Total loss of creative mojo?

[gogidolim]

I really don't know what to draw, seriously. I go to figure drawing workshop frequently, but beside that I have no clue what to draw or paint.

I am done with the college. I finished all the classes and I am waiting for my graduation in January. (I forgot to take the writing test this summer so I have to wait till Fall. How stupid I am.) I've been working as a TV and film extra for 3 weeks. The money is not spectacular but somehow I can save a few hundreds so that I can take a couple of classes at CDA. Yeah, I think I need a good direction and mentoring to do anything artistic.

So any of you have had such lack of motivation and creativity? An utter lack of them for a period? How do you get out of it? How do you re-ignite your motivation when you are completely down and looking at other artists' works only discourages you even more?

[rossipoo]

First off, there are tons of motivation threads.. just look around.

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=160212
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=138102

Don't compare yourself to others.

Here is my post i did for another thread.. Z_Z
Happens to me all the time,
how i deal with it?
Look at the stuff that inspires me, think about why i love to draw, what got me into drawing and why i draw. I look at what i would want to be doing and where i would like to work in the future. I usually save all the pictures that make me go..WOW, this is what i live for. I have a folder just for it. After all of that, i realize to get to where i want to be..i have to do this.. and this.. and this.. ..work and work hard and think positive! 9/10 times you're doing better than you think.

[Spirit]

I set myself little goals and targets to achieve before I start creating, then work towards those goals. They don't have to be anything magor either, but I couldn't believe how good I actually felt by achieving a very simple goal! That motivated me to make a new, more challenging one, and I started working towards that. I have also stumbled upon just drawing when I felt the need to, as I just used to ignore it as I thought it would have to be studies or anatomy to help me. But one night I just picked up my sketchbook and just drew whatever came into my mind. You should try these, you will be surprised at how well they work :)

If you are struggling to think of things to draw or be creative with, look in the forums, such as Enviroment of the week, and the others (I can't remember the names!) They have many different subjects which you could just work through, and you can pick out the ones which interest you and work on those.

Another important thing I learnt about is self belief. I was amazed at how much I manged to get done in a limited time period when all I just thought was "I will do this, I will finish this piece of work" and basically telling myself off if i thought otherwise. If you really believe in yourself, you can achieve as much as you allow yourself to.

Comparing yourself to others can hinder your creating, so I really wouldn't do that. Each artist is unique, and the artists you think are "better" than yourself, its just that they have more knowledge about skills and techniques, and how to use them. If you use your time to learn the skills and techniques, and understand them and know how to use them, then you can be producing just as good art as they are. You just have to put the time in now to achieve that. Don't give up!

[Flake]

Nope, I have the exact opposite. I have at least 100 paintings in my head and I can't get them onto a canvas fast enough or (more importantly) good enough.

I expect to hit lots of problems, lack of ideas is not one of them.
How do you re-ignite your motivation when you are completely down and looking at other artists' works only discourages you even more?
Stop being a fag. Suck it up and rise beyond. You're not as good as Rembrandt, nobody is. That's cool. Go and try to get better. Or at least try to be interesting.

Or don't, Whatever....

[WhizBang]

Stop being a fag. Suck it up and rise beyond. You're not as good as Rembrandt, nobody is. That's cool. Go and try to get better. Or at least try to be interesting.

Kinda rude towards gay folks but the message is spot on. Get over yourself. Quit trying to be the next big shit and just keep sketching. You don't think that the masters had bad days too? They're the frickin' masters because they never stopped trying and doing.

[Leonor]

Sometimes when I'm sleepy I think I'm dying. Seriously.

Don't generalize. Take a break or take the opportunity to browse the art of others, to read theory, to copy studies or to draw from life.

I am more in a spot like Flake right now. I have a great idea for the newborn competition but no skill to do it.

[Flake]

Kinda rude towards gay folks but the message is spot on.

My bad, I meant gay in a "South Park" sense.

No offence intended to gay peeps.

[Baron Impossible]

Sometimes I have the same problem, but it's because I have too many ideas and I can't choose between them. Too much freedom, like being in a cake shop. I find getting a specific brief, or entering into a competion with a specific theme, helps. Get a friend to give you a subject and then paint it - with no excuses. Follow the "inspiration" link in my sig and paint the first subject that appears. Lots of options.

I am more in a spot like Flake right now. I have a great idea for the newborn competition but no skill to do it.

If you read Jason's post he says "Judges weigh each entry based on idea development (50 percent) and technique (50 percent). Pretty pictures are nothing without great ideas. Great ideas are better without stellar execution."

Not that "can't do it" is ever a valid excuse for inaction.

[Sidharth Chaturvedi]

Because this is completely original and has never been said before, my only advice is... draw from life :P. That means more than figure drawing. Take your sketchbook everywhere and just draw things, especially the stuff that looks too hard to draw. You'll start to fill your head with those things and pretty soon you'll probably always have something ready to put on paper.

[Liffey]

Yeah, whenever I'm in a creative rut I usually sit down and do some anatomy studies or something. At least that way you're still progressing, and hopefully something will spark an idea.

[laxkor]

I have an ordered list of ideas/subjects to draw, usually some 5-6 bullets deep on some file. During a spur of the moment, while watching tv/movies/looking outside/etc, I add to the list. Eventually when it comes time to do art (freetime, near references, or have access to said reference), I go back to the first thing on the list and begin the creative process.

[gogidolim]

I did some research and yes, anti-bipolar medications can take away creativity. :(

[reaxion]

try listening to some different music