Keys to overcome a creative block

Image-Freepik/ Yanalya.

We have all had at some point creative lock. These days when no matter how hard you try you are not able to do anything new, your work bores you, and you cannot find inspiration in anything. Don't worry you're not alone It is normal. Sometimes we work until we are saturated, pushing ourselves beyond our means and end up in a burnout, or burnout syndrome.

Even if you are in a creative profession, It is logical That doing similar tasks for a long time intimidates you, and from time to time you will run into this situation. After years of having the occasional creative block, I have been developing a method to use it and overcome it.

Look for new sources of inspiration

Surely there is an area of ​​art that calls you more than the others, which you usually go to when you need ideas for new designs. When you have a blockage, it is difficult for you to find help in that area you go to most of the time, so You have to change the chip. Are you more inspired by paintings on Japanese vases? Well today you are going to look for minimalist contemporary design. Is music your recurring muse? Try a book.

For example, I'm very inspired by human figures in solid colors, flat design and minimalism in terms of colors, but since that's what I usually do, if i need a break I watch a movie, flipping through elaborate illustrations with broader color palettes. I search where I don't usually find, because sometimes the spark of creativity we need is where you least expect.

This also carries over to digital media, of course. There are many pages that can help us in case of a creative block, such as art blogs, Tumblr, Pinterest o Instagram, in which we will find different artists, media, forms and different perspectives from ours. And of course, if we normally find inspiration in digital media, the best thing is to go for a walk, see new faces, look for attractive colors in nature.

Creative blockage has become such a widespread problem that they have created different tools to fix it. Personally, I use the mobile application What to Draw? and the web Art Prompts . Both are tools that propose a setting, a character or a concept for you to use as a basis for your next creation.

Example of Art Prompts.

Change media

As with inspiration, we all tend to create a certain art form in particular, such as illustration on paper, painting, vector illustration or photo editing. Knowing what we like is just as important as knowing what we need to polish with more practice. If we always stay in our comfort zone, we do not advance in the other areas of our work. When I have a blockage, I try to get as far away as possible from what I usually do; I close Illustrator and open Paint Tool Sai. I close Photoshop and open After Effects. Varying the media makes us see our work from another angle and can help us improve previous work.

Image-Freepik.

Try working with him

As the saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them. This is the strategy that has helped me the most in moments of creative blockage. Don't you think about anything other than that you are blocked? Draw your block. Write about that you are blocked. You will release tension and you will also be creating something in the meantime.

At times like this, images of people with him come to mind. square brain, dull colors, unattractive things. The best thing is to let go, and see where we can go. For example, something boring can be a person in a suit. You can create a photo montage of a conveyor belt filled with copies of the same man in a suit, and top it off with a typesetting in which you talk about your frustration.

For this specific example, I have used images of business people and added a text about how I would feel in a creative block, with a touch of humor. I have chosen to present it as an advertising flyer for the fictitious company "Rutina SA”, Since when I think of blocking I think of corporate environments and large multinationals with navy blue suits and straight and identical people.

SA routine assembly

The good thing about this exercise is that everyone will see one thing. For me they are the people in suits, for you they can be the rainy days when you can't leave the house, and that's where you start to use the lock to your advantage. Each one has a different image and process and works with different media, so the results will vary greatly from one person to another. I really encourage you to try to take it easy and try to get something good out of it, and I hope it helps you get a little more perspective on your next creative block. The most important is keep the good mood and be clear that at some point the ideas will flow again Quick.

Images used in the assembly:

Man pointing, woman pointing, man smiling.