How to Overcome a Creative Block

I am sitting at my desk and starring at a blank screen of my drawing app. The screen politely stares back, yet I can tell it is getting bored. It’s been a good hour since I set down with a firm determination to create some world class art, which has entirely evaporated ever since. It is time to admit that my mind is just as blank as this white rectangle, and the creative block has gotten hold of me yet again.

It’s not only that ideas don’t come to my mind as easily, but also that the ones I implement end up looking terrible, at least in my eyes. I am sick of everything - my style, the themes I chose and the colours I pick, the trusty old drawing patterns I fall into. I am sure you get the vibe.

Naturally the first question that arises in such a situation is “How do I overcome a creative block?” Of course I can’t just sit around waiting until inspiration hits me again, since it can take anywhere from 3 business days to an eternity. I have things to do, projects to complete and clients to send designs to.

I am sure as an artist you can relate to this problem to a certain degree. So what do we do? The thing is, as unique as you are, the art block you experience might be completely different from mine. I guess a good place to start is to figure out why it is happening exactly in your case.

In this article we will go over the nature of a creative block, what causes it and what we can do about it.

So what is a creative block and why does it happen?

Generally speaking, it is a period of reduced creativity and productivity. Idea generation suddenly becomes a struggle and your usual art processes just don’t run as smoothly as usual. Overall this phase feels like slowing down or coming to a standpoint in your art journey.

As to its reason, let’s imagine for a second, what would happen if we never experienced a creative block of any kind. We would be able to consistently produce unlimited quantities of art that fully meets our expectations at any given point in time. Humans don’t really work like that, do we? We are not machines, and we are so heavily affected by the changes in our environment, both physically and emotionally. Factors like stress and fear can completely throw us off balance and limit our ability to be creative and productive.

So essentially trying to overcome a creative block boils down to identifying what kind of limiting factor is influencing you so strongly at the moment. Below are a few common reasons for lack of creativity that you might recognise as relevant to yourself:

You are burnt out.

Yes, I also love to set unrealistic goals and standards and punish myself for not meeting them by adding even more work to my plate. Is it effective? No. But does it bring value in a long run? Also no. An overachiever’s mindset seems right at its core but tends to fail when it comes to implementation. There is nothing wrong in wanting to improve yourself and your skills, and strive for perfection, as long as the pace at which you are trying to learn and progress remains manageable. If you don’t let yourself take breaks, the tiredness will keep accumulating until your body forces you to stop, and you definitely don’t want that.

You know how during an intensive exercise you can hit a point where your muscles just give up? They can no longer contract of relax after an excessive number of repetitions. If you think of creativity as of a similar muscle that gets exhausted when you overload it, a creative block becomes much more understandable.

If you are someone who tends to run out of the creative juice a lot, try setting strict hours for when and for how long you practise your art (or any other creative skill). This will help you to prevent burnout and even build a sustainable habit. If you do art as a job, sometimes it can be hard to control the quantity of projects that you accept, especially if you are financially highly dependant on this source of income. Nevertheless, try to only take as much work as you are comfortably able to finish without losing your mind. If you are constantly overworked, something in your system needs to change to provide for a gentler lifestyle.

You have a fear of failure

If you find that your art tends to get repetitive as you rarely try something new, the cause for it might actually be a subconscious fear of messing it up.

Sometimes I feel like this feeling is one of the pillars of an artist’s archetype. As a creative person you are probably easily excited by new things, yet more often than not terrified to try them out - and it’s a vicious cycle. There is a high risk of failure and anxiety associated with an unknown skill, especially if you were raised to attribute your self-worth to your own achievements and accomplishments. Let this be your reminder, that you are still allowed to call yourself an artist, even when you don’t create art regularly, don’t do it perfectly or master every single style and technique that exists out there.

Now that we have cleared that, what else is there to fear? After trying and failing something, you will either come to the conclusion that is not your thing, or keep trying until you get better and better at it - in both scenarios you are winning!

Once you allow yourself to make mistakes and explore the endless possibilities of expressing yourself through different styles and art forms, your head will start buzzing with ideas again. I promise you, the next time you feel stuck in your mind, go on YouTube and search for any drawing tutorial - bonus points for picking the topic that scares you the most (after all, we are getting out of the comfort zone here).

You don’t create what you like

There might be different reasons for that, but most commonly artists try to mimic the art style of someone they find cool, or go with what is popular right now. Especially if you are trying to sell your art in one form or another, it is very tempting to choose what is demanded as a starting point.

The truth is, when what you do does not resonate with what you truly desire, there is a strong dissonance that creates a subtle but constant internal discomfort. Regardless of how much you try to convince yourself and others, deep inside you know when you are unhappy and dissatisfied with yourself and your work.

Disclaimer: it is completely normal to get inspired by other artists, especially when you are just figuring your style out! It is important though to land somewhere, find the things you enjoy and commit to them - the art direction, style, format, platforms and so on. You will feel so much more in sync with your creative self when staying true to your desires and not trying to be someone else.

You don’t have enough ideas

This problem is luckily the one that is the easiest to fix (and we literally built a whole app to help you, so no more excuses!).

The more you expose yourself to sources of inspiration, the more replenished your idea tank becomes. Whether it’s a notepad where you write things down or an app, find a place where you collect ideas and revisit them when needed. Apart from that, oftentimes even going outside and seeing new places, or talking to a new person is enough to stimulate our brain and bring a fresh perspective to anything that we are working on.

Find practises that work for you and develop a pool of inspiration that you can easily access when you need it.

You are naturally in a slower phase in your life.

If none of the above apply to you, maybe your muse is on a vacation and there is nothing else to it. It is time to take a nice, long and guilt-free(!) break.

If there is one thing I’ve learned since I picked a marker for the first time at the age of 3, is that there is something in me that pushes me to create and I can’t get rid of it. No matter how hard I try, the need to make art will eventually emerge again. I think what I am trying to say, is that you shouldn’t force something that will naturally come back to you, at the right time. Find things you can enjoy instead while your creative self recharges and soon enough you will feel that hit of inspiration again.

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