As an artist myself, there are often times where I am feeling severe “artist’s block.” When I try to break out of it or look some ideas up or as a friend, I am let down with ideas from others that take me nowhere.

For me, there are two different categories for what I can freely put into my sketchbook to help me get out of artists block (not including rough drafts for paintings).

The first thing you must do is ask yourself what you would prefer to draw, an object, or a full cohesive image:

The first Category: Objects

Various objects put together in a collage format in your sketchbook can help you achieve more cohesive ideas – and it can be a great place to start when you dont have a collective vision for a whole sketchbook page. Here are some examples based on my artistic style:

  • Cowboy boots/hats
  • Skulls/Skeletons
  • Clouds
  • Hands
  • Zen tangle shapes
  • Handguns
  • Faces
  • Jewelry
  • Insects
  • Buildings
Paint markers and paint pens, sketchbook ideas and sketchbook prompts
Here is an example of a random assortment of ideas put together to stop artists block!

I find that something to help alleviate yourself further from block is repetitive drawings. In the image above, I drew two different shapes in the background, and four facial sketches. This can help you focus further on “zero-ing in” towards a great idea!

The Second Category: full images

Full images can be even easier to create. I find surrealist sketching to be quite beenficial in helping my brainstorm process. Here are some examples:

  • A house with windows where doors should be and doors where windows should be
  • A desert with snow-capped mountains
  • A person swimming in a pot of water on the stove
  • A tree with clouds instead of leaves
  • Household objects with legs and arms (ex: a hot sauce bottle running)
  • A train chugging along the top of a cake
  • Tens of hundreds of eyes
  • Fire consuming an underwater world
  • A person falling into an abyss
  • A rooftop overlooking a futuristic city

While these options are quite specific, I think that it is important to explore various directed ideas in order to pick out pieces in your techniques that can lead you to a greater idea.

An important thing to remember when forcing yourself to draw to get out of art block is to not focus on the motions of your pencil, but instead the shapes in the image. The more rugged your drawing is, the easier it is to define the lines and shapes. This also prevents you from finding more block in trying to stick to your previous routines. Read more about sketching strategies for beginners here.

If you continue to have art block past this point and cannot draw anything that you would like to, I recommend focusing on basic zentangle. Those motions have always been something that I can do mindlessly to keep myself practicing when I have nothing to make.

Leave a comment on if these ideas are helpful or you would be interested in receiving more!