I have major artblock!!!
9 months ago
General
I have major art block and I need to get rid of it!!!
what do you guys recommend?
I want to draw but at the same time, drawing really aggravates me.
I don't want to feel this way.
It's keeping me from doing my comms.
what do you guys recommend?
I want to draw but at the same time, drawing really aggravates me.
I don't want to feel this way.
It's keeping me from doing my comms.
FA+

I'm finding working with a partner helps. Makes it more fun and feel more like a game.
I load up all my kinks from F-list onto Wheel of names. I spin three of them. Then I have a list of characters I want to write about/have been asked to write about, and spin one of them. If I'm feeling saucy, I spin my list of scenes.
I write a 3k short story with these.
It works very well.
With art, I'd imagine you can list what styles you are capable of
characters you like/want to draw
maybe a prop to implement
The worst art block I endured due to a mental health crisis was about....2-3 years? I still drew during that time but finished illustrated pieces were rare. These days I don't have art block, but time block, where the desire, vision, and inspiration is all present, but the time allowed to execute it is abysmal.
Wishing you luck overcoming your art block, good luck, and don't beat yourself up. You have been through a lot of stressful sounding scenarios in the last 6 months or so and I'm going to have to say I don't blame you 100% if it's hard to work on things. The last thing an artist needs, is to work on anything that starts to stress them out if there are compounding irl stressful things.
Things to help warm up:
1. Make sure you ate and drank 8 oz water within the last 45-60 minutes to help keep momentum
2. Ideally be well rested
3. Avoid music during foundational sketching stages. This seems like a kinda weird tip until you read the animators survival guide book.
3. Lighting lighting lighting! Drawing in a bright room or bright indirect light can help bring in focus on working, even if you're working digitally. Working in a dim or dark room can subconsciously drain you even if you feel awake.
4. If you are working digitally, warm up first on paper with loose sketches of spirals and circles and get your shoulder juiced up more than your wrist. Work from shoulder to elbow, then elbow to wrist and fingers for a few minutes on paper, make a few simple shapes or objects like fruit, boxes, then switch to digital.
5. Make sure you doodle a personal piece ocassionally before and between working on comms, but don't take it too far! Don't focus on making it look good or anything, you can revisit it later. This is to help give you a transition period between art where you get to work on something you want to work on for yourself, so not all artwork is for commissions, which over time I have witnessed leads to burning artists out even further into art block. This is very serious if art is a primary income source for the artist.
There's probably more I could say on this, but it's late where I am! Good luck once more!