Discipline. Can it be learned?

[Jaku]

I found that one of my biggest lacks is the discipline. I can´t spend more than a few hours drawing or painting. i get bored or discouraged and i´m not able to continue to the end.

I was thinking if more people has the same problem than me and what they do to figth it.
Maybe enrolling the army is a solution.....;)

[georgem]

two things

1) drawing is not for you

2) somethings wrong with you (not in a joking way)

[Jaku]

maybe....:(

[Redder]

Blah, forget the Army enroll at ArtCenter. :D

[Aven]

Maybe you haven't found what you really like to draw/paint yet. It isn't always that you are drawing. If you find the right subject you will have a love for it and be more devoted to finish a work. Just try drawing some different things until you find what you enjoy :)

[Sinix]

I have big laziness problems myself. I have trouble practicing much.. it's my biggest problem. I've fought it in the past, but it's not too easy. So, I don't have much to say about it... seeing as I haven't got past it yet. Hmm. It sure is holding back my talent alot.

[MrKayne]

I blame tv and video games! :bash:

...I have that prob sometimes... I'd be so busy trying to develop my 'own style' I started to get too easily discouraged...then don't enjoy creating it (don't let that happen).
It's also very motivating when others really engage and enjoy in your work

[AnarchyAo2]

I think its your personality. If you can make good pictures then your a good artist. You could sniff lead and sneeze a masterpiece and you'd still be just as good of an artist as someone that spend hours, day, or weeks on one. But, I'm like you, I need breaks more often then other people. I get lazy fairly quickly and if i force myself to draw/paint longer then my work ends up crap.

[Giottoface]

I think that everyone has that problem, no? My advice would be to try a whole bunch of different medias... Draw in pencil.. draw in pen, draw digitally, watercolor, sculpt, close your eyes and draw a picture, open them, and adjust the drawing... something will definitely stick.

i say if you're drawing for a few hours already, then you're off to a great start... just don't give up hope. in my experience, drawing isn't about banging out quality piece of art after quality piece of art....

just keep doing whatever it is you want to be doing, and you'll progress accordingly.

[Chile]

my suggestion:

Find an interesting line, and then follow it. ;)

I've found abstract compositions lead to better technical skill. You worry less about what something looks like, and more about what it is. Over time, you discover that the effects you want to achieve can be produced in ways you may not have originally thought. This, in turn, improves both your ability to illustrate real world subject matter, and to draw imaginary subject matter that seems real. You could consider Kandinsky's use of feeling from music as an inspiration, and go from there.

[Jaku]

Thanks for all the replies!

Maybe is just that, just draw and not force oneself to do the best you have done.

I´ll try to free my mind. Thanks!

[JabMasta]

Hum, i know what you mean. Sometimes I get bored by the picture i'm working on...but the more I draw weekly, the less I get bored. really strange somehow...

[endregan]

you haveto be self disciplined. force yourself to draw, find something you enjoy. study something you will never be tired of...it is only the beginning..

[Elwell]

If your goal is be a professional this is something you are going to have to work through, one way or another. When the work has to be done, it has to be done, and done well, whether you feel into it or not . Inspiration is for amateurs.

Now excuse me while I go follow my own advice ;).

[Jaku]

-> Elwell _ I agree with you, but lack of method is another of my faults.

[WildSpruceMoose]

Finish if you have to chain yourself to the desk/easel. Don't drink coffee/caffeine before/during anatomy studies or any other maticulous drawing practise. With no caffeine/sugar in my system when I'm doing maticulous art, I find myself less frustrated and quick to stop.

[cotron]

I'm fighting through this myself... I am too easily distracted at times, so I'm working on cutting out the things that distract me... a calendar will help this, I think. I marked off the things I want accomplished and set a date for them to be accomplished by. For example, X number of sketches by X day. This just helps you collect your goals and see them somewhere you'll look at every day.

Being an artist isn't something you do, it's what you are...a lifestyle that your life should revolve around, to be successful. Making a habit of working will help you enjoy it more, and in turn, make you want to work more. If that makes sense.

Good luck, I know where you're coming from!

[Jaku]

Once again, thanks!
I´ll try setting deadlines myself cotron. What you´ve said makes a lot of sense. :D

Thanks for the advice wildsprucemoose

[Valcon Jet]

If you haven't already, check out the daily sketch group. It's something thats helped me tremendously in my art, as it gives me something to draw every single day, and I don't have to spend 8 hours doing it. I can't possibly stress how much the DSG has helped me.

[Erik]

Depends on your discipline i guess... XD

[Crawley]

i also suffer from this problem of getting easily distracted and off track, especially if there are no deadlines and consequences. i do work well under pressure and with accountability. procrastination is the enemy of my productivity. some subjects in school i had less problems than others. such as life drawing and painting, i stayed on track pretty well in those. also if i had demanding teachers that set and stuck to their deadlines. lately i've found that listening to music with headphones is helping me to not get distracted by all of the background noise, or worse yet silence. using music that compliments the art i'm working. if you love art keep trying to find something that works for you. i am loving my job as an illustrator. and hope that this will be less of a problem for me the longer i draw and color for 8 hours a day. good luck

[John]

I may be a newbie but i think i got a point as this is somewhat derived from what i've read in Loomis's works.
Inspiration can be at least two things:
i look at cool stuff and want to be as cool (bad)
i start to work on an idea in a fashion that "manufactures" inspiration (good)

I guess this is what it would look like in a perfect world:
If you've gotten a good foundation it makes you want to pull off the rest of the work. Starting with a rough composition that you feel works, you put in values that complement the composition, work out the anatomy you need and the perspective, then you may want to work out the rhythm the lines create, invent a fitting color scheme…

I usually skip work after a few doodles and go back to practice because i feel inadequate for the subject.

[Snowball]

I don't agree with people saying that "maybe drawing isn't for you" I think anybody can learn to draw just some quicker or easier than others. Like some people have said maybe try new mediums, topics, read new material do things you enjoy and keep in the back of your mind "drawing" maybe new ideas will come to you. I also find I have trouble or I get discouraged when an idea just can't seem to produce itself on the paper in front of me. Some things I try are:
1) Making sure I am 100% comfortable, whether that means using the bathroom before I sit, brushing my teeth, wearing the right clothes, anything at all that adds to my overall comfort!
2) Sometimes I'll even lightly move the pencil randomly on the paper and look at it for a while and see if I see something cool form, then the rest of the idea runs.
Just keep practicing and never quit! Maybe draw Anatomy, that way you know the topic and its always a help!

[Chile]

I agree with Snowball on the issue of whether drawing is right for you. My mentor once told our class that "Anyone can draw". And, he's absolutely correct.

To his words, I add:

Anone can draw. However, there are appropriate lines, and inappropriate lines. The skill, then, is to draw only the appropriate ones. ;)