Finishing projects. The struggle is real.
polycounter lvl 4
Does anyone else have trouble finishing projects? I start them, end up getting stuck or just slogging through, and then it ends up not getting done. Sometimes the length of time a project takes to complete is discouraging.
Replies
It happens, you just have to power through it!
if i would like to finish a project i do a challenge with a fixed deadline...
Starting small is good advice. Also try to pick projects you're truly passionate about. For example it's much easier for me to finish photography related stuff like texture packs and HDRis because there's a clear purpose involved. And it's very rewarding to get positive feedback from people. When I'm just making art for the sake of art I'm much more likely to can a project.
deliberately choose a project that is hard to pull off , ie the challenge is the thing rather than making something I am really passionate about
It is kind of tedious, but it does really help to show progress and how much more you've got to go to get it done.
But I'm starting to catch myself. Follow-through is an important skill to learn just as much as anything else.
(Planning For Success)
Pretty sure that basically everybody has trouble finishing projects. Hell, I have about four projects right now that I'm completely ignoring. That said, I'm still able to finish things if I decide to focus on them. Here's what I do if I want to start a project, maintain the energy to see it through, and push through the last 10% that takes 90% of the work:
1. Understand the scope of what I'm doing
If I have a very large or very involved project, I try to figure out exactly how it needs to look once it's finished. I ask myself simple questions about the project, and try to always come up with concrete answers that provide a way forward if I ever lose track of what I'm doing.
I recently made a character for a client, and it was a guy wearing a suit. The character's head and hands were already finished, but I needed to know what his outfit looked like, so I started doing research on suits and then asked a series of questions that had very definite answers:
- How casual or formal is this suit in general?
- Is it a two- or three-piece suit?
- Is it double or single-breasted?
- One, two, or three front buttons?
- Does it have notch, peak, or shawl lapels?
- What style of pockets does it have?
- How many sleeve buttons does it have, and how are they spaced?
- Does it have no rear vents, a center vent, or double vents?
- Is it silk, synthetic, wool, a blend, or other?
- What actual type of fabric does it use?
- What color and pattern does it use?
- Etc.
These are all questions I can get definite answers on, whether I'm working with a client or making a character for myself. Once I have the answers to these questions, I can start using them as points to check off a list of things I have or have not accomplished.2. Understand how to achieve the end result I'm looking for
If I don't know how to do something that's absolutely necessary to finishing a project, there's a good chance I'm never going to finish what I set out to do unless I make learning that thing a part of the process of finishing the project.
Let's take the suit guy example from above as an example:
I don't know how suit jackets are constructed. If I'm trying to make a believable guy in a suit, I need to understand a few things:
- Panel shapes
- Seam placement
- Proper fit
- Etc.
And each of those things has sub-items I need to know:- Why are suit jacket sleeves not made using straight lines?
- How are the lapels attached to the front panels and collar?
- Do rear vents overlap, or are they just straight cuts?
- How do you make a shaped waist using darts?
- Etc.
For every potential problem area in a final product, I physically write a list of things that are going to give me trouble. I can then use this list as a basis for doing research on how to solve those problems. I use lists like this for all kinds of problems, especially when it comes to things like rendering and lighting.Having a list of problems I've solved also serves as a reminder to myself that I'm getting stuff done.
3. Work in a timely manner, and use deadlines to my advantage
I find working under pressure is the best time to get good work done. Time pressure forces me to do the best I can in an allotted period, and this allows me to objectively judge how well I've done.
If you're working on a personal project without deadlines, you can still get stuff done by either focusing on a specific task or by forcing yourself to work for a specific amount of time.
If you focus on a specific task there are some great results:
If you focus on working for a specific period of time, there are also some good results:
If you force yourself to work in a timely manner, whether it's by focusing on a specific task during time you have available, or by forcing yourself to work for a specific time period, you're going to develop good working and scheduling habits.
4. Never think about my motivation and only think about how to achieve the end result
Finishing projects is not a problem with "motivation" because motivation is a bullshit term for "I have a reason to do this thing." The reason you have to do the thing is the same as doing the thing. Making projects is fun and rewarding, and if you get good enough at it, you can make it so you pay your bills doing something fun and rewarding.
The carrot on the end of the stick is not paying your bills. The carrot on the end of the stick is the fun and rewarding feeling you get from making cool stuff.
Added a few words at the start of your post just to help out the front page readability.
While this may not work for everyone, this is what I did to keep myself moving, I started 3-4 projects at a time (I know it sounds like a bad idea but stay with me.) Each time I have spare time I work on a different one of them, For me it has kept me fresh on each one of the projects. The nice thing about it is you learn something from each project you can use in the others, and in the end you have 3-4 good pieces. The downside is it takes longer to finish them as you are splitting your focus.
Like I said, probably won't work for everyone, especially people who are very single task oriented. In my mindset I feel I work better when multitasking projects.
the hard part is how they will be received by everyone as a whole.
Right now I have more than five fellows on stand by because I feel as though the meat-brigade would rush me and say
"That's not good enough for anything, it has to look like the current popular hyperreal/disney styling/blizzard stylings and be a high rez scuplture. "
Normally that wouldn't bother me
, but lately I have been pondering this a bit too much.
A four day projects can turn into two week projects due to indecision.
Also taking suggestions from everyone can be irksome ; some people think piece should be one way, yet even more people think it should be the other. If you go one way instead of the other the first group will think you don't listen to anyone. So in the end there is no appeasing everyone.
Some folks say be an ultra low poly fellow with 512 maps and 4k poly counts
Some folks say it's an out dated method from 15 years ago
Others say be a high resolution fellow 100k tris
Some folks aren't interested in that and only want to see low poly
Some folks say be a zscuplt fellow
Other folks say primarily zscuplting fellow is unproductive
Some folks will say you should be a hyper real fellow
Others say they aren't interested in hyper real fellows and only want to see your toons
You can't appease everyone.
My advice is to only listen to a select group of people who you really trust, or else you will end up not completing anything
because everyone is pulling you in every direction imaginable.
I don’t necessarily agree. I think the best thing to do when working on a project is to get it out to the world and let as many people see it as possible. Everybody will have their own opinions on how the project can be improved or changed but you just have to take each one with a grain of salt and ultimately you should decide want to change or keep based on the critiques that you have received. You never know who you might inspire or what idea you might come up with when sharing it with people.
Awesome post, @Swizzle
You all have great things to say, and I agree, fantastic post @Swizzle!
I think I'l stop once I reach 10.
When I can do game art at all, I can only spend up to 4 hours before numbing out. Most of the time I don't get to have these hours. I've cut off other projects and even fan art.
The license involved doesn't help either (GPLv2+), often limiting potential contributors to programmersthataresittingontheirthumbsinmaililnglistslookingfornewbufferoverflowstosubmitpatchesfor which isn't exactly something an art project would need.
The project is now in its 10th year of existence and isn't yet complete and is undergoing a reboot because the last incarnation turned out aesthetically awful. Been solo-ing it for quite awhile.
Feeling relieved after reading all since I know that i'm not the only one.