Every artist needs inspiration in order to create art. Most of the time, the inspiration comes from the outside world, for example from other artists. But can you get inspiration from yourself, too? In this post, I show you that it is absolutely possible to get inspiration from within, and I reveal to you my six best tips on how to get started!
Creativity doesn’t come from nothing. Every artist needs some input from the outside world to produce creative output. As a matter of fact, none of us is fully self-sustained. We have all come across works of other artists, and—knowingly or unknowingly—we derived inspiration from those works.
But even if you’d tell me that you never looked at another artist’s work, I am sure you got external inspiration here and there.
What gives you inspiration? Maybe you feel inspired by nature, by the architecture that surrounds you, by the sculptures in the nearby park, by the beautiful clouds in the sky…
There is nothing wrong with deriving inspiration from the outside world. I have lots of articles on how to find inspiration to create art.
I have written about how to rekindle your creativity, I have put together 110 quotes about artistic inspiration to keep you going, and I have even published a post on why it is OK to learn from copying art.
All those posts encourage artists to look to the outside world for inspiration. It is an easy and common way to fuel your creativity.
However, in today’s post I want to talk about how you can get inspiration from yourself.
While it might be a bit harder to find inspiration within yourself—especially if you are a budding artist, it is absolutely possible.
Can inspiration come from within?
Once you have taken in enough inspiration from the outside world, you have sufficient resources inside of you that you can tap in. Over time, you will have garnered everything you need to creatively flourish from within.
You have studied the old masters, learned about composition and color, and probably tried a bunch of techniques and themes so that you now have a decent idea of who you want to be as an artist.
Using the inspiration that comes from within yourself is a great practice to find your true voice as an artist.
We all want to develop our unique art style, and sometimes that is easier when we disconnect from all the artwork we constantly see in the world around us. Disconnecting and feeding off your own creativity will help you get a sense of who you are as a creator.
That can be challenging, but it can also be fun! And it will really help you push your boundaries.
If you are not quite sure how to do it, I have six tips for you how you can get inspiration from yourself. Let's get into it!
6 Ways How You Can Get Inspiration From Yourself
TIP 1: Stop looking at other artists’ work.
The best thing you can do when you seek inspiration from within is to disconnect from the work of other artists. Stop looking at what the creators you follow post on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and so on.
Mute notifications for a while, so you don’t even get tempted to look. It doesn’t have to be forever. Maybe a couple of weeks or a few months, depending on how you are feeling.
If you want to see how you can get inspiration from yourself, you have to stop looking at the artwork of others, because we are inevitably influenced by the content we consume. If you want to hear your inner artistic voice louder, you must silence the noise around you!
TIP 2: Let your older work inspire you.
If you have been creating art for a couple of years, you surely have lots of older works you can look back to. It’s like looking at the artwork of others to get new inspiration, only that it’s your own content this time.
The only difference is that your inner art perfectionist might be talking louder when looking at your own work than that of others. We naturally tend to be more critical with ourselves than with others.
So, when looking back at your older work, don’t let your self-criticism ruin this practice. Don’t judge your work, don’t look for the mistakes. Instead, revisit the techniques you used, the colors you chose, the subject matter, and more.
The goal is to gain new inspiration from your earlier work. Can you reinterpret what you created in the past? Can you look at it from a different perspective?
TIP 3: Reuse what you already have.
No matter what type of art you create, there will always be something that you can reuse. For example, I am a digital artist and I love making photo manipulations. As a matter of fact, you can always reuse what you once have created digitally.
So, if you are a digital artist, too, and you want to find a way you can get inspiration from yourself, then just pick some of the elements you have already created and build up on them. Combine them in different ways and make something new!
But even as a traditional artist, you can reuse what you already have. Instead of buying new supplies, for example, use what you already have available. Maybe you have some old pencils or gouache paints stashed in a drawer that you don’t use anymore. Just get them out and create something—even if it’s just for fun!
TIP 4: Pose yourself a creative challenge.
This is one of the best ways to grow as an artist—fast. What exactly do I mean by posing yourself a creative challenge?
Well, there are different things you can do. Reusing what you already have is kind of a challenge, too. But there are many more possibilities. What I like to do is setting myself closely defined limitations on how I am going to create my next artwork.
For example, I like to give myself the task to create something only with what I find in a certain place. This is what I did for my recent lip art series. For ‘Despair’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Courage’, I committed myself to only use those plants and flowers that I would find in my own garden.
Another option could be to only use what you find in your kitchen cupboard. If that’s a tablet and some icing sugar, then your creative idea might look like ‘LOVE DUST’.
But it doesn’t always need to be a specific place. You can pose yourself the challenge to create something using only a limited color palette. Or to create a monochrome piece when you normally work with color—or the other way round. The goal is to do something you don’t usually do.
TIP 5: Create a series of works.
Another challenge that you can take up and that will allow you to get inspiration from yourself is creating a series of works. Just pick any of your previous works and find a way to continue the story.
Many artists like to work in series, not only because it enables them to derive inspiration intrinsically but also to develop their style.
How can you carry on an idea? For instance, you can elaborate on the theme, create a second piece with a similar setting, use the same character and the same color palette, revisit the same distinctive elements, and so on. But you can as well recreate the first piece from a different perspective.
If you are up for some external inspiration, feel free to have a look at this series of mine or this series of mine. (ᴖᴥᴖ)
TIP 6: Keep an inspiration journal.
My last tip for you on how you can get inspiration from yourself is to keep a journal. You simply scribble down any inspiration that you get—no matter how small it might be.
You can sketch, doodle, draw, take notes or collect pictures or poems that inspire you. You can write down motivational quotes, positive affirmations for artists, and anything else that helps you with your creative practice.
When you get down your ideas on paper, it is much easier to remember them. You can come back to the ideas you had last week or last month, whenever you feel like, and maybe then inspiration suddenly strikes and you have a concept for a new artwork! Just give it a try.
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These were my six best tips to get inspiration from within! Choose one or two techniques that you like and try them for yourself. If you can’t seem to get inspiration from yourself, don’t be disappointed. Maybe you still need a bit more input from the outside world. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong way to find inspiration. Simply do what works best for you!
Let me know what you are thinking. 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. ♥
