Being creative is a goal of all artists. It is crucial to being a success. At times, we all run out of ideas or steam and can find new inspiration difficult. Below is a list of processes that help me avoid the creativity block. I hope they can help you as well.
- Do not worry about what other people think. You never will be able to please everyone. It’s tough enough just pleasing yourself. If you throw other people into the process it can be completely stifling.
- Take an idea break. Write down, scribble down, sketch ideas, drawings, or things that come to your mind. These don’t have to be detailed descriptions just a brief description or sketch will work wonders.
- When you come up with a good idea, try to force yourself to come up with a couple more similar or related ideas. The more you practice doing this, the more ideas you will have to work with. Don’t forget to write or sketch the ideas down on paper.
- Try to force yourself into a new area, do something that seems foreign or difficult. You need to work regularly at exceeding a weakness or you never will. The mere act of doing something different will bring to life and engender new ideas.
- Play in other media or areas that interest you. By dabbling in related areas, ideas will flow. There can be a strong interaction between the various art forms. How often have you heard of an artist who is also a writer, poet, actor, or singer? There’s a reason to this. Art stimulates art.
- Surround yourself with the visual. Read about other painters, designers, sculptors, graffiti artists, actors, and architects. Look at what is behind their work. Why are they doing what they do? Talk to the artists. Ask questions about their techniques, purposes, and goals which underlie their work. Make a point of interacting with people who are artists in every profession. Study and analyze what they do. Be careful about becoming an audience keep your focus, you want to stimulate your own thought processes not let others entertain you.
Your creativity is something that takes you along all steps of life. It’s important to enjoy it, live in the process, and not be stifled by it. I find that the steps above work for me.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas on this as well. What do you do when you have a creativity block?