How does /ic/ deal with "starting" a drawing, painting or just sketching something? The majority of the time I can't begin anywhere because I can't picture it in my mind. I know it requires trying but the motivation is just not there. It hasn't been there for years. Every once in a blue moon I'll sit down and do something that I actually put effort in it and recently it was a self portrait. But it's like there's a 3 digit lock on my imagination and I'm stuck on the second number and I've lost the key to my creativity.
How does one break free?
throw out the gesture
>>2562986
Care to explain?
>>2562985
If you don't want to draw, and are unable to "force" yourself to just do it then maybe art isn't for you. People who do this all the time or do it for a job don't usually require extreme measures to make themselves draw.
If you're just lazy then you need to analyze your behavior. Even the best artists don't always want to draw but they're able to make themselves do it because they have to for work or practice.
You have to stop waiting for "inspiration" or "motivation" and instead just force yourself to sit there and do it. It might take you 20 minutes of fumbling around until the good idea hits. Discipline trumps inspiration most of the time. I know for me I might start out with a generic idea but as I get into the sketch and start thinking about things the idea develops into something better. It might take me 10+ sketches to get a good layout and change up the idea before arriving at something worth doing. If I just sat around and waited until I could "visualize" something w/o doing all that work I'd never do anything.
I think you're looking at the act of creating art incorrectly. You don't wait until you have the perfect idea, you create a bunch of shit preliminary work before getting to that good idea. Highly skilled artists can pump out good ideas quickly/without a lot of preliminary work because their preliminary work was the 10-15+ years of expearence prior to starting that sketch.
Along with all that your taste evolves and becomes more refined. (the more art you look at over the years and the more you work) The lame crap you did before you just pumped out no longer appeals to you and you might have to work a little harder to get an idea thats interesting enough to finish.
TL:DR Force yourself to work more, don't be afraid to make bad uninspired art before finding something you feel like finishing.
>>2562985
You won't always no what you are going to draw before you draw it.
Just put your pencil to the paper and move it around. Maybe draw a head, then the gesture of the figure.
Fill in the rest of the figure, not thinking too much about it.
If that doesn't go too well, try to redraw it.
>>2563018
That was really well put. Thanks. I guess I have been waiting around for the inspiration to hit me. And it really pisses me off when I just sit there and nothing comes out.
>>2563029
Thanks anon. I'll do that.
Work in pencil for a while. Make random shapes featherlight and barely seen. Explore,and gradually turn a basic shape into something,pressing harder and getting darker of line. You need not complete anything,don't even try to complete a whole bit of something. Interesting chunks make interesting wholes,and interesting parts make memorable scenes.
>>2562985
What are you interested in? Do you read books? Do you have a portfolio?
Do studies of things you need to learn or do portfolio pieces tailored to the clients you want to attract when you have nothing personal to draw.
