I Really Need Some Advice. I Just Recently Got A Spark Of Inspiration After Months Of Not Drawing Anything,

I really need some advice. I just recently got a spark of inspiration after months of not drawing anything, but the problem is that it's been so long since I've drawn anything that I literally can’t do it now. It's like I've completely forgotten how anatomy works. It's so discouraging because I know I can do better than this. I'm afraid I won't be as good as I was before. Does this ever happen to you? If it does, how do you work around it?

Oh my, this is literally what I´ve been struggling with all this year, anon, so I´m not sure if I´m the best person to ask. 

I´m very very glad you got your spark back tho! That´s a very good sign! 

I´m gonna tell you a lil secret. You won´t be as good as you were. Your experiences, your muscles, how you see the world even, shifted in those months. Romantic as it sounds, its just that your ability changed and that´s not a bad thing! 

Artblock is our body and mind saying “BITCH, I´VE DONE THIS SO MANY TIMES I CAN SEE EVERY SINGLE IMPERFECTION. I CRAVE ENRICHMENT AND NOVELTY. IDC HOW UGLY IT LOOKS AT FIRST” and by that I mean attempting new things. New perspectives. Trying to see things from a different angle. 

My boss used to tell me almost every day how sad he was that he was forgetting how to draw anatomy correctly and so, started to draw hands, eyes, skeletons, figure drawings every time he could manage to take out his little notebook. 

Back to the basics.

So, to keep this short and concise, there´s always something you´ve not tried/seen before and you´re adjusting to that change. The only way to adjust to it is through practice and sometimes, adding a little new spicy thing to the creation. Focusing in something specific. (like learning to draw figure drawings with one continuous line or as if it was a wire sculpture, or focusing only on the sharpest shadows and lighting)

And also, don´t get yourself overworked on trying to learn anatomy in a single way. I got so frustrated with my anatomy classes at uni because while I was getting down volume and mass (important for animation when you focus on weight) I wasn´t getting the basic principles of shapes in the human body. That´s because my teacher used a mix of traditional with experimental art teaching methods, however, that was not practical for me. 

This video here is pretty good at explaining this. 

There´s a lot of ways to learn anatomy after all. 

(Images from Willwestonstudio at instagram; tb_choi at instagram and manga materials)

Shapes, boxes, line direction and weight, proportions, there´s a lot to learn! But also, how you understand something plays A BIG role in how you apply that knowledge to recreate it yourself. 

If you think you´ve forgotten how anatomy works, don´t be scared to go back to the basics. You never know what new thing you will learn or what new trick you can apply now.

It´s gonna be cringy at the beginning, but don´t beat up yourself for that. Even the best get rusty after a while, so don´t forget to oil yourself every once in a while and keep practicing. 

We can do this sweet anon! >:D