Creativity Exercise Using an Abstract Line Drawing
Being more creative is about letting go of perfectionism and enjoying the process of your creative journey.
Many of us put way too much pressure on the outcome of our art. I guess this would be somewhat necessary if you’re trying to make a living off of your artwork.
However, if you’re making art for pure enjoyment, then you need to let yourself enjoy it without fear or judgement.
This is a good exercise for beginners of all ages. Or for more advanced artists who simply want to practice being more creative.
Let the act of creating art be fun. Allow yourself to enjoy the creative process itself without being overly concerned about the outcome. You’ll be much happier and more content with your artistic journey.
Let’s go ahead and get started by looking at the supplies we need for the lesson. Then we’ll move onto the step by step art tutorial.
* Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. This means I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.
Art Supplies
FREE Creativity Workbook for Artists
Abstract Line Drawing
The first step is to create some abstract line drawings. These should be completely random without any thought for the outcome.
Your lines can be curved or pointed. And you can have as many or as few areas as you want. Experiment with both so you can have some variety.
You should also experiment with different markers and line thickness. The more variation you have, the more opportunity there is to push your creativity.
You’ll probably want to make several different line drawings to work with. This isn’t an exercise you want to do only once. The more you do, the more creative you will become. And the process will start to get a little easier.
I like doing mine on artist trading cards. They are quick to do since they are small. And I love trading my artwork for other’s art.
So far nothing very creative. But that part’s coming next.
Creativity Exercise for Artists
Now comes the fun part. Look at your abstract line drawings and see what pops out at you.
When finding your image to draw, rotate your line drawing and look at it from all different angles. If nothing comes to you, put that one aside and choose a different abstract line drawing.
This is one of the biggest reasons for doing several different drawings. Sometimes the image will jump out at you right away. And sometimes you have to work harder for it.
When you start to see an image to work with use a pencil or pen to start drawing things out. I like using a pencil first but you can use a pen if you’re brave enough.
Add however many details you want for your drawing. You don’t have to limit yourself to the original line drawing. Feel free to add more lines wherever you need them.
The purpose of the original drawing is to simply give you something to work from. And to force yourself to create a drawing from and uncontrolled starting point.
If you used a pencil, go back over your lines with a pen and darken them up.
Use your choice of medium to add color to your drawing. I prefer using Bic markers. But you can use whatever you like.
Since I did mine on artist trading cards they are ready to have the back filled out and traded to other artists.
Working with Drawing Themes
When making your abstract line drawings you could choose to follow a theme. Possible drawing themes could be birds, faces, monsters, animals, or anything else you can think of.
Although it may seem like sticking to a theme would make this exercise more challenging, it can actually make it a little easier because you’ll have a basic idea of what you’re looking for.
Either way, theme or no theme, this is a fun exercise and your creativity will thank you for it.
Abstract Line Drawing Dot to Dot
This is a slight variation on this art exercise for creativity. The concept is the same except you start out making small dots randomly on your paper.
Then you connect the dots to create your random abstract line drawing. You can connect the dots however you want to do it. Your lines can be straight, curved, or loopy. You can cross over existing lines, or not.
It really doesn’t matter. Let your marker go wherever it wants to go.
I should mention, there’s no do-overs with the random line exercise. Don’t use a pencil or try to erase or correct your lines.
From there you look for an image in your line drawing and add in whatever details you need to finish your drawing.
And again, add some color to finish your drawing off.
Although using the dots is very similar to just drawing the line on it’s own, doing it this way can help you draw something that’s a little different.
You should try doing a few of each and see what you can come up with.
Abstract Line Drawing Exercise for Creativity
Being more creative isn’t as difficult as people think. Try doing some creativity exercises that force you to think outside the box. As you can see from the examples in this tutorial, the results aren’t anything fabulous.
However, you could take those drawings and refine them into something a little more polished. Or use them to inspire something that is completely your own and unique to anything already out there.
It’s easy to see how this exercise could result in some amazing creations to use to inspire new characters you can call your own. Let your creativity flow and reap the rewards.
But more importantly, let go of perfectionism and fear and let your drawing be what is it.
If you try the exercise out, let us know in the comments what you came up with.
Don’t forget to grab your FREE Creativity Workbook
More Lesson On Creativity and Art
- 7 Creativity Exercises for Artists
- How to Make Ink Monsters
- Learn to Draw Monsters Using the Letter A
- Blackout Poetry for Artists
- How to Be More Creative with Your Art
