My thoughts on inspiration and motivation, and how to deal with their absence
https://www.facebook.com/drawabox/posts/916327118448344
2015-09-15 02:14
Uncomfortable
Grieffon
2015-09-15 03:51
This is a problem that has been plaguing me for the past 3 years. I keep trying to find the answer to "how can I do this" before doing the work, not realizing that it's an answer that can only be reached through a lot of trials and errors. Your course has provided a relief of that, since you actually answered that "how", but I'm still stuck with my problem. I'm still drawing a lot less than I would like to, because of that fear of "I don't know how to do this; the result will suck". I'm going to keep trying to shut that criticizing voice in my head though.
A quote I like relating to the subject:
I only write when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at 9AM sharp. - William Somerset Maugham
GhrabThaar
2015-09-15 04:38
The same thing gets tossed around writing circles constantly. People try to find ways out of writing and make excuses and blame some ephemeral muse...
None of that means anything. All that matters is putting your ass in the chair and banging something to fill the empty word processor. Replace appropriate tools for art and it's exactly the same.
Uncomfortable
2015-09-15 13:42
I have a couple friends who try to write, and they struggle with it as much as any visual artist. Their words are our lines, and we're always so terrified to put something down on the page if it's not perfect. I always tell those friends to forget about trying to write something great. Focus instead on writing something.
[deleted]
2015-09-15 14:55
Honestly, inspiration for me is not so much of a lack of understanding on how to start but it's usually a frame of mind I'm in.
Yesterday for instance, I was able to draw for a solid 10 hours no problem, and even came up with some great ideas, too. It just felt natural, even though there was no particularly specific feeling.
But there are days like the day before that when I couldn't apply myself for more than a few minutes at a time, feeling frustrated with everything I drew, and not getting the usual feeling of "well what went wrong with this? Lets try and improve on this." to "Fuck this is bullshit! I'm so angry I can't draw figures even close to how they should be!"
But yeah, I'm lucky that one of the first things I learned is that art is a skill, not a talent-- though talent definitely augments how soon your work may become popular or even how fast you may learn. Or even your ability to learn more than other people-- that's a thing too. I can't learn some concepts in math well for instance. I know the rules, I know how to apply formulas, but I will never innately understand it better than someone who is naturally good at math.
But yeah, I think a lot of people attribute lack inspiration to how apathetic they feel that particular day, or how frustrated they are, etc.
For me, as much as I have been trying to brute force art much like working out, sometimes unfortunately you just can't win. If you fall off the wagon, you get right back on either later, or tomorrow.
Uncomfortable
2015-09-15 15:27
I totally understand that feeling. It was very much like that for me when I was younger. There were on days, and there were off days. It felt like it was par for the course, and I accepted that.
At a certain point, I stopped accepting it. It was all too inconvenient. Whatever I was feeling that day - frustration, apathy, depression - all of it needed to be set aside, if only for a time.
I remember the point where I started transitioning from someone who was passionate about illustration as a hobby, to someone who could potentially make a career out of it, was when I decided to embark on a challenge. Thirty one days, each day I'd spend 3 hours at least, and each day I'd paint at least one photo study. Studies don't require much in the way of creativity, so regardless of how I was feeling, I knew I could do it. And ultimately, I did. I was working full time as a game programmer, so most nights I'd come home exhausted and burnt out, but there simply was no other option. It had to be done, and so it was done.
That's ultimately what discipline is all about. You eliminate any other options or choices. I will admit however that what really helped was the fact that this period of forcing myself had an end date. 31 consecutive days, no more. It was a goal I could see on the horizon.
After completing that, I felt that in general, I was less constricted by what people would consider art block. It was still there, and it still weighed on me, but less so. It's been three years since then, and these days the idea of art block doesn't even cross my mind. If I sit down to draw, I don't stare at an empty canvas. What I draw may be garbage, but I'm not afraid to put down those first few marks and get the ball rolling.
I won't say that I don't have days that are harder than others to get started. At work, some days are harder than others, but the very fact that I need to deliver, and the fact that I cannot tell my boss "oh i had an off day," means that regardless, I need to produce something. I don't see it as a matter of, some days you just can't win. Every day, you simply cannot afford to lose.
[deleted]
2015-09-15 17:25
Yep. People think I'm crazy when I say I draw for 5 hours a day minimum, and I don't feel like that's even enough. It's not even about wanting a career in this (which I definitely, absolutely do, even only after starting 3 months ago), it's about getting better at communicating what I see in my head.
What I see in my head is this awesome gritty sin city-esque cyberpunk comic series, but it's nothing like sin city. It's almost impossible to explain what I see-- which is very unique, and I'm confident of that, but what I am actually able to draw... that's another story.
Scott McCloud sums it up SO well in his books, about using art to communicate. And I want to achieve one of the highest levels of communication of any artist EVER.
One thing I've had an uncanny ability to do is daydream awesome and fantastic things, but I've never once been able to express those ideas to other people. I'm HORRIBLE at communicating! I bet even this comment is missing at least HALF of what I'm trying to explain to you. And that's on the optimistic side, too.
But anyway, yeah... for me, I need to do studies, but my problem is I take forever to draw anything.
What do you do when you do your studies? 3 hours for a completed piece of work seems really, really short. What did you specifically try to study? How would you recommend I go about that if I want to get into working as a professional?
I want to learn how to draw well at an insanely mathematical and technical way which I think you even said somewhere. I think it was you. This is your sub, right?
Uncomfortable
2015-09-15 17:43
These were the things I studied. I just picked a subject without too much thought or deliberation, each night. Random objects, landscapes, portraits, animals, vehicles, and screenshots from movies/tv.
Yeah, this is my subreddit, so the only answer I can give you for what you should study are the lessons that I post here. Lessons 3-7 all focus on different kinds of subject matter, emphasizing construction.
I have read however that you find drawing boxes boring, and that has gotten in the way of your progress through the lessons. Not really much to say on that - you will find a lot of things worth doing are boring and tedious. There are many roads to learning how to draw, but regardless of whose advice you take, you will probably find yourself hitting a ceiling if you avoid things that aren't fun.
[deleted]
2015-09-15 17:59
On a somewhat related note, I'm desperately trying to find airborne liquid splatters, like a bloody punch, etc. Google turns up nothing but useless crap (and ponies for some reason).
Your first image is exactly what I'm looking for. Like. Ugh. What a kick in the teeth! (Also thank you)
Well, it's not so much the boxes specifically, it's just for me, I'm really, really intuitive. So drawing frames for me for a cube is something I've been able to do from day one. I did still do the lesson, I just ramped it up a bit. Draw a box? I'll draw a few boxes meshed together and make a spaceship.
Your type of like, breaking things down into how they are constructed is actually how I learn. Until very recently, I've never seen it taught that way. Even in figure drawing, it's usually "Draw a circle. Draw the rest of the face. Oh and these are basic proportions but we can't tell you how they work or what lines on the face create which impressions."
Again, probably not explaining it well. I like how you teach it. Art really is not something you need talent for-- it just acts as a multiplier to how successful you can be, or how quickly you can learn, I've found. So I've tried to use my own talent for being intuitive to my benefit, skipping things I KNOW I will learn just by practicing other things.
I drew an anthropomorphic raptor today, first time ever drawing anything like that that's got a weird structure to the head, and I must say, considering it's not even my design... I didn't do too badly for a first time try. It did take a long time though.
I'm not so worried about being able to draw something technically, either. I'm concerned about learning to draw things with speed, which is a huge, huge, huge part of work in the industry. And I am slow. Slow as molasses.
Uncomfortable
2015-09-15 18:06
You started three months ago. You're supposed to be slow as molasses. Worrying about speed right now will cause you to take shortcuts and shoot yourself in the foot.
[deleted]
2015-09-15 18:14
Oh, I'm not trying to take short cuts at all. I'm planning on also going to college as well as design school specifically as well on top of learning on my own.
I'm not learning by skipping whole concepts or anything, but I try to make what I'm learning as efficient as possible. Like the cube thing again; I learned to draw cubes in all 3 main perspectives, and I also tried (miserably) to do 4 point or fish eye, instead of just drawing a cube.
Incidentally, I got pretty good at perspective environments really quickly because of that!
I accept that I'm slow, but I don't want to waste time.
If it helps make sense of what I'm trying to communicate, I'm Bipolar, so I tend to be very all-or-nothing in how I approach things. If anything, I try to learn too much about things that aren't relevant to what I absolutely NEED to know. Like, for instance, drawing up floor plans for this comic. I have about 40 different rooms mapped out, and I'm only on the 9th page. I've drawn.... 3 rooms total so far of the 40?
Sorry if I'm confusing :( lol
Uncomfortable
2015-09-15 18:18
I just mentioned that because it's an extremely common problem. What we tend to see on the internet these days is people painting super fast. Speedpainting, sped up videos, etc. We come in thinking that if you're slow, you're worthless. It's true that the industry demands people to produce good work fast, but what we don't see is the time that those professionals have put in learning to do things painstakingly slowly. So, it's just a warning - take your time, and don't worry about speed.
[deleted]
2015-09-15 19:28
Ahh, yeah I can understand that. I watch a lot of videos like those done by Feng Zhu who's very good at explaining things in a simple way as well, especially values. He talked a bit about what people want in the industry which I've found to be true for me currently as well, which is some details like, lets say you mess up the claws a bit on the left hand, but the whole painting is in perspective, and the values are correct, and the general idea is good, then that'd be better than a highly rendered piece that's out of perspective slightly, because they're used to make models, or communicate a design, etc.
Lots of elements go into this stuff I've learned, and it's like a big pyramid. You learn as much as you can at the bottom, and the more basics you know, the more you can do. The higher up you go though, the less important learning it is, unless you're SPECIFICALLY doing ONLY that.
But I don't want to limit myself to one thing-- which is why I plan on colleges. You learn about all the different mediums including traditional, and they each teach you something that can be applicable to even doing something simple and light hearted such as my comic!
So it's a concept I'm really aware of thankfully, in part to you and others I've read from, and I'm honestly just lucky to actually find doing the hard stuff and the less interesting stuff (my sister for instance hates drawing environments) challenging.
But I am emphasizing efficiency so that when I'm practicing, I'm getting faster at as many things as possible rather than one.
I think that makes sense? I dunno. I love art. All of it. I have to consume everything.
Diana_K
2015-09-16 16:01
Honestly your lessons have been a great motivation for me. Ever since I've started I felt this desire to draw (that I've always have had but have never really put it into use and I don't really now why). I would draw every now and the when I felt REALLY inspired but that was it, noting special, not doing object studing or anything. But coming across your lessons and wanting to do art as a job have really got me going. I can't wait to see the next lesson, complete the next exercise, submit homwork, get critique etc. That sort of ... organisation has boosted me up and now I try to draw everyday even if it's just a few circles or boxes because now I know that that will be helpful. And with every step I take to completing the lesson I know I am getting one step closer to my goal - to be able to draw well. I like how you have variety in the material you present, well it's still sort of the same steps but aplied in different ways (plants, insects, animals etc) I really can't thank you enough. And I bet I am not the only one who feels that way. And as soon as I can I will start supporting you via Patreon, because the job you do here is absolutely amazing and is a great help for peole like me and for everyone on this site.
And yeah ... I think viewing your golas and knowing what you want and how to get there is a big motivation. So don't give up, guys. We can do it. :)
Uncomfortable
2015-09-16 16:23
I really appreciate that! I can't take all the credit, of course - a lot of the things I pass on to you guys are what I was taught. People like Norm Schureman and Peter Han really devised and refined a brilliant strategy for learning to draw. But anyway, I'm really thrilled that you're taking the lessons to heart, and that it's really pushing you to move forward, towards your goals.
[deleted]
2015-09-16 18:26
[deleted]
Uncomfortable
2015-09-16 18:32
In my experience, moleskine pricing tends to be pretty consistent. Honestly though, I'd recommend Cottonwood Arts. I've heard that Moleskine's quality has decreased somewhat recently. Cottonwood's sketchbooks are fantastic, and they tend to be cheaper.
That said, your best bet is to use loose printer paper for these exercises. You don't want to be worrying about being really neat to the point that you feel nervous about drawing through your forms and shapes. Sketchbooks tend to come with a bit of added anxiety, especially for beginners.
claude_j_greengrass
2015-11-09 16:13
When I first started out painting, I thought, How fortunate that artists xyzzy lived near or has opportunity to paint at, such interesting locations. I wish I could have similar opportunities But on reflection, the shadows cast by my stool on the basement cement floor can inspire me.
Depending on your perspective, I'm blessed with or cursed with and excess of things to paint. So much so that I've decided to paint only two subjects for the time being: trees, and the grain elevator at Bardo Alberta. Why you may ask?
Painting trees lets me explore large number of different styles. So far in this series I have 9 trees, each in a different style and have notes on another 30 or so before I even start to approach a limit of this series. It's an easy series to create, at least for me.
As to Bardo Alberta, I re-purchased a copy of Edward Bett's "Creative Landscape Painting" which contains 70 different composition ideas. On this I've been less successful with 3 attempts and 3 failures. The fourth is underway and with 20 or more preliminary sketched I think I may be able to reverse this trend. Once I get over this block, I think this series also should flow.
...so as to advice, take one of your paintings that you like and enjoyed painting and:
a) paint it in a different style
or
b) create a different composition of the subject and paint that.
Then there is Chuck Close on Inspiration:
Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.
If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work.
All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If youre sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction.
Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find thats almost never the case. -- Chuck Close
Uncomfortable
2015-11-09 16:30
"Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work" - that is a fantastic line. Just slaps you right in the face. Thanks for sharing!
claude_j_greengrass
2015-11-10 22:45
No problem. Glad you liked it. Do you know of any subedits that deal with Visual Design and Composition?
Uncomfortable
2015-11-10 22:55
Unfortunately I don't. Seems a bit specific - as far as subreddits go, they tend to be broad and vague, or very short lived. When thinking about composition, my mind generally goes to graphic design (so /r/graphic_design) but I've never really frequented it so I can't say if they just scratch the surface of design or if they really delve into the juicy bits at its core.
claude_j_greengrass
2015-11-12 18:47
Had a browse around /r/graphic_design and some other suggested sub-edits. Nothing suitable in regards of Fine Art (design-composition)
tgochitashvili
2016-03-08 23:12
I agree with this quote, i think everyone who want to do something first of all have to try so much and build, craft himself/herself as something and after that some doors will open where gold of "inspiration" laying, it will come naturally.
idkusernames
2015-09-15 13:00
8:59 AM when I read this. You just convinced me to start drawing lol
Uncomfortable
2015-09-15 13:39
Haha, that's a great quote!
Ultimately fear is our biggest opponent. If you're afraid to draw, you won't get better, and if you don't get better, you'll continue being afraid. It's a vicious cycle that ultimately you can only break by picking up that hammer and blocking out any and all self-doubt.
Ultimately, we don't start off confident - we fake it. We fake it, and as we keep faking it, it becomes a little less of a lie every day.
ElijahThornberry
2015-09-27 23:22
Dude, sucking at something is the first step at being kinda good at something.
BlopperFlopper
2015-10-08 07:12
I recently got over this by moving the bar away from "Does this look like what i'm drawing?" to "Is there a shape/line for every major feature of what i'm drawing?" And just trust that the accuracy will come with practice.