Creativity friendly enviroment and more
polycounter lvl 16
As a layman I'm often frustrated with the lack of creativity and the strength to sit down and create something. I often get stuck in the "oh that's so cool I want to make something like that" - thought, but then after a long day at work and all other choirs there is not much left of me at the end of the day. How do you non-employed artist cope with this? Am I just whining?
I wonder, as a discusion, how the work enviroment affects you working artists? and has it always been easy finding focus and creativity? Looking at some of your work e.g Kevin Johnstone, I can never imagine him having a dry period where he just can't get things together.
I know there is mostly hard work behind what viewers would call "talent", but for this to happen you must have some cind of progress and be able to review your work. It's very easy to fall into a negative circle where the only mindset you have is "i won't be able to do something that cool"... to be able to handle "failure" when you hardly have the energy to create something...
Hah, I hope I make some sence. (sorry if it's in the wrong section).
I would just like to hear your thoughts.
I wonder, as a discusion, how the work enviroment affects you working artists? and has it always been easy finding focus and creativity? Looking at some of your work e.g Kevin Johnstone, I can never imagine him having a dry period where he just can't get things together.
I know there is mostly hard work behind what viewers would call "talent", but for this to happen you must have some cind of progress and be able to review your work. It's very easy to fall into a negative circle where the only mindset you have is "i won't be able to do something that cool"... to be able to handle "failure" when you hardly have the energy to create something...
Hah, I hope I make some sence. (sorry if it's in the wrong section).
I would just like to hear your thoughts.
Replies
http://www.warhammeronline.com/conceptart/index.php
I'm a firm believer in this philosophy that when livelihood depends on it, you will perform, and excuses like:
I don't have time
I'm not inspired
I'm having a bad drawing day
drawing block/artist block/writers's block etc
the project is too huge/don't know where to start
are just forms of procrastination. If you sit down and start work on it, you'll find that the more you put down, the more you can iterate on it and get somewhere with something rather than sitting on nothing. Even if you have to make something 100 times and throw away 99 of them, that's 100 times more than you'll do just by sitting there making excuses.
Git 'r done.
Of course, if you do it all for fun, if you have no fun doing it 100 times over, it can become boring, frustrating or not fun, you just have to work at it, and the more you work at it, the more fun you'll eventually have once you work through the learning processes.
Every error you make is a new discovery for a step in the right direction in hindsight. So don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Also, I totally agree w/ J. Randall about not romaticizing the process. Clear your plate to where you have a good chunk of time to devote to art and then get about making art.
Most of all have fun.
Also, don't try and rely on the internet for encouragement.
For instance, I can't write while listening to music with lyrics. I just can't. So when I write, I usually go silent, and then let my mind start to wander through the silence. My mind fills the void with words.
But when I am drawing or modeling, the part of my mind that processes words isn't necessary. For inspiration in those endeavors, I like to immerse myself in different emotive states. And the best way to do that is with lyrical music. If I'm making something whimsical, I might put on some Billy Joel, or some Johnny Cash. If I'm making something powerful or intense, I'll throw on ACDC or Guns and Roses. If I'm making something dark and brooding I reach for the Rahmstein or Rob Zombie.
It's all about experimenting with different environmental stimulus, and finding what puts you in the right state of mind to work on the project you are currently laboring at.
QFT. I've grown to accept that I'm probably never going to be the best at what I like to do. No matter how much practice I put into it, there are people out there who would clean the floor with me. It's much more satisfying to focus on developing your own personal style, and refining that the best that you can. This will help to lend greater personality to your work, and provide you with a portfolio that is more unique and personally satisfying. Although it is good to look at others works, and it is certianly good to critique your own, you should never let this hold you back. Don't try to emulate other people. Just use their work as a lesson, not a target.
So I'm going with the "pick concepts from the net" route right now to keep miproving my skills. I'm currently plowing through concepts on the warhammer site. It's an endless source of artwork there and I'm loving making the weapons right now. I'm also doing deadlines now too for myself. I pick something and say "Ok I'm going to take today to do the highpoly". Or when I browsed the speed model thread I decided ok, I'm going to make something in an hour and post it.
Also, the fact that mudbox2009 just came out makes me want to make rocks. So I did that today hah.
Quoted For Untrooth :P
ok to each their own, but I think you should be comparing yourself to pros and using that gap as fuel for your own progression. being happy with your own rate is a recipe for stagnation, imo (unless you're super amazing at progressing, then you can be happy)
I wasn't so much talking about stagnation as much as I was being kind to oneself in the face of that gap.
Yeah, you gotta be pretty hard on yourself and push improvement. But if you get so discouraged by that gap that you can't even bring yourself to work anymore, then you need to learn to calm the shit down.
That's kind of what I meant. Advice for the rest of us who have trouble staying encouraged and finding the will to keep working.
I can't afford to pick up the latest sculpting software. I have to make do with open source and freeware tools. And I only have three or four hours a night that I can spare to work on this sort of thing. (and sometimes that is spent coding rather than modeling) Do you expect me to be pitting myself against professionals who do nothing but advanced 3D modeling ten to twelve hours a day?
I can appreciate the example that excellent professional work sets. It's one of the things I look for whenever I do play a game. Hell, its a major reason why I enjoy coming to polycount! The work I see on these boards inspires me, and it does make me want to push myself harder. But if I use it is a goal or target to reach, I will most likely stumble in frustration and depression.
Couldnt agree more, ok im not doing the art side, but the animation departmant is pretty much the same.
I can say that until I recognized rossters point my work suffered. Only meeting the bar that is set and exceeding it will open the door to great work.
qfe. And don't worry about hardware. Can you paint q3 textures as well as kenneth scott? Characters like you see in ffxii?
If you have some sculpting tools, just start with matching doom3. It's pretty outdated and simplistic by these days' standards. Hell, learn to draw as well as the pros.
Art skill has nothing to do with technology. Setting low standards means having low results, at best.