Hello my creative internet friends!

You’re here because you’re a creative person who might be having trouble staying motivated to make art consistently. This is something that all artists and creatives struggle with on a daily basis, myself included. I thought that I should share some tips of what I do when I’m having a hard time. If this is something you're struggling with right now, I encourage you to keep reading this blog post.

All artists and creatives go through ups and downs, highs and lows, days where you're just like why am I even doing this? Nobody cares and nobody is paying attention to this great work that I’m creating. Nobody is watching these process videos that I spend so much time on or nobody is reading these poorly written blog posts. You might look yourself in the mirror and think, “Damn, I'm literally trash.” Sorry to be ultra-negative but look, as Erykah Badu once said, “I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit,” and sometimes, us artists, we're sensitive sally's. And that’s ok, that’s what makes us great! Just know, that you're not alone when dealing with them lows friend.

Sometimes when I’m struggling with motivation, I realize that I might be mentally fatigued from either working too much or comparing myself to other artists on Instagram, and/or social media, who seem to be pumping out four masterpieces a day. This is never a good idea or a good habit to develop. Whether it be comparing yourself to others or overworking yourself to the edge of your limits. Both bad habits can become a recipe for disaster and burnout.

For me, when I come to this realization that I might be mentally fatigued, I actively take a break from both scrolling on social media and making art. What I do with this newfound free time is consume media that stimulates me in a positive and inspiring way. For example, recently, my creative spirit was a bit low, and I was unmotivated to work on any of my art projects. I couldn’t figure out why I was experiencing this slump so the first thing I did was get off of Instagram. I did this because seeing other artists appearing to be super productive can be very depressing when you’re already feeling unmotivated. I chose to do nothing and just chilled out that day while watching the movie Blade Runner 2049.

I LOVE this movie.

I think that it's very visually pleasing and it is a tremendous source of inspiration for me. Watching it gets my creative juices flowing and simultaneously gets me super motivated to at least pick up my sketchbook. Blade Runner 2049, for me, would be a great example of media that can be positive and inspiring. So, I highly recommend that artists who are feeling unmotivated to not beat themselves up and take a break. The break could be more productive than forcing yourself to create. Go and re-watch your favorite movie, open a comic book that you enjoy, or watch your favorite anime. If you’re not into any of those sources of positive media, then listen to some music. When is the last time you replayed one of your favorite albums from front to cover?

Now if you do all of that and you still feel down in the dumps or unmotivated then it's time to reflect on two things. The first thing to reflect on is why you even do this. Why do you make art? That question always serves as a powerful anchor because usually the answer is that you do it because you love it and it's your passion. At least that's my answer when I ask myself this exact question. I use this question to think about all of the special moments in my art journey that made me feel like I was meant to do this. We've all had some type of positive moment that keeps you going and sometimes you NEED to reminisce on those moments.

The second thing you should reflect on is the last six months of your art journey and think about all of the small wins that you had that you didn't sit back and celebrate because you just kept working through them. We all do this too often. We make a sale, and we keep it pushing. We get some props or some love from an artist who we really admire, and we just keep working through it. You get a nice comment from a supporter who's been holding you down for years and we just carry on. But best believe we take time to give energy to the negative moments, the internet haters, and all the shitty comments that we receive on social media. You’ll think about that for weeks, and months, but you have got to stop doing that for your own mental health.

What we need to do more of is think back on all the positive moments and celebrate our small wins as we reflect on them. Take time to reminisce on what you have accomplished. the perfect time to think back on these small wins is when you’re taking this break from creating otherwise you will never make time to do so. I'm actively trying to do a better job of this. I recently sold more merch than I've ever sold before and I kind of just kept working through it. Life as an artist/creative sometimes feels like a constant mode of “on to the next project” or “I need to make more products and make more sales”. It never ends, and if you just pause for a moment and think, “wait this is a milestone, it might be a small one but still a milestone,” these wins will help keep you going.

One last thing that I personally do when I'm having trouble staying motivated to make art is I like to watch interviews of my favorite artists. This can be your favorite musical artist, visual artist, or literally any type of artist. Chances are, there's a big artist that you look up to or admire and chances are, that they've done some type of interview with some type of publication. Personally, Hebru Brantley is one of my favorite artists of all time and he's probably my biggest art influence and I encourage you guys to check him out. When I watch a Hebru Brantley interview and listen to him talk about his grind to success I'm immediately gassed up to work and just feel ready to go.

These are just a few of the things that work for me to get my creative spark back and get me motivated again to get back to work. Hopefully these tips work for you as well and hopefully you read something new, or you were reminded of something you already do and you're going to do more of it now to keep yourself motivated. I hope you found value in this and if you did or didn't let me know either way.

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