Artistic Warm-Ups for Creative Block

Are you feeling stuck or uninspired? A lot of people have a hard time with artist's block, but I'm here to help you find your mojo again! 

A great way to get unstuck is to enjoy some simple drawing exercises. They don't have to take a long time or have a magnificent end result, the important part is that you try some different ways to enjoy your creativity.

In this blog post, I'm going to share my go-to drawing exercises that have helped me become a better artist. Each drawing practice exercise will help you warm up, feel relaxed, get out of your head and do some instinctive creative work. Without further ado, grab a blank page and let's get started.

1. Draw with the opposite hand

Our dominant hand is the one we usually use– this time, we want to use the less dominant hand. Pick up your pen or pencil and draw with your opposite hand! This is something that one of my art professors challenged me to do to help me loosen up with drawing. I recommend choosing an item to draw and using just a few colors. Let go of your perfectionism and enjoy creating!

2. Imaginary creatures

We all know there are so many amazing animals in the world, but what if we created our own? If you don’t know where to begin, you can start with two animals you’d like to combine, and make your own creature with the head of one animal and the body of another. I recommend drawing your creatures from the side. Seeing them come to life is so fun! You can also draw one animal first, then take other pieces of paper and lay them on half of the animal to create other halves.

3. Draw with your eyes closed

Make sure you know where your paper is, and try drawing some objects from memory. I started with a tree, a puppy, and some flowers, but you can choose whatever you’d like to draw! This can help you learn muscle memory. What do you think of what you’ve made? It’s fun to see what happens when we’re trusting our instincts.

4. Draw famous art

Choose a famous work of art and recreate it! Now, this is okay because it’s a creative study, I won’t be selling the version I created. Pull up a photo of your favorite piece of art, and draw it in your own artistic style. This can help you find who you are as an artist and grow in your creative confidence.

5. Make a self-portrait

From your memory, draw a picture of yourself. It’s interesting how, when you go to draw yourself, you have this idea in your head of what you look like, and there’s also the version of you that shows up in a photograph. I chose a caricature style to draw myself, but you can use any style you like! Having fun with it, exaggerating your features, and letting it be a source of creative inspiration can make a huge difference in your creative energy.

6. Fluid doodling

The last thing we’re going to do together is what I call fluid doodling. Put on a piece of music, listen, and let your pen or crayon take over! Doodle, make line marks, and create an entire page of visual interest with no end goal. There aren’t any rules here, just doodle how you see fit and see what happens. Don’t think about technique, just try to have fun and relax and see where your doodles take you. 

Making creative exercises like these a regular practice is the best way to stop artist's block in its tracks! Feel free to add your own exercises as you get back into the swing of things. You might be surprised how much they can help!