Three ideas what to draw - when you don’t know what to draw!
We all know that practice makes the difference and it is important to sit down every day, even if it is just for a few minutes, and draw something. But what do you do, when the muses are silent? When I am out of ideas what to draw I turn to those three tips to get ideas.
DTIYS
Participate in one of the amazing #dtiyschallenges out there. Just search #dtiys on Instagram and pick one. It is so much fun. Or head over to @thetuesdaycollective for some Tuesday drawing fun or @housecatillustration for #tekenuurtje2023 . The possibilities are endless. Sometimes the host has a deadline for the challenge, but if you like the image, do it anyway. It is a great way to practice and to connect with other artists.
Here are the challenges I participated in for the images above, from top left to bottom right:
@heygiudi | @sadinesss | @housecatillustration | @evelineart_
@lauraklinke_art | @jennyslifeart | @theclaratones | @annikalelarge
Sidenote: These days I do most of my work in procreate and Affinity where I integrate traditional stuff. Did you know that I have an awesome free resources library that gets updated constantly. It is full of free brush sets, colour palettes and wallpapers. Wanna check it out? Subcribe to my newsletter and get instant access.
Body Parts
If you want to draw human characters you can’t get around this. So make it a fun exercise and practice different shapes, styles, textures, sizes and colours. I was inspired to do this by the book “Every Body” - A first conversation about bodies”* by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli & Tequita Andrews. It is a beautifully illustrated picture book that sparks the conversation about our bodies and how they are all good.
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
“What … likes”
What Elli likes
Take a loved one or a pet and draw all the things they like on one canvas. Make it fun. Do they have special words or sounds for it. What about their favourite animal / human or their favourite food? Play around and make it fun.
➡️If you try this let me know by using #whatnoralikes
Those have been my three proven methods to get creative when I lack ideas. Now get out your pens and paper or tablets or whatever you use to be creative and start.
