Finding Inspiration For Art

• The only thing worse than writer’s block is artist’s block. There you are, with your pencil and paper, or maybe your paints and canvas, all ready to go… But with no ideas in mind. The truth is, you can find inspiration almost anywhere, but often not when you need it most. Here are some tips to help you find ideas for some amazing art, even when inspiration is hiding from you.

Keep an open mind.

You never know when ideas will come your way, so always be on the lookout. Not all ideas are great ideas, but sometimes you’ll stumble across something great where you least expect it. Don’t shy away from trying new things, either. Sometimes a little change is all you need to get back to non-stop creativity. Also, write down ideas as you have them, if that helps you. It’s super frustrating when you know you had a good idea, but you forgot it.

Just play around.

Sometimes inspiration comes from making art that you made because you were uninspired to make art. Weird, huh? What I’m trying to say is that if you just play around with your materials, you might end up with something totally awesome. Just take a pen and doodle, colour a colouring page, and just let your hand take your art where it wants to. You might create something awful, and that’s okay, because you will have learned from the experience, and maybe have become inspired to do something better.

Get inspired from other art.

Maybe there’s a technique you’ve been dying to try, or an artist you’ve been admiring for ages. Maybe you just need to look at something that someone else has done to figure out what you should do. Or, you could gain ideas from other art forms, such as music or writing. Draw something inspired by a favourite quote or passage from a book, or try drawing to music and see what happens. The ideas or emotions from other people’s art may just be all you need.

Get someone else’s opinion.

I know it’s frustrating when you ask someone what you should draw and they tell you something totally unhelpful, but if you’re really stuck you can try it. Often when I ask someone what I should draw they tell me something I don’t want to draw, but then I’ll think of something related and create something amazing, so don’t ignore this wealth of knowledge and ideas.

Take a look around you

Go for a walk, head to your nearest coffee shop, or just sit and watch the people go by. Often a change of scenery can be super helpful in getting your creativity back on track. You might see something strange that you just have to recreate, or you might just need to take a break from thinking about art.

There is always inspiration somewhere. You might just have to look for it where you don’t expect it.