Top 7 'Creativity-Unlocking' Craft Supplies to create Your Way Out of an Artist's Block in 2025 - Goh Ling Yong
We’ve all been there. Staring at the pristine, intimidatingly blank canvas. The sketchbook page that seems to mock you. The cursor blinking, blinking, blinking on a digital screen. It’s the dreaded artist's block, a creative desert where inspiration seems to have evaporated, leaving behind only frustration and self-doubt. It’s a feeling that can make you question your entire artistic journey.
But what if the key to escaping this creative quicksand isn't to force an idea, but to change the tools in your hands? Sometimes, the pressure to create a "masterpiece" with our familiar supplies is the very thing holding us captive. By introducing a new medium—something playful, unpredictable, or purely process-driven—we can trick our brains into letting go of perfectionism and rediscovering the simple joy of making.
This isn't about mastering a new skill overnight. It's about a creative reset. It's about giving yourself permission to play, to make a mess, and to be surprised by the results. For 2025, let's resolve to approach our art with curiosity. Here are the top seven creativity-unlocking craft supplies that are perfect for coaxing your muse out of hiding and getting your hands moving again.
1. The Unpredictable Magic of Alcohol Inks
If your inner critic is screaming about control and precision, alcohol inks are the perfect antidote. These are highly-pigmented, fast-drying, alcohol-based dyes that are primarily used on non-porous surfaces like synthetic yupo paper, glass, or ceramic tiles. The moment you drop the ink onto the surface, it blooms and spiderwebs into gorgeous, uncontrollable patterns. It's pure, chaotic beauty.
The power of alcohol inks in breaking an artist's block lies in their inherent unpredictability. You are not a commander dictating every move; you are a collaborator, guiding the flow and reacting to the vibrant pools of color as they merge and separate. This process forces you to let go of preconceived notions and embrace the "happy accidents." It shifts your focus from the final product to the mesmerizing experience of watching colors interact in real-time, which is incredibly liberating for a blocked mind.
How to Use It to Break the Block:
Start simple. Grab a sheet of yupo paper and choose just three colors you love. Drop them onto the paper and just watch. Don't try to make anything specific. Tilt the paper gently. Use a straw or a can of compressed air to blow the ink around, creating ethereal wisps and delicate gradients. The goal is not to create a painting, but to create patterns. These abstract pieces can later become stunning backgrounds for drawings, get cut up for collages, or simply serve as a beautiful reminder of a moment you spent playing instead of stressing.
2. The Transformative Power of Water-Soluble Graphite
Imagine the satisfying, tactile feel of drawing with a graphite pencil, but with a hidden superpower. That's water-soluble graphite. Available in pencil, stick, or powder form, it looks and feels like traditional graphite until you introduce one magical element: water. A wet brush instantly transforms your solid lines and shading into fluid, expressive washes that mimic watercolor.
This dual nature is what makes it so effective for creative ruts. It bridges the gap between drawing and painting, allowing you to work in a way that feels both familiar and new. The fear of "ruining" a drawing is lessened when you know you can smudge, lift, and blend your lines into something entirely different. It encourages experimentation and layering, helping you build up complex textures and moods without the commitment of permanent ink or paint.
How to Use It to Break the Block:
Get a cheap sketchbook with decent paper (mixed-media paper works great). Fill a page with mindless doodles—squiggles, geometric shapes, cross-hatching, anything. Don't think, just scribble. Now, take a water brush or a regular paintbrush dipped in water and activate parts of your drawing. Watch as a hard line softens into a smoky shadow or a patch of scribbles melts into a beautiful grey wash. Try sprinkling some powdered graphite onto wet paper and see what textures emerge. This process of transformation is a powerful visual metaphor for breaking through your own block.
3. The Grounding Touch of Air-Dry Clay
Sometimes, an artist's block is a symptom of being too "in your head." We overthink, we analyze, we judge. The perfect remedy is to get out of your head and into your hands. Air-dry clay is a wonderfully accessible and low-stakes way to do just that. It's pliable, forgiving, and requires no special equipment like a kiln. You just open the package, and you're ready to create.
Working with clay is a fundamentally grounding, sensory experience. The cool, damp earth in your hands pulls your focus away from anxious thoughts and into the present moment of squishing, rolling, pinching, and shaping. It's a direct conversation between your hands and the material. The pressure is off because you're not trying to sculpt a masterpiece; you're simply enjoying the tactile process of giving form to a lump of potential. It’s a technique Goh Ling Yong often recommends for shifting perspective from the visual to the tactile.
How to Use It to Break the Block:
Set a timer for 15 minutes. Grab a small chunk of clay and give yourself a simple, playful prompt. "Sculpt a funny monster," "make a tiny pinch pot to hold a paperclip," or "create a textured tile." Don't aim for realism or perfection. The goal is to finish something. When you're done, you'll have a tangible object you made with your own hands, a small victory that can build the momentum you need to tackle larger projects.
4. The Infinite Possibilities of a Gel Printing Plate
A gel printing plate (often called a Gelli plate) is a soft, gelatin-like slab used for monoprinting without a press. You brayer a thin layer of acrylic paint onto the plate, lay down stencils or natural objects (like leaves and feathers) to create patterns, and then press a piece of paper on top to pull a unique print. Each print is a one-of-a-kind discovery.
This tool is a creativity-unlocking powerhouse because it is built entirely on layering and experimentation. There are no mistakes in gel printing, only new layers of texture and color. A print you don't like isn't a failure; it's the perfect base for another layer. This iterative process generates a huge volume of interesting, colorful, and richly textured papers in a single session. It completely removes the pressure of the "single precious piece" and instead encourages a mindset of abundance and play.
How to Use It to Break the Block:
Dedicate an hour to a "paper-making party." Put on some music, grab your plate, some acrylic paints, and a stack of cheap copy paper. Don't overthink your color palettes. Just start pulling prints. Use stencils, bubble wrap, string, and anything else with an interesting texture. By the end, you won't have a finished art piece, but something much more valuable: a stack of unique, inspiring starting points. These papers can be used for collage, journaling, card-making, or as backgrounds for future drawings and paintings.
5. The Bold Confidence of Paint Markers (like Posca)
Sometimes, what we need to shatter a block is a dose of bold, decisive action. Paint markers, like the ever-popular Posca pens, offer the best of both worlds: the vibrant, opaque coverage of acrylic paint with the control and ease of a marker. They flow smoothly onto almost any surface—paper, wood, rock, glass, fabric—making a satisfying, solid mark.
The psychological boost from a paint marker is significant. There's no mixing, no messy brushes to clean up, and no watery, transparent washes. You just uncap it and make a mark that stays. This simplicity and immediacy can be incredibly empowering when you're feeling creatively hesitant. It encourages you to fill a page with patterns, practice your line work, or add vibrant details to existing work without the setup and cleanup that traditional painting requires.
How to Use It to Break the Block:
Go on a "found object" art hunt. Find a few smooth, flat rocks, a piece of scrap wood, or even a boring old terracotta pot. Use your paint markers to cover them in doodles, mandalas, abstract patterns, or cheerful words. The low-stakes nature of decorating a simple object removes the pressure associated with a blank canvas. You’re just doodling! This playful exercise gets your creative muscles moving and results in charming little objects that bring a pop of color to your space.
6. The Forgiving Freedom of a Digital "Undo" Button
While the tactile nature of physical supplies is powerful, we can't ignore the immense creative freedom offered by the digital realm, especially for 2025 and beyond. Using a tablet like an iPad with an app like Procreate, or even a dedicated "digital paper" tablet, offers a playground with the ultimate safety net: the undo button.
The fear of making a permanent mistake—of "ruining" a piece of expensive paper or a canvas—is a major contributor to artist's block. The digital canvas removes this fear entirely. You can sketch, erase, repaint, and experiment with endless variations without consequence. This freedom encourages you to take risks you might not take on paper. You can try that wild color combination or that ambitious composition, knowing you can always go back. It's the ultimate low-pressure environment for brainstorming and pure, uninhibited creation.
How to Use It to Break the Block:
Start a "Digital Mess" file. This isn't for finished pieces; it's a dedicated space for pure chaos. Open a new canvas and just play with the tools. Pick a brush you've never used before and see what marks it makes. Use the smudge tool to blend colors into a muddy, beautiful mess. Fill the screen with digital paint and then use the eraser as a drawing tool. The goal is to familiarize yourself with the tools in a context of play, not performance, so that when an idea does strike, the technology feels like an extension of your hand, not a barrier.
7. The Curated Chaos of a Junk Journal Kit
A junk journal is a handmade book created from a mix of found and recycled materials—think old book pages, security envelopes, junk mail, fabric scraps, and ephemera. The beauty of it is that it's the opposite of a pristine, white sketchbook. Every page already has a history and a texture, inviting you to add to it rather than create something from nothing.
Assembling a junk journal kit is half the fun and a creative act in itself. It shifts your mindset from "creator" to "curator" and "collector." When you sit down with your kit, the blank page paralysis disappears because there are no blank pages. Instead, you're faced with an interesting collection of materials that spark associations and stories. It becomes less about drawing or painting and more about arranging, gluing, and combining elements in a pleasing way. It's a low-pressure form of collage and storytelling. Here at the Goh Ling Yong studio, we've found that having a box of curated scraps is a fantastic resource for kickstarting a creative session.
How to Use It to Break the Block:
Spend an afternoon creating your "Creativity Kit." Get a shoebox and fill it with anything that catches your eye: patterned security envelopes, old stamps, snippets of text from a magazine, used tea bags (dried, of course!), scraps of ribbon, and washi tape. Then, when you feel blocked, simply pull out the box and a glue stick. Your only task is to make one spread in your journal. Pick a background paper and add one or two other elements. That's it. This small, achievable act of composition can often be the spark that re-ignites your creative fire.
Your Turn to Play
Artist's block is not a sign of failure; it's a sign that you need a new way to play. It's a natural part of the creative cycle, an invitation to step away from your usual routine and explore the vast, exciting world of art supplies. The goal isn't to create a portfolio-worthy piece with these tools, but to reconnect with the curiosity and joy that made you fall in love with art in the first place.
So, give yourself permission to make a mess. Embrace the unpredictable, get your hands dirty, and let go of the outcome. Pick just one supply from this list that sparks a flicker of excitement and give it a try this week. The simple act of trying something new might be the very key that unlocks the door to your next great idea.
Which of these supplies are you most excited to try? Do you have a go-to tool for breaking out of an artist's block? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below—we’d love to hear from you!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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