How do you get into a creative mood?

Question

What do you do to get yourself into the zone where you start creating things? Especially when you have artist's (or writer's, or musician's, or whatever's) block?

Answer 1

what i do sometimes is spread all my collection of art materials in front of me, pencils/pens, paints, paintbrushes etc. with whatever i'm working on, this helps me with ideas and gets me excited with the prospect of what i can do with all this stuff, also some relaxing music and thinking about the reward of the finished piece. good luck =]

Answer 2

Don't force it, find something else to do for awhile. it will come back:)

~If you have to force yourself to do something that you usually love to do you are running the risk of losing your love for it.~ I love to draw and paint, but then I started getting a lot of clients and I started hating my art, because I HAD to do it. I stopped drawing for 2 yrs. Now I do what I want when I feel like it, and if I take on a new client I make sure that they understand that first.

Answer 3

All I need to do is go to my local supply store and I can't wait to get home to begin my project.

Answer 4

Been there. . . am there. . . . trying to escape there myself. . . .

1.  try a new medium

2.  work on something you have put aside as not going well . . . one of mine just got acceped in an international juried art show!

3.  try a new subject matter

4.  set a time limit to do the impossible. . . .it will distract you and you WILL create!

5.  look at art . . . online, in the museum, in books

6.  read art books and magazines

7.  watch good films

8.  get out and see. . . take your camera.  Look at everything to see the art in it.

9.  take a challenge . . . self-portrait, landscape, anything.  Let someone else challenge you.

10.  look through old photographs. . . . oh my, how many of those have inspired my next painting!

Good luck!  I took a challenge of doing 5 miniature pastels in a day for a demonstration at the fair this year.  I finished 3 old paintings i thought were c**p.  And I am taking a workshop in 6 weeks to do plein air pastel on the Outer Banks.  Woo hoo!

Answer 5

I usually listen to some music, read or watch a movie it tends to help get the creative juices flowing i think.