How to Get Motivated to Draw

It happened again.

Here I am sitting at my desk and ready to create something beautiful when suddenly, my motivation to draw plummets, and my inspiration for creating artwork just vanishes. "WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?" Is what I ask myself at that moment. I frequently complain about not having the time to draw, but realistically I have more than enough. So what's the deal?

Well here are some thoughts I have on the topic. I decided to write them down in a hope that they will help me (and others) overcome "motivation killers". Here are 7 of my best tips on how to motivate yourself to draw.

In a rush? Here's the bulleted-list form with links to the full section for each below:

1. Stop Wasting Time
2. Force Yourself to Draw
3. Try New Media
4. Write About What You Want to Draw
5. Look at Other Artist's Artwork
6. Go Outside
7. Listen to Music or a Podcast

1 – Stop Wasting Time

More often than not, I'll find myself loafing around on the days that I have off.

I'll watch YouTube videos, browse the internet, stalk people on Facebook, play games on my computer or phone, and the list goes on. These are all a complete and utter waste of my time.

"NUH-UH, VIDEO GAMES ARE GOOD FOR YOU AND YOU'RE STUPID!" screams the internet at this very moment.

Of course, being entertained isn't a bad thing, but it can certainly become a bad thing when you're constantly using it to replace productive or worthwhile endeavors. Nobody should spend all their free time on unprofitable entertainment. Why?

1. It's just unhealthy
2. You could be spending that time to improve yourself through something such as drawing or painting
3. You'll never be better than that guy online that spent his entire life playing League of Legends and crushes you while typing "lol gg no re" in the chat.

If I had spent HALF of the time I wasted playing video games with drawing or painting, I'd probably have my own art gallery in NYC by now… Alright, that might be a stretch, but you get the idea. Spending ALL your time on entertainment is the #1 motivation killer.

2 – Force Yourself to Draw

Believe it or not, the inspiration to draw doesn't often magically appear on demand (aside from some being sprinkled with magical motivation dust. That stuff is great). But I've come to find that forcing myself to doodle for a few minutes is enough to get my creative juices flowing.

After doodling for a bit, I ultimately end up getting inspired to draw something bigger, or more detailed. Ironically, much of the inspiration I've had in the past has been a result of watching a new show or playing a new game (in moderation). Here's a few examples of said inspired drawings.

See? I told you entertainment isn't bad, and it can even help motivate you to draw. You just don't want to turn into an entertainment junkie, shooting up the new season o-OMG THE NEXT SEASON OF THE MANDALORIAN ASDJBAKASsfajsdf-

Sorry about that… where was I?

3 – Try New Media

I know it might be easy to get comfortable using the same media, but there are SO many different art utensils out there to try.

There's pencils, colored pencils, ballpoint pens, micron pens, basic markers, Copic markers, charcoal *Inhales deeply* watercolor, oil painting, pastels, and SOOOoo much more. Not to mention how many different things you could use as a canvas. Why stick to just white paper? In fact, why stick to paper at all? A YouTube friend of mine named Josue.With.Context (Formerly Agapey) has made a habit of drawing on wooden cutting boards! How awesome is that?

My wife recently signed me up for SketchBox as a birthday gift (She's the best), so I'm excited to see what new mediums they send me to try out!

4 – Write About What You Want To Draw

This may sound odd, but it really works for me. When I lose my motivation to draw, I write about what I hope to draw in the future. I don't tend to keep what I write, but maybe as an example I'll post the next one I make. Although, this article actually started out as a way to try and get my creative juices flowing, so that counts, right?

Try to be descriptive when you write, too. So if I use this tactic myself, I would write about the next steps to finishing my Disney Castle drawing. I've already drawn the framework and given basic details to the castle, but it still needs shading, as well as creating light/dark contrast.

5 – Look At Other Artist's Artwork

What could be more inspiring than watching the artwork of your fellow artists? If you're an artist, then I'm sure you're already aware that you tend to connect well with other artistic people. We're often greatly passionate about our artwork, and when we find someone else that loves art, it inspires us to continue our hard work.

With access to the internet, viewing artwork is easier than it's ever been before. There are MILLIONS of artists out there that share their work with the world through both videos and photos (I'm only one of them), and searching through their artwork is one of the best ways I've found to get inspired.

6 – Go Outside

I know, I know. Sounds easy, right? Well that's because it is! Inspiration to draw can come from anything, and when you're just sitting in the house, your inspiration is limited to what's indoors (or on the internet, but that's besides the point.

There's a variety of different levels of "going outside" to give you motivation as well. Some are easy, and some are a little harder.

1. Sit on your porch or doorstep
   This is the easiest one, but can still bring a lot of motivation! Simply taking a step into the outdoors opens up a world of ways to get motivated to draw. Do your neighbors have a dog that's barking and keeping you up at night? Draw it. Birds in a nearby tree singing you songs? Draw them. A giant meteor hurtling towards the earth about to doom all of humanity and you along with it? Dra-… My lawyers are telling me that I can't give you advice for this one.
2. Go for a walk around the neighborhood
   Still fairly easy, but if you're a habitually sheltered individual that likes being inside, it could be a little harder. You'll be amazed at all of the motivation that can come through just walking around your neighborhood.
3. Go on a hike at a nearby trail
   Woah woah, a HIKE? That's a lot of work to get motivated. Trust me, I know. That's why to help with this step, I suggest marrying someone that loves hiking and then they'll MAKE you hike with them until you like it too. (Please don't actually marry someone just for this purpose, that's terrible relationship advice and I take no responsibility for your actions if you choose to take this route). But in all seriousness, hikes are a phenomenal way to supercharge your motivation for drawing. Especialy if you're hiking in places you've never been before. As someone that has lived in Clark County, NV, there's a TON of hiking opportunities and every trail has its own uniqueness to it.
4. Visit a Tourist City Like Las Vegas
   Las Vegas might be known as "sin city", but it really does have a ton of PG activities and tourist spots that will set your inspiration on fire. Even something as simple as the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign is a great place to start. In fact, that was one of my drawings I added to my Daily Sketch Journal
   

7 – Listen to Music or a Podcast

Music has been around since basically the existence of humanity, and there's a reason for that. Music has a natural tendency to inspire and motivate those who listen to it. I mean, they literally used to have people in war completely dedicated to war drums or some other kind of musical instrument just because of the profound effect that music has on those that hear it. Knowing this, I couldn't leave this one out.

There really isn't a limitation to what you can listen to either. It could be genres that you're already a fan of, or genres you've never heard of. Just hit the play button and skip until you find something that kicks your motivation into high gear.

Podcasts have also become hugely popular lately, and while I've only listened to a few here and there, I can say that there's plenty of opportunity for inspiration from them. There's podcasts about basically anything you can think of, so just browing and picking one could help you with that artist's spark you've been looking for.

Conclusion

Well there you have it. There's seven ways you can use to get up and motivated to create that next beautiful work of art. I would love it if you shared this article with your friends, or better yet, send me your artwork! I have a page set up so I can feature the artwork of other artists and I would love to share yours!

thackersomets99.blogspot.com

Source: https://dezigningart.com/blog/getting-motivation-to-draw/