Cures for Artist's Block

5 Lines

"5 Lines" is a drawing game that can last for hours (if you let it). "5 Lines" is also a way to engage your family and friends in the process of breaking your artist's block. The concept may seem simple, but I can assure you that it sometimes will not only stretch your creative thoughts, but also strain them. Either way, it will help you break your block.

The idea of "5 Lines" is to have someone else scribble five random lines on a page — straight, curved, and/or squiggly — as long as the lines do not touch or cross one another. Then, the person doing the drawing has to create a picture from those five random lines that someone else scribbled.

If your family or friends are not available (and you cannot find any strangers who are willing to play), you can scribble five random lines yourself.

Free–Drawing

Many writers know of the method of free-writing; it's when you just write whatever comes to mind, without worrying about the order, or if it even makes any sense. Free–writing is kind of like babbling, but it's done with a pen or a keyboard. After everything is on the page, it is then put into some kind of order.

Free–drawing is kind of like "5 Lines" on steroids. The best way to free–draw is to just let your hand have a party with a pen or pencil — without looking at the page!

That's right; while free–drawing, don't look at what you are doing — just let your hand do the work without the aid of your eyes or your conscious mind (I guess you can consider it blind doodling).

When you finally look at your work, spend some time studying it for some inspiration. You will be surprised at what you might find hiding in the scribble. Think of it as interpreting shapes in the clouds — which, by the way, is another great abstract method of beating artist's block.

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