Getting into that certain "Groove"

[~Gluttony~]

Hello all, I'm fairly new to the forums and just wanted to kick things off with a personal problem I have that I would like some advice on.

Don't get me wrong, I love to draw. It's just I have trouble actually sitting down and starting to do it. I'll make excuses like I'm too tired, I have something else I need to do, ect. Once I actually sit down at my table and put pencil to paper I can't take myself away from it. I think I have a fear that whatever I draw will disappoint me.

I know every time I draw I see improvement but at the rate I'm going I'll never reach a respectable level. Maybe it's just laziness? If this has happened to you and you've gotten over it your comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Magic Man]

Yes, its laziness plain and simple, you've diagnosed your own problem.

The good part is that it just takes a bit of discipline to sit down and just do it, how difficult it is, is totally up to you.

If you want to sit down and draw, you will find all the excuses in the world to do it. If you don't want to sit down and draw, you will find all the excuses not to do it.

Have fun, m.

[Seedling]

Heehe. I have the same problem. I keep letting myself get distracted, especially when I'm surrounded by tasks that need to get done. Or when I'm sleepy and just want to loaf, like right now. What works for me is making art on a schedule. In a few minutes I'm going upstairs to paint. I do this every morning whether I feel like it or not. Works like a charm.

[dose]

Yes, it sounds like it very well could be linked to fear of disappointment, and maybe being a bit overwhelmed.

Start dealing with that part now- it doesn't really go away. You can get pretty amazing and still be worried about the same stuff. Give yourself room to be at exactly whatever level you're at. You'll always be better than some and worse than some, but if you keep working you'll be better than you were a week or a year or a month ago. Getting better than yourself is the best you can hope for.

It sounds like your trouble is with starting. You might be building it up into something big- if you're going to draw you have to do it for a couple hours or finish something. If this is the case, cut yourself some slack. Pick some very small amount of drawing- even just picking up the pencil and drawing one line or a circle. But do it every day. Some days you'll find you keep going, and other days you might not. But on the days you don't, don't say "Oh well, it's just a little line, it's not worth doing." Do it! And don't feel bad about it. Once you're doing that comfortably, you can bump it up a little, but the point is to cut down the enormity of the task of starting, so always keep it small.

I use something similar to keep myself going- I try to draw at least one head or hand from my mind each day no matter what.

[Jason Rainville]

What dose said.

I do my stuff each day after work and supper for maybe an hour. I might not even keep what I do - I might be copying a pic in PS to get some colour practice, but I always keep it loose and don't sweat it when I make a mistake - if it turns into something, it does. If it doesn't, hey, at least I practiced a bit. I always try to do a study first, then an imagination drawing. That's so when I start out full of piss n vinegar, I can get the boring stuff over with. After that I 'reward' myself with some imagination stuff.

It seems to work for me. I'd say try that, try sketching at different times during the day and try to find out when you're most inclined to sketch. The rest is up to you and your will (which is stronger than you think :D)

[Elwell]

Here's an exercise that works for some people:
Get something small and cheap to work on, like index cards or a small notepad. Before you start your "real" work, do a set number (five or ten) quick drawings. Now, here's the tricky but important part: you have to decide, before you start, that no matter what they look like, you will never show them to anyone, and will destroy them as soon as you're done. The idea is to get you into an artmaking state of mind without any thought of results or performance. If something looks like crap, so what? No one's ever going to see it. And if you do something fantastic, so what? If you've proven you can do it once, you can do it again.

[Justin.]

I think it's a mix of laziness/confidence. If I was more confident, I would draw so much more often. I will sit down at my computer or my paper for hours and do nothing, because I can't think of anything to do, and it saddens me.

[Farvus]

I always start with a long warmup. I take some photo reference and do some quick studies from it without much thinking. It doesn't matter what it is and how good it looks. Those doodles are also not meant to be posted unless they come out really satisfying. After filling many pages the stiffness goes away and I'm in the middle of "Groove" that you mentioned.

To get easier into warmup I often organise it for next few days (finding interesting photos, setting still life in my room) so that I can quickly sit down, take sketchbook and start drawing. Otherwise there is a risk that I can loose much time on internet :P.

[blackrobin]

you can also try this :
if you get distracted easily, try to stop doing all other things except drawing :
dont turn the TV on, dont play games, dont surf the internet(except CA), dont do anything that can waste your time, dont chat with your friend, dont waste even 5 minutes into things you think you shouldnt do, dont have fun!
dont do anything except drawing, just draw for the whole day
if you work finish your work and draw, if you go to school/college finish the class and then draw
as a beginning, try to do it for one day, if you manage then continue it to the next day, and then so on, try to build it as a habit

but dont push yourself too much if you feel stressed

[bara]

one thing that works for me is gawking at artwork that i'm particularly impressed by, artwork that i aspire to. this seems to get me going every time. so if you havent already, its good to have a collection of great artwork you can look at for motivational boost (and reference).

[dose]

Now, here's the tricky but important part: you have to decide, before you start, that no matter what they look like, you will never show them to anyone, and will destroy them as soon as you're done.

That's a great idea. Kills two birds with one stone: fear of disappointment/failure and being precious....

[Bruzer]

I have had the same problem but this last week been forcing myself to work and keep all my drawings although I am unhappy with them in the end in the future when i see progress It will motivate me even more.

[subversive-imaginati]

I have the same problem, I'd just like to point out to those of you who immediate "diagnosed" laziness that each person and their reasons are different. I know I'm not lazy, I'm in pain, some weeks I can't even get out of bed and because I'm so sick, I'm depressed which drains my drive to want to do art. My output should improve when I get my new studio because I'm designing it to be kind to my body so it won't hurt me to spend time on art like it does now.

Some people just have a fear of failing, so they "avoid" failure by not even trying. If they don't try, they can't fail. This becomes habit far too quickly.

The problem may be the same but the reasons behind it? Are often extremely personal.

To the original poster,

Whatever your reasons for not drawing? You need to examine them, and be honest with yourself. Each and every person has their own theory for how and why it happens and they rarely apply to everyone.

If it's fear of disappointing yourself? Remember it's okay to draw crap. Every artist has thousands of crap pieces in them, those have gotta come out before you can get to the good stuff. Even the pros probably have drawings that they throw away because they suck. I churn out between two and five crap sketches just solidifying my ideas before I do something even worth using as the base thumbnail for a full piece. It's never a case of pencil meets paper = incredible artwork even if you're stupendously skilled, some days you'll pick up the pencil and turn out piles of sketches which end up in the bin, other days, you'll turn out nothing but decent work.

A schedule doesn't work for anyone, but it's a good idea to draw for at least a few minutes daily, even if it's a doodle on scrap paper.

[Hai]

Thank you Elwell, you genius, you!

[Hexokinase]

I've had that problem for what seems like an eternity. My creative juices seem to come and go at random (unless I have finals the next day - I then actually work on pictures to the end). All the tips mentioned here seem so helpful and I can't wait to try them out sometime.

I don't know if its just me, but not only do I have problems starting an artwork, but I also have problems finishing them as well. In fact, I have become infamous for starting several works that have potential, then quitting halfway through. I have not given up on those pictures, but I always seem to start new pieces rather than continue ones I started a few days before. My question is: How can you find the motivation to continue pieces and finish them to the end?

[P.S. Sorry about the forum-hijacking, but I felt that it was sorta on-topic]