I haven't seriously drawn anything in months, because quite frankly I hate how my art looks. I've gone through periods of liking/not liking it before, but it's never been this bad or lasted this long. I've tried drawing different things, "just doing it" (that usually backfires horribly), seeing what other artists do (just gets me depressed, because they're usually half my age and already twice as good or drawing professionally), buying new art supplies to try new techniques (they're still sitting by my bed relatively untouched) - nothing really seems to work. And yet I can't really make myself give up either.

So when you're in a slump, what do you do? For people who draw constantly, how do you do it?

[EDIT] Locking older topics whose last post was 6 months or older as any further posts would constitute as a necro. [/EDIT]

honestly i go through phases where i don't draw anything for months sometimes so i get you ;; i don't really know what gets me drawing again tbh lmao it just kinda........ happens? like i just go 'actually there are some things i still want to draw' and i just, do it asdfghjkl honestly i find that it helps to like, not think about it seriously? like esp if i'm struggling i'll just be like 'it's okay if i don't finish this just a sketch is fine' also because i do tend to get discouraged when i feel my wip's don't look quite like what i wanted, so i have to remind myself that it's!! okay!! because they're!! wip's!! they aren't!! finished!!

AND MAN i get how disheartening comparing yourself to others is q v q i used to struggle with that constantly but i've actually found that it helps if instead of thinking about how much better someone's art is to mine, i just think about how i can get to that level if i put in more effort that and i also started keeping a folder of art i really like to look at when i need inspiration 👌

I've struggled with drawing consistently for a long time. It was very difficult to see my work in a positive light. After another dry spell, I decided I would draw more and challenged myself to draw everyday. I have been successful and I have drawn everyday since January 1st. To get the ball rolling, you shouldn't worry about what it looks like. You are going to be rusty. You will need time to get your hand moving again. Don't show your work to others. Your work doesn't have to be good unless you're aiming to be a professional (and that takes a lot of time and effort). You should be proud that you made anything at all. Drawing everyday isn't easy. Sometimes, you won't want to do anything and you just have to do it. But in the long run, it's worth it.

To make drawing a routine, draw at the same time everyday. Start out drawing for a small amount of time. If you want to keep drawing when the time is up, keep drawing. If you don't want to continue, don't. What matters is that you drew for that small amount of time. Over time, it adds up. When you find yourself continuing after the time limit regularly, increase the initial time limit. You can do the same with how many things you draw or how many pages you fill.

Sometimes you just need to push through it, even when you don't like your art. I think every artist has gone through dry spells. I've gone through periods where I've been super busy and just didn't really think about drawing since I was doing other things or I just didn't like what I was drawing so just didn't really draw.

I had art professors in college say that, even during art blocks sometimes you just need to push through and then at some point, all that pushing will unbreak that block. It's something I usually consider because it's worked for me in the past; that is forcing myself to draw even if I don't like what I'm drawing because at some point I just push through that initial block and then remember why I liked drawing again.

When I feel like my art is meh I'll compartmentalize (def: separate something into parts and not allow those parts to mix together). So, exemple, for me, I'll draw a lot of eyes, a lot of ears, a lot of flowers, ornery, textures, color schemes. I'll write/sketch ideas for later. And when the muse comes back. I'll start drawing whole project again. Because bad drawing days/weeks/months do happen. And we ,sadly, have to live through them. It's a lot less stressfull to not force yourself to do something than to just finish it and feel bad about the rushed result (performance anxiety). You can start a project , put it aside and come back to it later. :) I hope this helps a little <3

the best thing for comparing yourself to other people i've found is to not apply good/bad/better/worse to your work or other people's. their work might be different from yours but there's no such thing as objective superiority; art serves all kinds of different purposes.

for when that feels like woowoo 'everyone's a winner!' bull crap (trust me, i know the feeling), it can help to identify what exactly it is about your work you dislike, and try working on it. is it proportions? color usage? shading? line quality? originality of idea? once you have an idea of what you want to change, it's much easier to actually make efforts towards changing it.

it can also help a lot to make things with no expectation of them being 'good'. draw mismatched limbs, uneven eyes, things that don't obey gravity. doodle. screw around with shapes. even if it doesn't inspire you or help in a traditional way, it can be a good way to pull yourself out of your head and into what you're doing.

I went through about a two year slump a while back. Couldn't think of anything to draw but neopets, and I was sick of them. Then an artist I admire posted a series of ink and watercolor doodles of a giant dragon-tailed barn owl called Murderburd. Turns out it was part of an ARPG (artistic role playing game) called DracoStryx. I was hooked!!! I'm now a member of half a dozen ARPGs. When I get bored with the contests and weekly prompts on one, I switch over to another. The various challenges keep me motivated, and I'm actually starting to see a demand for my work! There will always be a lot of artists who I think are "better" than me..., but I take what I like about their work and attempt to learn from it, and the number of "watchers" on my profile goes up. Nothing like people wanting to see your stuff to make you want to do more!

Considering how long its been for me to actually sit down and draw - even in times like this when I have more than enough just sitting at home, I think the only thing that really keep me going is seeing the possible ideas from other people's work as well as just stuff that happens to me throughout the day.

Although I understand that not everyone works the same way I do, so I think the best way to keep myself drawing is finding ideas. Even something as little as a pose creator online or a mobile app is enough to really kickstart an idea.

To me, I personally think more about what I want to convey rather than what I really imagine. I've sort of gotten over the fact that I won't be able to replicate what I have in my head onto paper 100% of the time. Kind of going off of what the person before me said about it being a process, I have to agree with that. Art should be seen as a way of expressing yourself without judgement and just let yourself loose.

Comparing yourself to professional artists is the worst thing you can do. It will demotivate you even more. I stopped doing that and what I do now is to compare my newer art to older art I did. This keeps me a lot more motivated cause I can see what I have achieved over the years I am drawing now. I bet you also made progress and to see how much you have improved from the first art you did will be a lot more motivating.

I draw often but I also have weeks or month sometimes I draw nothing at all. Instead I write, make character concepts or work on characters I allready have which helps me to motivate myself cause after some time I allways have the deep urge to draw them. Books & games also are a good thing to get some motivation.

What I also can recomend is to specialize, so you can focus on something and than you need to practice, practice practice.. best look for good and easy tutorials at first, they can be really helpfull cause you sometimes get little hints and tips to draw something in a different way which can improve your art a lot.

If you go for humans, humanoids or animals.. important is to learn anathomy, at least the basics, cause this also will help a lot, use references to get stuff right and to learn how things look and don't push yourself to hard cause it takes time to see progress.. somtimes faster, somtimes it takes a lot longer.

Also some really nice scentence an artist once said: "Never try to draw like other artists, cause you will fail. You are not that artist. Do your own art, cause this will be your art with it's own personality and its own style."

So I uh...kinda forgot I made this thread. Sorry about that!

I do want to thank everyone who's replied and I appreciate your answers. Unfortunately I contracted de Quervain's in my drawing hand about 8 months ago and have done very little drawing since. The kicker? Now I actually want to draw again XD So if I ever get my hand fixed, I'll be back at it.