Reading through a few threads here it seems like a lot of /ic/ anons have trouble besting moods and self-criticism/loathing, especially in relation to art. I thought a thread dedicated to the topic could benefit us all.
Prompts:
>does looking at other's art inspire you or depress you? does something else trigger your low moods?
>how do you push through moments where you feel too low to draw (inb4 "do it faggot")?
>>2576238
Looking at art styles I love helps, looking at god tier art made by younger people before flipping through my own stuff does the opposite.
I get up, make a cup of tea, go running, sleep plenty, remind myself why I started all this.
But come to think of it, I'm not a shining example of motivation anyways.
>>2576274
>I'm not a shining example of motivation anyways
I feel like that's a sort of general theme.
I'm like you on the comparison though, and I'm not extremely motivated either. I feel like I'm just too tired to function, or apathic, most of the time.
>>2576238
>(inb4 "do it faggot")
but I do tell myself that
then I make shitty art
>>2576238
Well honestly i got meds and therapy. But then the art doubts were just a symptom of more deepseated self loathing and sabotage.
But anyhoo the above plus a shit ton of exercise and proper sleep and now I only have the occasional wobble (wich is when i waste hours on ic) instead of all the time.
>>2576299
Don't make art unmotivated.
When you're unmotivated, only draw. Draw some construction, anatomy, still life, circles or something else that doesn't require creativity.
Or just watch some Vilppu video and chill. Shitty art only demotivates you further.
>>2576299
Same, my worst pieces are when I try to force myself through it, it ends up being crap.
>>2576238
Other people's art (especially if it's contemporary) has a tendency to discourage me.
As for pushing through those moods, I try to do some drawing for my own enjoyment, without judgement. This usually ends in frustration, though.
>>2576459
>>2576460
This, so hard. Nothing in art feels worse than powering through on a piece and turning it into a complete pile of shit because you're just not into it. Even if it doesn't look like shit to everyone else, it'll feel like shit every time you look at it, and any positive feedback it gets is just a twist of the knife.
Unmotivated moods have their purpose. Utilise them on mechanical tasks that are harder to pursue when you're hyped up to create shit. Utilise them on making all the mistakes you care too much to make when you're motivated. Utilise them to make shitty art that was only ever meant to be shitty, art that's shitty in a way that's designed to teach you something.
With any luck, that unmotivated mood will lead you to some new discovery or understanding, and flow you on into genuine motivation.
>>2576238
>does looking at other's art inspire you or depress you?
Other people's art does not depress me. I am actually very happy that anyone, even if they're young and from the ghetto, have so much available resources at their fingertip. I am glad that people way younger than me can exceed my ability, because I didn't have the time or resources they had when I was their age and I would hate anyone to go through what I did. I always want people to be the best they can be. What does bother me is if arrogant assholes are good, and they think they're hot shit. But that's not an art problem, that's more like me just disliking dicks.
>how do you push through moments where you feel too low to draw
Most of the time, your problem isn't an art problem. It's something else, so figure out what the root problem is and fix it. That can take a while, so acknowledge that there's a problem, and then treat your art studies as a job. Make a daily goal (example: I will make one page of anatomy studies today) and FINISH IT, even though it may not be perfect. Don't aim for perfection, aim for completion. It can look like shit, but at least you did it and that's what matters. Just do better next time.
Always envision yourself being very good, and remember that you will be like that in the future. Focus on the goal.
Also if you ever feel down about your own work, stop focusing on yourself so much. Go say something positive to another artist (someone who's not an arrogant asshole). It sounds like hokey kumbaya bullshit but it works for me.
>does looking at other's art inspire you or depress you? does something else trigger your low moods?
Both. The beauty of it inspires me but the feeling that I'll never be able to create something like that depresses me.
Low moods are triggered by being on the starting point of learning art. It seems like a huge and daunting task to learn. What's worse is seeing the crap art you get started with.
>how do you push through moments where you feel too low to draw (inb4 "do it faggot")?
>inb4 "do it faggot"
I tried this mentality and it just ended in broken pencils. Alright maybe not broken pencils but it is that kind of frustration. I don't know how to get over it. Maybe it's that I'm too impatient. Or maybe I just don't like drawing as much as I think I do.
Do you guys actually enjoy the process of drawing?
I like the art, but the activity of drawing can be a real pain sometimes. There are moments when I enjoy it, mostly when I'm just doodling for fun or working on a project that I really like. But it's still more about the subject than actually drawing itself that I like. I do enjoy when I can just shut my brain off and render something.
>>2577374
>Do you guys actually enjoy the process of drawing?
Sometimes, and sometimes not. You can't expect to enjoy everything every time. Even when I don't enjoy it, I push through it with the end goal in mind, and that is to complete it the best I can. If I think I can't draw something well (like hands for example) then I work on something else in the picture, then I practice drawing hands on the side. Then a couple days later when I can draw hands better, I'll go back to the piece and finish the hands. I don't get perfect results, but you know, there's always next time and there's always more things to draw. Ideas are endless, possibilities are endless, don't dwell on one piece of art and don't dwell on your mistakes. You just have to keep moving.
>>2576238
Remember the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Yes. It works the opposite too, when you feel that you're shit because you are getting better.
That is because sometimes you assume what is easy for you, is easy for others.
Being in a place like this where harsh critiques are just a couple memes away kills your motivation.
>It looks like shit, but let's confirm this.
>"Kill yourself."
>Fuck this, I'm a failure.
Obviously being in an hugbox without any feedback reinforces the opposite of the Dunning-Kruger. You're shit, but the massive succ of dicc makes you think you're the hot stuff.
Anyways, we all gonna make it, anons.
Just remember: Don't take critiques like absolute truths, bad or not. You will make it only if you practice.
>does looking at other's art inspire you or depress you? does something else trigger your low moods?
Depends, if I really like it and want to do something similar (and I know I can) then yeah it can be. Other times I just get really mad at myself for not being better. I think realizing how much time I've wasted definitely triggers low moods, have to consciously remind myself to stay in the present which is really hard for me.
>how do you push through moments where you feel too low to draw (inb4 "do it faggot")?
I listen to music/interviews/whatever to block everything out which helps a lot cause my mind wanders so fucking much. Never finish anything.
>>2577374
I do, like another anon said up there it's hard to feel confident in sitting down and drawing when you have other issues that make you not even do it in the first place. But once I sit there and get into a zone I end up having having fun even if it's really hard, it's the attention span that needs a good beat down- always get bored and want to do other stuff without completing whatever it was I was doing.
>>2577374
>Do you guys actually enjoy the process of drawing?
Only if it's something unimportant. Whenever the project becomes important I tend to just loose motivation and give up.
For example, if I have a project that involves drawing a horse, and I'm shit at horses, I'll start to look up some horse pictures to get references. But then, I know that if I don't understand the reference, it will be bad, so I start to look into horse anatomy. Before I know it, I have a list of three website full of veterinary slices and information about horses to read through the next week and I am completely unmotivated to do my project anymore. Also, now I know so much about horses I feel like I lack the practice to do it justice. So I'll doodle some hooves and bones, get depressed, and leave it at that.
The moment something starts being serious, or I try to actively get better at it and schedule in practice, I feel the energy and motivation leave me.
>>2577448
This too. My attention span is crap to start with. I had good succes when I was on meds but then I developped a heart condition that makes stimulants of any kind a big no-no.
I remember being able to focus for hours on end when I was a kid because I was so into what I was doing. I wonder where that capacity went.
>>2577374
>I like the art, but the activity of drawing can be a real pain sometimes.
Complete opposite for me. I love the process, I care comparatively little for the final product once it's done.
There's certainly a window after I've completed something I've worked hard on where I can bask in the fruits of my labour, and I really value that. But before long I just see the points where I know better now, and I get the urge to do something new to learn new things and outdo myself, to where that image I was so proud of a moment ago will hopefully be outdated before long.
Shit, sometimes I'll be on a bus listening to music and just struck by the lovely time I had x-months ago when I was painting something while listening to this album, something that would no doubt be downright embarrassing to look at by now, because the process of doing it was just so fulfilling.
It was only when I started truly enjoying the process itself that I really started, not magically improving, but striving to improve and actually succeeding at it. When I was younger and focused ahead on the final product, it was just a dead end of frustration over the fact that I couldn't vomit the image in my head out onto a page. Now figuring out how to do that is a wonderful puzzle to solve.
An anon actually said something on here a long while back that really clicked with me, might have been quoting someone. But the gist of it was that you want to get to a point where, should the drawing you're working on be suddenly destroyed, all you'd need to do would be to shrug and start again. It's being able to do that that shows you actually understood everything you put down, that it wasn't a product of happy accidents, lucky guesses, or trial and error. Really opened my attitude way up, that it's not about an object but about the process and understanding that led to being able to create it in the first place.
(Not saying this is any 'right' way, just rambling about how it generally seems to work for me).
>>2576274
>god tier art made by younger people
>90 percent is anime cookie cutter shit
Okay
>>2577922
Not that anon, but I go outside, and i've been to conventions where little kids around 12-15 are drawing detailed sketches better than probably a lot of beginner artists here in their twenties.
>>2576238
I've been drawing since more than 10 years, it was my hobby as a,kid.
I still can't draw without reference or a model, an inspiration.
I still can't do whatever I want, any poses, any angle, any perspective.
I don't know how I can learn all that, there is nothing interesting in tracing lines and drawing squares all day while reading a pdf
y'all need to read effortless mastery
>>2578029
What's it about?
>>2578145
About how the fear in art, of not getting better prohibits one from actually getting better and how you can get rid of that fear. Its about music but applies the same way to drawing and painting.
basically advice on art, anxiety and how those two relate to each other.
>>2578226
cool sounds like a good read. ill check it out
>>2578029
Link where?
>>2578375
Sorry, don't have a link, I actually bought it.
The self loathing, depression and low self esteem isn't always art related.
It seems that artsy people are more often prone to those.
Currently in her a hard time focusing on my drawings. In my mine I want to do so much, but I end drawing for 10 minutes then I 'm done.
In the end, the drawing takes ages to be done and I hate it anyway.
>>2578381
>fag buys books about music
>>2578494
calling someone a fag for reading and gathering useful knowledge.
>Never gonna make it
>>2578527
Relax, friend, I'm only memeing
I got meme'd
