As creatives, it is very common to fall in a chasm of stunted improvement and lack of results.
So to try and help you who might be experiencing this creative slump:
Here are my personal best tips on how to improve at your craft.
1. Don’t pay too much attention to the details
Hear me out:
The details only matter after the foundation has been placed down (think of it like the structure of a house).
When I was starting out, I remember completely obsessing over the details, an issue made especially prominent today with social media being fueled off of perfection reels.
Don’t get me wrong,
Such reels are amazing for boosts of inspiration to start the cogs moving, but I’ve found it’s very easy to fall into the trap of continual comparison.
Particularly as a beginner, it is common (from experience) for your spirits to be absolutely crushed after hours of work when comparing your final product to those created by professionals.
The trick here…
Is that you don’t want to sit down and tell yourself “I’m going to practice my painting skills” but instead “I’m just going to paint for fun”.
You want to remove the expectations of improvement (which you will inevitably find in due time) and just paint for the very reason why you wanted to in the first place.
I’ve found that the best way to do this is to put on a podcast, some of your favorite music or a YouTube video and simply paint in the background for a bit.
ALWAYS remember that painting is a creative process and should be fun, not an arduous grind to perfection.
2. Commit yourself to a challenge
Now, you definitely don’t have to make it a huge year long challenge, but just a fun (recurring) commitment to ensure you are practicing can do wonders.
Monthly events like Jake Parker’s ‘Inktober’ are amazing and you’ll find the accountability of a community challenge to be super rewarding.
Again, try not to fall into the trap of comparison when starting these and just make sure you just enjoy what you are doing.
I promise you:
You’ll surprise yourself how much of an impact consistency can have on your painting skills or any craft you decide to improve upon.
Here’s a painting challenge example.
Type up a list of your favorite things (this may be locations, sceneries, people, objects, anything you fancy really).
Put all these words in a random word shuffler online such as this one. Generate one from your list and put on a 30 minute timer to paint either from a photo reference or from me memory, whatever you feel comfortable with.
Aim to work on or experiment with specific techniques that you may want to explore before committing to within a final work.
The takeaway of this exercise is not to aim for perfection but to strengthen your skills over time.
3. Steal like an artist
This message is fundamental to the creative process. In a nutshell, there is no such thing as “original” art, all art is derivative.
It’s commonly held that even when using no reference at all, we’re always subconsciously drawing from stylistic decisions, shape language and subject matter of other artists (even if you don’t think so).
Okay, there may be some exceptions to this but I believe there is always a level of ‘copying’ and building upon what has already been done.
In the process, we are constantly deciding on what to paint and drawing upon forms and techniques in a mosaic jigsaw of subconscious references to emulate a visual appeal in order to satisfy what we think looks good.
Why not embrace this?
To me, the essence of “stealing like an artist” is first mimicking favorite artists and the way they handle color, shapes and form until we are able to generate an artistic language of our own based on a collage blend of theirs.
My best tip…
Is to aggressively embrace the inspiration you obtain from other works and transform it in the way you conceptualize and execute your own work.
For now, don’t get too bogged down over “finding your own style” which can be particularly common for beginners and this will come inevitably as you continue to practice and develop your own skills through this method.
4. Keep a sketchbook
This is essential.
I mean, take it from Pablo Picasso himself: “Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” Your sketchbook will give you visual feedback on your progress and this can be especially rewarding if you choose to stick out with it for a long time.
It is definitely not a place for refined masterpieces but more like a playground, a place to test new techniques and to let loose to experiment with new styles.
The best way to do this is to start with an inexpensive sketchbook.
This way, you don’t obsess over trying to complete a ‘worthy’ artwork for your expensive purchase and fall guilty of procrastination. The consequences should be low with a sketchbook and you shouldn’t have to worry about mistakes or ‘bad’ pieces of work.
Genuinely attempt to scribble or dab something in your sketchbook regularly to boost your improvement trajectory.
If you’re still not convinced…
The benefits of keeping a sketchbook extends beyond the practical component of mere skill improvement.
This falls under the umbrella of the psychology of painting whereby even the most experienced artists will find painting and drawing in a sketchbook (or where ever) with physical and emotional benefits.
The cognitive benefits lie in the ability to relieve stress and minimize negative emotions such as anxiety and depression as well as lead to higher levels of self-actualization as you try to make sense of the world.
In a world where social media and constant stimulation tends to exacerbate mental health concerns, your sketchbook forms a personal outlet to recenter, improve mental clarity and boost productivity for your day moving forward.
The next steps:
Now, I hope you’re fired up and ready to start creating. Here are some of my recommended supplies to help you get going.
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