ARRRGG! Purse!!

[Kanimator]

I made this without any plan or intension, and had no desire to refine and finish it, so here it is in the Sketches section. I haven't posted here in a long time, because I've been having a really hard time ballancing work art with for fun art. Crunch time at work has of course helped that. Any advice for getting art done outside of work, and actually retaining some creativity (other than just not having an art job....)?

http://www.studiodimensions.com/Kelsey/TempandPost/ArrrrgPurse.jpg

[Magic Man]

Yeah I had that initially when I started as a concept designer, I'd come home after a long day at work and just want to do nothing because, believe it or not, my creative juices had been sapped!

So I do know the feeling, and thats when I realised my mindset was holding me back - everything I was doing at work was improving, that is, my strong areas were improving, my design and rendering of inanimate objects and props was a-fucking-1, but my character design was lacking because I hadn't been pushed hard in that area year, nor location design or vehicle design.

I also realised I was taking shit much too seriously, I'd treat work like a job - rather than what it was and should always be...the time of your motherfuckin' life. I mean seriously, an artist, being paid to sit on their ass all day and dream up crazy ass creations and create alternate realities?

So I got back to basics and started to have a ball at work, from that paradigm shift in mentality, I began to really love doing what i do everyday and my work work has improved tremendously.

I also pulled my head outta my ass and forced myself to confront the fact that there were a number of things I am incredibly weak in - anatomy, vehicle design, architecture and speed renderings. These are the things I spend all my time on outside of hours and i love it, apart from going to the gym and eating (thats right, i no longer shower nor use the toilet) I'm working on my weaknesses using self study.

I think an artist truly gets bored when they get stuck in a rut, when inspiration runs low, the best thing to do is go to your weaknesses and making it fun for yourself. The most fun you'll ever have is the journey itself, not the end point, which is fine by me, since the tapestry of inspiration drawn from life itself, is a bottomless well of wonder.

Take yourself to the movies, go for a walk, learn to think like a child again, see wonder where others see nothing, and then make them see it with your art, and that is when you cease to not only be an artist, but an escapist who is able to help others escape their own worlds by sharing yours with them.

Good luck in finding your inner child again.

m