Advice for artists block
polycounter lvl 19
We all get it. Creativity zapped away, staring at a computer monitor is rarely any help. This thread is to suggest ways to overcome artists block. Please make 2 suggestions that you have found to work.
1. Grab a coffee, some paper or sketch book, give yourself 30 mins to doodle something. You'll be amazed at what jumps out of your mind onto the page and confused as to why you couldn't have done it before. Then you have a base to work from.
2. Go to a Zoo. Sounds stupid, but seeing all those creatures and what nature has to offer can be inspiring.
1. Grab a coffee, some paper or sketch book, give yourself 30 mins to doodle something. You'll be amazed at what jumps out of your mind onto the page and confused as to why you couldn't have done it before. Then you have a base to work from.
2. Go to a Zoo. Sounds stupid, but seeing all those creatures and what nature has to offer can be inspiring.
Replies
I know it's more than 2 but hey it helps so why not.
1. Play 360 for a bit. I find it relaxes me and gets me to a point where I'm not stressing as much about work and I can go back to my work later and be cool
2. Texture hunting. I just take my digital camera and go out somewhere and just start gathering reference, and stuff that can be used for textures or whatever. I could really use that photosynth software microsoft is working on because I have way too many photos to keep track of.
3. Pick up my sketch book and doodle. I don't do this one enough but when I do it's a nice change of pace.
4. Play some BF2 online.
5. Play with my son. Wrestle with him and lately he likes to run and hide and get shot by my nerf gun. He picks the little darts back up and brings them back to me and runs off again to redo it all over.
6. Work on my car. I can't wait to ship my eclipse to where I'm living now. I've already been pricing some nice upgrade kits for it.
7. Model building
8. Shopping for new collectibles, action figures, etc.
9. Taking a nap
10. Drinking a cold beer and just sitting on my couch watching a Red Sox game.
thats a few things I do. Can't wait to see what else you guys do.
Change Environment....
Think about why you like to make art, focus on the reasons.
Take a walk outside, enjoy the scenery.
Then I grab a piece of paper and start writing out words without thinking until ideas start flowing.
Then i work.
hmmm i've done a lot of different things to get rid of that block.
I know it's more than 2 but hey it helps so why not.
1. Play 360 for a bit. I find it relaxes me and gets me to a point where I'm not stressing as much about work and I can go back to my work later and be cool
2. Texture hunting. I just take my digital camera and go out somewhere and just start gathering reference, and stuff that can be used for textures or whatever. I could really use that photosynth software microsoft is working on because I have way too many photos to keep track of.
3. Pick up my sketch book and doodle. I don't do this one enough but when I do it's a nice change of pace.
4. Play some BF2 online.
5. Play with my son. Wrestle with him and lately he likes to run and hide and get shot by my nerf gun. He picks the little darts back up and brings them back to me and runs off again to redo it all over.
6. Work on my car. I can't wait to ship my eclipse to where I'm living now. I've already been pricing some nice upgrade kits for it.
7. Model building
8. Shopping for new collectibles, action figures, etc.
9. Taking a nap
10. Drinking a cold beer and just sitting on my couch watching a Red Sox game.
thats a few things I do. Can't wait to see what else you guys do.
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so what would be your top two? keeping it short for references sake. Reading all that is more likely to inspire boredom.
or
2.) draw something off without judging it.
Its a bit worrying as I have been doing illustration since about 1989 and this is the first time I have really felt like this.
I think its best not to push it though, so by resting up for a few weeks, i hope my mojo will come back:)
1. Do pushups. Me and 2 other work buddies do this twice a day to stay fresh.
2. Take a shit.
1. Play 360 for a bit. I find it relaxes me and gets me to a point where I'm not stressing as much about work and I can go back to my work later and be cool
2. Play with my son. Wrestle with him and lately he likes to run and hide and get shot by my nerf gun. He picks the little darts back up and brings them back to me and runs off again to redo it all over.
2. Have a conversation with a child and pay attention to how they think.
2. Hang out with some folks, with beer of course, that have creative minds and pick thier brains. Kind of a think tank for ideas. It helps see ideas from a different view and also gets you awway from the computer/drawing table, hopefully recharging some of your batteries. Also, use in conjunction with #1!
Its a bit worrying as I have been doing illustration since about 1989 and this is the first time I have really felt like this.
I think its best not to push it though, so by resting up for a few weeks, i hope my mojo will come back:)
"
I don't know about you but personally I find inspiration comes from thinking, so television isn't a good idea it's too passive, try turning on the radio or reading a book.
Turn a piece of shit you've made into something better, deconstruct your own work.
I agree about reading though, certainly is relaxing.
redoing old work can be a bit painful at times. its often quicker just to start again and gain some new insights( for me anyway)
2. A walk in the woods is seriously recharging. I get sort of a charge out of everything around me being alive, growing, processing...yeah I'm a hippy, so what :P I read a study recently that found that outdoor walks in a natural environment seemed to help alot with depression, and that many of the people reported feeling better and more hopeful afterward. Another group of people were sent on walks around a mall and most said they actually felt more depressed after the walk.
what's helped me often is to realize that i'm being to careful with the progress i've already made, which is a ridiculous thing to feel like when you're working digital.
if a piece is coming along poorly, i'll save out a copy, and then pretend to myself that i'm just going "test something out" and then go back and do it later "for real." it seems that whenever i put myself in that mode mentally, i'm a lot better at painting because i've taken the pressure off. most times, i never have to go back to do it "for real".
other than that, i do prize the mind's ability to process things even when not at the forefront of consciousness. if there's something i want to work out, i'll take a walk, and most important of all, i'll keep my time properly divided.
staying late at work does you good for only so long, then you get diminishing returns. getting to work early and then finishing on time, even if i kinda want to stay and keep working, means i'm more productive overall.
now excuse me as i finish lunch and go back to work.
Coke of the cola variety, thought I am sure drinking the other coke would be stimulating too!
I'm with you on that one Snowfly, my best ideas come when i'm sitting on the throne.
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Haha, Struve, we haven't had quality donuts since you left for Texas!
I read books, piss around on the internet, or play video games....
actually that's just what I do all the time anyways.
1. Read a tutorial book / software manual just for fun.
2. Talk to a fellow artist on IM if possible about 3d or whatever and I'm usually ready to take on the world after that.
Alex
"The brain normally operates at different frequencies, depending on the type of mental activity involved. These frequencies are divided into four main types of brainwave patterns: · Beta waves (between 13-40 HZ) are associated with peak concentration, heightened alertness and visual acuity. · Alpha waves (between 7-12 HZ) are associated with deep relaxation and are considered the gateway to our creativity · Theta waves (between 4-7 HZ) are associated with the twilight state that we experience fleetingly as we drift off to sleep and are strongly linked with creativity and intuition. · Delta waves (between 0-4 HZ.) are associated with deep sleep. As we slow the brainwave patterns from beta to alpha to theta to delta, there is a corresponding increase in balance or synchronization between the two hemispheres of the brain. Scientists have noted that these slower brainwave patterns are accompanied by deep tranquillity, flashes of creative insight, euphoria, intensely focused attention, and enhanced learning abilities."
"Binaural beats that are embedded in music or background sounds can be used to enhance creativity and intuition as well as for related applications such as promoting relaxation, meditation, stress reduction, super learning, telepathy, out-of-body experience and lucid dreaming. The binaural beats can also be used with positive affirmations and visualization techniques to increase their effect."
I have stated once before that while listening to certain types of drum and bass music that I suddenly feel more creative, and become tired of drawing before I run out of creativity.
Obviously there is a lot more information out there about brainwaves which you can check out for yourselves too.
1. Go through my inspiration folder/links.
2. Put the project aside for a few hours to work on one of my many back burner projects. Sometimes it's great to step away from something to work on something else. Tends to help me a lot when I come back to the original piece.
Coffee, Cigarettes, and Coffee...always :]
2) Listen to instrumental movie soundtracks or classical music.