It’s weird isn’t it, you’ve been drawing and you feel like your work is getting better. Then all of a sudden it’s like your 3-year-old self has control of your drawing arm and made you create the monstrosity you see on the page.
Don’t panic, it’s completely normal, but there are a few reasons it might be happening:
Because you are experimenting
If you’ve been experimenting in your sketchbook, maybe this is why your work looks worse (at least to you). If for example you’ve gone from drawing in great detail to very loose or you’ve changed your style, your work may look worse because you haven’t yet mastered that look. It’s important to keep stretching yourself in this way otherwise in the long term your work will remain stagnant. Although you might find you are taking a step back at the time, experimenting can improve your work in the future.
Because you’ve switched medium
If you’ve switched medium, again you may not have yet got the knack of the different feel to the materials. Even something as simple as switching from a forgiving pencil to ink can make a huge difference to the way your work looks.
Because you switched subject matter
We all have subjects we prefer drawing, from people to landscapes to still life. If you switch to drawing something different, it can do one of two things. Sometimes it injects a freshness into your work, but other times it can take a bit of getting used to. If it’s the latter for you, you might not like what you create at first.
Because you are having a creative block
We’ve spoken about creative blocks in depth in a recent podcast. When you are experiencing a creative block, sometimes you might force yourself to draw. The results can seem laboured and not up to your usual standard.
Because you aren’t drawing consistently enough
How often are you drawing? Drawing and art really is a case of use it or lose it. If you are only drawing very occasionally, perhaps this could be the problem. You draw, but not consistently enough for your work to improve significantly.
Has it really got worse, or are you just lacking confidence?
This is something we find very hard to see in ourselves. Sometimes we create things we don’t like and yet ironically they are the pieces that other people seem to love. So it may not actually be that your work is getting worse, perhaps it’s just different.
Wow I just have been in here “creative block” for way over 3 months now
I hope you are coming out of it. We have a podcast episode about Creative Blocks with some ideas if not
Ive been on a “creative block” for a year now, and the “Block” has gotten worse and worse. 🙁 I feel for you dude.
We are sorry to hear that… It is quite normal for Artists to experience this from time to time. We made a podcast episode about creative block and how to deal with it, which may help you out of it. You can find it here: https://kickinthecreatives.com/ep-21-recognising-dealing-creative-block/
Last time when my mom`s mom cam to my house I used to do great art work I loved it a lot and so did the others. But then later on my art work started to look like a art work done by a 5 year old. I am very sad. I miss my work and I don`t know how to bring it back. I always search how to get improvment in my art work but its for no help. What should I do?
Ayesha, It’s very common for artists to feel like their art is going backwards sometimes. The thing is, once you have been able to draw, it very quickly comes back with a little practice. The key is to ignore the bad stuff and treat those as a stepping stone to the good stuff! I would suggest joining in with some of the challenges and also the Facebook group if you haven’t already. The challenges will help you get your skills back on track with a little practice each day. And you’ll find a lot of other people who are trying to improve in the group. Good luck!
I painted for a gallery in 2019 and haven’t produced quality work much since then. For a while I had to stop painting because of life situations now I can not seem to get the quality back. I am thinking about throwing in the towel.
Sorry to hear that Holly. Maybe you could try going easy on yourself and doing a challenge you’ll find fun rather than worrying about the results. It could be as simple as creating a 5 minute sketch a day or trying out a new medium or subject