7 Health Tips for Artists

The best health tips that have helped me maintain some level of sustainability through my otherwise poor life choices as an artist.

!! the usual links !!

Instagram is @sinixdesign

[KingFluffs]

Top tip: If your fond of another artists art style, secretly gather their DNA, clone them, and surgically attatch the clones hands in place of your own and you'll be able to mimic them perfectly.

[CrayRazy]

The way you described mental health is amazing, explaining such a complex topic in such an understandable way is difficult. Great video!

[MakiNoAtorie]

Here's my two cents from the video.

For pen display users without adjustable arms for your monitor, use a shoe box or two and put the screen at a high angle and maybe lower your seat if you sit too high. That and stretching a bit in breaks solved all my neck/back problems.
Normal tablet users, BE AWARE OF YOUR WRIST, always try to have a straight line between your arm and hand, move your arm instead of your wrist.

For the hands a 5-10 min break every 50 min work wonders, and apply those breaks for everything, take a break while gaming or reading too. Optimize your clicks and types, use download managers to download images with just one or two clicks, use macros if a certain task is too repetitive, switch between mouse and keyboard navigation constantly so you dont overuse the mouse hand.
Vertical mouses are good too.

Make arm and hand stretches before and after drawing, there are plenty of guides online or ask a medic.

EXCERCISE, even 10-20 min a day and a light sweat, dont do it at nights since it mess with your sleep, speaking about it, sleep well.

Take a walk outside at the end of your day, switch moods from work to leisure, get fresh air and look nice things.

This might be a bit controversial, dont spend every free time drawing, I really dont like when some artists say you must draw every second to be "good" because is just too broad and unfocused, a tired artist is an empty one.
Be very conscious of the diference between inspiration and desperation. People need breaks, even from things they love doing, have a couple hours for yourself, spend weekends with friends/family, playing games or going outside. Just have a notepad near just in case you need to write down an idea.

Don't start doing these things just when something hurt, when something hurts sometimes is already too late.

Great video, sinix.

[AhriOfAstora]

Thank you for caring about your art gremlin audience.

[yingle]

I will never forget the day I realised I hadn't made any real progress in my art in about 6 years as I looked back over my old work. I slipped into a deep depression and couldn't even bear to look at my tablet. Eventually I got back into it and now I'm quite happy with where I'm at. Art can be brutal sometimes but when you get it right, the feeling is so satisfying!

[ArtwithAmarBrisco]

I been drawing and doing art off and on since a child in the 70s.

The things I have done to help:
- eat right
- no stress mentally, physically and when drawing
- healthy weight
- some exercise
- always move after sitting for a while
- instead of squinting looking away or focusing your eyes on something else like reading help for the eyes.

There is more but in doing this I never experience art block or fatigue from doing art.

[emmanieemma]

what I expected when clicking on this video: sit with right angles and take breaks and stuff
what I got from watching this video: neurochemical injuries make it contextually impossible to comprehend other neurochemical states, therefore, be aware of your own biases and don't judge yourself or others
great job man 👏

[Lavaeolus]

Great video! I would like to add more health tips that i think are useful:
1- Always stay hydrated. Everyone keeps saying that for a reason, and your body will function better with lots of water.
2- Rotate the visible colors you perceive once in a while. It's useful to avoid eye strain and have a new perspective on your paintings.
3- Don't bleach the umbilical cord more than once or twice per day. Your perception of the Other World will stay intact anyway and it's not healthy for your limbs.
4- If you find yourself coughing the iridescent fluid too much then it's time for a break! Just lie down a bit and as always don't do it while the Umbral Figure is watching you.
5- Sometimes when I stay in a zodiacal position for too long I can start hearing the Blasphemous Song from the stars. Remember when it happens that you just need to breathe regularly and not show any (ANY) sign of weakness or fear. If your bones start to twist you're probably doing something wrong and you're better ask a medic.
6- Really, drink a lot of water!

[niccoguedes]

Timestamps:
00:58 - Eyes: Constant Squinting, get the habit of unfocusing
02:03 - Neck: Move Regularly, avoid locking your body in one position
02:54 - Spine: Get a tablet that allows for good posture while drawing
04:15 - Hand: Keep grip loose
05:24 - Hand 2: High Sensitivity, use it
06:03 - Legs: Stretch your hamstrings
07:54 - Brain: Mental health is no different than an any other type of physical health + analysis and advice :)
11:24 - Outro

Comment: I find unfocusing so easy! I just take my glasses off, nature does the trick

[ahmedchaouni]

sleep enough at acceptable hours, dont stress too much, stay hydrated, and dont drink too much coffee, i just had the weirdest pre burnout crisis it was crazy man

[liniavskaya]

omg I’m so grateful to my parents cuz they made me go to dance classes while I was in school. now I study in art academy and visit dance classes 2-3 times a week. Looking at my artists friends now I see that majority of them have some sort of health problem caused by their artistic “activity”)) yeah and now half of them also go to dance classes with me✨

[vinesdesign]

I am literally in physical therapy right now for back and shoulder problems. Taking the daily time to get fit in the appropriate areas is a WAY EASIER sacrifice than having to limit how much creativity you can put out per day due to pain or injury. ESPECIALLY when it comes to back stuff. Not only that, but exercise is great for the "neurochemical" side of things as well. It can help you think more clearly as well as improve your mood.

[aldamis]

I greatly appreciate how deep you went into brain knowledge. Our society is in dire need of more understanding in this topic. It's almost impossible to convince anyone who doesn't meditate of the benefits meditation yields. They literally can't imagine what good it could do, and never pick it up.

[tsakeboya]

The fact that sinix uses the same tablet i use gives me unreasonable amounts of confidence 😅

[teemomooshrum]

I'm currently going through physical therapy because I developed mild wrist pain in the summer of 2021 and have spent the past several months mainly resting (hardly or rarely drawing). It was the first time I experienced any sort of pain there and of course, my injury was the amalgamation of all the bad habits I've developed from drawing/writing:
1. Slouching and hunched over when drawing
2. Primarily drawing from the wrist + hard grip
3. Long sessions without breaks
4. Sedentary lifestyle

I'm now working on fixing my posture with strengthening exercises for the back and being more mindful about it. I'll slouch a bit here and there to rest my back but I just force myself to sit up straight again. I switch to use my other hand for tasks like mousing, eating, lifting, etc. when I can just to give my dominant hand a rest. Changing how I grip the pencil to a tripod grip and trying to not grip so hard. I try to take more breaks to stretch and to walk around.

For setup, I switched over to a low profile keyboard and an ergonomic mouse. Next changes are sit and stand desk, a good chair eg. Herman Miller, and a display tablet with an arm mount when I have the funds. Non-display tablets are good in that you don't have to look down but the height of your desk and/or chair are also important. You don't want to be resting your forearms on your desk while you're working to avoid unnecessary pressure on a nerve.

It's been rough these past several months having to sit on the sidelines just watching and hardly being able to create like before but I hope that I'll be able to get back on track to creating again soon. Please take care of yourselves so you don't end up like me. Seriously.

[Cherry-ydsj]

I adore the way you described mental health. I felt exactly what your were describing in the video and after I recovered from intense feelings of sadness, I immediately downplayed the severity of it. Thank you for explaining it!

[less]

finally, now i can tell to my parents that is healthy for me movin my head like a crazy men whenever i draw, amazing video sinix!

[BTU-]

This was the best advices i ever got in my entire life. You are such a good artist and help others out. The whole internet is full of artists that just try to be fame no matter what it costs. You are so authentic and it seems to me like you are talking to me while i am watching this video. Thank you not just for sharing your thaughts, but for bringing back some of my hopes for humanity itself. ♥

[MrsRemi]

I've been neurochemically injured for a while now and the injury got really bad about last week to a life threateninh point. I love that way of thinking. I only clicked on this video to further distract myself from my current mental issues but instesd it's making me face them more (in a good way). As always, your videos are so high quality and you can just see how much thought you've put in them. Thank you.

[nathanreidart]

Great video!,
My tip for anyone who can't get an arm for their screen tablet is to get one of those adjustable laptop raisers that let you adjust the height and tilt. Since they're meant to hold a laptop they will hold the weight of your tablet and also the pressure from your hand resting on it, as well as raising your tablet up higher than the stands that come with it with more freedom of angle. My tablet sits a good 5 or 6 inches above the desk tray now and it has helped my neck and shoulders significantly. :) When I'm done for the day I can fold it up and put it away with my tablet and not have a bulky arm always in the way.

Also your explanation for 'mental health' was extremely refreshing and concise. :)