Blaike Gillshaw

9th September, 2024

1. First up...splash some ink on the page and see what shapes you can find. If you don't have to choose what to make, only to believe what you can see then it makes the desision to draw a lot less pressurised. If the draiwng is bad, blame it on the ink splatters and try it again. Turn the blobs into characters or objects or landscapes andthen use the rest of the space to continue the story.

   
   
   
   

2. One of my favourite ways to get back into drawing is to sit with a stack of paper and draft up some rules. Sometimes the rules are based on materials, like draw until the pencil needs sharpening or draw until you run out of paper. Other times the rules are based around time in a very mundane way like draw until you finish your cup of tea or draw until the oven timer goes off. This makes drawing into a completable task and often times one that feels like a race or a chore, so getting it done quickly is fun. The bi-product and maybe biggest benefit to drawing like this is that because you are focusing on things that aren't the content or the ideas you have to get onto the page, your brain isn't worrying about making 'good' art and you'll probably find that after a couple of pages, you're making more interesting, freeing stuff than you normally would. At least that's how it works for me!

   
   
   
   

3. Another thing i do sometimes is draw small circles until you get bored and decide that you'd rather spend your time drawing something other than circles. The first time i did this, i was watching This video by Vlogbrothers. John spends the video drawing small circles and explaining why he is doing it and i thought i'd join him! Hikoyuki Doi's whole practice revolves around enormous drawings like these and they are really beautiful so defineitely google them, look at and read about them after this.

   
   
   
   

4. A classic drawing exercise is to hold your pen with your non-dominant hand and look at yourself in a mirror. Draw what you can see as best you can without looking at the page and then laugh at the results. The good news is, your expectations for this should be on the floor and that will relax you into making more things without caring about how they turn out.

   
   
   
   

5. Get together with some friends and host a bad ideas club where you draw terrible things and have a great time. You can brainstorm ideas, sketch each other with your eyes closed and share your favourite food, films or music with each other. This is a nice way to share resources too. Someone can bring the paper, another can bring the sharpies and you can bring the snacks! Drawing doesn't have to be a quiet, individual activity, make it social!