What Do You Do when You don't Know what to Draw, Paint, etc? - General

Hello, so what do you do when you have "artist's block"? I even find it hard to just doodle. I just never know what to draw, and I'm starting to think I'm just not a very imaginative person. Also whenever I browse a lot of other's people work on the internet, all I can think to myself is, "How the hell do they come up with this shit?" I also work terribly if I don't have good references, like perspective and anatomy will always be wrong without them. Is it just a lack of experience on my part?

curl up and cry

Usually when I draw something I do so in a crack fueled frenzy of loud music and mutterings of doom, but when I'm just dicking around I just draw skulls and naked people. I like drawing skulls and naked people I guess. [editline]7th April 2011[/editline] Also I never draw from reference. Unless you count my trusty anatomy man statue who guides me away from the darkness of Rob Liefeld.

I don't have this problem, I've built up a huge surplus of ideas and usually don't do a damn thing with them. :v:

I tend to draw swirls and curves and inter-link them together when I have 'artist block'

I've never done this but it's always been an idea of mine to do. Go outside on a sunny day and just lie in the grass and watch the clouds. Draw what you see in the clouds. Don't draw the clouds but draw the things you see in them. Basically the clouds are a way of giving you drawing ideas. I really want to do this but the weather here has been shit for a while and I haven't drawn anything in ages. Ahhhh I need to start drawing again! It's been too long!

If you ever get into a rut or a block of sorts usually it helps to do something crazy! This might help: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yrDk4xrSZE[/url]

Just go out and do other things, get out there, talk to people, you'll find inspiration. Sitting inside staring at a blank page won't help. Maybe take some drugs as well.

[QUOTE=Hello, so what do you do when you have "artist's block"?[/QUOTE] I usally draw things like a battlefield with 2 different factions fighting eachothers. With a river between the 2 forces. Usally ends up looking like a dick with very hairy balls though, But i guess its the thought that counts.

I drink and what ever I wake up to I draw.

When i have nothing to create or nothing in my mind to draw, I look outside and i paint clouds, then i try different lighting styles on clouds. That or i just create a collage out of random goopy looking shapes, but still looks cool

pick some random still life from nearby sat right here i can see a bottle of aftershave, a can of monster, my phone, a capo, some bottle caps... all interesting materials that all reflect light interestingly

I just chill and take a lot of photography

wank

Stare at the paper until something happens.

Do what professional concept artists do, thumbnails of chicken scratch, and silhouettes. Mainly do the silhouettes thing. Come up with a character, and once you get that part down, coming up with an environment and story relating to the character wont be hard. Basically starts off like this: [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12913216/Critiques/Helping%20sill/600.jpg[/img] Throw something down randomly [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12913216/Critiques/Helping%20sill/6002.jpg[/img] Start carving out shapes, being a silhouette makes this a lot easier to come up with an idea cause of how much open space there is to intemperate what you're seeing. [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12913216/Critiques/Helping%20sill/6003.jpg[/img] Eventually just start adding random details in white on top once you have a clearer idea of what you'd like to create out of the shadow shape. [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12913216/Critiques/Helping%20sill/6004.jpg[/img] [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12913216/Critiques/Helping%20sill/6005.jpg[/img] Even if you don't like what you came up with it, screw it, just start something else until you are satisfied, then build on top of that with a better pose/value scheme/background etc.. This is basically something you could do in literal seconds.

Spin on the chair.

Listen to music. Try stuff from 'God is an Astronaut' or 'Michael McCann', their music really lets my mind escape.

I do programming work. I haven't been into a situation in which I have to draw. So I just don't drawn when I cannot draw lol...

Watch a movie/tv show/read a book. Or I just draw random body parts (not penises) to practice for when I do have inspiration.

Jerk off.

Listen to music for imagination. Like greeneyes said, post-rock like GIAA is good for getting in that mode, equally darkwave and ambient in the vein of Dargaard, Arcana, Amethystium etc. as well.

I like to draw random outlines of shapes then try to think up something, but never the first thing that comes to mind, I dig down to come up with something thought out but still able to be drawn from the shape, then I draw it. Sometimes if I can't think of anything I just assign myself to depict 'x' in as many ways as possible, like a coffee mug filled with coffee, I'll do the realistic drawn-from-life picture, then maybe abstract it, or do a contour drawing, it's more practice than anything but it makes you think of a new way to lay something down on paper.

Doodle shit I dream up from one of my dream journals or write something. Idk I've never really had artist's block. I make random shapes in photoshop or dick around in zbrush too.

This is very helpful. Thank you all!

Look at porno.

Video games/Music for inspiration

star throwing random lines on paper, the moment they start resembeling something(usually it's something morbid for me) get on with it. I have hundreds of those drawings laying around my house.