Hey there fellow art people~

So uh... Anyone else start a (digital or traditional) sketch and it looks decent, but trying to start the outline or other details is absolute agony? I have been finding myself unable to actually finish anything. Sketch, erase, transform, fix this up, ditch this, and BOOM - a beautiful lil' sketch, right? But how do y'all get by the gnawing feeling of, "the sketch looks fine, leave it alone or you'll mess one thing up and won't be able to fix it!!" lol. Sometimes a finished piece will be amazing, others just don't look right and I just-- (┛ಠ_ಠ)┛彡┻━┻ [ current "art blocked" sketch]

Main Discussion: Is there something that helps you get back into "art mode" and finish a piece, and how do you find yourself able to break out of whatever was blocking your creativity?

Please post your most recent sketch or finished piece, if you'd like btw! Here is one of the last pieces I finished in May 2022:

Mods: please let me know if I need to edit anything or resize the image, thank you! <3

First, love the colors in your bust drawing! So many lovely purples with that pop of red. Love the crescent moon accessory peeking behind the hair and ofc the kitty. <3

Second, yes! What helps me get over a hump is: a) scrapping projects/starting over if I feel like I’ve gotten too “stuck” in an idea that hasn’t gone anywhere and has not resulted in meaningful progress; b) labeling all of my drawings as ‘practice’ to ease my sense of perfection (practice = okay to mess up!); c) having a specific goal that I want to improve on and letting go of everything else—a pick your battles sort of thing.

For example, maybe I’ll be more focused on practicing a dynamic pose for one piece. So, I won’t fuss too much about colors, but I’ll be more intentional on my anatomy. Maybe I just REALLY need to get an idea out, so I end up pumping out an ugly b&w sketch, because the idea was more important than the polish.

I also save references to my phone and study other artists’ works. I pick out something I like and try to understand how they’re able to achieve it. When I’m really stuck, I’ll practice (I’m not the best at this lol) or go on Youtube/Insta to watch videos to help me understand something better.

https://imgur.com/a/gPYNHTs">This is what I’m currently working on. I love the way color pencil drawings look, so I’ve been trying to emulate that softer look + practice more vibrant and varied colors. :)

Hey, so sorry for the late reply!

Thank you so much for the compliments, it means so much to hear that from someone who is so skilled like yourself! Your WIP is gorgeous; I can absolutely see the dynamic little details that colored pencils give to paper, the grainy-but-smooth texture is beautiful. The characters are so lively, too! Their expressions remind me of being with our favorite people in the world, my heart-- Lol, last but so not least, I like how it looks like a base layer of watercolor with the pencil on top, great job! <3

Starting over is my usual go-to, sadly it's like I get one idea and then nothing else. I did acquire a beautiful oil painting and have been trying to draw inspiration from it lol. Anatomy is definitely a struggle I face, though I don't mind drawing/painting certain "wonky" things if I feel it adds to the art itself! It's the "imperfections" in traditional art and abstract/experimental styles that really get my brain going, "woah, I love that!" and end up making some cool stuff after; almost like looking at clouds or odd patterns and imagining different objects, animals or people an getting an idea in the process.

Oooh, binging speed paints on Youtube helped me learn how to use SAI back in like, 2015 or before lol! Watching another artist's process is something else; I love learning new tricks from others as well as getting all excited to share with art friends. I'll sometimes do silly drawings, especially when it's a funny memory that fits into a 4-panel comic or just drawing something funny (I drew the Bumblebee looking Subeta Pet YEARS ago when it was announced lol, I should find if that still exists on the comments.)

I think I'll have to look up Agnes Cecile again, her varnish pieces had me determined to draw in pen until I was comfortable with "mistakes" enough to leave or add on to them. That resulted in a lot of beautiful pieces I gave as gifts to loved ones and still see when visiting some to this day... ngl, super wholesome feeling (':

No worries! My social battery has been low this week from work haha. Thank you so much for the Colt by the way!!! <3

Thank you! I love working with textures so much–it really scratches my brain. Ironically, I don't do much traditional work IRL despite admiring the style of it hahahaha.

Oh yes, I know what you mean. I want to achieve that level of "breaking the rules" so-to-speak one day. And I always love trying to "figure out" why people draw things a certain way–makes me feel like a real detective.

Speaking of art videos, may I recommend this one on composition? Composition is always something I struggled with, but this video helped SO MUCH and was also really easy to understand.

Her work is beautiful! Love the sort of chaos in her work. It takes a lot of skill to just. Make marks like that I think. It's so great that you still get to see your work beloved my others.

I love how your piece turned out ♥

I am dealing with this sort of situation right now. Starting with low pressure / fun comfort sketching to get back into things. Baby steps.

Around the holidays, I started to get really sick. At the time of writing, I am still not 100% recovered. The last piece I was working on was a nice portrait of my holiday themed OC. Something about not being able to finish it by the end of the year was very depressing... I had wanted to participate in a few holiday art exchange threads, and I wasn't able to either. Thinking rationally, it's a bit silly to self impose strict deadlines unnecessarily. Trying to tell myself there's no reason why I couldn't make a wonderful winter themed piece instead.

It takes me a long time to finish a piece (anywhere from 10-40+ hrs) I also find it hard to finish pieces. Part of the problem is that I lack focus, and art is such a mentally intensive task. When I come across an issue in my sketch, I want to fix it, but sometimes it's like my mind is completely blocked. If that happens, I try again the next day. I'll start a new canvas for just sketching without any pressure or expectation to make something good. Trying my best to stay positive and think about all the great projects that myself and all my artists friends will be creating in 2024.

The aforementioned sketch:

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Still have to finish the face detail, clean up lines and then paint.

Thank you so much!

I am so sorry you were feeling unwell during the holidays, hopefully you feel much better now! It is definitely difficult to try and follow a self-imposed deadline if it only causes more pressure or stress. I still haven't finished anything, but there are a couple sketches that might be able to turn into something good if I keep at it!

You are so right about just thinking positive and doing the best to create art that you and your friends will work on this year; being able to just let the creativity flow is easier when we are thinking good thoughts and not being blocked by other things that don't help the process. Sometimes a relaxing playlist helps with this as it keeps me focused and in a good mood while drawing.

Your sketch looks wonderful, I'm loving the hair! ♥️

Main Discussion: Is there something that helps you get back into "art mode" and finish a piece, and how do you find yourself able to break out of whatever was blocking your creativity?

"Art mode" for me is aiming for consistency in studies instead of waiting for inspiration. Sometimes that means I draw 50 hands / anatomy repetition or study an animal i haven't drawn before, sometimes it means I just sketch whatever. But when I actually get inspiration to draw, it's usually sparked either by other media or just conversations with friends, dnd stuff, etc.

When I get stuck with a piece, I usually do one of two things: 1) Asking myself do I want to render this into a full illustration, or is a sketch alright? 2) Step away from the piece, close the canvas, you've been staring at it for too long. Taking a breather - sometimes it means just walking around for fifteen minutes, sometimes I don't open the canvas for weeks - means that when I do want to continue, I can look at it with fresh eyes.

Another trick I tend to try if I know something's bugging me about the piece but I can't pinpoint what exactly - just flip the canvas. That usually helps you to see the mistakes immediately, and then you can fix them, erase them and start over, whatever it is that you do. Sometimes leaving the sketch and starting from scratch helps too.

Uhhh do I have any recent sketches I've been meaning to finish... I suppose this? I've got several plans but I haven't figured out yet how I want to proceed with them, so I've just let this sit for now.

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Also! Love the colours on the piece you posted on the original post!

I hope health has treated you well! Also I really like your linework! And same, drawing is such a time-intensive hobby for me. I've been trying to start working a bit faster, or at least take more regular breaks in between to avoid wrist issues...

I have really random bursts of those creative juices where I have the capability to be able to sit down and doodle. I know the saying is common that artists are their own worst enemy and I stand by that statement because I am my own worst critic. I struggle a LOT with remaining consistent and pulling myself out of that funk but I do also struggle with focusing. I will either hyper-fixtate and stick to a personal project for a little bit but then I will also space out and suddenly lose interest in something I genuinely do enjoy doing and its soooo frustrating.

One thing I have been practicing on is trying really hard not to compare my artwork to someone else's because we alllll have a different approach, a different style/aesthetic, and its all unique and I think that's what make art overall so beautiful and diverse (?) That's kind of helped me. I also focus on not trying to make it "perfect" and grasp the imperfections more than anything. I focus more on color I think because I really just enjoy color and how some colors work well together versus the ones that don't. I focus on things that may spark joy or interest or if something has been gnawing at me to at least scribble or jot down, that'll be my temporary focus.

I generally try to listen to music when I want to draw and that usually helps me get to the finish line too :3c I'm also the type of person to say that sometimes its okay to not finish that project and that we did our best and that's all that matters too uwu'

Peep the scribbly doodle I did of my current HA:

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I honestly struggle to start, and normally have to force myself to draw the whole thing, or at least until flat color. I always come back to something and it looks hideous the second time around! I spent all my time trying to tweak it and then give up. XD

Below is my last finished piece, but I'm trying to draw more "realistic" right now (and based off a real person -gasp-) and it's kicking my butt. I'm afraid to look at where I left off.

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Honestly, I have a lot of unfinished stuff. But, I often come back to it. I do a lot fo art for people (mostly freebs), so there is this feeling of not wanting to let the person go. Sometimes it's about just gritting your teeth and doing the thing.

have you made any progress yet? I really like the pose you picked for your unfinished piece, it looks like it will be really dynamic! I really struggle with finishing art too when it's just for me. I have soo many wips D: (pretty much everything from inktober falls into this category lol) Works been kicking my butt so i have no motivation atm, but maybe posting some of them will help😅

ope