Hello! My name is Liz Staley and I’m a long-time user of Clip Studio Paint (I started using the program back when it was known as Manga Studio 4!). I was a beta-tester on the Manga Studio 5 program and for Clip Studio Paint, and I have written three books and several video courses about the program. Many of you probably know my name from those books, in fact. I write weekly posts on Graphixly.com and on CSP Tips, so be sure to come back every week to learn more Clip Studio Tips and Tricks from me!

Artist’s block is one of the things artists dread going through, and we all do experience it at least once (but usually multiple times!) Whether from life changes, burnout, or a myriad of other factors, there are just times where every artist seems that they can not create. There are a lot of tips and tricks on how to get out of artist’s block, but here are six of my favorites.

In this article we will cover the following topics:

Do Sprints with the Pomodoro Technique
Try a New Tool or Medium
Phone a Friend! Use a Body Double
Rework an Older Drawing
Try Drawing Prompts
Change Your Environment

Let’s get down to it!

Do Sprints with the Pomodoro Technique

As someone with ADHD, I absolutely love the Pomodoro Technique for anything that I need to get done. This is a great trick for if you’re on a deadline and absolutely MUST get creating right now. As a bonus, this is a simple fix that requires only a timer.

First I like to get set up. Open your program, make sure you have a drink and some good music or podcasts on, close social media and put your phone on silent. Next you will need a timer of some sort. Most modern phones come with a timer app, or you can use a browser timer as well. There are many Pomodoro specific website timers, such as the one shown below which you can find at https://studywithme.io/aesthetic-pomodoro-timer/



Choose an amount of time that you want to work for. The usual suggestion for the Pomodoro technique is 25 minutes, but sometimes if I am just too overwhelmed I will start with 10 or 15 minutes. Start the timer and do nothing but work on your art for that amount of time. Even if it’s just drawing doodles on a blank canvas, don’t stop until the timer goes off.

Once the timer goes off, you will take a short 5 minute break. Stretch, get up and dance around a little bit, reply to a text, or do whatever else for those 5 minutes. Once the five minutes are up, do another round of your chosen working increment.

Repeat this until you’ve done 4 of your working increments, then take a long break of about 10-15 minutes. Once the long break is complete, you can continue the cycle back at the beginning.

This technique also works for any task that seems too big and overwhelming - such as cleaning up!

Try a New Tool or Medium

Sometimes we just get into a rut and need to try something new. If you’re a traditional medium artist, this could mean trying colored pencils instead of using your usual watercolors. Or trying watercolor pencils. Instead of creating a painting, try a collage of paper scraps and found objects. Or paint a ceramic figure instead of a canvas.

If you’re a digital artist, try a new program. Or browse the Clip Studio Assets or Clip Studio Tips to find a new brush or a new technique to try. Doing something you’ve never done before can be a great way to break out of a rut and feel creative again!

Phone a Friend! Use a Body Double

The newest buzz in the ADHD community is “Body Doubling”, which sounds kind of scary. Does it mean you should make a clone of yourself? As awesome as that would be, it’s actually much simpler than that!

Body Doubling is when you work on a task with someone else around. This other person doesn’t need to be working on the same task with you, they can be working on their own tasks or just be around. Having another person around can help you stay on task though, even if that other person is virtual!



So even if you don’t have anyone around in your real-life space, you can still make use of this technique. See if a friend can get on a video call while you work on your art. If you like to livestream, you could stream your screen as you create (though if you don’t have an audience that tunes in regularly this might not work!). Sometimes I like to get on the livestream of someone who is drawing or doing something interesting, and as they stream I will also work on what I need to get done. It makes the process feel less lonely and I tend to get more done - whether I need to write, draw, or fold laundry!

Rework an Older Drawing

You can also try redoing an old piece of yours, especially if you’ve been creating art for several years. Take a piece that you liked from about a year or more ago and recreate it using your current knowledge. This can be helpful because you’re not having to come up with the idea all over again, and you get to see how much you’ve improved in your skills since you made the old drawing!

Try Drawing Prompts

Don’t have any ideas at all? Try some drawing prompts and see what you can come up with! There are so many drawing prompts out there on the internet and they are a quick Google search away. There are also art challenges out there all the time, such as MerMay and Inktober, that usually have prompts associated with them and they can help inspire you to create. There are art challenges for every kind of artist as well, from photography challenges to writing challenges and everything in between.

There is even a website called www.artprompts.org that allows you to click on a category and get a prompt to draw! Don’t like the first suggestion? Hit the refresh link and get another one until you find something that inspires a little doodle or a full-blown finished illustration!

Change Your Environment

My final tip is a simple one, and that is to change your environment. And this could mean two things.

You can try actually changing your working environment. Rearrange your desk. If you normally work at a desk, go sit on the couch. Go to a library or a coffee shop and work there instead. Visit a museum and sketch the paintings, or go to the zoo and sketch the animals. Lay on the floor at home with a sketchbook and draw upside down if you have to!



Or, you can also change your environment by getting up and doing anything BUT art. Get out of the house and go for a walk. Visit a park and watch the people going past. Go read a novel, or study a language, or learn how to knit. Go for a hike and enjoy nature without worrying about having to create something.

Sometimes when you have an artist's block, especially if it’s from burnout, the best thing to do is just TAKE A BREAK. Put down the tablet or the sketchbook and take a nap, or get outside. Hang out with friends or family and just don’t worry about it, if you can. Obviously this doesn’t work if you’re being paid and have a deadline, though if you are working for a client you could reach out to them and ask for an extension. I have found that most people are very understanding so long as you communicate clearly about what’s going on.

Conclusion

Remember that Artist’s Block is a temporary thing. You will not be stuck in one forever, eventually you will be able to create again. I have sometimes gone through artist’s blocks where I didn’t draw anything for a year or more, only to suddenly pick up a pencil one day when I got that hit of inspiration. Stressing out about it will usually only make the block worse, especially if the cause was already stress, depression, or burnout.

For more information on CLIP Studio Paint, please visit https://www.clipstudio.net/en or https://graphixly.com