Finding Inspiration

Sometimes figuring out what to draw is pretty simple. You might see something in real life that inspires you, or you might find something in a game or movie that you want to recreate. But other times it can be difficult, especially when you're unsure of your abilities or have drawn a lot of things.

It's actually a really good thing to try and draw more complex objects (like animals or plants) because it teaches you how to study these things closer. If you're drawing something and asking yourself why it doesn't look right, chances are that you misjudged the slope of the line or darkly shaded a part that should have been lighter. Closely compare the two and you'll start to see what changes you need to make. It's not a matter of whether you can do it, but a matter of how patient you are to find what went wrong and fix it.

As far as inspiration goes though, sometimes the best way to get inspired is to actually clear your head somehow. Obviously everyone has their own preferences, but for me, taking a drive or playing a game usually helps. Another thing that helps is to get involved with art communities. While looking through art galleries online, you might actually see something that inspires you to recreate it or even put your own spin on an idea you never would have considered before. You can often have discussions with people and get critique on your work so you know what you should improve upon. Just be prepared for the occasional useless comment that doesn't give any insight into anything other than their intelligence.

If you have old video game consoles, or some other way to access old video games, try loading these up and studying the art. On modern screens you can see the pixels more clearly since there isn't as much of a blur. You'll notice dithering, anti-aliasing, and general patterns that are common even between games from different developers. Brick walls and pillars with light breaking through a window to illuminate one side, shadows being created from blackness, and changing colors mimicking water movement and other activity. Often times studying these images and putting what you learn into practice can drastically improve your abilities, especially with constant practice.

Sometimes you can't afford to wait for inspiration, though. There are times when you simply have to draw even when you're not feeling fully up to it. I don't subscribe to the notion that you have to only draw when you're inspired. It definitely helps, but I don't think it's mandatory. Some of the best drawings I've created were done when I had a deadline and knew beforehand what I had to do. You might have off days where you feel like you're not in the zone, but patience will get you through those days.

When you've drawn enough, you should eventually hit milestones where you feel like you've visibly improved. Maybe you learned how to draw better lines, or maybe your shading/texturing techniques have improved. Once you start hitting these milestones, you will get to a point where you don't really need inspiration to keep going--just the will to actually get started. And if you do find yourself with inspiration, act on it quickly, because you don't know when it's going to disappear. I think inspiration can push an artist over the threshold from a decent drawing to something that's truly memorable.