Health, nutrition, and stamina as an artist.
polycounter lvl 6
As I get older my stamina is getting lower.
I am just starting in 3D, and have done 2D drawings and sketches for many years. I am 41 and I have trouble sitting on my desk, drawing stuff for more than an hour at maximum. Yesterday I drew a school bus (with Mad Max twist) during a break time on the set. I couldn't finish it because it was so taxing to add all the details and stuff. So far I have rarely drawn cars, and I had to figure out how to draw wheels with prominent tractions with a brush marker and a flexible nib inking pen. (If I had a colored pencil it would have been easier...)
I keep reminding myself to "Draw for 45 minutes, take a 15 minutes break. Then repeat.". But it's difficult to stick with it.
I guess many of you guys tend to sit in front of the monitor for hours. I guess many of you guys are in 20s and early 30s. Maybe some of you guys are feeling the age. Probably a few of you guys spend some money on supplements. I do. I often buy dried beet powder and moringa leaf powder since they are full of nutrients that vitalize you. And at this point I am thinking about buying...a bottle of ginseng paste.
To make matters worse, I am diabetic. Back in 2005 a VA doctor prescribed me Abilify and I started having near-coma every time I took it. Turns out that the med spiked my blood sugar and slowly destroyed my pancreas. But the doctor didn't do a thing to change it. And yes, at this point it's really difficult to concentrate for more than an hour at a single sitting.
So how do you guys maintain yourselves, nutrition wise? How do you maintain your mental endurance?
P.S. Yes, I take Turmeric and ginger, too.
I am just starting in 3D, and have done 2D drawings and sketches for many years. I am 41 and I have trouble sitting on my desk, drawing stuff for more than an hour at maximum. Yesterday I drew a school bus (with Mad Max twist) during a break time on the set. I couldn't finish it because it was so taxing to add all the details and stuff. So far I have rarely drawn cars, and I had to figure out how to draw wheels with prominent tractions with a brush marker and a flexible nib inking pen. (If I had a colored pencil it would have been easier...)
I keep reminding myself to "Draw for 45 minutes, take a 15 minutes break. Then repeat.". But it's difficult to stick with it.
I guess many of you guys tend to sit in front of the monitor for hours. I guess many of you guys are in 20s and early 30s. Maybe some of you guys are feeling the age. Probably a few of you guys spend some money on supplements. I do. I often buy dried beet powder and moringa leaf powder since they are full of nutrients that vitalize you. And at this point I am thinking about buying...a bottle of ginseng paste.
To make matters worse, I am diabetic. Back in 2005 a VA doctor prescribed me Abilify and I started having near-coma every time I took it. Turns out that the med spiked my blood sugar and slowly destroyed my pancreas. But the doctor didn't do a thing to change it. And yes, at this point it's really difficult to concentrate for more than an hour at a single sitting.
So how do you guys maintain yourselves, nutrition wise? How do you maintain your mental endurance?
P.S. Yes, I take Turmeric and ginger, too.
Replies
I think http://daily.barbellshrugged.com/shop/ is a decent place to start if you want to do something stupid and have that survival instinct kick in watch out though HIIT stuff generally makes your bloods spike, so take a shot, maybe 10 units after the warm up and before any strength and metcon portion of a workout. Make sure to eat within an hour afterward too cos they will drop like a stone once you have cooled down.
I'm 41 and a diabetic, I ended up nearly dead a few years back when my pancreas decided it didnt want to work anymore. "I'm diabetic" is not an excuse for not knuckling down and getting shit done, "My age" is not and excuse for not knuckling down and getting shit done, telling yourself that the younger guys have an ability you dont, or that you cant focus cos diabetes is bollocks. Before I posted I checked out your other threads to get a handle on where you were at and honestly I think you need to make some tough choices about whether or not you really want to do 3D. Your first thread was two years ago, that's hardly just starting in 3D, that's the time it took me between opening maya for the first time and landing my first character gig.
Whats my special secret, how do I maintain my mental endurance? Its simple, there is no secret. You dont need a mentor, or a class, or a support network, you just need to get your head down and do it. People are more likely to answer a targeted question when you get stuck than explain a whole process. Get your hands dirty. Find ways to enable rather than excuse yourself from making stuff, or learning something etc... Your 2d stuff shows that you have some skill, now apply that skill to 3d along with some determination. Stop making posts that have a list of excuses thinly veiled with a question about how other people manage what you seemingly cant, start making posts with some 3d art in them. They will probably get ignored but who cares, you will be progressing simply by doing something.
I sincerely hope that you do make a change to your routine, add exercise, and some time to focus on study. Alternate on a daily basis if you are really pushed for time but most importantly set yourself a goal that you stick to, nothing worthwhile is easy, especially self improvement. Im still shit at it and I try to be better every day than the day before.
Now stop fucking about and get it done xxx
"You're only as old as you want too feel..."
Anyway I've got no 'magic' formula to lay on the table other than dietary (...cut down on the junk), exercise (...go for walks outside in the fresh air, when the weather permits), read stuff (...comics, SciFi/Fantasy novel...whatever), take up a hobby (...non CG related) and/or just chill by maybe listening to your favourite tunes zoning out. I actually find helps off load a ton of garbage that tends to accumulate day to day, life's commitments invariably clutter the mind with.
For my age 56, well add another 6mths to be exact. I reckon a good state of health all told managing as best I'm able my fair share of incumbent issues both psychological and physical. Without sounding morbidly self indulgent, Hypotension, Heart Arrhythmia, Karpal Tunnel Syndrome affecting both wrists, life long chronic depressive and a recently diagnosed arthritic right knee. Now despite which holding down a private security role working 12hr night shifts five days a week for minimum wage keeping hard cover overhead, clothes on my back and food on the table...
I guess experience maturity brings has kept me upright plus above ground, that I'll totally attribute too military service throughout the 80s. Coining a catch phrase ingrained since those day's:
"Proper, Prior, Planning, Prevents, Piss, Poor, Performance" approach has enabled me in pursuit of developing my artistic passion alongside coping with what life throws at you.
I would also recommend checking your desk ergonomics, if sitting is not working for you, you might need to invest in a new chair, adjust the height/location of everything or try out a standing desk. Years of bad posture can really bite you in the butt and you sometimes don't realize just how much it affects you. Good chiropractors and/or posture specialists are worth going to, you'd be amazed how much better you can feel and how much more focused you are with proper care of your neck and spine. Don't skimp out on things like mice or keyboards either, your hands and wrists will thank you.
Timers can be vital with helping to get work done, if you are having a hard time focusing for 45 minutes, try 20 or 30 instead and work up to 1 hour long sessions. No need to rush yourself.
Or just stop thinking too much and do some art and whatever you like in your free time.
My left wrist has been broken since 2002 (one of the bones is snapped clean) and arthritis has since developed. My right wrist has 50 stitches from an old knife attack that severed 4 tendons. I'm 39. I can sit engrossed in CG work for 20 hours straight, no problem.
All your posts seem to be your sub-conscious looking for any excuse avoid learning CG. There's no harm in that, mate. It's certainly not for everyone.
You've received a lot of honest feedback in all your threads. So it's time to either act on it or find another creative outlet.
As for nutrition, I do my best to eat healthy. I work at retail almost full-time and now I work as a regular extra for a new TV show. I really need to be careful about the food because they serve really hearty foods on the set. And Moringa and Beet Root do help a lot. I definitely feel the increase in energy level. And a few weeks ago I started hitting the gym at least two times a week.
As for learning 3D, a local community college offers different levels of modeling classes (beggining, intermediate, and advanced), which is unusualy for a community college. I signed up for the beginning class but I am afraid that I need to drop out before the semester starts because of my commitment on the TV show. Sin ce the show will run for 13 episodes I will have to wait for Spring term next year.
P.S. Actually I was thinking about the key differences in production-ready modeling and concept design modeling. I was told that concept designs are shifting toward using 3D, and that was the main reason I wanted to get into 3D. But it seems like there's some different expectations when dealing with two different subjects, technically or whatnot. Of course I believe that I need to nail down the foundation skills first.
@musashidan Maybe you are right about the subconscious fear. I constantly question myself "Can I do it? Will I turn out to be half way decent?".
@Alemja At least I need Alpha Lipoic Acid and Gymnema to help controlling my blood sugar. They help a lot, immensely.
@sacboi There are few things that I did not mention, which I want to keep it to myself. If things work out well I will have some breathing room to concentrate on things I want to pursue. I've been wrestling with the VA regarding some stuff...and that's all I can say.
Since you really seem to continually bring up mentorship and are looking to speed things up, I think it's time for you to start investing in some courses or at least find something a little more structured you can follow. Here are a few:
http://drawabox.com/
https://www.gameartinstitute.com/
https://www.schoolism.com/school.php
http://www.scott-eaton.com/anatomy-for-artists-online-course
https://www.ctrlpaint.com/
https://www.uartsy.com/
http://www.mold3dacademy.com/all-classes.html
http://www.zbrushworkshops.com/
https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/
https://www.learnsquared.com/
http://cgmasteracademy.com/
Some Youtube channels that have valuable stuff
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbdyjrrJAjDIACjCsjAGFAA
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClM2LuQ1q5WEc23462tQzBg
This thread and your previous threads seem to be full of information to help you figure things out, but it really all comes down to posting art -> gets crits -> making improvements -> rinse -> repeat -> forever.
Now that I'm (only slightly) older I find myself getting solicited for this kind of mentorship by other people, and seeing it from the other side of the fence, I think there's a few things you can do to increase your success building this type of relationship.
First I would say, try to target specific people that do the kind of work you want to be able to do. See if they have any public contact info like discords or skypes or even emails or whatever. If not, they have PMs on whatever site they post on. Actively approach them.
Second, never just message someone like "Hey
Third, if you do manage to get a mentor "hooked" so to speak, don't defend your work to them. Don't try and verbalize or intellectualize excuses for your work. If they crit you, never explain why they're wrong. Either go chew on it or ask them more questions that will help you better understand what they're trying to express. Nothing is more annoying than taking the time to crit someone's work in an attempt to help, only to have them basically make excuses or justifications for the things you pointed out. It feels like wasted effort. Remember that you're looking for a mentor and not a debate partner. The day may come when you're on equal footing but I wouldn't start off with that attitude.
Anyway sorry if this isn't 100% on the main topic of the thread but I just drank like 2 cups of coffee and hopefully someone finds it helpful.
But, for example, Arrimus is a youtube guy who does free modelling tutorials (one of im guessing thousands of people doing this btw for free) who is also a professional in the industry, who i would say is 95% of all you need to learn modelling, not texturing or normal mapping, just creating the raw model itself. I'd recommend one of the Eat 3D texturing tutorials for getting a great start learning texturing in photoshop, then go straight to Substance Painter and quixel tutorials.
As far as whether you should do this to begin with, i don't feel knowledgeable to answer that, but for me i am still learning if the last 3 years were worth it. It hammered home the fact that i like playing games much more than making them and it can i think a reduce some of the mystique about games, knowing so intimately how the magic trick works, but i will say since getting my gaming setup back after 3 years dedicated to study, i'm enjoying the hell out of Mad Max so, i don't know.... I will say that while taking photos of Seattle's industrial areas for reference over the course of many weeks, I have a new reverence for all those hidden workers doing their thing in those massive industrial facilities and i sort of wonder if the importance i put on art and game development is somewhat too high and that i did not respect the work of societies basic needs, such as concrete and metal production, or whatever. Honestly, all that stuff is so interesting to me now, taking a job in an industrial plant sound very interesting. But thats all just to say that i hope you don't limit yourself to art.
As far as health goes. I currently adhere to this thinking:
ambelamba said:
@sacboi There are few things that I did not mention, which I want to keep it to myself. If things work out well I will have some breathing room to concentrate on things I want to pursue. I've been wrestling with the VA regarding some stuff...and that's all I can say.
A tad late in the day however I hope everything works out OK for you.
I was advised to lay low for a while by all the different people. And I guess I am reverting to a hobbyist. Nothing wrong, I guess. Actually, I wasn't really aspiring to be a game artist. I always wanted to be a concept artist and apply the game art techniques to concept design pipeline. But...it seems that I can be generous with polygon counts and the end products don't have to be game engine-friendly. So...I just decided to concentrate on fundamental subD modeling techniques instead, You know, edge control and meshflow and all the good stuff....instead of making the models lowpoly and things.
Anyway, I am learng quite a bit from here.