Artistic Motivation

General question for everyone. I was going to toss this in someone's art thread, but it really does warrant its own thread. And if there's already a thread like this... well... ... I didn't look. But I'm posting it anyway! Yeargh!

How do you keep yourself artistic? I have the hardest time motivating myself to practice in any way at all. So, I have to end up relearning little things until I get kinda back to where I was, before I get lazy and stop being creative for another 3+ months.

Should I be forcing myself to do something for at least 15 minutes a day--kinda like exercise? Maybe try and mix it up so I don't get burnt out so easily?

What are the methods you guys use to keep cranking out the works o' art?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Are you talking about drawing or other visual arts? If so I am not sure if the same type of shit that helps me with writing would be of assistance.

How ya doing, buddy?

Good topic. I know what you mean, as I go through a similar cycle. Being dedicated to daily work can be a creative challenge. Every now and then I cruise over to a board called conceptart.org. They have some pretty cool threads that include daily exercises. There's one called the DSG (Daily Sketch Group) where a bot posts up new random ideas submitted by members of the board. Everybody does their take on the idea and submits. It's a pretty good way to get in daily exercise as well as feedback from peers.

I think what inspires me or provokes me to draw most is girls. Sounds silly, but it's true. I'm most creative at emotional high points both good and bad.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by indecisive wench

Are you talking about drawing or other visual arts? If so I am not sure if the same type of shit that helps me with writing would be of assistance.

I meant pretty much in visual arts. But I'd assume the workflow for writing follows somewhat of the same ideals.

Perhaps some better wording would be, How do you keep yourself on your toes, creatively, without burning out completely? Why/How do you do it?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

From speaking to professional artists I know, they all say that trying to force it is the best way to burn yourself out. You should be creating art because you really enjoy doing it, not because you feel you ought to or whatever. Inspiration can come from anywhere and often it's taking some time off from the art that gives you inspiration to create something.

I was speaking idiomatically.

More often than not artists get burnt out because they're drawing the same things over and over again with little variation. I know that's how I get burnt out: drawing retarded anime people. So every now and then, I sit down and draw my livingroom, or something that I don't normally draw, and that usually helps me clear my head and get me motivated again.

If you're working on a project that you just can't seem to keep your focus on, step away from it for a while until you feel you're ready to tackle it again. And hell, don't beat yourself up if you don't draw x-amount of whatever every day. Like Shin and his friends said, do art because you want and LIKE to do it. If you have to force yourself to do something it won't be nearly as good if instead you had passion for it.

How ya doing, buddy?

To be honest, the only way I've been able to keep myself drawing while being a music student is to block out a chunk of time in which the only thing I can do is draw: by taking an art class. Generally I try to make it something that I couldn't do "on my own" so much, like Figure Drawing (nekkid people) or Printmaking (I don't have money to buy my own presses and litho stone). Most of the classes I take are in the 3-6 hour range, so I have a good long time to work.

If I leave it up to my own time-organizing, I always think that I should be doing something 'more important' and end up not drawing, or not drawing very well because I'm distracted by my own thoughts. I wish it could be like it was when I was younger, when I would piddle away a weekend doing nothing but drawing and reading .

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This might sound bad, but often times I only draw when I feel like it. Although I have been taking figure drawing class for the past 4 semesters, I think its a generally practice to sharpen up on your observational drawing skills and anatomical knowledge.

Although right now I have a project that pretty much keep me occupied and to a extend, motivated. A lot of times, I keep myself motivated by thinking about working on what I wanted to work on (or improved upon) when I can't do it. Like during work or during classes, that's pretty much all I think about.

Another thing that keeps me motivated , is to look at other artist, and also critiquing.

How ya doing, buddy?

All I really do is scribble if I can't think of anything. Sometimes the scribble turns into a silhouette of something that I like, and I expand upon it.

Also, I lurk around the Sketch Tavern forums (link) to see how other artists do their thing. In one example, the "jams" involve taking a character or person and drawing it in their own style. It's kinda inspiring seeing different forms of the same aspect. It's a shame that the forum is kind of a ghost town at the moment.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I kinda force myself to since technically I made it my new years resolution but so far I've just done fanart since I find that I can copy different style of art pretty well but it's nothing too amazing since it's like, "yeah seen it".
Theres no real exercise I do to keep myself motivated except just drawing and erasing. I've drawn so many eyes just for wasting time. I guess thats the best reason to start drawing though, to waste time.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yeah, having just quit WoW, (yay me--here's hoping it lasts) I've found myself with an abundance of time to waste. But I need still find it hard to get into a mood to draw/color.

All of your ideas/opinions have been great thus far. Keep 'em coming, people!

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I find myself encouraged to create these days by the people around me. Here at CCS I have the likes of Steve Bissette, Jason Lutes, Alec Longstreth, and all my classmates to push me to keep making art! (Not to mention deadlines and homework due dates!)

How ya doing, buddy?

I never force my creativity, it comes to me in dreams and visions. I'm not even kidding; all it takes is for me to close my eyes and I'll see something interesting worth either drawing or writing about. Sometimes what I see is so intricate, so crystal clear that I'd have no hope of replicating it visually so I have to write about what I see. I also get thought insertion which is good for creativity; the last time that happened it was just the phrase "la cherche vivant" and I didn't even know what the last word meant. I'm going to write a poem about it.

If I force myself to create things, it always goes tits-up.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Bernard Black

I never force my creativity, it comes to me in dreams and visions. I'm not even kidding; all it takes is for me to close my eyes and I'll see something interesting worth either drawing or writing about.

I know right where you're coming from. I've been on a tear lately, just listening to my dreams, waking up, jotting a few notes/doing a doodle. Great material!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?