[Feral]

Here's my problem -
I've been a freelance illustrator for 10 years now and I'm running up against motivational problems.
I'm finding it harder to actually sit down and do the work - being freelance, it's not my own work, but work for hire - so the subject isn't a problem, just my methods.
I get a brief of what the client wants, so the subject is fixed - although I do have a certain flexibility with the image.
So that said - I have a subject, I have a deadline , I'm just struggling to sit down and pick up a pen/stylus/paintbrush.
I thought maybe a break from it would help but now its even worse!
I seem to have lost the desire to paint
I know everyone goes throught down periods once and a while but I can't seem to shake this block (I thought maybe I would attempt some work "just for me" but when I pick up the pencil I end up saying "I can't be bothered")
If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated (and a job change isn't something I'm contemplating - a lot of work went into building this business - I just seem to have lost the fun)

Thanks in advance

Feral

Oops maybe this should be in digital disscusions

[B0b]

capt flush had the same problem a few months back.. prehaps he can help

[Capt. Fred]

I have the same, suffer the same. It's like apathy gone out of control. I think things over, think about what I will do and work up some enthusiasm, but when i then try to actually do anything I really frustrate my self with some barrier that just says "i can't be bothered", and it's not laziness because I'm aware of what my inactivity is costing me, and _really_ desperate to have that motivation back so as not to miss out.

I'm convinced it's something very real. It's a constant struggle to deal with.
Unfortunately, it means the people around me just think I'm lazy, or more politely, 'so laid back he's horizontal' which I find is far more annoying!

[Feral]

Sounds like exactly the same thing!
Still no closer to fixing it mind

[Yarik]

I am this person all the time, I change my love for things so many times I can loose all my hair for all the times I changed hobbies...

mapping, scripting, modeling, skinning, animation, soldier, business man.... I can go on. But drawing... well I have been doodling since I was 7 so drawing and flying is one of those thngs that you can get stumped but never get over.

I suggest you take up another less complex hobby, or try and paint one of divinci's paintings like the mona lisa.... Try it.

[Feral]

It's not my hobby, its my business - it's my source of income.
So it's not something that I can just "change" without foreseeable problems, like rent and food!
Maybe that's the problem - maybe I need to spend less time working and find a hobby.
The unfortunate side effect of running your own business is you don't clock off at 5pm
I think I'll try altering my working hours, they say a change is as good as a rest.

[Yarik]

"The unfortunate side effect of running your own business is you don't clock off at 5pm"
That is why I hate many commercials here, the ads promise you so much free time and promise you that you can make your own hours... Um HELLO you do have the power to make your own hours... but if you dont work your ass off your business will go down the crapper...

I would recommend you do change your hours... or even find a new place to do the drawings. I usually get inspired to draw things when I am out in the nature. grab your laptop, wacom and head off into your local starbucks/park/beach/bridge/etcetc what ever. Trust me, if this doesn't help.. I dont know what will.

[Matthew]

Hey Feral

Not sure if me am that good of giving advice to people but I will give it a try here. I think one important thing is to go back to what made you start with art and what u liked then. what motif did u like best then? and what motif do u like best now? Try to find that feeling in your mind and think about where u want to go next. I started with humans and that's a motif me still likes to keep going back to all the time.

Don't know what skill you are at but for me simplification has been the goal for quite some time now and I really like the intensity and speedy solving in painting.
Maybe u could try out to do some abstract art for a while? Try to solve things differently, maybe u could do one wild experiment a day between work and approach it an opposite way like you do when you do freelance stuff.
For me also, I am trying to change motifs in me art like cars and aeroplanes and such so u won't be bored of a same theme.

The speedy thread here in Sijun is for me an amazing thing and really gives inspiration and thoughts to me, maybe u could join the speedy more frequently and post your experiments, and, remember the experiments doesn't have to be good, just gives you an opportunity to solve things differently.

Not sure if my rambling helps anyone and maybe I am weird but there u had some of my thoughts.
have a nice day and keep it up Feral.
Matthew

[SolarC]

Feral: How long has it been since you had a couple of weeks of real vacation?

I've been working for only a bit more than five years now as a gfx/3d artist. (mostly in the gaming industry) There has been times when I've gotten really bored with my work, but there hasn't been a single time when a couple of weeks of stressless vacation in some new place, nowhere near the familiar surroundings, wouldn't have worked for getting rid of the lack of motivation.

Maybe this was the most obvious thing to say, but it's been the only thing that really works for me.

[SolarC]

edit: oops, double post.

[Giant Hamster]

Get back in the groove:

1. Pick the fastest, simplest medium and style.
2. Pick your favorite theme and an idea that amuses you.
3. Go. Don't think. Don't plan anymore. Just go.

Draw as fast as you can and arrive at a satisfying result quickly.

Don't criticize, redo, regret or let the moment go.

If you mess up, ignore it - keep going.

Done? Enjoy it. Share it with everyone.

Repeat from step 1 immediately.

Just fucking do it. Don't think about why, when, where. don't worry about if it matters, if I'm right or if you can or not. Show your impulsive behaviour and just do something.

Like a street streaker, you just take off your clothes and run! Once you're out in the open there's no going back.

[stacy]

I went through exactly the same thing.

And I know how stupid I am, and everthing, but what
I did was moved my work space out into a section of
the shipping dept. It happened to be between two
areas where all the other employees were, and to
get from one section to the other everyone passed
by my work area. A constant stream of people standing
behind me just digging what I was doing.

I did it on purpose and got just what I was expecting.

Instant strokes, instant intrest in my work and instant
requests to do little characatures and fun stuff for
people on the side.

Not just the pieces that were picked to go to print, but
virtually everything received strokes and nice comments
from just about everybody, Even the pieces that weren't
used were wanted by others.

Suddenly I was getting positive feed back for almost everything
I do and didn't have to wait to go into some meeting with only
a final piece to have it accepted with the caveat, "That's good work,
and it damned well better be good work, I pay you enough." or
somesuch backhanded compliment.

I got completely re-revved and recharged.

I got what I was needing... simple appreciation for what I was doing.

--------------
Of course that wasn't freelance.
In that case, work in a family area, or invite
the neighbors into your studio, or take your
wacom and notebook to StarBucks...

[allpetter]

I had one of those the 2 past weeks.
I know for a fact it had to do with.
1: Upcoming term papers
2: relationship problems.
3: To much creativity

I guess one "goes" to stressed out to do anything artistic sometimes.
Everything you do too much of will get back to you in ways of absence.

Another reason could be that you couldnt open a can of beens one day, which made you frustrated.

small things often trigger bigger things.

Yesterday, I sat down and really didnt feel like painting.
I made a couple of brush strokes and I saw a picture, and made it a finished sketch, First painting in 2 weeks.

And weeee, I'm back into the game.
More eager to paint than ever.

I did have a 2 year long absense from painting some time ago.
I learned; One has to do lots of different things to be able to "OUTPUT" lots of different things. And that everything in life function as a ongoing cycle.

IMO...
_________________
Fru Tina K�ttet

[Darkside]

hi Feral,
I think everyone knows the problem.
allpetter got one important point: small frustrating things. Everything in your life that makes you feel bad shows in your art and motivation for it. For exampe cleaning up. Something you don�t like to do, eh? But have fun with it, put good music on and dance around have fun with everything you do, especially the small things and motivation will be no more problem.
Hope that helps a bit

[Minefield]

very familiar with this issue too...

generally, trying new things helps. everytime i sit down to draw, i'm consciously trying to learn and improve, so i have some type of goal everytime i draw.

try doing something different than what you normally do. i do 3d for living and just recently i had to do get into an area of modeling i had never done before, and it helped my motivation. i was reluctant to do it too.

i also have a massive library of drawings and paintings collected from internet for inspiration.

oh, and also it helps if you get lot of positive feedback on your stuff. i have sort of love\hate relationship with asspatting but i must confess it sometimes keeps me going.

[Naeem]

i've hit that twice in the past 3 years. i think another flood of the uncreative period is coming in. i can feel it. right now, i want to paint, but if i pick up my tablet , its like 'dont do it...' there's a feeling inside my throat, like 'just stay away' . cant explain it. but i think i outpainted myself. 3-5 speedpaintings a day definitely isnt good for u. on top of that, filling up 6 pages of ur sketchbook everyday with random sketches. yeah, it isnt good. but hey, wat i say is, when that inspirations there, grab it! dont wait! just do it. lol. because once that inspo's gone, ur done. its like a block for me. i think it results from the lack of feedback you might get along with u getting frustrated over ur work. thats wat it is for me.

[Lunatique]

I went through the exact same thing, and in fact, I'm still going through it. To make it worse, I've discovered years ago that I enjoy a few other things more than drawing/painting (namely, making music, writing novels/screenplays, shooting photography, and directing). But the problem is, I've made a career in art since 1991, and I'm the most accomplished in that field (doing art directing for video games). For me to change careers now would mean I'd have to pay my dues all over again, and that's not something most people in their 30's would want to do. HOWEVER, I'm trying to find different ways to draw/paint so that I would at least enjoy it more than I used to.

My current plan is--I'll keep my career as an artist, but in my freetime, I'll try to grow and develop in my other passions--and should any one of them start to gain recognition and my chances of jumping the career train presents itself, I'll take the plunge and change careers. It's kinda like aspiring (insert something here) holding down a job in a restaurant while waiting for a chance to do what he really wants to do, except that being an art director for video games is far more rewarding and fun than waitering at a restaurant. LOL

[Telekon]

There's a concept I learned and it's called the "Law of Attraction." Simply stated: That which is like, unto itself is drawn. We see physical evidence of this law when we use expressions like "Birds of a feather flock together." It's important to understand that this law works with our thoughts as well. As you focus on a small negative aspect of freelancing, you will attract more and more thoughts reinforcing that viewpoint. Your creative block will add more unto itself thus growing more and more. That's why the block seemed to grow larger and larger. It was in fact the " Law of Attraction" at work. The thing to do is to put your attention on the aspects that make you feel good about freelancing now. If you can't think of any, then leave freelancing alone for awhile and give your attention to other areas of your life that feel good. The important thing is to get your attention off of negative attraction regarding freelancing. Once you start feeling good, the block will dissolve.

[Drunken Monkey]

i didn't read any of the posts besides the first one, but my 2c is this:

Travel. Take a Europe wide trip for 2 months. Go to Spain, watch the bull fights, go to Italy for Roman ruins, France, Turkey... etc. Hitchhike... sleep on the park bench if its warm. Visit museums... Hell go to Nepal and India.. whatever it takes - brain needs new stimulations in forms of adventure and unfamiliar stress.

[The Big Harf]

Cheers mate, when I'm down on inspiration I like to watch "Sanford and Sons" reruns and throw peanuts out the window.




...Am I helping?
_________________
Blimey, I'm a Limey

[Giant Hamster]

There we go, Telekon gets it. Now I don't feel totally alone.


AKA: Stop being a stupid wuss and go motivate yourself, wuss.

[pxy]

hmm, for me, and i noticed some others

if it wasn't for (digital) cams i wouldn't be doing artsy stuff anymore

with that you can just shoot lots o pics and something turns out good

then just manip it a little
_________________
red alert fogger5:04 snake4:43 22khzmono

[sweetums]

Some people across the web are planning a "24-Hour comic" marathon over Thanksgiving weekend. Either 24 drawn pages or 100 digital panels in a 24-hour uninterrupted time frame.

I decided to join the insanity, and just the thought of the compressed time schedule, plus the spontanaity of it (you can't write anything down beforehand, although you can think and plan) have done wonders for my creativity, and there's still 6 days before we start!

Maybe just tackling a pet project with some impossible yet challenging deadline "just for you" will help...
_________________
Life is short. Expect nothing, enjoy everything.
That which does not kill you should make you wiser...

[digitaldecoy]

Perhaps also try this: do a little sport after you wake up. I�m just doing 15-20 Minutes of stretching every morning and the blood begins to flow in your veins. It gives you wings, speeds your thoughts, gives you an overall positive injection. I guess it�s this body inherent drugs thing, but it works so it�s fine.
_________________
�Que la fuerza te acompa�e!