10 Quick Ways to Come Up with New Ideas for Your Painting

If you’re stuck in Painting VR, try these ten quick and easy ways to develop new ideas for your next painting project! From exploring different color schemes to experimenting with new tools, there’s sure to be an idea here that will inspire you. Grab your virtual paintbrushes, and let’s get started!

Try out different color schemes.

Trying out different color schemes is a great place to start. Do you always paint with a million colors? Maybe try to limit yourself to three for once. Or do you find yourself using just black and white all the time? There’s a whole rainbow - and more - to choose from! So I’d say: indulge! Or open the in-game web browser, search for photos of landscapes or other nature scenes that please you, and look for the colors that stand out to you. Then, try incorporating those into your work.

Take a walk and look for inspiration outside.

Head outdoors and open yourself up to what you see, feel and hear. The world around you will inspire you. Even better: bring a sketchpad and quickly draw things that catch your eye around you, focusing on capturing their unique form, hues, and characteristics. Or take pictures with your phone of scenes you find remarkable or beautiful and import them as reference images.

Visit a museum or art gallery.

There is no surefire way to come up with new ideas, but spending time looking at other people’s artwork can help jump-start your creative process. A great way to do this is visiting a museum or art gallery. While it may seem daunting, simply walking around and taking in all the different art pieces can give you a fresh perspective and new ideas for your work. Plus, most museums offer free admission days or discounted rates, so it’s an affordable activity.

Get out of VR and flip through magazines.

You have two worlds now, so if you’re stuck in one, you might want to look for ideas in the other. In magazines, for instance. They are a great source of images that may inspire you, and thumbing through them can be hypnotic. When you find one that catches your eye, ask yourself what it is about the image that you like. Is it the colors? The composition? The subject matter? Use this as a starting point for your own painting.

Brainstorm with friends or family members.

Talk to friends or family members about what they want to see in your painting. Try turning the conversation into a quick brainstorm. They may have some great suggestions since they know you quite well probably! It’s a great way to look at yourself through somebody else’s eyes.

Paint nature scenes.

Nature has been an inspiration to humankind for thousands of years. Get on your bike and photograph potential subject matter. Examine your photographs and decide on a scene that speaks to you. Make sketches of the scene from different angles to help plan your composition. Try out various color schemes before settling on one for your painting. Paint an initial layer in light colors to establish fundamental values in the scene before adding detail and darker colors later.

Create a series of paintings themed around a specific subject or style.

Another great way to come up with fresh inspiration is to create a series of paintings themed around a particular subject or style. For example, you could focus on one specific element like the story, color, or light. Or choose to paint only in an abstract style for a while. Whatever route you decide to go, by zeroing in on a single theme, you can allow your creativity to flow and produce some stunning results!

Play around with patterns.

Challenge yourself to create a pattern by filling the canvas with hundreds of squares, circles, or any other simple shape. Try to keep them identical, or make a flow by letting their shape and size vary. This repetitive exercise will bring you to a relaxing and maybe even trance-like state, which is a great way to get in touch with your subconsciousness. And it will help you master control of your strokes.

Paint something outside your comfort zone.

If you’re stuck in a rut, why not challenge yourself to paint something outside your safe space? Untraveled paths can be very stimulating and automatically make you use other colors, shapes, and forms. Have you followed dozens of Bobb Ross tutorials and painted as many moody landscapes? Try your hand on a cubist piece in black, blue, and gray. Are you used to painting portraits in a realistic style? Why not use the techniques of cartoonists and blow up some features of your characters? Or try to make a mash-up of your usual schtick with a very different style or approach. Make it clash, and you might come up with something refreshing that still has enough “you” in it.

Experiment with new tools.

It can be helpful to experiment with new tools if you ever feel like you’ve hit a wall with your painting. For example, trying out the spray can when you’re used to painting with the round brush can help jump-start your creativity and give you some fresh ideas. Experiment with different brushes, and try out different strokes or techniques. Make a highly stylized painting by just using the paint roller. Or work on a larger or smaller scale - sometimes, changing the size of your canvas can make all the difference.

(Art by Jason Foster)

Do you want to learn more about painting in virtual reality? Take a look at this article.