Fear is one of the most crippling feelings any creator can experience. It interrupts your creative process and keeps you from making progress. While creative block is often just a temporary lack of inspiration, creative anxiety is rooted much deeper and not so easy to get rid of. Nevertheless, it’s something that many artists experience and there are ways to enjoy making art again. Here are five steps to help you get over art anxiety quickly!
Everyone who wants to be an artist must acquire a unique set of skills. Whether you want to learn to create digital art or traditional art, there are some challenges that all soon-to-be artists must overcome. You’ll need to find enough time to practice and deal with setbacks and disappointments. These are among the common things artists struggle with.
But that’s only half the battle. The perhaps biggest hurdle that every artist needs to face at some point in their career is their own fears and self-doubt.
Maybe it starts as an unquiet feeling that you get when you work on a project or when you have a new idea. You might feel anxious, depressed, or irritated for no reason. Sometimes procrastination might mix in and prevent you from making the next move.
Art anxiety is real, and it is paralyzing. It is a common issue in the creative world, and most artists experience it at least once in their career.
The good news is that you can get over art anxiety. In this post, I’ll share a few tips that I find very useful when I am experiencing creative anxiety.
Why does art make us anxious?
As artists, we all experience creative block or anxiety at some time in our career. However, that doesn’t mean that art itself makes us anxious, it rather means that we feel anxious about the creative process and putting our art on display.
Art makes people feel something and those feelings can be positive or negative. That means artists need to deal with the criticism of others, rejection, and disapproval. Many artists express their inner world through their art, which makes it even harder for them to deal with negative feedback.
If you then also have an inner critic who demands perfection in everything that you create, it makes things even worse. Not to mention that some artists also depend on their creativity to make a living.
Healthy self-criticism can help you learn from your mistakes and make progress. But constantly overthinking your art is detrimental to your creative process.
Is this good enough? Am I creative enough? Is it original? Will people judge me for this?
Having a negative self-dialog like that every single day will soon suck up all your creative energy and leave you feeling lost as an artist.
Do artists have more anxiety?
Generally speaking, artists are not more anxious than other people. However, artists need to be in the public eye to create exposure for their art and putting their inner world out there for everyone to see makes them more vulnerable. Things are getting more complicated, if there’s a little voice in the back of your brain that keeps pointing out all the flaws in your artwork.
As I mentioned above, many artists have such an inner ‘art perfectionist’ that never stops talking. In the end, you are scared to upload your art because you think nobody is going to like it anyways…
It’s important to note that there’s a difference between creative block and art anxiety. You are in a creative rut when you just cannot find any inspiration to create more art or when you abandon your artwork because you have simply no idea how to finish it.
When you have art anxiety, on the other hand, you are oftentimes your own worst judge. With your inner critic telling you that your work is just not good enough, you cannot build creative confidence and you cannot follow your calling as an artist.
Seeking approval and chasing ‘likes’ on social media and art sharing sites will slowly but surely steer you towards creating the art that you think people will like, but not the art you are passionate about.
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How do you get rid of art anxiety?
Being constantly anxious that no one likes your art will eventually deter you from your creative passion. Over time, you will lose your initial zest for art-making and feel exhausted and unhappy. And I don’t want that for you.
I want you to feel happy and joyful, and confidently create the art you like regardless of what other people might think. I want you to create art without being afraid of making mistakes.
So here are five steps to help you get over art anxiety:
5 Steps to get over art anxiety
STEP #1: Acknowledge your art anxiety.
Trying to ignore or deny your art anxiety won’t help you to get rid of it. The first step to solve a problem is always to acknowledge that you have it.
When you are experiencing creative anxiety, try to figure out exactly what causes it. What is behind your anxiety?
Do you believe that your art is just not good enough? Are you afraid of rejection? Are you scared of being judged?
Write down all the thoughts going on in your head that make you feel anxious. Once your worries are down on paper, they become easier to deal with and you can look at them more objectively.
STEP #2: Take a step back and examine your thoughts.
When we want to get rid of our art anxiety, it’s important to take a closer look at our thought processes. Because most of the time, we’ll notice that our thoughts actually don’t make that much sense upon closer examination.
Is it really true that you have to produce a masterpiece every time you create art? Can you not just try out new ideas and have fun with it?
Is your purpose of making art really to please other people? Or is it much more fulfilling to use your art as a medium of self-expression? Ask yourself what determines the true value of your art. Most certainly not the number of likes it gets…
Sometimes it is important to question ourselves along the way because we might have strayed from our original purpose of becoming an artist.
We all know the saying: the journey is the destination. That’s especially important to remember for artists who are anxious of not being able to create ‘good enough’ art.
Each time you practice means taking a step towards improving your skills and becoming better at your craft. Nobody was born a master. Even the great artists that you admire once started out as beginners.
STEP #3: Remember why you became an artist in the first place.
Think back to your artistic beginnings. Why did you pick up art in the first place? Chances are you felt sort of a calling to be an artist. Nobody told you that you should be an artist because that’s what society expects of you. Am I right?
Walking down the creative path isn’t easy. There’s a lot of risk involved, especially if you are planning to start your own art business. You need a good amount of courage to get into art-making.
Most likely, you are the first one in your family who wants to be an artist. You are doing something completely new that no one in your inner circle has ever done before. No wonder that you are feeling anxious.
If you look at it that way there are lots of reason to feel scared. But there is another side to art-making that attracted you in the first place, right? You turned to art because it enriches your life. It gives you joy and happiness. Creating art is meaningful to you. It helps you grow as an artist and a person.
So when art anxiety overwhelms you the next time, remind yourself of these sweet feelings. Remember why making art is worth it for you and be proud of all the obstacles that you’ve already overcome on your creative journey!
STEP #4: Don't go for the "Next Shiny Thing"
Learning to make art isn’t easy. That’s equally true for traditional and digital art. You’ll need to learn how to use the tools, and your software if you’re a digital artist.
No matter what kind of art you are creating, there will always be difficulties along the way. You will face setbacks, disappointments, failure, and rejection.
In such situations, it might be tempting to go for the ‘next shiny thing’. You might trick yourself into believing that a better drawing tablet or more powerful software will help you create better art.
Buying new equipment can be fun, but the feeling of satisfaction is usually short-lived and it doesn’t help us improve our artistic skillset.
Nobody in art history has ever honed their skills by switching to a new medium. Becoming proficient at your craft takes time and effort. Practice makes perfect still holds true for art as well.
If you go for the next shiny thing every time you struggle with something, you will only prevent yourself from making progress.
STEP #5: Find out what works for you and stick with it.
In many ways, making art is a habit. Finding your own style is a process of distilling those techniques that reflect your spirit and identity as an artist. Once developed, art habits are reliable and helpful.
Art habits are one of the best ways to overcome creative anxiety.
Find out what works for you and then keep doing it until you find something that is even better.
Hone your style by practicing and experimenting; learn from copying other artists. In the end, your artwork will evolve in a way that is unique to your personality.
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I know that fear is the biggest enemy of every creator. So I hope that these five steps help you get over your art anxiety and enjoy your creative process again!
What strategies do you use to overcome creative anxiety? Please leave comments and questions below or reach out to me directly. I’d love to hear from you! Make sure to sign up for my email list below so you don’t miss out on new blog posts and other cool stuff. ♥
