Updated: Aug 2, 2020
Illustrator's block can be a major struggle. I've personally had to deal with illustrator's block so much that I've learnt many tricks to jump start a creative spark. As a creative, you know that it's more of a process than a quick fix, but if you set up certain things correctly you can go from it being a process to being a jump start.
1. Workspace Ready
One of the things standing in the way of many new illustrators starting is getting set up to draw.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to make sure your workspace is ready to go. If you're fortunate enough to have a nice set up with a desk/table, all your materials and solitude then always make sure you leave it ready for the next project so that it doesn't put you off of starting next time.
If you don't have a set up, try to make one.
A mobile set up on a tray, drawing board or wide and short box may be a good idea. Have all your supplies (or just the ones you use often) together on a tray so you can whip it out whenever the feeling takes you. That way you can draw on your bed, on the kitchen table, coffee table, the floor - anywhere there's space.
Make your workspace something special, even sacred. Good lighting and adding plants and candles can make your workspace a soothing place to sit. If you make your drawing area enticing, you'll want to be there more often.
2. Manage Stress
Now this is a big one. Something that definitely puts me off starting a project is all the pressures I put on myself and the daily stresses that life throws my way. When you're tired from work, or stressed from daily situations, it's impossible to get into the right mind-set for being creative (unless it's your way to cope with stress).
The stress directly related to actually drawing that puts me off most is self-doubt, over-thinking and putting pressure on myself for not having drawn in a while.
Managing stress is a life skill that there are many techniques and methods for. What works for you is up to you, but I find certain things essential to my creative, emotional and mental wellbeing such as:
A. Regular Exercise
Exercising releases tension, works through the build up of chemicals and hormones produced by our bodies when it experiences stress and it also releases good hormones that are mood lifting. The list of benefits goes on. I'm sure you know many of them and if you don't, I suggest you do some research because it's such a vital part of day-to-day health.
B. Meditation
Meditation is an important (daily if you can manage) practice that calms the mind, releases worry and creates space to let in creative ideas (among many other things!). When you incorporate meditation into your routine you'll start to notice that you'll have more patience and be less easily stressed out.
C. Play
Essential to creativity is right brain activity. Our left brain or analytical mind is responsible for analysing, worrying about things that have happened and things that will happen. It also controls language and other areas like logic and maths. Our right brain is where the creative magic happens. It's hard to get in the right brain mode when you're worrying and preoccupied with left brain problems. Right brain is about the here and now, about being present and letting go. I find that a good way to unlock it is to get into a playful and care-free state of mind.
Some of you will be thinking "Impossible in this day and age! Some of us have jobs, how dare you dangle a playful and care-free carrot in our faces!" And I feel you... This could be exactly what is standing in your way and drawing could be exactly what you need in your life to combat stress. A Catch-22 situation, right? This is why meditation comes before play in my list. First clear the mind, then do something fun.
These 3 points are all part of a balanced lifestyle and not a way to get over illustrator's block immediately. Don't go and run for a half hour, meditate for 10 minutes and play Candy crush and expect to feel inspired. The important thing that I've learnt is to live your life so that you can manage your stress levels before adding more stress by forcing yourself to be creative when what you actually need to do is rest and you end up being disappointed in yourself for not drawing like you planned. A vicious cycle my friends...
It takes a while to work through all the stress and get back into a calm state. I'm writing this during the Coronavirus lockdown and this is the perfect time to try and reset your body and mind so that you can get into the ideal creative mindset to make cool stuff. If you're reading this much later (I have so many questions for you) and are back to the daily grind, maybe take a few days off around a weekend. Tell your loved ones you're going to have a few days of silence and make an intention to get back to your creative core.
3. Take the Pressure off
Instead of getting all set up and staring at a blank piece of paper, waiting for inspiration to strike, try and make drawing a habit. Next to your bed and the couch, always have a little book and pen/pencil around. Get any ideas of making 'good drawings' out of your head and think of it as just messing around. Take all pressure of creating anything 'good' off yourself and remember how fun and therapeutic it is to just put pen to paper. Now, this may be good for a while, but a problem I faced was I kept doing the same things over and over and I wasn't improving much or finding inspiration. If you get to this point observational drawing helps. Look for references of the subject matter you're doodling in your 'mess book' and take it a step further when you feel the urge. This way your routine develops into something a little more serious and you may go from couch to table pretty quickly.
4. Instant Inspiration
Okay so I'm going to get all millennial on you (chances are I'm probably much older than the average reader of this article though), but I've found that Instagram can be a real source of great inspiration, if you do it right. So if you don't have a separate Instagram account for your illustration, I suggest you create one. If you're nervous about people you know seeing your work, just make an anonymous account. The benefits are for your feed and not so much for your artwork at this stage. In this account, don't follow friends or celebrities or anything that is not illustration related and only follow people's work you admire and those who you genuinely like who are on par with you. Please don't follow people so they'll follow you back or fall into any of those games. If your work is good, they will come. Right now you need to actually do the work.
If you're struggling to find good artists to follow here are a few of my favourites:
@heikala: Lovely whimsical ink paintings and process videos.
@marijatiurina: Weird and quirky water colours with a beautiful colour palette.
@mister_vi: Wonderfully detailed architectural pen drawings.
@thierryduvalaqua: Incredibly realistic water colour paintings of scenery and city scapes.
@beatrice.blue: Gorgeously imaginative and colourful drawings for children's stories.
(I often post my favourite works of the day I see on my feed on my story which you can find on my account @thesalsacreative).
With a trove of great work on your feed, finding inspiration will be easy. Please remember that being inspired by specific works is great, copying them for your own technique improvement is fine, but please please don't copy people's work and post it or even worse - try and sell it. The instagram artist community is a considerate one, because we all know how much hard work goes into finding our style and get to where we are so we give credit where credit is due and we don't copy each other to get ahead.
Instagram is a great resource for inspiration and for getting to know like minded artists like yourself. I highly recommend using it and I am no way endorsed by them (wouldn't that be great though!).
So when you've got some down time, go onto your feed for 5-10mins and get inspired by all the beautiful colour palettes, rhythmic lines, strange stories and wonderful work illustrators are creating.
5. Sometimes You Just Need to Focus
If you still can't get started after you've followed steps 1 - 4, maybe you need a little push. Set out time for yourself to just sit at your table and start something. It doesn't have to be perfect, but set aside an hour or 2 and get something down. Maybe you'll get stuck in or maybe you'll get distracted. The important thing is that you prioritise your drawing like the other important things in your life if you want to progress. Show up for yourself and put in the effort. I'm guessing you give your energy to other people all day long, sometimes you need to give a little to yourself too because you are just as important as anyone else. Don't worry about how long it's going to take. Don't worry about not doing it as well as you know you can. Just start and see what happens!
I hope this article was able to give you some useful advice?
If you have any tips or advice on how to break free from a creative block or have any questions please leave a comment below!
Thanks for reading.
Take care out there,
Salma
This year, Storytelling in the Language of Flowers is back!
"Storytelling in the language of flowers is a multi-genre project which brings together an interdisciplinary group of people to develop new forms of storytelling in response to the multiple political and ecological crises of our time. Focusing on plants and their people in Cape Town, it brings forth stories about place, history and belonging; stories which root us in the past and prepare the soil from which more just futures can grow." Read more on Nowseum here.
A New Poster Design
The latest poster in the series speaks about the history of flower research and plant collection in Cape Town and was required to feature 3 herbarium sheets from Kew Gardens.
To be able to accommodate all the information as well as feature the herbarium sheets, I needed to come up with a tight layout plan that would be easily legible, would showcase the detail in the herbarium sheets and have an interesting composition when viewed from a distance.
Deep etching the elements of the herbarium sheets and converting them to greyscale I found created the best use of space and suited the style of the posters. To maximise space I shaped the text to fit between the herbarium sheet etchings instead of having standard, rectangular paragraphs.
The Storytelling in the Language of Flowers took part in the ICA Live art Festival this year and the installation included a flower show, a storytelling floristry workshop, a sound installation and the distribution of the Cape Town Floriography Papers in Adderley Street.
More on Cape Town Floriography to come! Subscribe to hear it first.
Heritage Day
Heritage Day in Cape Town, South Africa (24 September) is always buzzing with cultural events. Most of the museums and galleries offer free entry on this day or even for a full week in anticipation of Heritage day.
This year the District Six Museum hosted a memory walk from Trafalgar Park to the Homecoming centre inspired by the 'Kewpie: A Daughter of District Six' exhibition currently on display which takes an a look at the life of a celebrated District six trans women and pays homage to the queer history of District Six. The walk was filled with bright colours and wonderful costumes where many dressed in drag.
The Iziko Museums of South Africa hosted a wide range of events like guided tours, drumming sessions, cartoon workshops, marine biology and micro fossil displays, an artistic recreation of Nelson Mandela's jail cell, the In_herit Festival (24-30 September), music and dance performances, jewellery making, mock fossil digs and fossil casting.
If you've been to any interesting Heritage day events this year share it in the comments below!
Lionel Davis' 'Gathering Strands' is an international retrospective exhibition curated by The District Six museum in Cape Town and was first exhibited at the Iziko South African National Gallery and will be travelling to Graham’s Town and then Cuba.
About Lionel Davis
Davis is best known for his complex linocut prints that narrate experiences of his youth in District Six and his incarceration on Robben Island.
"A former political prisoner and long-time cultural activist, Lionel Davis’ name features prominently in the history of the Community Arts Project, Vakalisa Art Associates, Thupelo Workshop and Greatmore Artists Studios. Drawing, painting, and printing, and often combining these media, Davis works in visual modes that range from the realist to the abstract. His themes include everyday scenes as well as reflections on black and African identity."
About the Design
I thoroughly enjoyed designing this exhibition worksheet for ‘Gathering Strands’ a retrospective exhibition of the work of amazing artist, anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner and educator - Lionel Davis. This worksheet is printed double sided on a single sheet of A2 paper. A straight line is cut down the middle to create a foldable 16 page booklet that can also stand on its own.
If you've been to see the exhibition, leave a comment to tell us how it was!
