Skill but no feel? Need help.

[Pawkfox]

Whenever I sit down and try to draw something my mind goes blank.
I can't even make thumbnails because my brain overloads with the thought "What should I draw" after 2hours I usually give up and walk away with a headache.
The times I manage to force myself not to think in the ways of "what to draw" I just get big blobs of crap that I see no way to develop into anything :(

It feels like I have the skill and will but nowhere near the ideas and imagination to become anything more than a hobbyist.

I have no other education than 2d and 3d design and I really want to make my way as a concept artist/illustrator.
Has anyone else been through something like this and found some way to get past it, something to spark your mind into making things up?
My main inspiration source is.. music I guess. I haven't found anything that makes my head spin yet =(
This slows my development as well :(

Thoughts, ideas and suggestions are appreciated.

[DavePalumbo]

Have you tried the activities here on CA? Daily Sketch Group, COW, CHOW, EOW? Good ways to trigger the imagination.

[Pawkfox]

Have you tried the activities here on CA? Daily Sketch Group, COW, CHOW, EOW? Good ways to trigger the imagination.

I find it really hard to keep track of those things..
They're usually miles long, and you don't know what has happened or changed since page 1 and I'm not about to spend several days reading up on 72page threads..

[alesoun]

They usually go up on a Monday. Just remember to take a look then......

[kev ferrara]

I recommend reading Harvey Dunn's lecture notes...

http://homepage.mac.com/georgepratt/iblog/B44581127/C1911975396/E754290273/index.html

If I may make a further recommendation...

Try this... Draw people according to what you think they are going through, not what they look like. Draw to express emotion and sympathy. If they are sad, make everything about them look sad, from their hair to their clothes to their shoes. If they look goofy, make everything about them goofy. If happy, all happy.

Draw objects, rocks, buildings, furniture, skies, trees, as if they were human-like. Not just the way you see them. Animate them, invest them with your feelings and human-like gesture.

This might be a fun way to break out of your creative slump.

Best,
kev

[Elwell]

Just draw. Draw something you've drawn before, something you know you know how to do. From Norman Rockwell's How I Make a Picture:
First I invariably draw a lamp post. I have found that I must start somewhere and if I did not start with a lamp post or something else, I would spend the whole day looking at the blank paper. So I start with a hope and a prayer – and a lamp post.

[DavePalumbo]

I find it really hard to keep track of those things..
They're usually miles long, and you don't know what has happened or changed since page 1 and I'm not about to spend several days reading up on 72page threads..

I'm not sure about the weekly stuff, but I used to do Daily Sketch Group once in awhile and it's pretty easy to get the newest assignment, just go to the most recent post and scroll back. It should be simple enough since there's a new one every day.

[Moai]

I find it really hard to keep track of those things..
They're usually miles long, and you don't know what has happened or changed since page 1 and I'm not about to spend several days reading up on 72page threads..

Where are you getting the "72 page threads"? The only times a weekly activity thread has gotten really long was when CoW and ChoW were having their hundredth rounds, and then the threads were only about thirty pages long. Usually the threads only get about ten pages long at the most. So thread length shouldn't keep you from taking part in these activities, which can be quite fun and stimulating.

[kollatt]

unless it's a very specific commission, i usually work in a somewhat vague manner with only an inkling of what i want to achieve. it's usually along the lines of what i want the viewer's emotional response to be. i never give myself too much time with a blank piece of paper. i just force myself to put down a line or two, even if there's no plan behind it. once it's down, my mind opens up and starts filling in and scoping out the possibilities. it's easier for me to visualize from something that's already there. i don't know if this helps.

[Farvus]

Create some personal project. It can be creating your own world and doing series of conceptart for it or illustrating your favourite novel. This way you don't need to keep track of forum activities and you can draw what you like.

[HunterKiller_]

Imagination, like drawing, is commonly regarded as a 'talent', and just like drawing, it can be practiced and strengthened.

The more you know, the more things you'll have to draw, so get out there and experience everything.

[Friso]

Find a way to throw something random at the paper, like inkdrips/random lines or so (and if you work digitally theres endless possibilities... like layering screenshots from shareware fractal generators or simply messing around with the brush creator and whatnot).
Then look at it until you recognize something in it or at least get some ideas and then go on defining and refining it.
Thats something I sometimes do, maybe it helps you too.

[Sigit]

Pawkfox I have the same problem like yours. I often don't know what to draw. Other times I have an idea but when I want to draw it the result always not as I expected.
Maybe you should try to join the mentoring thread like me (as a mentee) so that you can draw according to the assignment given by the mentor.

[Jon Sun]

Dude, I'm struggling with the exact same problem. Whenever I sit down to draw, I just can't do it. It's like, I can't force myself to draw, it just has to sort of "come over me". Well, I've been struggling with this for a while and I've put some deep thought into it, and I think I've come up with the solution: do heroin.

Well, actually don't do that, that's a terrible idea. However, if you have seen "Heroes" the TV show, you may know Isaac Mendez the prophetic painter who paints the future. This guy is pretty much my hero (err... role model rather). Anyway, he used to get high on heroin to activate his ability and he would paint these pictures that depicted events of the future. However, he eventually learned how to activate his ability without using heroin.

So basically, the point is: creativity is a skill that you can develop and learn. It's not just some eerie and abstract feeling that you get every so often nor is it something that some people just have and others just don't (although some people are naturally more creative than others). As for practical things you can do, everything everyone else suggested is excellent. Ha, I should do those things too, cause I struggle with this a lot. So let's train hard and become creative heroes (or heroines).

That's right I ended each of my paragraphs with heroin(e).

[GaussianRaider]

Whenever I sit down and try to draw something my mind goes blank.
I can't even make thumbnails because my brain overloads with the thought "What should I draw" after 2hours I usually give up and walk away with a headache.
The times I manage to force myself not to think in the ways of "what to draw" I just get big blobs of crap that I see no way to develop into anything :(

It feels like I have the skill and will but nowhere near the ideas and imagination to become anything more than a hobbyist.

I have no other education than 2d and 3d design and I really want to make my way as a concept artist/illustrator.
Has anyone else been through something like this and found some way to get past it, something to spark your mind into making things up?
My main inspiration source is.. music I guess. I haven't found anything that makes my head spin yet =(
This slows my development as well :(

Thoughts, ideas and suggestions are appreciated.

Read more books, watch more movies, listen to more music, watch more art, study some philosophy, read about what's going on in the world.
That should boost you imagination and broaden your sources of insiration.

[meisen78]

I know exactly how you feel, I am sure it happens to majority of people. it might be that you are afriad of doing something and not liking, or you feel somehow some need to SEE things in order to develop a connection between your brain and eye , this relation will make your hand start drawing automatically.
you can bring a magazine, flip the pages and you will have an idea of a picture in mind, it helps bringing some inspiration, any colored book, art galleries, even a still life object infront of you. JUST keep drawing to develop this skill. when you start learning to drive a car, and stop in the middle you might forget almost everything, but if you keep practising it becomes natural .
so in order to develop the brain-eye relationship keep observing and viewing stuff. hope this helped!

[crumpy]

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on this mater but I have suffered from this problem myself.

The way I got around it was photography. I took a walk down my road and snapped away for inspiration. When I got home I found myself sketching away for hours. A petrol cap on a Renault megane became a UFO type walker, an oak tree became a tree-monster-man-thing, and a scrunched up dead leaf became a dead leaf.

You don't NEED a camera, just get an idea in your head and go for it. The key is not to look at the paper for ideas but to look at all the other things that you might not notice otherwise.

[Pawkfox]

Thanks alot guys, I will try most if not all of the things stated above =)
GaussianRaider- I spend my weeks doing nothing BUT watching movies listening to music and browsing art. None of it inspires me, it just passes time and makes me go "oh cool I wish I could do that"
Bandaidboy12- I love that show :D Isaac was my fave char in the whole series (second was Peter or whatever his name was.. Like watching myself :p )
I'd rather do pot =| but actually I think looking around me for stuff is better.
Recently bought a new sketchbook that I'll be carrying with me everywhere!

[GaussianRaider]

Thanks alot guys, I will try most if not all of the things stated above =)
GaussianRaider- I spend my weeks doing nothing BUT watching movies listening to music and browsing art. None of it inspires me, it just passes time and makes me go "oh cool I wish I could do that"
Bandaidboy12- I love that show :D Isaac was my fave char in the whole series (second was Peter or whatever his name was.. Like watching myself :p )
I'd rather do pot =| but actually I think looking around me for stuff is better.
Recently bought a new sketchbook that I'll be carrying with me everywhere!

Perhaps you are spending too much time watching art, non-visual arts force you to do an active part in the process, this could trigger your imagination.
What about reading a bit? These are a few books i find very suggestive and evocative (if you haven't read them before and if it looks like your cup o' tea).

- The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, by E. A. Poe.
http://www.centrostudilaruna.it/immagini/gordonpymmondadori.bmp

- The Man in the High Castle, Ubik, et cetera by P. K. Dick.
http://zarquon.biz/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/high_castle.jpg

- The Atrocity Exhibition, by J. G. Ballard.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/Ballard--atrocity2.jpg

Overall i'd also strongly suggest you to read short stories anthologies (which are available for all three authors above, if you like 'em), to keep your mind stimulated by many different ideas and settings.

[veen]

I had the same problem for a while. I saw that GaussianRaider said something about watching more movies and reading more, well thats how i solved my problem, I started reading more Sci-fi and fantasy based books and basically just tried to picture scenes in my head, based on the info the author provided. this helped a lot. Hope this helps, its terrible to feel like you stuck in a rut.

[smellykitty]

what you need is inspiration, real inspiration

stay away from the fantasy. seriously. fantasy is not real, and offers no real inspiration. that inspiration is short lived. you need to find something in life that inspires you before you can convert that inspiration into imagination

and only then should you be concerned about turning things into fantasy

just like everyone hears you should learn to draw realistic first before going abstract - you need to draw inspiration from the world before you can draw upon it from your head.

[zenithh08]

You need to motivate yourself. Don't allow negative thoughts to capture your mind. Keep your mind fresh by doing things like spending some time with nature and so on. Be cool...
I have found an Hillary’ous video ..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7150u9sfCo. ChecK this out.

[Havelock]

Sorry to jump on your thread here but I feel the same. So a lot of advice you guys have given I'm gonna take on board as well :)