My Top 6 Sources Of Creative Inspiration
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Coming up with new drawing ideas all the time can be really difficult so I thought it would be nice to share with you how I avoid art block with my six favourite sources of creative inspiration.
After spending almost every day drawing for a full year I became pretty familiar with what I could rely on for inspiration, and I want to share those things with you for moments when you just need a little help with ideas. You can also download my printable prompt list later in this blog that you can use to help jump start some creative ideas.
I also have a video version of this post over on my YouTube channel if youād prefer to watch:
So letās take a look at my favourite sources of inspiration:
1 - Look at the world around you
Iām a nature lover so going for walks outside is my number one source of creative inspiration because there is always something to see. I enjoy finding interesting shapes and textures and am always surprised by the variety of plants there are when I look closely and pay attention, and I try to introduce some of these shapes in my own illustrations.
If you canāt get outside though you can also find inspiration around your home by looking at the everyday things around you from a different perspective. For a simple creative exercise pick out a few items you like the colour of and try and illustrate something inspired by those colours.
2- Browse art books and Pinterest
I have a selection of art books that I really like and they never fail to give me a boost of creative motivation. Iāll sit down somewhere sunny or cosy and flip through the pages without any pressure of drawing myself, and just admire the work of other creatives like how theyāve used colours together or how they create atmosphere or how theyāve told a story with their character design.
Character Design Quarterly is wonderful for character design inspiration and features so many beautiful art styles. Itās actually a magazine so there are lots of editions to collect!
Flora & Fauna is full of lovely nature inspired designs and I really like it for seeing all of the different ways of drawing plants.
The Art Of DreamWorks Animation features loads of visual development art from Dreamworks movies so it really has a bit of everything from developed scenes to character sketches and it is gigantic.
If you donāt have any art books of your own then be sure to check out your local library to see if they have anything you could borrow, or you could look at childrenās picture books section.
Pinterest is also an amazing resource for inspiration and Iām sure a lot of you already use it. I have boards with art that I like, and also boards of beautiful places, cottages, and cute animals. These boards have saved me so many times when Iām about to give up on having ideas for the day, I have a quick browse through my boards or through new pins and I almost always see something that inspires a story or a simple scene.
3 - Join art challenges
Iāve said this before but joining art challenges within a community like Instagram is a really great way to be inspired. Find a challenge that has a prompt list or do a āDraw This In Your Styleā challenge and youāll be able to focus less on what to draw and more on how you want to draw it. Youāll get to see all the creative ways other artists have participated in the same challenge and I always just find it so motivating to be part of a community of like-minded people.
4 - Admire other artists
Take a look through some other art accounts online and admire what theyāre doing. You donāt ever want to copy another artist but itās nice to be aware of what it is you like about their art, and maybe you can take one aspect of something theyāve drawn and use that as inspiration for your own art. There have been lots of times when Iāve been admiring the way other artists use colour palettes, or draw characters, or introduce lighting in their illustrations and itās inspired me to learn to improve those parts of my own illustrations.
5 - Do other creative things!
If youāre looking for inspiration for drawing then sometimes the best thing to do is to get away from the sketchbook or the tablet, and do something else thatās creative. You could do any craft you like but I personally really like to bake because itās hands on, you can make something colourful and messy and then you get to eat it at the end!
Itās also really fun to throw away all of your creative expectations and do some really loose, messy, experimental art on scrap paper that youāre not precious about, and take away all the pressure of drawing a finished illustration in that nice sketchbook you have.
I like to get out some traditional art supplies like paints and pens and slap them down on paper in loose forms. Paints are great because if you donāt try and control them theyāll take on a life of their own and go where they want to, so I use those first to put down a base layer and when itās dry I come back in with marker pens to layer in some finer lines, still trying to be loose with it and think as little as possible. In general Iām trying to follow the form and direction of the paint to guide my marks, and the only thing Iāve thought about controlling is the colour palette and the tonal contrast - making sure I have some really light and really dark bits. I have so much fun doing this activity and always feel so creatively refreshed afterwards.
6 - Use a prompt list
I usually do this exercise in my head but I thought it would be fun to create a physical version so that you can use it too. Itās the kind of thing we used to do in school as a storytelling prompt, and the aim is to generate the idea for an illustration by writing a list of prompts in different categories and then randomly picking an idea from each list.
You can make your own prompt list if you like but if youād like to use the one Iāve made you can download it here (itās free to download or if youād like to buy me a cup of tea you can pay what you like for it!).
Iāve written down a list of character types, a list of environment themes, a list of accessories and a list of friends. I've printed them out, cut them up and popped them all in separate little bowls. When Iām ready to draw Iāll take one prompt from each jar and use that to create my illustration, sticking to it as much or as little as I like.
If Iām feeling like a challenge Iāll make sure I work something out that involves all four things, but if Iām being more relaxed with it and the prompts inspire something else - thatās fine too! There is no right or wrong way to do this exercise, have fun with it and draw whatever you like. Check out the YouTube video with this post to see me doing some sketches.
I hope you find these inspiration tips helpful and if you did then be sure to send me a message on Instagram because I love hearing from you!
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