A trick to beat the “Blank Page Syndrome” for artists and designers

Hello guys!

It’s raining.

I stay home and I’m in the mood to sketch something.
But what could I sketch?

I don’t know what to sketch, and my page remains blank.

Are you facing the blank page syndrome?

Are you facing the Blank page syndrome?

For years,
I thought copying was Cheating.

“Cheating is bad.”

A little voice repeated in my mind.
So I would feel guilty to use someone else’s
drawing or creation to inspire me.

As a kid I loved copying my favourite cartoons
(Dragon Ball Z, Super Mario, Ninja Turtles…).

When I wanted to create something new:
“No! It had to be 100% from me.”

To be honest, it was mostly a matter of ego.
(a big ego for someone who had no experience)

I wanted to come up with something 100% new from zero.
So I would have 100% of the merits.

What happened?
My page remained blank.

My head had some crickets
playing music inside.

If you too raise some musical crikets in your mind,
you sabbotage yourself.

Open yourself, be humble,
and start copying other artists / designers and products around you.

Drawing something new using existing object for reference

My Ergotron arm

Copy to learn Product Design Sketching

Don’t worry, that’s a normal thing many beginners face.

At school, copying your classmate was wrong.
So a little voice in our head paralyse us from drawing.

If you want to become a great designer,
you have to incorporate copying in your creative process.

That is compulsory.

So only you will rise your level!
If you love sneaker, car, coffee machine design, draw them, copy them!

Why?

Because you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Accept it as your LEARNING PROCESS.
No one is born a genius.

Copy others so you can one day deploy your own wings and create your own!

A trick to kickstart your drawing

Let me share with you one of my creative technique to overcome the Blank page syndrome.

TIP: Find existing products in your house,
and use them to start your sketch.

Start drawing and let inspiration come along the way.
You don’t have to picture 100% what you want before starting.

Let randomness drive you
and incorporate some axis, forms, curves, details you see.

Your objective is to create new forms using mix and match ideas.

Basically here, I saw my Ergotron arm.
And use it to produce some new forms.

You may recognize the Ergotron logo, the axis,
the plastic cap, some mechanical features.

Drawing something new inspired from my Ergotrom arm for my Wacom Cintiq 22HD

Mix your inspirations

The Ergotron arm for my Wacom Cintiq is a very cool product.
It is mechanical, and inspire me some cyborgs like Terminator T-800.

You can mix up real reference, with some you have in your memory. 
Think of them, and they will “diffuse” inconsciously in your lines.

Terminator T-800

“Creativity is organic”, alive!
Copy someone’s creation, modify it, transform it, mix it.
And you’ll create something new.

Then someone else will copy you, modify, transform… and so on.
Don’t let the feeling of “cheating” become a major handicap for you.

I love Celia Calle’s artworks.
She’s an amazing Illustrator.
Her fluid lines have inspired my product design sketching style.

Celia Calle’s Illustration

An other example:
If you wanna become a remarkable chef,
you will learn the basics, observe other chefs, practice…
copy hundreds of recipes.

Then with your talent, you will add in your personnal touch.
A simple touch, even 10% could reinvent the whole experience.

To conclude,:

• Love people’s work.
• Study them.
• Learn from them.
• And create your own style mixing your influences.

So you will create your own “Creative universe”.

Cheers,
Chou-Tac

PS: Don’t get me wrong,
copy is a learning booster and necessity.

However, remember to credit if you decide
to publish something that is 100% copy.

When I was a student,
a classmate copied a sneaker design I published
on www.coroflot.com.
(A website where artists and designers publish
their portfolio to find an internship or job)

We went to the same interview for Adidas Innovation.
The recruiter saw the similarities,
and it became quite a serious problem for him and I too…

He copied something he really liked to practice
his sketching and Photoshop skills.
By chance, my classmate recognized his fault.

PPS: If you wanna see more about the Ergotron arm
I use for supporting my Wacom Cintiq 22HD.
It allows me to use it in any position
as a second screen, or a drawing tablet.

Standing position

Drawing position

Back view

Fixature on Wacom screen tablet

PPPS: If you want to know more about my
IKEA “office desk” installation for Wacom Tablet.