Entry posted by Taka Nuvia
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Allow me to talk about something I actually believe I know something about - drawing. 'though as with most creative matters, there are many different aproaches that work for different people (or "artist types", if you prefer that), here's what I've done ever since I started drawing and which has always helped.
1. Draw something every day.
You will find that your visualizing skills as well as hand-eye(-mind) coordination require constant practise in order to function well, even on bad days. Thus, daily practise is in order.
"But I don't have the time", you say, "because there are so many important and stressful things going on in my life right now."
Then don't do gigantic paintings, but some small sketches instead. Try scribbling next to your notes if you're in class, or while going by bus or train, find some 20 minutes every day to spend on sketches or drawings. Keep yourself in training until you find the time to do bigger works again.
During the week, for example, I normally leave the house a bit earlier, so that I still have 15 minutes before lectures start where I just scribble something. This has two side-effects:
- working on a limited time frame 'forces' me to set down the main lines quickly and precisely rather than getting caught up in tiny details too early
- I forget time when drawing and am almost too late for the beginning of the course. ^^
Give drawing the time and space it deserves.
2. Do not wait for inspiration.
I know I am repeating myself. But this can't be stressed enough. If you can't think of anything great, do something not-great! Often those things turn out a lot better than expected anyway. Or just practise those things you always have trouble with, like hands - if you're already frustrated, what can go wrong? =D
Really, I find it a lot easier to do "boring" practise when I know that this day won't bring the new meaningful masterpiece, anyway.
Another way to break the art block is trying out new media, like ballpoint pens or watercolour or anything you normally wouldn't use. Or draw something you never draw, like trees, surroundings, people, or just practise perspective and shading with cubes and spheres. Anything helps.
3. Observe what you draw.
I like drawing faces and humanoids, so naturally I spend part of my time on observing people. You don't have to go so far as to mentally de-construct their faces (which is really creepy, though sometimes it happens accidentally) or stare at them for ages figuring out the shape of the skull underneath (don't do that. It's creepy.), but paying attention to what you want to depict should help with keeping it authentic. You also always learn something new.
Example (scribbly, but gets the point across):
Yes, I only figured that out a few months ago. You're welcome. "Really" because I'm still learning.
We don't see what we see, only a small part, and the brain fills the gaps as it sees fit. Observation can help breaking that spell.
4. Don't compare yourself to others too much.
As in, "Everyone draws so much better than I do!", "That person's art style is so much better than mine, I'll never be able to do that", or similar things.
Admiring someone's art style is one thing, a good thing actually, especially if you let them know. (even if they can't handle compliments well. Positive feedback is positive feedback). Getting yourself down because you don't draw like them is unconstructive and gets you nowhere. Your mind works differently than theirs, you have your own view of things, and that is wonderful. The world would be a really boring place if everyone did everything the same way.
5. Don't use "art style" as a justification - but keep going.
*insert artist's whining about how bad it is and how she could ever think this was a good idea*
I used to get many comments about missing noses back in 2010/11 when I finally decided to experiment with faces and abstraction (aka, leaving out noses), which frustrated me to the point of drawing a small comic-esque thingie about it. Tough, I know.
Thing is, at the time I was still heavily influenced by my previous attempts at drawing in a manga-esque style, and drawings, like the one above would feature "standardized" elements (the mouths, for example), but mixed with things I already did my way (like the hair. 'though the scribble is a bad example for that =D) - and that combination did not fully work out as intended.
It may take some experimenting to find "your style". Sometimes you find something the kinda-but-not-really-yet works. What to do?
Vary some aspects while keeping others. Try again and again until it works. And my favourite:
If you want to improve with a heavily abstracted art style, work on improving your realistic drawing skills.
It used to puzzle me back when, but what it boils down to is this: you can only abstract what you understand. You can only properly translate a sentence into another language if you know what it means - otherwise it's just gibberish.
Same goes for drawing.
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So yeah, practise, practise, practise, but most importantly - have fun! 
Edit: that turned out longer than expected, sorry! D:
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