The Cure for Creative Block

CREATIVE BLOCK

It's annoying right..?

Yes it definitely IS!

Once in a while, artists tend to fall into that horrible phase and sometimes it's difficult to get out of it. At times it takes a few hours, a day or even more than week! For sure this can be very frustrating, but don't worry! Let me share you a few techniques on how to get out of that evil rut!
 
Usually when I lack the inspiration and motivation to draw something, I step back from the drawing board to think! Take an hour or so looking at artists you admire and jot down a few notes of what you like about their work. My sketchbook is filled with little notes, thoughts and ideas. Although it's not a drawing, you are actually making progress. It's cause you're planning!

"Well Heather... I did that and I still have NO idea what to draw?"

Well, another technique that has helped me tremendously is DRAW some sketch studies. Need to practice your anatomy skills? Draw that! Or perhaps you want to learn how to draw character designs? Draw that as well! Basically, draw things you believe you need to improve on. Copy (and not trace) from reference books, photos or even artists, and just learn. With this technique, you don't have to worry about what to draw, but how to draw it.

So here's an example of a digital speed painting I've done based on a photograph I found on the internet. The reason why I chose to do this landscape is because it's simple! It'll be easy for me to practice my digital painting skills on Photoshop and learn how to paint faster. Notice how my work looks quite different from the original reference? You don't have to copy exactly everything. Add your own little twist!

There you have it. I hope this advice helps.  Let me know if you have a technique that works! Perhaps I'll try it.

Be ambitious and keep creating!

Geek Love

Sketch inspired by geek love

One Piece: Drip

Drip (aka Fake Sanji)

Drip's failed attempt to copying Sanji's Diable Jambe style. Well at least he tried.

Check out the #OnePieceCollab list by @Virrul here:  LINK

One Piece: Portgas D. Ace

Portgas D. Ace One Piece

Since I was a kid, I have been watching One Piece. It has been an amazing journey watching Luffy and his pirate crew undergo series of dangerous and hilarious adventures. Lately, I had the opportunity to participate in @Virrul's #OnePieceCollab on Twitter. Ace (kid) and Drip are the characters I'm in charge of illustrating. Now that I have finished Ace, look forward to seeing Drip (fake Sanji) soon! 

Spirited Away: Haku

Haru "Spirited Away"

Woot! Completed my first collab ever! Here's Haru from Spirited Away for #MiyazakiCollab on Twitter. Be sure to check it out here: LINK

Looking Back

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. Now it's time to get back to work!

Back in October, while I was hanging out with two Sheridan classmates, we decided to establish a group called Creative Weekly. I introduced an art challenge where we had to submit artwork every Wednesday (by 8pm) and give each other critiques. I'm proud to say that we have all finished our first Creative Weekly Art Challenge and managed to hand things on time from October to December 2013!

  

At the end of the challenge, I suggested that we write a reflection based on the accumulative artwork. So here is what I wrote:

"This art challenge has helped me learn a lot of things. Not only was it motivating to get critiques and feedback from my peers, but I also looked forward to what they have created. Together, we have inspired and pushed each other, and I would love to continue making art with them by my side. 

At the beginning of October, I was lost. I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do. I kept applying to Graphic Design jobs because I thought that was the only thing that was available. But then I realized as I looked at my portfolio, as a whole, I showed no signs of wanting to do Graphic Design at all. It's just not my calling. The first few projects I did were a bunch of narratives, just to loosen me up. I love making comics and at the time, I was very interested in making a zine!

November was full of trial and errors, and a lot of soul searching! I started joining a lot of social medias such as: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in order to promote myself. I also created a binder, back in September, called "The Book of Answers" to help me organize myself and my growing art career. The binder consists of a lot of my research such as: my job hunts, business notes, art projects, art show, social media and more. Based on the collection of my November artwork, it was full of digital experimentation and I felt I was getting somewhere.

December was when I started to fully grasp of what I wanted to do with my art. I'm very interested in narrative and creating concept art for games and/or comics. You can notice that the pieces I have submitted weekly has started to become more defined and consistent. My anatomy has also improved. My goals for the next art challenge are: to pump out as many pieces as I can, learn how to draw/paint faster, apply to online concept art schools and seriously improve by the end of the year."

So there you have it! If you are an artist who is having difficulty finding time to create artwork, I would definitely recommend to try doing this Creative Weekly Art Challenge with me!  Set yourself deadlines and goals. Write down what you want to accomplish the next day and act upon it. Once you check off all the things you managed to do, you'll realize how satisfying it is to get the job done.
 
Be ambitious and keep creating.