No inspiration.

Armonio

I've lost my inspiration, and don't know what to do. Don't get me wrong, I love modeling. I always think about it (in a healthy dose), but every time i open up MAX and ZBrush, I sit there... not knowing what to do. I'm an ok modeler by most standards, but I just don't know what to do, or where to start. I've loved creating Environments/environment props (houses, signs, fences etc) than anything else, in a Medieval/FableI(I) setting. (picture farms with thatched roofs, windmills etc.) I also love creating castles, and detailing them to nothing. But I also love Sci-Fi. I love creating spaceships, etc, because I love detailing.

Problem is, I have no inspiration to create anything. I just don't have any goals to strive for. Nothing comes to mind when I open up the modeling programs. I don't know what to create, or how to start, and I've hit a stump where I haven't modeled in a week or so. I fear if I keep this up, I'll lose my love for modeling, which i don't want to happen.

Any tips, or ideas to get back on track?! Thanks! I know this is a personal problem, but anything you think will help is much appreciated.

(PS. if you have any high-poly meshes you are willing to share for inspiration, or just as a generic influence, please do so!)

Xenocidex11

Do you have anything else you are good at? If you do look into that for the inspiration you need. I like drawing and alot of that inspires me in my modelling.

Jason Young

You should have a concept to work from before opening your modeling program. That way you don't have to think!


Or, maybe take a little time off? Not modeling for a week isn't a huge deal. Go have some fun and find your inspiration.

monkeyboy_garth

Think of a company you'd love to work for and create something that would fit in one of their games. And maybe spend less time thinking about how uninspired you are! Don't dwell on it.

This thread probably belongs in General Discussion, btw.

Blaizer

You don't know what to do... but you know what you like, don't you? it seems like you were "collapsed".

How many hours do you spent with the computer? too much time doing 3d? it may be the reason. Then, you would need to disconnect a bit. Read, play some games, watch films, do sports, etc, get a bit of evassion. Our mind is like a muscle and if you are doing continuous efforts you won't work well. Mental fatigue in this profession can be a bad problem and i think is the first reason of why so many friends dropped this work. An example can be found on those people who work all the day doing 3d for games; when they arrive home, they usually don't do more 3d work. They like what they do but not at the same level as someone who lives for his work.

If you like all this related to 3d, disconnecting a bit should solve your problem. If not, you surely have found that you really don't like what you do.

BuCC

Start your software up and model a steam-driven motorbike! Right now! No, don't read any further, just do it.
(Sometimes all you need is a kick in the arse)

Mark Dygert

I have the exact opposite problem. I'll trade ya. If you ever make a job out this hobby you'll have no shortage of people telling you what to make =P

Carl Brannstrom

I had the similar problem before.

It will help alot to join some indie team to make a mod or game. You can also enter competitions. This way you will get some directions and a deadline to work after.

You could also look at existing games and try to make your own version of characters or environments. For example; make a character from Unreal tournament 3 in low poly.

EbolaV

i think what monkeyboy said is for example a good start. like i do. or go outside into city or travel a bit and make thousands of pics take some simple shapes mix them maybe you get some idea for making some cool stuff.

Ruz

ha I wish I could offer you some advice , but I am having the same problem. bites really

pior

I had this before, and soon realized that this one awkward feeling mostly came from opening the 3D app and hoping to improvise in there. Grab a stack of paper instead (no, photoshop does not count) and let yourself go. Soon enough you will have weird shapes or even a concept that you can then translate in 3D.

The best inspiring works are the one carrying a strong or original idea, as opposed to alien head impros!

Good luck with all that. It's an annoying feeling but it can disappear overnight...

John Warner

could be that you need to do somethign else for a while... orr.. are you sure you're not in a subtle form of depression?

people do what they do because it meets their needs. if you have run out of inspiration, it could be that doing art wasn't getting you what you wanted, and maybe somewhere inside you thought it was meaningless?

what ever the reason is, when i feel like that i just sit down in a chair, close my eyes, and slowly let go of all judgements and intentions that i had to do this or that thing, or ideas of this-or-that-thing-will-make-me-happy. then, be honest with yourself and ask yourself what it is that you REALLY want. do that.

might not be art right now.

Lamont

Change your environment if you don't feel inspired. Take a break. It will come to you. Every artist should be chasing the sun.

sir-knight

Armonio wrote: »

I've loved creating Environments/environment props (houses, signs, fences etc) than anything else, in a Medieval/FableI(I) setting. (picture farms with thatched roofs, windmills etc.) I also love creating castles, and detailing them to nothing. But I also love Sci-Fi. I love creating spaceships, etc, because I love detailing.

dude! you just listed off stuff you can do right there!

You like those settings... now THINK! what is needed in those settings to make them feel natural, populated, used and lived in? You just listed a ton of them.

Think right down to things we all take for granted. What would a bank look like in a fantasy world? What does a store look like? What would a fence look like. You know a setting you'd like to work in.. it's not a matter of lack of inspiration...

Sure you model a castle.. okay.. now what is needed to keep a castle functioning and decorated? How old is it? Is it in use, is it abandoned, is it new, is it in ruins?

In my eyes, an artist should never have a lack of inspiration... There's always something they can do... whether it be modeling a rock or a castle. It's all practice and it can all go to filling in a world of stuff.

Once you determine what you're going to do, research it for reference and then do it! I don't see why you've run out of stuff to do, there's always more... look at how much junk there is in lord of the rings that gets about 1 second of screentime but they're all unique props, right down to forks, cups and books that you see way off in the background.

Richard Kain

Several other members have touched on this, but i'll reiterate.

Just start doodling.

Creating original ideas inside of a 3D app rarely ever works. It's always best to start concepting in 2D, it's just easier to shoot ideas faster that way. I always save up paper that hasn't been used on one side. That way whenever I'm not doing anything in particular, I just grab a sheet of that and start doodling whatever pops into my noggin.

BradMyers82

Go to this thread: http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=54311

Problem solved!

[edit] Works for me at least, but like Vig said; then I want to do too much and spread myself too thin.

Elhrrah

I can probably come up with twenty or so people who would love to be your inspiration for you.

One method that I use is browsing sites like DeviantArt, OrientalArms, or Elfwood for ideas or examples. What was the last book that you read? Pick a character, a scene, or even the front cover to recreate. Or what about a 'story starter' of sorts? Turn it into a kind of guessing game, making use of the people on this very forum.

McGreed

I have run into the same problem for a while now and I think I can narrow the problem down to a simple thing right now: I'm not an artist, I'm an 'engineer'. Of course not literlly, but I noticed from other peoples work that they do amazing work on the fly and I suddenly realised that everytime I try work on something I start thinking about how I can make it instead of just doing it, keep thinking having the polygons created correctly, avoid experimenting because that would mean I had to redo stuff if I didn't like it. And I end up wasting a lot of time just aligning vertexs and shave off polygons on a highres model (yeah stupid).

Yeah, I think I need to get away from the computer, and do something else, but just feel this pressure that you have to work because you need portfolio stuff and need a job and such. No fun anymore.

Junkie_XL

Going thru the same thing at the moment.

I could get inspired again if someone could show me some clean & detailed concept art. ;-)

I envy the modelers at Epic Games. Their concept artists are just so good. Lots of great references and a great environment as a whole I imagine.

I just cannot find concept art as clean and as detailed as hawkprey for example...

shotgun

KP's classic "draw without greed" comes to mind. Coming up with an original idea that kicks ass can be very difficult. When people see my drawings they always say "man, how the hell did you come up with this? you have a sick mind", etc., but the truth is I never come up with anything when I start a sketch, nothing beyond 'monster' or 'asian dude', really generic terms. Start from one place and let things develop naturally, one thing leads to another. When you're stuck, scribble stuff, just makes some lines or whatever and see what it can be. Like, 'oh if he had something around his arm, how could these scribbly lines become it?'. Random shapes generation really helps, whatever's your medium. Let your imagination and emotions guide your thoughts, rather than the pretense to make something awesome.

alexk

Junkie_XL wrote: »

Going thru the same thing at the moment.

I could get inspired again if someone could show me some clean & detailed concept art. ;-)

I envy the modelers at Epic Games. Their concept artists are just so good. Lots of great references and a great environment as a whole I imagine.

I just cannot find concept art as clean and as detailed as hawkprey for example...

I feel a bit of the same way, in that I'm still learning and would love to work off clean and detailed concepts. But the thing is that even those Epic guys, they don't always get detailed concepts. In Kevin Johnstones thread in the PnP, he linked a site to a concept of one of his his "klaw" highpoly peices, and the concept is not as detailed as his highpoly. And so Kevin also mentions that even though he works off concepts he still needs to "ground it in reality". There's like so much awesome concept work out there... sure it's not fleshed to full detail, but I think that part is kind of our job as 3d artists to do that, and in a way we also can have some artistic freedom and direction to how it will turn out in 3d. There was also a thread in the General section with links to a few places for environment concepts, my fav so far is cghub.com, and you can keep refreshing the main page for new concepts to check out

Junkie_XL

alexk wrote: »

I feel a bit of the same way, in that I'm still learning and would love to work off clean and detailed concepts. But the thing is that even those Epic guys, they don't always get detailed concepts. In Kevin Johnstones thread in the PnP, he linked a site to a concept of one of his his "klaw" highpoly peices, and the concept is not as detailed as his highpoly. And so Kevin also mentions that even though he works off concepts he still needs to "ground it in reality". There's like so much awesome concept work out there... sure it's not fleshed to full detail, but I think that part is kind of our job as 3d artists to do that, and in a way we also can have some artistic freedom and direction to how it will turn out in 3d. There was also a thread in the General section with links to a few places for environment concepts, my fav so far is cghub.com, and you can keep refreshing the main page for new concepts to check out

Yeah I don't mean to take away from what Kevin contributes. He surely is improvising with his own spin...I know it's not just the concept artists doing it all.

I'll check the site out, thanks for the link.

DEElekgolo

Actually. This is the same thing that happens to me. I would sit at the computer bored. I WANT to model something but I dont know what. My greatest problem is starting.

Shogun3d

When worse comes to worse, I go watch a movie or two and keep in mind any visual effects I like. Sometimes ill even open photoshop and draw silhouettes of random black blobs or squares to see if I find anything interesting.

Browse CG websites
Watch movies
Read, Sketch
Doodle at a coffee shop
Play a game or two
Eat an apple

I get creative blocks a lot, but usually these activities help me out.

Talbot

Vig showed me this a little while ago... www.opacity.us

tanka

I'm having the same lack of inspiration.. I know I want to do environments, but I don't know what! I've learned alot of new techniques over the last few weeks and I feel like anything is possible, but I don't know where to start.

Yozora

Start with a wall.

BradMyers82

Talbot: Wow, that site is environment artist gold! I just book marked it, thank you so much for sharing (vig too).

Slum

This topic comes up every month or so. Should mopey "I'm so uninspired" threads be exempt from the "use the damn search function" rules?

Make some art, or don't. It's really that simple.

AshleyTayles

You do realize that you don't HAVE to make something. Go outside, have a life. Eventually, you will think of something. But don't sit around bashing your head against the wall trying to think what that something is.