Sometimes I can get so discouraged! When I look at other peoples art and I get inspired to create something of my own, sometimes my own work doesn’t meet my expectations. That can be pretty disappointing.
There will be many obstacles on each persons art journey, no matter the person or the medium. Each challenge presents itself in a unique way and no two people will have the same situations to consider. When it feels like progress is slowing down to a grinding halt, and there’s no more progress being made between projects, it can be disheartening and frustrating.
Plateauing in skill progress is not only common, but an inevitability for all creative people. After the initial spike in progress when learning something new skill gain slows as we reveal how much work is ahead of us. Too often this results in giving up our ambitions as the valley of despair seems impossible to overcome.
This is best illustrated by the Dunning Kruger Effect.
Rest assured, if you keep pushing, you will come out of that valley. Confidence will rise again as you inventory what skills you need to hone.
Tips for overcoming an Art Plateau
Become The Observer
Between practicing, become an expert observer. Take a break from your craft to simply become the silent watcher.
Take note of professional styles and watch how they create closely, lessons are everywhere. If you spend some time to take it all in, and less time trying to output perfection, you will find yourself improving without even practicing.
Now don’t be a fool and take this as meaning you will improve by doing nothing! Being observant takes intentional effort. It’s not doing nothing. And more importantly, if you only observe and never try to put those observations to test, you won’t see improvement.
Revisit Older Pieces
If you ever feel down about being stuck in your art journey it may help to take a look at how far you’ve come. Progress is not linear, and it can help to see where you started vs. where you’re at now.
Recreating and comparing two older works can also provide perspective on how far you’ve come. Note what you improved on and what areas could still use some work.
Foremost take pride in your accomplishments. You can look back fondly on your previous work and be a champion for yourself. Each one brought you to where you are today!
Create an Action Plan
There are many options for both free and paid art lessons and programs, which can help you overcome issues regarding skill plateaus. Create your own by modifying these programs to fit your needs or find one that’s been curated to fit your desired path.
Here are some of my favorite free YouTube channels for building out my own career development path:
With 2024 right around the corner one of the things on my mind has been my art journey over the years, how far I’ve come, and what it took to get where I am now. The progression felt slow, like I wasn’t really improving in my art fundamentals and skill set.
In 2021 I completed a New Year’s resolution for the time at the ripe old age of 27. It wasn’t easy, I’d never tried to do 30 days on a Keto diet or any dietary plan. I didn’t go more than the one month of keto, but I completed my short goal. I lost a good amount of weight that I was able to keep off with a more balanced post keto diet. And I proved to myself I could make a difficult change in routine and keep it up long enough to make a positive impact in my life.
What if I had done 30 days of 10 minute sketches? Learning a new software? Using traditional art media? 30 day New Year Resolutions are extremely underrated. A New Year’s resolution doesn’t have to last all year long!
There’re actually no rules about what your resolution commitment lengths are.
And for those of us who are working on overcoming a lack discipline, specificity allows us to create a resolution not so difficult you will never see the end but not so easy you’ll never encounter a obstacle either.
Furthermore, let’s get into the resolutions. Read through the list, and let me know which resolution you’ll be doing this year. Or maybe you are doing something not listed here? Comment and let me know what you’re up to in 2024!
10. Warm-Up Rituals:
Incorporate regular warm-up drawings into your routine. These quick exercises prepare your mind and hand for more extensive artistic endeavors. I alternate between a few techniques to warm up my hands and mind, but the most important part of warming up for me is being somewhat interested or invested in the sketches. I mean, drawing 50 straight lines, perfect circles, and ovals is effective but it will bore you to tears, so you’ll have a better time if you’re interested in the topic. The important thing is getting time with the tools in your hands for at least 10 minutes prior to proceeding to your work or practice.
09. Curate Your Reference Folder:
Dedicate less than a month to filling your reference folder. A well-organized and diverse reference collection can be a powerful asset in enhancing the depth and authenticity of your artwork. Let’s face it, your reference folders are either nonexistent, scarcely populated, or crafted entirely on Pinterest (No judgement, but perhaps we can expand beyond.)
08. Daily Doses of Creativity:
Commit to a 30-day challenge with a “Topic of Choice” series, exploring a different theme or subject every day. This not only hones your skills but also broadens your artistic horizons. If you’ve been on art communities online, you may be familiar with the popular Inktober challenge, where you’re tasked with drawing a specific subject or theme for each day of the month in October. These challenges can be a good way to do a drawing sprint, and fit as much practice into a month as possible. The pride you’ll feel after accomplishing this one will be well deserved.
07. Learn a New Technique or Style:
Set aside a month to immerse yourself in learning a new technique or exploring a different artistic style. Seek tutorials and guides for artists seeking to expand their skill set. This can be a good time to reconnect with any art styles you might’ve grown out of in childhood such as manga, anime, or chibi. Becoming skilled in a style you envied as a kid can be hugely powerful, and be a good way to acknowledge the inner child that made you want to be an artist in the first place.
06. Fuel Artistic and Personal Growth:
Pair your artistic resolutions with broader personal goals, such as waking up early or limiting screen time. You can use art as your reason to keep a routine. Plan out your day with specific goals in mind and note, how and when you will work towards achieving those goals. Art can take on many forms so don’t limit yourself to drawing when you’re working on self-improvement. Writing in a journal, poetry, songs, and slam are also great ways to express and process the stresses of life.
05. A Weekly Food Diary:
Incorporate a weekly food diary into your artistic routine. Documenting your culinary experiences through sketches adds a personal touch to your art and challenges you to explore different subject matters. Sketching meals may make you realize a pattern among your eating habits, or inspire you to try cooking something you’ve never tried before.
04. Weekly Portraits:
Embrace the beauty of portraiture by dedicating a week to create a portrait. Experiment with various styles and techniques inspired by a weekly muse. Maybe you want to draw well-known figures to practice your ability to recreate likeness and recognizably. Or perhaps you’re going through an obsession with a certain band or TV cast. There are an endless amount of beautiful subjects that the world deserves to see.
03. Weekly Masterpieces:
Adopt the “Finish a Piece a Week” mantra. This resolution not only encourages consistency but also pushes you to complete projects, helping you grow as an artist with each finished artwork. Pick a day you will start, and commit to finishing the piece within 7 days. It can help to plan what times you’ll work on the piece each day, but realistically, I think it’s better to find your groove naturally by pushing your limits and fine tuning how much you can do in each week. After one month of Weekly Masterpieces you’ll find yourself with growing confidence in your work.
02. Participate in Online Art Contests:
Extend your artistic reach by entering online art contests. Challenge yourself to follow their rules and guides to create a finished piece for the contest. This can provide exposure and motivation for certain artists. No matter your skill level participating in art contests is a valuable experience. Don’t let other people’s entries demotivate you. Exposing your art to a community willing to provide you with feedback and actionable critique is a surefire way to accelerate learning what you need to work on to reach the next level.
01. Upgrade Your Creative Space:
Transform your workspace in less than a month. A conducive environment can significantly impact your creativity and productivity. This resolution arguably takes the most time, effort, and resources to complete, but has the potential to impact your output immensely. Identify all the facets of your current work setup. The desks, chairs, room, hardware, canvas, tools of the trade. All the little desk toys and fidget spinners. Evaluate your living space and shift things around to create a more relaxing space to create in. Minimize distractions, and maximize your comfort. Make the space desirable to be in. When you love your work space, it’s not hard to convince yourself to be in there. The more often you’re in the space, the better it will be for your art journey.
Your resolution not listed here? Please share your artistic goals for 2024 below and let’s grow together!
Oliver Conti Art 