Do you have a ‘creative block’?

You are not alone

“Do illustrators get ‘creative block’”?

Last week a writer friend asked me this question.

And the answer is YES!!!

In December 2020, I couldn’t think of anything to draw. I was at the beginning of my illustration practice and I was completely stuck! There is so much amazing art on instagram, so many choices, so many directions to go in, I didn’t have a distinct style and it ALL overwhelmed me.

I’ve been on a good streak and haven’t been blocked since then, but I know my time will come again… and now I have tools to tackle it…

So how did I get over it?

1. I set aside time to doodle and play. Its not about creating great illustrations, its about sparking joy and just putting “pen to paper”. Some ideas are mixing different colours, trying some new procreate brushes, or sketching from life at a cafe or sketching images from your favourite picture book.

2. Find a draw this in your style (DTIYS) challenge on instagram. (See one of my earlier newsletters on this topic ). This one worked wonders for me.

3. When stuck, try something to relax your mind like going for a walk. This helps me to let my subconscious wonder and to think about things in a different way. Sometimes just picking a new route or walking around the block (no pun intended) in a different direction does the trick.

4. Get insights from another industry. I love listening to podcasts and I get a lot of inspiration from them.

   1. I have been listening to ‘Working it out’ with Mike Birbiglia. He interviews world famous comedians and breaks down the creative processes. It always makes me laugh and provides me with fresh perspectives.

   2. I also listen to Creativity Unpacked, by Nicole Velik. She interviews creative people in all fields and finds out where creativity comes from. She gave a talk on ‘How to ignite your creative genius’, which was particularly insightful. Listen here.

5. Get a project - fake or real - it doesn’t matter. I have found that getting commissions and book deals means that I have clear parameters for what do draw. When its narrowed down and I have a clear purpose, it helps me to focus my creativity. If you don’t have paid work, write a brief and then go from there.

6. Morning pages are also a great to ‘unblock’ creativity. You can read ‘The Artists Way’ by Julia Cameron or just get the cheat notes… you can also check out the official website.

News

• Last week I had the pleasure of reading ‘Little Shark Lulu is Sleeping’ to around 50 year 1 kids at Emanuel School in Sydney. I absolutely loved my first school visit experience and the kids loved it too. The kids asked lots of questions and we did activities. They amazed me with their creativity and made such imaginative Lulu flip-cards (available on my website to download).

  

  

  School visit and activities

• Lulu was in the news. Josie Montano, one of the authors was interviewed by Jodie Powell. Read the full story in the Moreton Daily.

• Charlotte Birkmanis, the other author of ‘Little Shark Lulu is Sleeping’ has been taking Lulu on a world tour. She will soon grace the shelves of stores in Angola, Iceland and South America. You can read more about Charlotte and the beginning stages of Lulu on the Australian Society of Fish Biology website.

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  You can see more of my work on my website or instagram.

Thanks for reading! More in 2 weeks…