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How do you get/stay motivated?


Mango Trip

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I like art, and I used to draw all the time on paper. But when I got to a certain point I stopped. I'm not really clear as to why anymore but I do know that I was disheartened at some point.

 

I wanted and still want to transition to digital art and I have a tablet and everything but to this day I can't muster up the motivation to sit down and practice and draw much. And when I do I easily get down on myself because it seems like it takes too long or its too complicated to work on the computer and I don't want to stick to pencil drawing. And then the comparison from my pencil work to my computer work is also depressing.

 

So I wonder, how do you guys stay motivated or get motivated when you're down about your art? I'd really like some help.

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Looking at rough work (be it still art or animation) by some of the greats always makes me want to draw.  Especially Disney, etc. pencil tests.

Most of the stuff here:

Watching this video just now makes me really wish it wasn't so late 'cause now I just wanna draw for hours.

The Princess and the Frog blu-ray is also really good for this; it has a feature to watch picture-in-picture rough animation with the final film.

 

Adjusting to drawing digitally is a hurdle for a lot of artists.  You get used to the feel/texture of paper and pencil (and whatever else you happen to be using) and you gain something of an instinct based on it that helps you draw.  When you move to digital tools, you kind of have to start over now that everything feels completely different.  But you'll get there.  It took me several months before I was totally confident drawing purely digitally.

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I have these feelings all the time about some things I make, I don't draw but other things I have made I have always had doubt with. One thing I have noticed that can help is making art about something you really enjoy. That can be a great way to make some pieces of art without even feeling any kind of self pressure about it being great or anything. Self pressure like that is what I tend to feel and this helps me for short periods of time, maybe it could help you much longer. :)

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I just do it. That's really all it boils down to.

 

My mind keeps complaining, making things so complicated for me. Saying I need to learn this, I need to learn that. I need to read all of these tutorials, blah blah. I can't do it, I'll never be good. I'm worried, what if I can't?

 

And then I calmly bitchslap my head and I say: "Shaddup." I just ignore the thoughts and I sit down and make it happen. If I'm particularly unmotivated, I'll just tell myself that what I'm doing is for fun. No pressure. It's not practice to get better in the future. It's just a quick doodle for fun. I'll draw things I know I'm good at, or things I really want to draw, and let the motivation flow from there.

 

It also helps not to do a drawing all at once. I work through parts of it, especially if it's something challenging that I don't really want to do. (But I must for the commission money/extra experience to learn and grow) I start off with a quick doodle sketch, and then fix it up later in bits and pieces. 

 

Of course, motivation comes in cycles and you can't be motivated all the time. My hand doesn't let me work on art all the time since it cramps up constantly due to me overdoing it a little. So I try to rest and let my creativity replenish every now and then. Just don't pressure yourself. All that matters is that something gets on that canvas, and that something gets done.

 

Besides, if you really practice with digital art, it is loads easier and less time consuming than traditional art. It has more tools that let you do stuff automatically, or more quickly. You just have to learn them first. But just start off with the basics. Just draw. Everything else comes as you go along. You keep drawing, and you'll learn.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like art, and I used to draw all the time on paper. But when I got to a certain point I stopped. I'm not really clear as to why anymore but I do know that I was disheartened at some point.

 

I wanted and still want to transition to digital art and I have a tablet and everything but to this day I can't muster up the motivation to sit down and practice and draw much. And when I do I easily get down on myself because it seems like it takes too long or its too complicated to work on the computer and I don't want to stick to pencil drawing. And then the comparison from my pencil work to my computer work is also depressing.

 

So I wonder, how do you guys stay motivated or get motivated when you're down about your art? I'd really like some help.

 

I think this is something that every artist will at some point ask themselves regardless of where they are, where they started, and where they want to go. It doesn't matter if you just a hobbyist, a professional, or someone in between.  

 

Its also a question that I think can ultimately only be answered by you and, what you want. Although that doesn't mean you should deter from asking this to others as seeing how others answer this question can most definitely help guide you to your own answer. 

 

Me personally, I have multiple ways of staying motivated and inspired. The biggest inspiration to me would probably be the challenge that comes form art. I like the idea of being able to master something so difficult through sheer effort. Another one would be the enjoyment I get out of it, the way its a thought processes in that, its almost like solving problems. I even enjoy how relaxed I am by it.

 

But by far the most important of them all is easily the idea of sharing my artwork. I personally feel that if I put tons of effort into one thing and am only able to yield having just one person like it, then it was all worth while. The social aspect of art is very appealing to me in that I can inspire and become inspired off of others. 

 

 

I just do it. That's really all it boils down to.

 

My mind keeps complaining, making things so complicated for me. Saying I need to learn this, I need to learn that. I need to read all of these tutorials, blah blah. I can't do it, I'll never be good. I'm worried, what if I can't?

 

And then I calmly bitchslap my head and I say: "Shaddup." I just ignore the thoughts and I sit down and make it happen. If I'm particularly unmotivated, I'll just tell myself that what I'm doing is for fun. No pressure. It's not practice to get better in the future. It's just a quick doodle for fun. I'll draw things I know I'm good at, or things I really want to draw, and let the motivation flow from there.

 

It also helps not to do a drawing all at once. I work through parts of it, especially if it's something challenging that I don't really want to do. (But I must for the commission money/extra experience to learn and grow) I start off with a quick doodle sketch, and then fix it up later in bits and pieces. 

 

Of course, motivation comes in cycles and you can't be motivated all the time. My hand doesn't let me work on art all the time since it cramps up constantly due to me overdoing it a little. So I try to rest and let my creativity replenish every now and then. Just don't pressure yourself. All that matters is that something gets on that canvas, and that something gets done.

 

Besides, if you really practice with digital art, it is loads easier and less time consuming than traditional art. It has more tools that let you do stuff automatically, or more quickly. You just have to learn them first. But just start off with the basics. Just draw. Everything else comes as you go along. You keep drawing, and you'll learn.

 

Also this ^ because I think that Iv done this a couple of times as well. xD

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Well, if i get depressed or unmotivated ( because im unhappy with my drawing style ) im listening to music.

 

If im depressed im listening to funny music like Rednex and when im unmotivated or lack creativity i listen to more beautiful music from Enigma for example. The music gets me then inspired again.

 

If that doesnt help...i still draw. You just have to keep going and at some point you will draw something, maybe only a little thing like an eye or something, but you will think : Hey, that doesnt look so bad. And then you want to keep going and make the rest look as good as this. Or think of all the fans you have, that like your drawings. I always think that i dont want to leave them and i want to give them more art to make them happy  :D

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When I feel stuck, I sometimes force myself to take a short hiatus, rather than to keep frustrating myself. Recently, I took a hiatus for at least a month, came back, and noticed that I have a fresher mind, more creativity, and am inspired to attempt new things. I also like to go on YouTube and look through speedpaints and tutorials when I feel like I can't nail something.

 

Music for "getting psyched up" helps as well. I personally love rock and dubstep, which helps to keep me focused. 

 

Lastly, when I'm in a slump mood about my art, I look back at old stuff I did to remind myself that I am gradually learning new things, which motivates me to stick with it.

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I usually look at other art and get inspired by it. and I always think "You know, I may not be super good now, But I can always get better and one day I will be at this level" I know how you feel, lots of times you feel like "Why do I even draw?" Just remember art is to be fun, Don't compare yourself and draw because you love to see the images you make in your head come to life.  :lol:

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Discipline before inspiration or motivation. You just do it, and you keep doing it. Motivation isn't bad, but it'll leave you a lot more easily than proper discipline will. You want to be good? You work at it, do it as well as you possibly can, and do it with consistency. 

 

Also, have fun. 

Edited by Gaviera
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How do I stay motivated? I would like to say I don't really try to get myself motivated in an active sense. I learnt long ago that if you can't draw, just don't draw. There is absolutely no point in forcing yourself to keep on drawing if your mind is going, "NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE." Your work deteriorates as you force that little useless hand of yours to draw. Sit back and do some other stuff to freshen yourself up and go back to drawing after a break to see if it works or not.

 

If I don't feel like drawing or get really, really frustrated, I tend to put away my tablet and open up some other stuff. I will either start playing a game, chat to my friends on Skype, run around, listen to music, read something, write a story or finish a chapter I'm working on, or watch a video. Whenever I take a break from drawing, I feel far more at ease and picking up the pen feels far more easier and better. A relax or excited mind is good for art.

 

The transition to digital is a hard one and I will say that from my own experience. Whenever I look for speedart, I had always felt amazed and motivated by how they draw. They inspired me so much I bought my very first tablet (a Bamboo Fun & Touch). At first, it was frustrating and felt annoying. The fact I can't look at my hands and how the entire thing felt strange annoyed me to no ends. However, as I tried and tried and practiced, the more my art improved and my difficulties with tablets disappearing. 

 

If it feels like you can't ever transition, don't be down on that. In my opinion, it is something that takes time and when it arrives, it arrives. After all, you can't transition from making toy cars to making actual cars in a heartbeat or within a week. As you practice on the tablet, the more this ability to draw on tablet develops. When it arrives and drawing on tablets feel like drawing on paper, it'll be so amazing you'll be looking for the ctrl+z key when you make a mistake when drawing traditional. I know I have!  :lol:

 

 Good day.

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Motivation is a tricky topic...

 

As far as artistic motivation goes, I typically go in what I like to call the "Circle of Creativity"

 

Basically... it goes down like this for example: If I'm transposing music and get burned out, I'll start drawing, when I get burned out on drawing, I'll switch to writing stories, when I get burned out on stories, I'll start sewing, when I get annoyed at that, I'll realize I haven't transposed music in a while.

 

(Music====>Drawing====>Stories====>Sewing====>Music)

 

(I didn't mention performing arts, because I kind of do that for a living... its like a hobby/job balance)

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I find that the best approach for me has been a combination of discipline, proper breaks, and review. Setting up a time and a space for art really helps me find my groove when it comes time to draw, but moreover, forces me to work on a regular interval.

 

The other thing I've found helpful for the issue of "my art looks terrible" is doing something about it. Not in the "get over it" sense, but in the sense of self-critique and red-lining. If I draw something that I look at and go "That's awful!" my next step is to ask myself "why?" I then sit down and do a full critique and red-line of my work, asking what worked, what didn't, and tracing in what I think might have made it better.

 

Equally important is that you need to treat self-critique just like you would when critiquing someone else's work. You wouldn't (I hope) write "It's horrible and you're horrible and you should never draw again" when critiquing someone else's work because it would hurt their feelings and provide no useful feedback. Turns out, you can hurt your own feelings and make the problem worse. Instead, put a genuine eye to the work and try and apply everything you know about both art and critique to the process. Write in things like "This arc seems a bit ragged" and "I like the way the muzzle is shaped here".

 

When you finish, you'll not only know what's wrong with the work, but also what's right. And moreover, you'll have some insight into what makes the parts that are wrong... well... wrong, rather than just a vague feeling that you've done a terrible job. With a tangible sense of why you feel that, it's a lot easier to see what the next step is, and get pumped about doing it differently in the next one.

Edited by Forward Bias
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I agree with what's already been said~ Personally, i get my motivation from looking at my drawing and seeing how I improved over time, knowing that I improved over the last attempt I did, which gives a little momentum. That momentum can pile up and up as you draw more! Self-discipline also helps, but I find feedback more motivating, knowing that someone likes what you did is quite encouraging. :D

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