a week or so off from drawing comic things (started again yesterday). It wasn’t a planned break, my brain just needed it I think.
There is no shame or failure in having a little (or long) time off. 
I’ve just been doodling flowers and foxes. 
a good tip for doing anything you don't really want to do is the mentality 'I'll just do 5 minutes of it.' If the 5 minutes are up and you don't wanna do anymore, that's fine, that's 5 minutes of progress which is better than 0. Or the 5 minutes are up and you're fine to continue. So you keep going.
Still life or draw from reference. Last night i was too tired to think, So I opened up this art anatomy app i had and just drew some muscles, good practice. And sometimes the creative brain is just tired...
Like all my life. I think I began when I was 9 years old. I’m thinking of pursuing a profession in comic art in the future too actually. :3
Hmmm....might just doodling something work? Not something with intent but just doodle, see what happens? I recently started doing this and I found that this and drawing stuff from refs tends to help also. You still polish skills, but it doesn't have to be anything.
We've all got days like that man, and they're not fun. My answer usually is to just do it anyway, even though I don't want to. Put pen to paper and push it around until something comes out, even if you hate it. Just draw man, just draw.
Usually I feel that way when I'm taking the rare break from art and my mind is on other things. Once I get started and warmed up I always get back into it, and the daily drawing habit comes right back. You've just got to firmly decide "this is what I'm doing tonight. And tomorrow, and the day after that. I'm not doing anything else. Just art." Once you make that decision nothing else becomes an option. Then you get into it, because the distractions are gone.
I always picture creativity as a bank account, in order to put money in the account to then be able to use it you gotta deposit it first, right? Same goes for Creativity, you sometimes won't know what to do unconsciously and then you may think that you actually're just being lazy (And while that may be the case, it is not always), so you gotta consume all the time, music, videos, movies, series, books, comics, whatever, even going outside helps a bit, a change of scenery as they say.
Then at times you'll have to force yourself to sit down and draw, and that yeah, can be either because you're lazy, you are too distracted to even considering grabing your pencil and start doing a few lines at least. So... You can try get bored, turn off the internet, read something or do something that you don't like to do be it cleaning, folding clothes or just going up and down the stairs or walk around the house.
Some people actually blocks themselves because they have the idea that when they draw, they must do a piece, something with a start that they have to finish, something original, something with composition or whatever.
I believe that the best way you get to draw and then you find yourself actually drawing and making pieces, is when you're just doodling, making silly lines, or drawing eyes at the edge of your bullet journal, sketch or make lines without thinking about making them in ways that you would like them.
Sometimes what happens too is that, maybe your brain or body are just simply tired, too overstimulated and need to rest, you need to do something else.
And finally, it could be that you're brain is tired of the same process of thinking / steps which you approach when you draw. So changing the process could also help, be it make one single sketch then lineart, or making 3 sketches to finally achieve a lineart (rough sketch, defined sketch, clean sketch)
Whenever I find myself struggling with art block, I usually try and do something else. For instance, if I still want to do something art related, without putting out anything new, I tend to do some inking for my pages or sketches I never touched again after making.
Another thing that I do is look at other people's art: Tapas creators, famous artists/painters, mangakas, etc. to get some inspiration by analyzing their work. This actually works pretty well, because I get a lot of new ideas!
If I don't feel in the mood for art at all, I do something else entirely, like reading a book, listening to some music, writing, analyzing my own story or playing a game. Art block is temporary, thankfully, so take your time, relax and you'll get back on track feeling better than ever!
closed Apr 11, '22
inspiration from music
