{"id":9102,"date":"2016-03-15T01:06:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T01:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/2016\/03\/15\/tips-to-help-avoid-art-block\/"},"modified":"2016-03-15T01:06:46","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T01:06:46","slug":"tips-to-help-avoid-art-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/2016\/03\/15\/tips-to-help-avoid-art-block\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips to help avoid Art Block"},"content":{"rendered":"

eskiworks<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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eskiworks<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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A while back I answered this ask, and because I recently mentioned it a gain some of you wanted a rebloggable version! So here it is.<\/p>\n

I started to write an answer about emotional motivation, but the truth is that underlying reasons for needing to get art done are not a factor in being able to keep going. WHY you need to get your art done doesn\u2019t factor in to HOW.<\/p>\n

So on to the HOW!<\/p>\n

Make a Schedule<\/strong>
Making artificial deadline has never helped me, but making a schedule has. A deadline alone doesn\u2019t help you decide how many hours to work per day and how many days per week etc. A schedule seems more strict, but surprisingly has relieved a lot of my deadline related stress. Once your schedule is made and you know what you are doing from a day-to-day basis, the stress of uncertainty goes away. You wake up knowing what\u2019s on the agenda, and all you have to do it get to it! It takes a while to find a schedule that works for you personally, but once you hash it out you\u2019ll settle right in. It helps me to have a wall calendar and write in my schedule.<\/p>\n

Allow for lots of breaks<\/strong>
You are not lazy for taking breaks. When you rest your body, mind and eyes from your work, you are refreshing yourself to be able to do BETTER work. If you don\u2019t take breaks, you work won\u2019t be a good, you might make more mistakes, and you might find yourself working more hours than if you just walked away for a bit to get a breather. In artwork, this also helps because when you come back you have fresh eyes on the piece you\u2019re working on! You may see something you wouldn\u2019t have otherwise.<\/p>\n

So take small breaks throughout the day, make sure you have your \u201cme\u201d time every single day (I take my mornings usually) and schedule time during the week to get out of your studio and be with your loved ones. And if you didn\u2019t meet your goal for the day, STOP AND GO TO SLEEP. You can always do better work when rested.<\/p>\n

Get comfy<\/strong>
You are probably spending a lot of time at your drafting table or computer. Make sure your work space is comfortable for you! Get a great chair, make things as ergonomic as possible. Have things near you that cheer you up or inspire\/help you work. I have photos of my pets and inspiring art all around my work desk. I\u2019ve seen some artist put up cork boards and change things out on a weekly basis. Sometimes anatomy charts and other useful things are up on the cork board, or other helpful art references. And if you\u2019re like me and need something kneed\/touch\/mess with with one hand, get a stress ball or some putty!<\/p>\n

Get your process down<\/strong>
It\u2019s hard to get a commission done when you don\u2019t know where to start. Get a process down that works for you so you know each step of your painting. I start with visual research, then move on to gestures to warm up and get a feel for the character\/painting. I usually choose one of those gestures to create a refined sketch from. Then I add flat color underneath that sketch, and move on to shadows\/light. Only after all the color is blocked in do I move on to any sort of detail work. I KNOW each step, so I know what to expect for each painting.<\/p>\n

Love the process<\/strong>
Doing commissions for some people can get boring because they would prefer to paint their own ideas. I beat this by loving the process of painting by itself. Love every step in the process of making a painting, from gestures, to refining anatomy, to planning colors, to painting details. You will never hate your work regardless of subject matter if you love DOING the work!<\/p>\n

Have an outlet for your own ideas<\/strong>
If you lack time to make full paintings for yourself, make enough time to at least get some ideas out. It doesn\u2019t matter what format it\u2019s in; sketching, writing, gabbing to a friend about it. Just get them out of your head so you can concentrate on your work at hand. It\u2019s hard to get to work when your mind is bursting with ideas that have nothing to do with your task at hand.<\/p>\n

Know that art slumps happen<\/strong>
When you find yourself in an art slump and you just can\u2019t seem to work through it, ride it. Do your best to forget your art completely, leave your home, and go have an adventure somewhere. Art isn\u2019t all about creating, it\u2019s also about taking in the world and creations of others. Think of painting like driving a car. You can\u2019t run on empty, you have to refuel. Often art slumps happen because you\u2019re out of gas. So go refuel, go experience the world and be outside and take things in! Get AWAY from your computer and your work area and get your mind off it all.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I wrote this a couple years ago, and for me personally it still stands.\u00a0 Today I\u2019ve gotten a few asks about art block, so I figured it would be worth reblogging the whole thing!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

eskiworks: eskiworks: A while back I answered this ask, and because I recently mentioned it a gain some of you wanted a rebloggable version! So here it is. I started to write an answer about emotional motivation, but the truth is that underlying reasons for needing to get art done are not a factor in … Continue reading Tips to help avoid Art Block<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/archive.gabapple.com\/tumblr\/gabapple\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}