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Where's my drive at man

polycounter lvl 8
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Free_Fall polycounter lvl 8
For some reason I've lately had a lack of drive and/or will to model.. Kinda starts to make me sad :( It's been about 4 or 5 weeks now that I open up my max, and then just let it sit there all they long while I'm being a bored person on the interwebs..

Whenever I even try to model something I get frustrated and angry for some reason :/

Anybody else had this problem before?

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  • Habboi
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    Habboi sublime tool
    How many years have you been modelling, why do you model in the first place and do you stay at home all day just surfing, gaming and modelling?

    If you've only modelled for a few years, have no goal other than for fun and don't make each day different and varied then you'll be stale, tired, angry and so on and you won't progress.

    In other words, the better you get, the less you get stressed about your own abilities and the more you just get on with. Like today I was just finishing up an idea I had for a level and I thought to myself, huh, I just made that without really thinking about it. Back in the day I'd have struggled. It's a weird sensation.

    Anyway my advice is to take a break from modelling and rediscover why you do it. Maybe even stay away from the PC for a week. I did that once and it rekindled my modelling spirit. Good luck.
  • aivanov
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    aivanov polycounter lvl 5
    Yep, this is pretty common - call it artist's block, writer's block, whatever. Working on random inspiration alone ain't gonna cut it. All I can say is power through it; start something, and no matter how pissed you get at it, work on it for small stretches of time whenever you're idle (or long ones, the point is to keep working on it). Eventually, no matter how long it takes, you'll have a finished result, and you'll be much happier than if you had done nothing - perhaps even inspired to do another piece.

    To actually start something, it can help to take a particular artist's work that you find inspiring and attempt to do something in the same theme (and hopefully striving for the same quality).

    I'm assuming here that you're not burned out from crapping out a monumental amount of work and are attempting something new immediately after. Take a break in that case.
  • Kot_Leopold
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    Kot_Leopold polycounter lvl 10
    You're not the only one with such an issue here. I think this motivation or "will" to do work has a lot to do with expectations. When something doesn't turn out as good as you would have liked it to be, we tend to give up even trying and jump right onto the next piece without finishing the first one. And inevitably, we don't finish the next piece either. As much as we would like to, unfortunately, we're not able to create something really awesome overnight; but subconsciously we still expect it to happen, I think. Forcing ourselves to do art will most certainly result in an undesirable outcome. It is really like running in circles - becomes almost like a chore which is a terrible feeling to have.

    Personally I don't think that this has much to do with goals in your life. I'm positive 99% of us here all know what our goal is. It's just that we don't really know what pushes us and we get stuck.

    Heck, even I sometimes find myself in such loopholes. I'd fire up ZBrush and it'd be idle until the next morning or something. Haven't found a solution yet. I think the best one is to have an art buddy who'll keep kicking you in the arse and help you along the way so you stick to one project until you finish it. After you have a completed piece, you'll be excited to start working on the next one and most likely finish it too. That sense of accomplishment: "I did it!".

    Taking a break from your PC should also help. Also, make a schedule. Having a planner will help you keep track of what you've done.

    Another cautionary note is: Never leave your pen tablet on or software package open if you're not using them.
  • Alberto Rdrgz
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    Alberto Rdrgz polycounter lvl 9
    GO AND HAVE FUN MODELING!

    If you're not gonna enjoy doing what you do then don't do it!

    save yourself the head ache....
  • oobersli
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    oobersli polycounter lvl 17
    simple. if you don't enjoy doing something. don't do it. if you find yourself in that situation constantly.. look for another hobby/profession.
  • aajohnny
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    aajohnny polycounter lvl 13
    I'm going through the same phase, but I am slowly getting out of it. It really is normal, and it does suck :/ but watch tv, play games, watch movies or just look at art...don't do it for a little bit and eventually you'll find yourself making some art again.
  • TortillaChips
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    TortillaChips polycounter lvl 10
    Or you could do something related but different. Atm I'm painting some concept art and it's 1. going pretty well considering I haven't really done this kinda thing apart from simple concepts and 2. something that I'm putting loads of hours into, more so than I would do modelling or sculpting at this moment in time.
  • brandoom
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    brandoom polycounter lvl 13
    Just work through it. Literally.
  • ae.
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    ae. polycounter lvl 12
    steroids do them! if you dont your a pussy.

    steroid-abuse-1.gif
  • HonkyPunch
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    HonkyPunch polycounter lvl 18
    just drive. doesnt matter where you go.
    dont think about it..just bash away at the notion that something is stopping you.
  • DeeKei
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    Yeah I sometimes get that. But usually when I get sick of 3D modelling I just switch to drawing out concept and painting, and then when I get sick of that back to modelling. Would I call it a vicious cycle? I don't know. If I dont feel like doing either of those I just watch tv shows and cartoons =3=
  • DEElekgolo
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    DEElekgolo interpolator
  • makecg
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    Just look at my avatar.
  • arrangemonk
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    arrangemonk polycounter lvl 15
    DUDE, i thougt you lost your car 0_o
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    this might be interesting (the vid):
    http://www.pentadact.com/2011-06-03-happiness-understanding-your-brain/

    specifically the bit about resistance to new things and learned patterns. It might be that the things you're trying to do are completely new and require a large amount of effort from the brain..

    maybe you could take a very small piece of something you want to make and start there. Start as small and simple as you can, something that requires little effort to complete. Once you have the ball rolling pick something a bit tougher and keep going upwards gradually. I have a hunch that the thought of doing the whole thing has this huge inertia tied to it, so start with a very low risk task. What about blocking in a rough shape with spheres and boxes- the design part might be tricky but you can do it in steps, and everyone knows how to move some boxes around
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    Wow.

    Sounds weird, but I just don't have nearly the amount of time to do all the stuff I want to do.


    I'm currently working on 3 side projects, but have another 12 ideas ready to go, along with 3 really solid collaborative ideas.

    This does not mention the 12 games I have sitting in cellophane on my coffee table, and 20+ uninstalled Steam games I've purchased that I've been meaning to get to.

    Around 5 TV series I've been meaning to watch, and at least 30 movies.

    My stack of 'To Read' books beside my bed is over 5+, and I've always wanted to get back into playing in a band, and doing more figure drawing.



    :/
  • Fomori
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    Fomori polycounter lvl 12
    That's me ^

    Bit worried about spreading myself too thinly and ending up with a rather average collection of accomplishments rather than a couple really good ones.
  • Snefer
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    Snefer polycounter lvl 16
    I stole it. Need this for this project im working on, brb! :D
  • dom
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    dom polycounter lvl 18
    I've experienced this a few times and I've come to a remedy of sorts. Artists are a bunch of fickle, emo idiots, there I said it.

    Find the reason why you do art. If you don't know it, then you shouldn't feel bothered about not doing art. It could be just guilt for not doing art that's causing you sadness.

    If you do know it, but you're sort of lying to yourself about it then reevaluate that reason, and if need be, change it. Don't bluff yourself into doing art because you have to, and then feel bad for not doing any.

    I find that if you tie this reason to a set goal, like something you want to acoomplish in say 5 to 10 years, it's easier to stick to it.

    Also, it's healthy to take a break. And it's OK to NOT do art. Don't beat yourself over this, it just makes matters worse.

    Do what you want, when you want, but most importantly, know why you are doing it.

    Example 1:

    I want to watch tv tonight or over the next few days, play WoW and then have a bag of chips, no, i don't want to do personal work.

    Why? Because I want to relax and enjoy life. Life is short, time to chill and just let things happen.

    Example 2:

    I'm going to do personal work tonight for 3 hours straight.

    Why? Because I want to get better and I've set myself to finish 3 models in 1 year. And in 3 years time, I want to have 10 kickass characters and a body of work I can be proud of.


    The more specific you are about your goals, the better it is to stick to it.

    hope this helps :)
  • Free_Fall
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    Free_Fall polycounter lvl 8
    Snefer wrote: »
    I stole it. Need this for this project im working on, brb! :D

    God dammit man! lol

    And wow guys.. never thought id get so many reply's to this topic I posted, all the thing being said are really helpful and I'm really thankful as well :3

    Just, thanks! :)
  • Pix
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    Pix
    About inspiration I think I have the worst case scenario, it's like an empty void in my mind, even if I force myself to come up with something it quickly disappears, I don't have any stable ideas in my head, I remember to flow around with them, most of them never finalized, the thought alone about it makes me angry now, I used to have so many ideas and now, it's nothing. No I'm not depressed or something. Somehow I think my creativity has completely shifted to my musical side, as I seem to come up with things and learn much faster even hardest riffs.
  • NoctyQ
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    Two times I've been tricked into clicking on this thread in the thought of you having problems detecting your hard drive..

    I would probably try and press through it. Find a nice sketch or something and set up small goals for each day or something.

    Or just go outside and play frisbee for a couple of days. Maybe take the time to do something you've been putting off on because of lack of time earlier
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