It’s an artist’s worst nightmare: you can’t find inspiration to draw.
Sometimes it’s due to a stress. Other times, it’s due to a lack of inspiring ideas or motivation to create anything new.
Whatever the case may be, it’s a struggle that every artist must overcome. Elsewise, you might be stuck in a creative rut for a while.
That’s why, in this post, I’m sharing with you 5 remarkably easy ways to find inspiration to draw so that you’ll always have a wealth of drawing ideas to choose from. All you have to do is:
- Download or create your own list of exciting drawing prompts
- Get into the habit of regularly drawing from life
- Participate in different art challenges
- Find inspiration in the types of media that appeal to you
- Explore another art style that is out of your comfort zone
By the time you’re done reading, you’ll be able to implement 5 effective strategies that are sure to revive your create juices.
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Table of Contents
1. 100 Drawing Prompts List
Art block and lack of inspiration are 2 things that effect all artists from time to time. When they occur, you end up scrambling to figure out how to get inspired to start drawing again.
Since you know you’ll likely have to face them at some time or another, it’s smart to have a list of things to draw in order to have ideas to work with even when you aren’t feeling inspired.
The solution is to create a drawing prompts list with tons of ideas. Then, when you are stuck and unable to come up with new ideas, all you have to do is consult your list to find inspiration to draw.
Luckily for you, I can save youtime and effort by giving you my free 100 Drawing Prompts List. I’ve personally used this list whenever I lack inspiration to draw, so I know it can help you out, too.
I recommend this list because it was designed with various prompts including drawing inspiration from nature, environments, characters, animals, fantasy creatures, and more!
Here’s a sneak peak of some of the drawing prompts:
| CHARACTERS | ENVIRONMENTS |
| 1. Eccentric scientist 2. Enthusiastic sidekick 3. Femme fatale 4. Loveable nerd 5. Rebellious vigilante 6. Sci-fi robot 7. Valiant hero/ine 8. Wicked villain | 9. Rocky mountains 10. Rolling hills 11. Sandy beach 12. Scorching desert 13. Slippery caves 14. Tropical island 15. Urban landscape 16. Volcanic crater |
With a comprehensive list of drawing prompts already created for you, all you have to do is pick an idea that stands out to you and voilà! You can start creating art once again.
So if you would like the full list of fun and exciting drawing ideas, make sure you grab your free copy!
2. Draw from Life
Figure Drawing
If you’re not sure what to draw, then perhaps you should focus your time and energy on studying your craft.
For example, you could draw from observation in order to improve artistic skills relating to light and shadow, form, and composition. A great way of doing this is to do figure drawing.
Just make sure you have the fundamental drawing art supplies that al artists should have, and you’ll be ready to draw and sketch to your heart’s desire.
What’s more, you could invest in an affordable drawing book such as Andrew Loomis’ renowned Figure Drawing art book, which provides ample instruction and anatomical illustrations to help you hone your skills.
Or you can check out these websites which provide online figure drawing resources for you to reference from the comfort of your home:
Life Drawing
Alternatively, you can find drawing inspiration in nature.
To do this, you can find time to create art outside by visiting your local park or hanging out in your backyard.
If you’re able to, explore a botanical garden or a natural history museum to find some amazing visual inspiration.
If you’re on a walk outside, you can use your phone or camera to take pictures of natural elements that inspire you. Create a collection of reference photos that include any of the following:
- Flowers, forests gardens, grass, leaves, trees, shrubs
- Lakes, ponds, rivers, mountains, rocks, sand, snow
When you get home, you can choose any of the reference photos to study. Look at the shapes and forms. Study the way the colours work harmoniously.
You’re bound to find inspiration to draw from at least some of the pictures you take.
Related: Want to learn how to draw subject matter from nature? Then check out these easy sketching tutorials for beginner artists.
3. Participate in an Art Challenge
Depending on what time of the year it is, you could choose to participate in a monthly art competition to get you motivated to draw or paint.
For example, many artists participate in Inktober, which takes place every October. During this challenge, artists create artwork using ink in order to improve their inking skills.
Note: Similar challenges include Mermay in May (when artists draw mermaids) and World Watercolour Month in July (when artists practice their watercolour skills).
If there are no monthly art challenges currently taking place, then you have the option of creating your own art challenge or participating in someone else’s.
For example, there are many 30 day drawing (or painting) challenges or even 100 day artist challenges that you can take part in.
Either find a list of prompts on Pinterest, or conduct a quick Google search to see what art challenges are currently being held.
If you’re able to take part in a community challenge, you’ll be able to meet some awesome artist friends who can motivate you and keep you accountable for creating something for every day of the challenge.
Lastly, you could challenge yourself by doing any of the following challenges, all which have been popular at some time or another in the art community:
- Limited colour palette challenge
- Draw with your non-dominant hand challenge
- Draw blindfolded challenge
- Draw with only 1 marker challenge
- Draw without lifting your pencil up from the paper challenge
4. Find Inspiration to Draw in Media
The fourth way to find art inspiration is to think about all the different kinds of media you consume. Pick the ones that inspire you the most, and engage with them.
For instance, if you are hugely inspired by the Harry Potter books, then perhaps you can draw witches and wizards practicing their magic.
If you’re interested in superhero movies or comics, you can design your own superhero and create a fun little comic strip.
Likewise, if there is a band or solo artist whose songs resonate with you, you can pick your favourite lyrics from a song and create an artwork that depicts the meaning behind the song.
Note: You can also visit museums, local festivals, and community centres to find similar types of media that can spark your imagination and give you inspiration to draw.
Often enough, art exhibits and festivals and parades can be colourful and exciting experiences.
The things you see, hear, touch, smell, and taste can create wonderful images in your mind that you can use to influence your artwork.
5. Draw Something in Another Style
This last piece of advice is one of my favourites!
Back when I was learning how to draw cartoons and original characters, I often drew them in another style in order to help me learn what stylistic elements I wanted to replicate in my own art.
If you don’t know where to draw inspiration from, it’s not a bad idea to turn to the artists, writers, photographers, or any other creators who have influenced and impacted your art style.
When you draw or paint in another style, you’re expanding your artistic horizons. You implement techniques that you normally don’t include in your own work.
You experiment with colours and compositional elements that are perhaps new to you.
Sometimes, you discover artistic elements, such as line weight or shading, that you desire to incorporate in your own artwork.
Eventually, after lots of studying and practicing, you’ll learn how to come up with your own drawings and original art without having to rely on references all the time.
As you develop this skill, it will become much easier for you to find inspiration to draw. Although, that’s not to say that you won’t ever experience days when your creative output isn’t up to par.
Conclusion
When all is said and done, there are many different strategies that you can implement to find inspiration to draw and paint. The tricky part is figuring out which strategies work the best for you.
If there’s anything I want you to take away from this post, it’s this:
Don’t stress over not having drawing ideas or inspiration all the time.
It’s perfectly natural to experience art block. Sometimes, you don’t feel inspired or motivated, and that’s perfectly normal.
What’s important is to remember that you gotta push through despite the barriers that seem to be blocking you from doing so.
In fact, the more you practice, you’ll realize that it is possible to learn how to draw without inspiration. Meaning, you’ll train you brain to draw regularly without overthinking the drawing process.
Sometimes, what you need to do is push through and just draw. Don’t stress about your ideas. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike.
Just draw, and the rest will follow.
Do you have trouble finding inspiration to create new artwork? Share your experience in the comments below!
MIRANDA BALOGH is a self-taught artist who loves teaching her students how to paint with watercolours. To do this, she inspires her audience to step into their power as artists so they can create beautiful artwork with confidence. Subscribe to her art channel on YouTube to enjoy more art content!
