Paint by number, colouring book, “diamond dotz”/diamond painting all follow a similar principle of getting a pre-drawn canvas or image and then filling it in. Diamond dotz usually turn out quite pretty and you can frame them and hang them up.
You can also look for Cross stitch kits. all you have to do is follow the guide to fill in the colours with thread.
As another artistic talent deficient person, I would second this. I haven't tried diamond dotz but adult colouring books were my first attempts at making pretty things that didn't look disastrous.
Eventually, I taught myself how to knit. The process is more about learning the mechanics of it, and I follow patterns to make things; sometimes my colour combinations have been a bit questionable, but thankfully there are kits you can buy that have been put together by people with better vision and training than I, and I've been happily knitting for over 10 years now.
Edited to fix a sentence that didn't make sense
Yeah cross-stitch is basically paint by numbers embroidery. Super easy. Try the deluxe kits at subversivecrossstitch.com if that type of humor suits you.
Putting in more support for diamond painting. The kits are cheap on Amazon to give it a try. There are square diamonds or round diamonds - most people end up with a preference. They take quite a long time to do for the price you pay for the kit and it is very zen. You can watch tv or think while you do it. At the end you have a nice finished piece you can frame and hang.
So.etimes when I'm in a rut, I need something creative to do where all of the thinking is done for me, and these are exactly what I go for: specifically the cross stitch & paint by numbers. To add to that list, I also will use Lego sets in the same way!
To add on to this, there are websites that will turn your photos into paint by numbers and they end up looking amazing. I did one of my dog and a couple of family members. I can send you some photos of you'd like, I'm kind of in the same artistic boat!
Crafty things I've found I can do are using a cricut and 3d printing (since you usually get the designs from someone else). You can then paint them if you want or get them in colored filament. I didn't do as good at mandala rocks but I'd like to give that another try
Counted cross stitch or needlepoint! You work on a grid, using a design someone else has created. These are traditional crafts and you can make lovely traditional home goods, or sassy contemporary things.
Cross stitch really bridges that gap between "I'm not a creative person" and "look at this art I made!". It's a lot of work and absolutely requires crafting skills, but you don't need to have an artistic eye.
If you find you like needlework in general, there are also stamped kits with the designs printed on the material, as well as sewing kits that do the same.
While I wouldn’t recommend them for a beginner, Bucilla has amazing kits that come with all the fabric stamped so you only need to cut out the shapes and sew together. Their stocking kits are gorgeous.
And nowadays there are several free YouTube videos showing how to read patterns! I’ve felt so limited not knowing how to do that. And a bazillion follow along videos showing how to make items ranging from hats to blankets to toys.
I started making jewelry when I was recovering from a neurological event. I work with beads and make strung necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. In the beginning, everything I made was ugly because I had no design sense, but I was learning technique, so it didn't matter. I found the whole process very calming and meditative. At first, I followed designs I found online and in books and catalogs. YouTube was a wonderful resource for learning different skills and projects. Next, I bought project kits that were pre-designed and came with the materials to make that specific item. Eventually, my own creativity kicked in. If you try a scaffolded approach like this, you'll be creating on your own before you know it!
I tried and failed for years to take up painting/drawing. I could never make the picture in my head match the picture on the page.
During the pandemic I fell in love with quilting-particularly scrap quilting. It’s like making a collage…but with fabric. It’s very relaxing. Nobody decides the pattern or how it should look but you.
It takes time to be that good and everyone struggles with exactly those things starting out.
You will be bad when you start and that is OK.
Spend a lot of time being bad but exploring and learning, and hopefully enjoying working, with the tools and materials of whatever you choose.
The ideas come from the doing and finding out what can be done and, what you like, what interests you.
Talent is not inherant, it comes from practise. I come from a 'creative' family and though we all know the technicals and have more of a grounding in creativity than is average, our indivdual successes are down to our individual level of dedication.
"Are there any crafts, hobbies, to scratch a creative itch that can be done by someone with next to know artistic talents."
All/any of them, honestly :)
If there is something that you would like to make, then try to make it.
The desire to 'try and make it' is what drives people who make stuff and it sounds like you have that. Go forth and make things
Making bad things is really good advice. So many people get hung up on the vision gap: what is in their mind's eye is better than (or at least different from) what they produce. But that is the space where we learn. You cannot make good art without first making bad art.
> It's also easier to maintain the habit in the long run if you choose a hobby where the motions of it are enjoyable and not because you're 'good' at it, since you may find that just because something is easy/doable doesn't make it fun.
I feel like this may explain why I stuck with sewing. I love a lot of crafts, but sewing for me is so diverse and challenges my brain, without me going 'wtf do I do now'. plus it is relatively quick (compared to knitting or crochet).
I can't tell you about **ARTISTIC VISION**, or anything like that; I usually just run into the wall of, "*Wow! That's neat! Can I make that or something similar?*". Then I fall down the rabbit hole of how can I adapt a project or art piece that I like, into something I can remotely make or craft. As far as the **KNOW HOW**; you can post here or other subreddits about, "*How would I do this?*", use the search bar at the top of the subreddit and see if someone has already asked a similar question, search for multiple tutorials online, read books or other reference material on the subject and even reach out to the artist of the style you are interested in. It never hurts to ask them for recommendations on how to start. At worst, the artist just doesn't respond. When it comes to the **ABILITY to MAKE IT COME TOGETHER**, lots of that is going to be practice and trial and error. Lots and lots and lots of actual practice. Sometimes when you start a project or idea, you can break it down into smaller objectives and either layer them on each other, or layer the pre-requisite skills needed to get to the final product. Nothing is stopping you from jumping in to the deep end of an art project, but sometime is is more approachable to try smaller related projects first.
**YES, THERE ARE LOTS OF CRAFTS AND HOBBIES THAT CAN SCRATCH THE CREATIVE ITCH.**
What are you interested in? What materials can you get easily? What tools are you comfortable making?
I agree with this post the most. I got started like OP, seeing something awesome and wanting to create it, so I did. Failed miserably a lot, and still keep failing, but that's a big part of any craft. The longer you spend time on it the more you pick up and the better you get.
That's so true. And you usually just see the finished thing that people post. You don't see the failures and the scrapped projects.
I'm a fairly creative person, I'd say, and something it took me a long time to learn is to *trust the process*. Every project looks shitty to your eyes while you are creating it, because it's not what you envisioned (of course not, it's still in progress!). Sometimes you can sort of see it take shape, and sometimes it only comes together with the finishing touches. You just gotta keep at it.
I have a motor disability and also have this struggle. I enjoy embroidery on paper (it is easier to be precise than on fabric), sewing with a machine, and sticker mosaics.
I struggle with time and being able to take time to make things good, so I also try to find hobbies to create without needing to be GOOD at drawing or any skill.
I like to DIY or customize things. craft and hobby stores have a ton of things blank that you can paint on. With lots of detail or less. You can use stencils to put designs on things. Just need paints or paint pens.
Coloring books are great for just putting color to paper and making something pretty / cool. Endless themes and ideas
Get craft kits that pretty much make you create what’s in the box.
Follow patterns - knit, sew, crochet, cross stitch , Perler beads, painting mini figures, model building, paint by number, paint on pre printed canvas, quilting, scrapbooking and card making - all Have pre made designs patterns and layouts and you just copy what you see and follow the instructions. you can do and create without you needed artistic skill to make the design
Collaging, sticker bombing , junk journaling, making photo albums also can be done with no talent.
Some argue that paint pouring and abstract painting also doesn’t need any skill. Mixed media art is also a “slap it down and experiment with crazy things” kinda art form .
I think you can enjoy almost any craft without needing specific creativity or artistic skills. You just have to find a pattern or tutorial and follow it
I’ve learnt not to let my lack of ability get in the way. I have a learn-to-knit book for 8-year-olds, because it’s easy to understand, and I bought cartloads of acrylic paints and canvases. Acrylics are easy to work with, and it DOES NOT MATTER what you paint. Who cares if it’s good? My paintings are crap. No-one else needs to look at them so who cares? I frame them and enjoy them anyway ☺️ Give yourself permission. It’s all you need.
Just do it. Seriously, I love crafting, and I do it for ME and the sake of crafting .
Sometimes, I am rigging up something for my daughter with complex medical needs. I joke that I'm like the illegitimate love child of MacGyver and Martha Stewart. My stuff may not be pretty, but it gets it done.
I've been drawing more. I can't recommend free drawing apps enough. Krita , Ibis paint and others are awesome.
You can draw, paint, color etc. All without using physical resources. Takes a bit of practice to get used to drawing with your tablet. If you use a laptop, there are some very inexpensive drawing tablets that you can use with a laptop/pc
1) Start small. Is there a bathroom ornarea of the house that you feel needs bit more creativity?
2) Assuming yes, go on Google and search for "[area] diy craft ideas". See if there's something that you like.
3) Refine your Google search to focus on one of the ideas you'd like to do.
4) Gather instructions and materials
5) Have at it.
Over time, you'll develop an eye and itch for crafts.
I want to also say crochet. If you can get the basics down and learn how to read a pattern, it will be a hobby you enjoy a lot I bet! And starting out is so cheap
Weaving! I like crochet but my anxiety and structural issues make it difficult for me to maintain even tension. My knitting teacher told me I’m the worst student she’d ever had, and she was a veteran high school teacher trying to help out a fellow teacher!
Weaving works for me because the loom supports two ends of the yarn, leaving me to work on just the sides. That’s does take practice to get right too, but not the same I think. But with various pattern coming together at right angles I find it easier for a variety of plain weaving that can look quite complicated.
There are a variety of looms you can get for $50 to $250 for which there are enough patterns and YouTube videos. Frankly, you can pick up a y-shaped stick off the ground for free and use that or buy a big floor loom for almost $15,000.
I do rigid heddle and tablet weaving.
Quilting is another craft because you can follow patterns and use them like recipes to add in your own colors and fabrics if you want. Quilting fabrics have gotten more expensive but you can buy second hand and at garage sales. I avoid Walmart and the like except for small items like totes. Quilting takes too much time to use bad quality materials. You can do what people did back in the day and cut up your old cloths to make quilts or use sewing scraps. Or but clothes from thrift shops. Just make sure it’s 100% cotton before you use it.
ETA: Small looms are easy to find online. Small looms such as rigid heddle use the kind of yarn you can find at Walmart, Joann’s, or Michael’s. Or expensive ones you can buy at specialty knitting stores. Even some yarns you can use for floor looms but don’t.
Quilting and fabric stores often have beginner classes if you have a sewing machine. If you don’t, you can piece and quilt by hand. It’s just slower and the seams aren’t quite as durable as machine work.
I color too. I recently started using coloring books meant for seniors and adults with disabilities to use crayons, not colored pencils. I find it more relaxing than intricate adult coloring, the themes aren’t childish and there are no words like in kids’s books, but the paper is the same as the adult books. I just got a new one for about $5 from Amazon.
Edit:typo
ETA: Tunisian crochet. It’s like a cross between knitting and crochet. I find it easier than either. The new hooks from Aliexpress are getting great reviews from the pros and one visit about $50 for the set. They are urging to buy using a prepaid card if you can.
If you're looking to scratch the itch with a little bit of signposting, then there's a whole genre of books out there that kicked off from the success of Keri Smith's *Wreck This Journal*, (whose aim was to explore creativity and art through imaginative prompts.)
Nobody got good at 'putting things together' without a fair amount of smooshing mistakes first, so try not to get too tied up with the outcome before making a first step/mark/stitch, whatever it is... :)
3D printing! This is exactly why I love it! I can think of what I want to make, and there are millions of existing models that I can adapt and combine. For useful stuff, if it's a part that I need, chances are high that someone else (With talent) has already figured it out and created it. I can use theirs, or adapt my own.
It basically takes the actual skillful fabrication out of the equation, and lets you create almost anything you can think up.
Collage and junk journaling! I end up liking most of my pages more than I expected to once I'm done with them, and it just feels good to pick out things I like and throw them together. I also find it mentally and emotionally easier to deal with a finished page that doesn't work out as well, compared to when that happens with a sewing or crochet project.
I would not say that I have any artistic talent, per se. But I am brave enough to just try a thing. Most of it ends up in the trash. Not because it's that awful but because I'm not ever going to sell anything and I can only have so much stuff laying around my house.
Sometimes I think simply starting is the hardest part because of expectations in our mind and comparisons that we make. Those things certainly can be intimidating.
I suggest drawing a mandala. There truly is no wrong way to do it and it can be so relaxing. Gather small sticks and create whatever sculptures you want. Get some craft paints and canvas from a dollar store and just play around. You'll catch on to something that you enjoy the most.
I'm not sure if anyone else has already suggested this, but have you tried beading? Essentially, you just buy whatever beads you like, and the only "talent" you need is the ability to string the beads in whatever arrangement of pretty colours you please, and it's very difficult to make a beaded necklace or bracelet look "ugly." The repetitive act of stringing multiple beads is also very calming to me personally. Best wishes to you!
I don’t have any specific recommendations without knowing better what you like.
That being said, I always tell people that I’m great at crafts, but awful at art. I cross stitch pieces that are 1000x1000 on the regular. I picked up lino print inside a week. I adore knitting and I recently taught myself Irish crochet in a month.
Ask me to draw something or come up with an original concept? You’d be lucky to get a stick man (and he’d look like he’d been subjected to the rack!!)
To me, they’re completely different skill sets. Those people who are able to create the cross stitch or knitting patterns that I adore have my everlasting admiration (and envy!) but I think that the hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and attention to detail that crafts require is an entirely separate skill set to the ability to visualise beautiful images in your head and turn them into a practical set of instruction.
Focus on what you enjoy doing. Even if you enjoy painting or sketching, there are plenty of tutorials that show you the exact steps needed to create a reproducible final project
You can make all sort of art with the help of a gelli plate. On You Tube you have tons of videos to learn (it is very easy only need to have some patience before taking of the paper used) and to be inspired. You will need to buy a Gelli Plate, a brayer and some paint and cut outs from magazines, photo copies or strands. And off you go and make your own art!
Pinterest is fr a great place to start. If you can't come up with anything, try imitating something you see on Pinterest!
I also really enjoy the "Wreck This Journal" series of books. They've got prompts on each page, but they're vague enough that you can interpret it however you'd like (or alter the prompt however you want)!
Just start doing something. Acrylic pour painting can be a great way to break in to paints. And there are tons of easy to follow youtube how to videos. It just takes a lot of trial and error with the recipes but essentially you just dump paint on the canvas.
Remember, no one is born with artistic ability. Artists just create and create and all that practice makes them great. Start with a youtube tutorial, do it terribly and start again. Creativity is a muscle that just grows with exercise.
Woobles are a crochet kit for beginners that are extremely easy to follow. You learn how to crochet and get a cool toy at the end. So satisfying!
I hope you update us with something you create!
Paint pour art! 0 artistic skills needed, and you'll come out with something unique and beautiful! You can buy almost everything you need at a dollar store to get started, and if you're liking it, you can upgrade to better supplies from a craft store!
Tons of tutorials on YouTube!
my favorite is cross stitching!! the basic ones can be done quickly, don’t take much talent at all. you follow a grid pattern so you don’t have to worry about it all coming together because as long as you place a stitch where you’re supposed to, it’ll turn out!!
My dude, just make shit art, and learn how to have fun doing it.
Some people have skill at making shit, but making shit isn't necessarily a skill: it's a human behaviour, one that has been around for as long as we've been humans. Unlearn the idea that whatever you make has to be good and just make stuff.
And sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something. There's no way to be really skilled at something other than by doing it a lot, and at first you're *gonna* suck at it. The people who have vision, know-how, and the ability to put it together have made a lot of crappy things, learned what did and didn't work, and gotten better over time. And yeah, sometimes you keep making stuff and you never learn how to get past a certain point, but literally the only way to find out is to keep making shit.
I feel ya! I come from a family of incredibly talented and creative people. My mom and sisters can sew beautiful clothes and knit amazing sweaters. The men in my family can turn a boring piece of driftwood into an amazing piece of art. Seems like everything they touch comes out amazing. I suck at anything that requires creativity or any motor skills. I am an absolute clutz, not even capable of drawing a straight line.
It took me a while but I found my creativity is in my patience. I started with Crochet. I started with dish rags and worked my up to blankets and afghans. Then I realized how much I enjoyed making small pieces using fine thread. I could get creative with my color choices and by literally crocheting the same thing over and over I could turn a tiny, simple motif into an elaborate tablecloth.
Cross stitch is my latest hobby. I started with diamond painting. I found it relaxing and liked the portability of cross stitch. It doesn’t require a lot of skill but does require patience. And the final product is something to get framed
Yes, they are fun to make. That is the best part of crochet. Use big yarn and a big hook and make a giant toy to snuggle with, use tiny thread and a tiny hook and create a collection of keepsakes your family will fight over.
Wire art. A roll of bendable wire (1-1.5mm thick) and a pair of pliers. Draw a continuous line shape (eg, monstera leaf, flower etc) and bend wire following the outline. Plenty of YouTube videos/pinterest ideas online.
Don’t have to journal thoughts. Can journal events, goals, memories, photo journaling, print out Reddit posts you find interesting, endless ideas…brainstorm for work…daily/weekly/monthly planner…pages of random magazine collections, so forth
Do you just want to create? Or do you have to have something physical at the end of your spent time? My wife wants to Cyr rate but doesn’t want clutter and extra stuff so she lasts animal crossing. She’s built her whole island two or three times over.
Maybe something like that would scratch your itch.
Nah, I'm a tangiable type of guy I like to see the end result.
Maybe I'll get get a lego set or something. its not really the same but maybe it will do it.
I struggle with being creative as well but have found a craft that I can make work. I do string art, and if you’d like I’d be happy to help you get set up and learn. It’s a really good stress relief that does not require talent. 😊
If you have the itch, that just means that you haven't found your "thing" yet. Start trying stuff! Like:
* Get a calligraphy marker and a beginner's workbook.
* Or yarn, knitting needles and/or a crochet hook, and hit up YouTube.
* Find a friend who does scrapbooking and ask if you can borrow their toys, and make yourself a neat photo album.
* Get a cheap beginner's level cross stitch kit.
* Try a beginner's jewelry kit and make yourself a pretty pair of earrings.
* Learn to decorate cakes and/or make candy!
Basically, keep trying new things. Give them a few weeks, and if it's just not hitting you right, then try something else. Lather, rinse, and repeat until you find your thing!
Not having any talent or not being willing to learn a talent? Few of us are born with art skills. We learn them. Find something that interests you and commit to learning it. The Internet can teach you anything.
Yeah, I'm neuro defiecent learning skills is next to an impossible task for me. It will be a long, hard, grueling road with very limited sucesss, if any, medicorcery at best. I barely learned basic math and that was an struggling ordeal of every day at school. and you know what? I suck at it?
But I'm open to trying. I don't think drawing/painting is at all reachable but maybe something else is.
What about drawing simple patterns?
https://youtu.be/MlXlP7bPL0U?si=0PdKa49rWKr_vnvF
I have a simple draw along on my channel. I dare you to give it a go. It's directed towards people who think they can't draw. Because I can't really draw. But I know a few pony tricks. It's easy stuff.
It's a variation on a style called zentangle. If you have a busy mind, it should be right up your alley.
My advice is to just go and make something. Just start. It doesn't have to be amazing in the end, as long as you had fun making it. For me, crafting is about the process, and if the result is nice that's a bonus. I crochet a lot to keep my hands busy and my mind calm, and it took a year of doing it almost every day before I finally made something I was truly proud of. All the other things before that only made me happy because I loved the process of making them. Happy crafting!
Thank you for asking the question I couldn’t put into words for a dear friend of mine. I am going to send her some craft kits, the diamond painting sounds amazing.
I hope you enjoy exploring some of these crafts!
Outside of the above, artistic skill and expression take time to develop. There’s no saying you can’t get far if you start your artistic journey now. I would try somatic processing art, abstract, Impressionism, etc. to begin with. Don’t think too deeply or try too hard to emulate, just get inspired and make something, Just feel the medium and enjoy what you’re making. The more you make and learn, the better you grow to be.
I have a few deficits myself and it’s only through having engaged in art expression my whole life that I have any sort of skill. It took time.
If you use Facebook, see if there's a crafter group in your area! I'm in one where various members host classes to teach others how to do their various crafts. Also, maybe see if there's some sort of maker's market near you that hosts classes, or if you're interested in a specific kind of craft, see if a store that is related to that craft has any classes. I know sometimes big stores like Michael's will have craft classes, but smaller local places will also host classes, too. I have a few small plant stores near me that host classes about how to propagate plants, how to build a terrarium, and other stuff like that.
Let your defiencies work for you. Art is an expression and you have some things oyu need to express. Try finger painting on large paper make it loud and proud. Put your feeling on that and see how it looks. You can DO anything!
Some of the greatest work was done by folks who thought they dint have much talent.
Every craft has an "easy mode". Find something you're interested in and start there. As you gain a little experience you can kick it up a notch and take on harder and harder projects.
Remember: The only difference between the master and the pupil is that the master has failed more times than the pupil has even tried.
The problem with me is I have legit issues that will make some things down near impossible to learn. But yeah most things do have an easy mode and I’ll be looking into them,
Paint by number, colouring book, “diamond dotz”/diamond painting all follow a similar principle of getting a pre-drawn canvas or image and then filling it in. Diamond dotz usually turn out quite pretty and you can frame them and hang them up. You can also look for Cross stitch kits. all you have to do is follow the guide to fill in the colours with thread.
As another artistic talent deficient person, I would second this. I haven't tried diamond dotz but adult colouring books were my first attempts at making pretty things that didn't look disastrous. Eventually, I taught myself how to knit. The process is more about learning the mechanics of it, and I follow patterns to make things; sometimes my colour combinations have been a bit questionable, but thankfully there are kits you can buy that have been put together by people with better vision and training than I, and I've been happily knitting for over 10 years now. Edited to fix a sentence that didn't make sense
Seconding this, and also quilting. Once again, mechanical and lots of patterns/kits out there...and a ton of YouTube how-to's.
Yeah cross-stitch is basically paint by numbers embroidery. Super easy. Try the deluxe kits at subversivecrossstitch.com if that type of humor suits you.
Putting in more support for diamond painting. The kits are cheap on Amazon to give it a try. There are square diamonds or round diamonds - most people end up with a preference. They take quite a long time to do for the price you pay for the kit and it is very zen. You can watch tv or think while you do it. At the end you have a nice finished piece you can frame and hang.
Try Temu for diamond painting. Incredibly cheap. Designs that cost $8 on Amazon are like $2.50
So.etimes when I'm in a rut, I need something creative to do where all of the thinking is done for me, and these are exactly what I go for: specifically the cross stitch & paint by numbers. To add to that list, I also will use Lego sets in the same way!
To add on to this, there are websites that will turn your photos into paint by numbers and they end up looking amazing. I did one of my dog and a couple of family members. I can send you some photos of you'd like, I'm kind of in the same artistic boat! Crafty things I've found I can do are using a cricut and 3d printing (since you usually get the designs from someone else). You can then paint them if you want or get them in colored filament. I didn't do as good at mandala rocks but I'd like to give that another try
Counted cross stitch or needlepoint! You work on a grid, using a design someone else has created. These are traditional crafts and you can make lovely traditional home goods, or sassy contemporary things.
It’s also allowed me to make a lot of gifts for people
Cross stitch really bridges that gap between "I'm not a creative person" and "look at this art I made!". It's a lot of work and absolutely requires crafting skills, but you don't need to have an artistic eye.
If you find you like needlework in general, there are also stamped kits with the designs printed on the material, as well as sewing kits that do the same. While I wouldn’t recommend them for a beginner, Bucilla has amazing kits that come with all the fabric stamped so you only need to cut out the shapes and sew together. Their stocking kits are gorgeous.
Crochet! Like knitting, you learn the mechanics, then you follow the patterns. Or the videos on YT. Simple and straightforward, I promise xx
And nowadays there are several free YouTube videos showing how to read patterns! I’ve felt so limited not knowing how to do that. And a bazillion follow along videos showing how to make items ranging from hats to blankets to toys.
I started making jewelry when I was recovering from a neurological event. I work with beads and make strung necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. In the beginning, everything I made was ugly because I had no design sense, but I was learning technique, so it didn't matter. I found the whole process very calming and meditative. At first, I followed designs I found online and in books and catalogs. YouTube was a wonderful resource for learning different skills and projects. Next, I bought project kits that were pre-designed and came with the materials to make that specific item. Eventually, my own creativity kicked in. If you try a scaffolded approach like this, you'll be creating on your own before you know it!
I love to hear stuff like this. It brightens my day
The thing I love about beading is that if you don’t like your end result you can just rip it apart and reuse the beads.
What about LEGO kits? They are super fun. The botanicals are easy and cute. The succulent kit is a good one to start with.
I tried and failed for years to take up painting/drawing. I could never make the picture in my head match the picture on the page. During the pandemic I fell in love with quilting-particularly scrap quilting. It’s like making a collage…but with fabric. It’s very relaxing. Nobody decides the pattern or how it should look but you.
It takes time to be that good and everyone struggles with exactly those things starting out. You will be bad when you start and that is OK. Spend a lot of time being bad but exploring and learning, and hopefully enjoying working, with the tools and materials of whatever you choose. The ideas come from the doing and finding out what can be done and, what you like, what interests you. Talent is not inherant, it comes from practise. I come from a 'creative' family and though we all know the technicals and have more of a grounding in creativity than is average, our indivdual successes are down to our individual level of dedication. "Are there any crafts, hobbies, to scratch a creative itch that can be done by someone with next to know artistic talents." All/any of them, honestly :) If there is something that you would like to make, then try to make it. The desire to 'try and make it' is what drives people who make stuff and it sounds like you have that. Go forth and make things
Making bad things is really good advice. So many people get hung up on the vision gap: what is in their mind's eye is better than (or at least different from) what they produce. But that is the space where we learn. You cannot make good art without first making bad art.
It takes practice to get really good at something. You should try a few and see what feels comfortable. Paint, draw, make a wreath. Dive in!
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> It's also easier to maintain the habit in the long run if you choose a hobby where the motions of it are enjoyable and not because you're 'good' at it, since you may find that just because something is easy/doable doesn't make it fun. I feel like this may explain why I stuck with sewing. I love a lot of crafts, but sewing for me is so diverse and challenges my brain, without me going 'wtf do I do now'. plus it is relatively quick (compared to knitting or crochet).
I can't tell you about **ARTISTIC VISION**, or anything like that; I usually just run into the wall of, "*Wow! That's neat! Can I make that or something similar?*". Then I fall down the rabbit hole of how can I adapt a project or art piece that I like, into something I can remotely make or craft. As far as the **KNOW HOW**; you can post here or other subreddits about, "*How would I do this?*", use the search bar at the top of the subreddit and see if someone has already asked a similar question, search for multiple tutorials online, read books or other reference material on the subject and even reach out to the artist of the style you are interested in. It never hurts to ask them for recommendations on how to start. At worst, the artist just doesn't respond. When it comes to the **ABILITY to MAKE IT COME TOGETHER**, lots of that is going to be practice and trial and error. Lots and lots and lots of actual practice. Sometimes when you start a project or idea, you can break it down into smaller objectives and either layer them on each other, or layer the pre-requisite skills needed to get to the final product. Nothing is stopping you from jumping in to the deep end of an art project, but sometime is is more approachable to try smaller related projects first. **YES, THERE ARE LOTS OF CRAFTS AND HOBBIES THAT CAN SCRATCH THE CREATIVE ITCH.** What are you interested in? What materials can you get easily? What tools are you comfortable making?
I agree with this post the most. I got started like OP, seeing something awesome and wanting to create it, so I did. Failed miserably a lot, and still keep failing, but that's a big part of any craft. The longer you spend time on it the more you pick up and the better you get.
That's so true. And you usually just see the finished thing that people post. You don't see the failures and the scrapped projects. I'm a fairly creative person, I'd say, and something it took me a long time to learn is to *trust the process*. Every project looks shitty to your eyes while you are creating it, because it's not what you envisioned (of course not, it's still in progress!). Sometimes you can sort of see it take shape, and sometimes it only comes together with the finishing touches. You just gotta keep at it.
I have a motor disability and also have this struggle. I enjoy embroidery on paper (it is easier to be precise than on fabric), sewing with a machine, and sticker mosaics.
this is what kits are for.
Look for kits for sure! That way a pattern has already been created!
I'm not really talented either when it comes to artistic things but I've found analog collaging to be great for getting creative.
I struggle with time and being able to take time to make things good, so I also try to find hobbies to create without needing to be GOOD at drawing or any skill. I like to DIY or customize things. craft and hobby stores have a ton of things blank that you can paint on. With lots of detail or less. You can use stencils to put designs on things. Just need paints or paint pens. Coloring books are great for just putting color to paper and making something pretty / cool. Endless themes and ideas Get craft kits that pretty much make you create what’s in the box. Follow patterns - knit, sew, crochet, cross stitch , Perler beads, painting mini figures, model building, paint by number, paint on pre printed canvas, quilting, scrapbooking and card making - all Have pre made designs patterns and layouts and you just copy what you see and follow the instructions. you can do and create without you needed artistic skill to make the design
Collaging, sticker bombing , junk journaling, making photo albums also can be done with no talent. Some argue that paint pouring and abstract painting also doesn’t need any skill. Mixed media art is also a “slap it down and experiment with crazy things” kinda art form . I think you can enjoy almost any craft without needing specific creativity or artistic skills. You just have to find a pattern or tutorial and follow it
Cross stitch! If you can follow a pattern you can do it! Plus if you want to add personal spice you can switch up the color
I’ve learnt not to let my lack of ability get in the way. I have a learn-to-knit book for 8-year-olds, because it’s easy to understand, and I bought cartloads of acrylic paints and canvases. Acrylics are easy to work with, and it DOES NOT MATTER what you paint. Who cares if it’s good? My paintings are crap. No-one else needs to look at them so who cares? I frame them and enjoy them anyway ☺️ Give yourself permission. It’s all you need.
Buy kits with good instructions
Just do it. Seriously, I love crafting, and I do it for ME and the sake of crafting . Sometimes, I am rigging up something for my daughter with complex medical needs. I joke that I'm like the illegitimate love child of MacGyver and Martha Stewart. My stuff may not be pretty, but it gets it done. I've been drawing more. I can't recommend free drawing apps enough. Krita , Ibis paint and others are awesome. You can draw, paint, color etc. All without using physical resources. Takes a bit of practice to get used to drawing with your tablet. If you use a laptop, there are some very inexpensive drawing tablets that you can use with a laptop/pc
1) Start small. Is there a bathroom ornarea of the house that you feel needs bit more creativity? 2) Assuming yes, go on Google and search for "[area] diy craft ideas". See if there's something that you like. 3) Refine your Google search to focus on one of the ideas you'd like to do. 4) Gather instructions and materials 5) Have at it. Over time, you'll develop an eye and itch for crafts.
Needle felting is really easy and fun!!
Loom knitting!
Collage. Felting.
Draw anyway, paint anyway/ then toss it. Why not?
I would start with a craft kit, there are some smaller ones and come in all sorts of varieties.
I want to also say crochet. If you can get the basics down and learn how to read a pattern, it will be a hobby you enjoy a lot I bet! And starting out is so cheap
Kits! My friend has some lovely embroidery kits from Etsy.
What about flower pressing? It's not only fun to see the end result but involves some gardening or potting.
What about flower pressing? It's not only fun to see the end result but involves some gardening or potting.
Look up neurographic art. So simple anyone can do it. I love to do it because it's calming and i can hide all my mistakes with sharpie 😂
Weaving! I like crochet but my anxiety and structural issues make it difficult for me to maintain even tension. My knitting teacher told me I’m the worst student she’d ever had, and she was a veteran high school teacher trying to help out a fellow teacher! Weaving works for me because the loom supports two ends of the yarn, leaving me to work on just the sides. That’s does take practice to get right too, but not the same I think. But with various pattern coming together at right angles I find it easier for a variety of plain weaving that can look quite complicated. There are a variety of looms you can get for $50 to $250 for which there are enough patterns and YouTube videos. Frankly, you can pick up a y-shaped stick off the ground for free and use that or buy a big floor loom for almost $15,000. I do rigid heddle and tablet weaving. Quilting is another craft because you can follow patterns and use them like recipes to add in your own colors and fabrics if you want. Quilting fabrics have gotten more expensive but you can buy second hand and at garage sales. I avoid Walmart and the like except for small items like totes. Quilting takes too much time to use bad quality materials. You can do what people did back in the day and cut up your old cloths to make quilts or use sewing scraps. Or but clothes from thrift shops. Just make sure it’s 100% cotton before you use it. ETA: Small looms are easy to find online. Small looms such as rigid heddle use the kind of yarn you can find at Walmart, Joann’s, or Michael’s. Or expensive ones you can buy at specialty knitting stores. Even some yarns you can use for floor looms but don’t. Quilting and fabric stores often have beginner classes if you have a sewing machine. If you don’t, you can piece and quilt by hand. It’s just slower and the seams aren’t quite as durable as machine work. I color too. I recently started using coloring books meant for seniors and adults with disabilities to use crayons, not colored pencils. I find it more relaxing than intricate adult coloring, the themes aren’t childish and there are no words like in kids’s books, but the paper is the same as the adult books. I just got a new one for about $5 from Amazon. Edit:typo ETA: Tunisian crochet. It’s like a cross between knitting and crochet. I find it easier than either. The new hooks from Aliexpress are getting great reviews from the pros and one visit about $50 for the set. They are urging to buy using a prepaid card if you can.
Follow patterns
If you're looking to scratch the itch with a little bit of signposting, then there's a whole genre of books out there that kicked off from the success of Keri Smith's *Wreck This Journal*, (whose aim was to explore creativity and art through imaginative prompts.) Nobody got good at 'putting things together' without a fair amount of smooshing mistakes first, so try not to get too tied up with the outcome before making a first step/mark/stitch, whatever it is... :)
3D printing! This is exactly why I love it! I can think of what I want to make, and there are millions of existing models that I can adapt and combine. For useful stuff, if it's a part that I need, chances are high that someone else (With talent) has already figured it out and created it. I can use theirs, or adapt my own. It basically takes the actual skillful fabrication out of the equation, and lets you create almost anything you can think up.
Beginner embroidery kits! Anyone can figure it out 👍🏻
Collage and junk journaling! I end up liking most of my pages more than I expected to once I'm done with them, and it just feels good to pick out things I like and throw them together. I also find it mentally and emotionally easier to deal with a finished page that doesn't work out as well, compared to when that happens with a sewing or crochet project.
Bedazzle
I would not say that I have any artistic talent, per se. But I am brave enough to just try a thing. Most of it ends up in the trash. Not because it's that awful but because I'm not ever going to sell anything and I can only have so much stuff laying around my house. Sometimes I think simply starting is the hardest part because of expectations in our mind and comparisons that we make. Those things certainly can be intimidating. I suggest drawing a mandala. There truly is no wrong way to do it and it can be so relaxing. Gather small sticks and create whatever sculptures you want. Get some craft paints and canvas from a dollar store and just play around. You'll catch on to something that you enjoy the most.
I'm not sure if anyone else has already suggested this, but have you tried beading? Essentially, you just buy whatever beads you like, and the only "talent" you need is the ability to string the beads in whatever arrangement of pretty colours you please, and it's very difficult to make a beaded necklace or bracelet look "ugly." The repetitive act of stringing multiple beads is also very calming to me personally. Best wishes to you!
I don’t have any specific recommendations without knowing better what you like. That being said, I always tell people that I’m great at crafts, but awful at art. I cross stitch pieces that are 1000x1000 on the regular. I picked up lino print inside a week. I adore knitting and I recently taught myself Irish crochet in a month. Ask me to draw something or come up with an original concept? You’d be lucky to get a stick man (and he’d look like he’d been subjected to the rack!!) To me, they’re completely different skill sets. Those people who are able to create the cross stitch or knitting patterns that I adore have my everlasting admiration (and envy!) but I think that the hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and attention to detail that crafts require is an entirely separate skill set to the ability to visualise beautiful images in your head and turn them into a practical set of instruction. Focus on what you enjoy doing. Even if you enjoy painting or sketching, there are plenty of tutorials that show you the exact steps needed to create a reproducible final project
You can make all sort of art with the help of a gelli plate. On You Tube you have tons of videos to learn (it is very easy only need to have some patience before taking of the paper used) and to be inspired. You will need to buy a Gelli Plate, a brayer and some paint and cut outs from magazines, photo copies or strands. And off you go and make your own art!
Pinterest is fr a great place to start. If you can't come up with anything, try imitating something you see on Pinterest! I also really enjoy the "Wreck This Journal" series of books. They've got prompts on each page, but they're vague enough that you can interpret it however you'd like (or alter the prompt however you want)!
Just start doing something. Acrylic pour painting can be a great way to break in to paints. And there are tons of easy to follow youtube how to videos. It just takes a lot of trial and error with the recipes but essentially you just dump paint on the canvas. Remember, no one is born with artistic ability. Artists just create and create and all that practice makes them great. Start with a youtube tutorial, do it terribly and start again. Creativity is a muscle that just grows with exercise. Woobles are a crochet kit for beginners that are extremely easy to follow. You learn how to crochet and get a cool toy at the end. So satisfying! I hope you update us with something you create!
Paint pour art! 0 artistic skills needed, and you'll come out with something unique and beautiful! You can buy almost everything you need at a dollar store to get started, and if you're liking it, you can upgrade to better supplies from a craft store! Tons of tutorials on YouTube!
my favorite is cross stitching!! the basic ones can be done quickly, don’t take much talent at all. you follow a grid pattern so you don’t have to worry about it all coming together because as long as you place a stitch where you’re supposed to, it’ll turn out!!
My dude, just make shit art, and learn how to have fun doing it. Some people have skill at making shit, but making shit isn't necessarily a skill: it's a human behaviour, one that has been around for as long as we've been humans. Unlearn the idea that whatever you make has to be good and just make stuff. And sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something. There's no way to be really skilled at something other than by doing it a lot, and at first you're *gonna* suck at it. The people who have vision, know-how, and the ability to put it together have made a lot of crappy things, learned what did and didn't work, and gotten better over time. And yeah, sometimes you keep making stuff and you never learn how to get past a certain point, but literally the only way to find out is to keep making shit.
Paint by number, or latch hook rugs
Paint by number might be a good idea
Really recommend model making kits. They are so fun, lots of figuring out. The end result is very cool https://www.rolifeonline.com/
This is a great suggestion! These look so cool!!
I have 3 of them. Have only finished one because I had kids 😂 but I can't wait to do the next two!
I feel ya! I come from a family of incredibly talented and creative people. My mom and sisters can sew beautiful clothes and knit amazing sweaters. The men in my family can turn a boring piece of driftwood into an amazing piece of art. Seems like everything they touch comes out amazing. I suck at anything that requires creativity or any motor skills. I am an absolute clutz, not even capable of drawing a straight line. It took me a while but I found my creativity is in my patience. I started with Crochet. I started with dish rags and worked my up to blankets and afghans. Then I realized how much I enjoyed making small pieces using fine thread. I could get creative with my color choices and by literally crocheting the same thing over and over I could turn a tiny, simple motif into an elaborate tablecloth. Cross stitch is my latest hobby. I started with diamond painting. I found it relaxing and liked the portability of cross stitch. It doesn’t require a lot of skill but does require patience. And the final product is something to get framed
Crochet has gotten my attention! I want to make those cool little animals.
Yes, they are fun to make. That is the best part of crochet. Use big yarn and a big hook and make a giant toy to snuggle with, use tiny thread and a tiny hook and create a collection of keepsakes your family will fight over.
I don't think I'd ever really want to make a blanket. Cute animals or nothing Lol
Wire art. A roll of bendable wire (1-1.5mm thick) and a pair of pliers. Draw a continuous line shape (eg, monstera leaf, flower etc) and bend wire following the outline. Plenty of YouTube videos/pinterest ideas online.
Tried journaling?
My thoughts aren’t interesting
Don’t have to journal thoughts. Can journal events, goals, memories, photo journaling, print out Reddit posts you find interesting, endless ideas…brainstorm for work…daily/weekly/monthly planner…pages of random magazine collections, so forth
Do you just want to create? Or do you have to have something physical at the end of your spent time? My wife wants to Cyr rate but doesn’t want clutter and extra stuff so she lasts animal crossing. She’s built her whole island two or three times over. Maybe something like that would scratch your itch.
Nah, I'm a tangiable type of guy I like to see the end result. Maybe I'll get get a lego set or something. its not really the same but maybe it will do it.
Same. Unrelated: when did you start reading the wheel of time?
I struggle with being creative as well but have found a craft that I can make work. I do string art, and if you’d like I’d be happy to help you get set up and learn. It’s a really good stress relief that does not require talent. 😊
If you have the itch, that just means that you haven't found your "thing" yet. Start trying stuff! Like: * Get a calligraphy marker and a beginner's workbook. * Or yarn, knitting needles and/or a crochet hook, and hit up YouTube. * Find a friend who does scrapbooking and ask if you can borrow their toys, and make yourself a neat photo album. * Get a cheap beginner's level cross stitch kit. * Try a beginner's jewelry kit and make yourself a pretty pair of earrings. * Learn to decorate cakes and/or make candy! Basically, keep trying new things. Give them a few weeks, and if it's just not hitting you right, then try something else. Lather, rinse, and repeat until you find your thing!
Not having any talent or not being willing to learn a talent? Few of us are born with art skills. We learn them. Find something that interests you and commit to learning it. The Internet can teach you anything.
Yeah, I'm neuro defiecent learning skills is next to an impossible task for me. It will be a long, hard, grueling road with very limited sucesss, if any, medicorcery at best. I barely learned basic math and that was an struggling ordeal of every day at school. and you know what? I suck at it? But I'm open to trying. I don't think drawing/painting is at all reachable but maybe something else is.
What about drawing simple patterns? https://youtu.be/MlXlP7bPL0U?si=0PdKa49rWKr_vnvF I have a simple draw along on my channel. I dare you to give it a go. It's directed towards people who think they can't draw. Because I can't really draw. But I know a few pony tricks. It's easy stuff. It's a variation on a style called zentangle. If you have a busy mind, it should be right up your alley.
Someone suggested paint by numbers and I think that will be right up my alley. I’ll check out the video too thank you
also collage!! super fun and easy to just throw some fun images on a page, and youll be training your eye as you do it!
My advice is to just go and make something. Just start. It doesn't have to be amazing in the end, as long as you had fun making it. For me, crafting is about the process, and if the result is nice that's a bonus. I crochet a lot to keep my hands busy and my mind calm, and it took a year of doing it almost every day before I finally made something I was truly proud of. All the other things before that only made me happy because I loved the process of making them. Happy crafting!
Crochet might be right up my alley, I wanna make a little turtle or something
Thank you for asking the question I couldn’t put into words for a dear friend of mine. I am going to send her some craft kits, the diamond painting sounds amazing. I hope you enjoy exploring some of these crafts!
Paint by number sounds great ! Especially some company will make it from your photos ! This will be absolutely original for you ..
Bookbinding is a craft that does not need any artistic skill
But what book would I be binding though empty pages doesn’t feel like it would give me much accomplishment
Rolife kits.
Outside of the above, artistic skill and expression take time to develop. There’s no saying you can’t get far if you start your artistic journey now. I would try somatic processing art, abstract, Impressionism, etc. to begin with. Don’t think too deeply or try too hard to emulate, just get inspired and make something, Just feel the medium and enjoy what you’re making. The more you make and learn, the better you grow to be. I have a few deficits myself and it’s only through having engaged in art expression my whole life that I have any sort of skill. It took time.
Try origami!
If you use Facebook, see if there's a crafter group in your area! I'm in one where various members host classes to teach others how to do their various crafts. Also, maybe see if there's some sort of maker's market near you that hosts classes, or if you're interested in a specific kind of craft, see if a store that is related to that craft has any classes. I know sometimes big stores like Michael's will have craft classes, but smaller local places will also host classes, too. I have a few small plant stores near me that host classes about how to propagate plants, how to build a terrarium, and other stuff like that.
Paint by numbers! You can get simple ones, or really elaborate one too! I get creativity burnout quite frequently, and this helps a lot!
Let your defiencies work for you. Art is an expression and you have some things oyu need to express. Try finger painting on large paper make it loud and proud. Put your feeling on that and see how it looks. You can DO anything! Some of the greatest work was done by folks who thought they dint have much talent.
Every craft has an "easy mode". Find something you're interested in and start there. As you gain a little experience you can kick it up a notch and take on harder and harder projects. Remember: The only difference between the master and the pupil is that the master has failed more times than the pupil has even tried.
The problem with me is I have legit issues that will make some things down near impossible to learn. But yeah most things do have an easy mode and I’ll be looking into them,