Getting overexcited/overinspired

[spark_zero]

I don't know if anyone else has also that problem, it's weird to call it a problem though..

Anyway, there are momenths when you feel that you are so full of energy/power and you want to do something great, but you waste all the energy in a small ammount of time and you just burn out.. You feel that you can do everything on earth, but yet you can't do crap, because it's hard to concentrate on a thing carefully.

Has anyone got any suggestions on how to "calm the fuck down" and use that huge ammount of inspiration/energy usefully? I am sometimes in that situation, and I end up with no good results. Usually i end up thinking "wtf should i draw now?".. and then i'll end up just doing average random crap, but I run out of energy way quicker, then in my normal calm state.

[Ardescoere]

This might not be the answer you want... But studying every day helps. Once you have the discipline, you build upon the skill and you learn the things you need to know to channel the engery.

I think it might be that you get so much energy, feel pumped and like you can do whatever you want and since you have the energy you feel you can instantly do it, but maybe aren't up to the place you need to be yet to produce what you envision. Answer to that is completely just practice. And build your reference library so when you get the inspiration for something you have memories or photos of things to help you get what you want on paper/computer.

[Jason Rainville]

I have the same type of problem. For a few weeks I get super inspired and do studies and sketches every waking moment, then I hit a low point and get mad at myself for not being as productive. If I force myself to draw or study it just gets worse :shrug:

So now I just try to ride the waves as they come. When I'm inspired I make sure to do as much as I can before the low points hit me, and when they do I focus on something else (reading, work around the house, games, whatever)

So I'm not sure what advice to give. My way of dealing with it might be the "wrong" way, and I should be pushing myself all the time (I often wonder if I should). I will say though that if you feel like drawing, just do it. Maybe focus on large amounts of small projects or studies rather than getting worked up on a large one and not finishing it.

[RinAiello]

I feel that way when I've had too much caffeine...

[ArtZealot]

I am kind of the same way. I think what it boils down to is maximizing and minimizing certain things and understanding oneself.

Maybe try to maximize the excitement and inspiration and do and learn everything to keep it bubbling around in your head. At the same time, though, try to understand and minimize on whatever is creating the lack of energy afterwards. It isn't something that can be done overnight, but over time a greater understanding as to what is causing the highs and lows may equal to a less bumpy road and more consistency when it comes to inspiration.

So do whatever you can to keep yourself excited, prepare for it, try to learn what is inspirational and keeps you moving forward; but at the same time be preparing for the lack of energy afterwards. Understand what is causing the burn out and minimize on it.

For me, i like to keep lots of books and reference out, cool photos, cool artwork, etc. I might have Sparths book out or Skillful Huntsman, and i'll flip through those as i'm drawing to keep myself inspired. Then try and learn from what i see and attempt it in whatever drawing im working on. If it hit my mark even a little bit, it's enough to keep moving forward and thats kind of been how i've tried to go about things for years and it's made drawing quite fun, and has minimized the highs and lows.

Anyway, thats just how i do it. Nurse the inspiration, and kill whatever is causing the burn out. So long as theres something good that came out of what was drawn, in relation to my own abilities, then the drawing is a success and having inspirational stuff to look at (no i dont meant the inspirational posters) that helps, at least for me.

[CGMonkey]

I suffered from this during many many years but when I entered the professional field, working everyday with creative tasks, I had to find a way to stabilize those highs and lows.

The biggest problem I faced was lack of routine. I had a fancy idea of what it meant being an artist and I've yet to experience those ideas for real. Getting a routine is very important because it will help you through the worst dips.

Another thing that I feel have helped me enormously and which I haven't actually read anywhere or being mentioned by other artists is the benefit of having the right mindset. In my experiences entertainment design (I guess this applies to illustration as well) is at its' core problem solving and approaching it as such with the frame of mind to solve problems helped me get a routine. This is the very opposite of what I had in mind for many years: To create beautiful pictures. When you solve problems instead of trying to make pretty pictures, you soon realize that you allow yourself to fail. How can you solve a problem without failing first, without failure there are no problems right?

Solve problems, don't make pretty pictures.

[QueenGwenevere]

Hmm. Don't know if I've had that exact problem, but I find if I'm too wired to concentrate going out and taking a brisk walk helps a lot - it clears my head and calms me enough to focus while keeping me energized.

Oddly, taking a walk also helps revive my energy when I'm feeling bleary and burnt out from working too long...

[Black Spot]

Use that time to get everything down. Sketch, draw etc and then have a good sleep before looking at those you can do something with. Even if you only make one decent picture from it, its a plus, and you never know, some of those manic drafts might come in use later on.

[Christian223]

It's great that it happens to you too, it used to happen to me more often when I was younger, now I have to work to get inspired.

You just need to rest and get inspired again. I got folders full of inspiring art and text files full of written ideas to get re-inspired. Having to rest is important, nobody can work too much for too long without being burned out.

[Jazz]

I get like that, so I have to doodle or I'll forget what I want to do. I usually have some weird ideas and I don't doodle or write them down. Then I feel bad later. :P I just say let your hand do some crazy stuff until you drain yourself of that crazy energy. Then put that away and look at it a tiny bit later. See what you did and decide what of those things you wanna do!

...I don't know if that works cuz I never tried it. I just thought of that idea right now. BUT...it might work!

[George Abraham]

LOL..

I remember those:"I burnt all my energy desighning a master plan" times.

What worked best for me is to have conveniently availlable program, like working through an anatomy study over some time and knowing that you have the next bit to work on the next day.

I think if you decide to draw something it should fit the style of a "plan" or either be something so quick that you can finish it in an hour or lose your marbles. If you are not keen to follow the plan on a project you are working on you still have your default plan of studying.

It might be that you have mistaken frustration for artistic pressure, If you can't focus it's not that. Then you need a cold shower. ;P

[Kraus]

For me inspiration can keep on rolling forever while i visualise the idea and develop it in my head.
The only way i can keep the inspiration when it comes to sitting down and working, is to work in short bursts and look forward to the next sitting, like it's a season finale every time.

Can i accomplish it in one sitting, sure, one long boring ass sitting that will make me loose the excitement. It's the idea and the vision of final product that inspires me, not the process. The process is robotic and tedious, sinse it's all muscle memory at that point.

[spaztastic]

I get the same way, I get those times when I feel I can draw anything... and others like now where I feel like all my stuff looks ,like crapatastic junk. I do the same as Jason and just ride the waves as they come. there is more than just one way to keep creativity up. I do however try and draw a few things a day just too keep up my every lacking skillz.

[Jacob Kobryn]

You can never be too inspired!

[Line]

This would be a lot harder if you wanted to be a writer. I feel sorry for those poor guys. We can always doodle on a page and something eventually comes up, or we can work from copy or life, for practice. But those poor guys just have to sit there and look at that blank page till something hits them.

Seriously though, training to become an artist is like training to become a bodybuilder. Your in the gym, fired up, wanting to build those massive arms in one work out. But you can't. It's a day by day war. You must do what you need to in order get out of the gym alive! Also, you must make a mental plan that you slowly set in stone. Make short term goals that help you reach long term ones. You've gotta focus on gaining the next 5 pounds of muscle, not the next 50.

Art training is quite the same thing. You've got to look at your most important goal, and create short term goals, to slowly reach it. There is no sense in wanting to successfully sit down and paint a still life with a basket full of fruit, a glass of wine, the bottle, a bouquet of flowers and a shiny marble bust, all set on a wooden desk, in front of a mirror, and do all this flawlessly in your first try.

Use your fire to get to the next step, not the next floor.

[George Abraham]

Line:This would be a lot harder if you wanted to be a writer. I feel sorry for those poor guys. We can always doodle on a page and something eventually comes up, or we can work from copy or life, for practice. But those poor guys just have to sit there and look at that blank page till something hits them.


...a dull blow to the head and Abott lay motionless at his desk. The scene now a still life... with some speckles of bright red on an empty page and the face now resting on the table tranquil and angelic,..... >Enter How it all started here 4 month's ago here<

LOL!!

[macabre]

Finding myself making pointless lines after I burn out, I switch to pen. Makes me get back into focus.

[Line]

Line:


...a dull blow to the head and Abott lay motionless at his desk. The scene now a still life... with some speckles of bright red on an empty page and the face now resting on the table tranquil and angelic,..... >Enter How it all started here 4 month's ago here<

LOL!!

...a few minutes later, Costello walks in the room and taps his partner on the shoulder.

'Hey Abott, Abott!' he cried with agony 'Abooooottt!'

Abott raised his bloody head, looking at his plum, nit-witted friend who looked blurry as if through a haze.

And Costello said 'We're outta milk for the corn-flakes. Gotta dolla?'

[DazDaryl]

when i feel like i get really excited i just sit back and relax and just feel it like i'm producing the images in a great imaginary plane and I try to maintain a story and a sence of sequential happenings with the exciting imagery. To this I usually draw / make 3d my more major concepts and ideas.

[George Abraham]

...a few minutes later, Costello walks in the room and taps his partner on the shoulder.

'Hey Abott, Abott!' he cried with agony 'Abooooottt!'

Abott raised his bloody head, looking at his plum, nit-witted friend who looked blurry as if through a haze.

And Costello said 'We're outta milk for the corn-flakes. Gotta dolla?'

A dark figure producing a deep grunting sound swiftly moves past the doorway catching Costello's attention briefly..

[Angel Intheuk]

Hiya Spark - common dilemma we all seem to be sharing, me too.

I put it down to ADD as I rarely concentrate on one thing at a time unless it 'really' grabs my attention (like films or books) so it's usually after I've watched something really good I'm really inspired and get like 'Oh my god, I have a brilliant idea for a painting/story/character' I have to do it now!' then that leads to other ideas and others and before I know it I've overloaded myself too. To combat it I've started 'The Artists Way' which has brilliant exercises for helping to channel your creativity. Two of the steps are:

1. As soon as you get up write 3 pages of whatever is in your mind, just write don't think and when you've finished put them away, don't read them and don't show them to anyone, this helps get rid of all the excess crap that's in your head and lets the purer creative ideas come through.

2. Set aside a 'date night' for your artist child (that's how she describes your artistic self- which is cute I think) which links to what other advise you got here. Set yourself study time and this will help channel all that energy in a structured way.

Anyway I'm still working on this myself but I'm finding it helps (as well as doing the CHOWS) and in the meantime when I get inspired I try and sketch and scribble my ideas down quickly and go back to them for inspiration when I do sit down to draw.

Hope this helps your dilemma too :D