I don't know what is wrong but I lost all inspiration
TY3DArt
Posts: 164
Have not done anything in a while, and it is very hard for me to get back into creating more art. I have no inspiration or motive and it is tough to get the motivation to do anything. I feel lost .. it is depressing 
Post edited by TY3DArt on
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I think this happens to all of us at some point. take a break if you need to and do something different for a bit. Or browse other peoples art, sometimes that will kick of some ideas. (not suggesting copying just enjoying the art and maybe it will spark an idea) Spend some time outside in the park or take a long walk. Sometimes it helps clear your head. Join one of the challenges. then you HAVE to make something lol. I'm sorry you are having a rough time
When I fall into a slump, I usually look for a community challenge or contest. Sometimes a topic or theme is enough to spark something. For example, it's currently in between contests at the moment, but when the next RRRR begins (very soon!) you should give it a go. If you're unaware, RRRR stands for "Random Runtime Roulette Renders." Essentially, you draw a few items at random from your runtime and make a render based on a fun theme. The most recent example can be seen here: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/61970/rrrr-stupid-is-as-stupid-does-render-contest-closed/p1 (And there's a list of prior months at the bottom of the initial rules post. My personal favorites were "Freak Accidents" and "Unlikely Occupations.") Alternately, if you're looking for a more serious theme, check out RDNA's monthly challenge. They're voting on November's theme right now. It's got its own subheading in their forums. There's also the monthly Freebie Challenge here in DAZ's Freepozitory, which is fun because you get to hunt down free items on a theme -- you'd be amazed at what you can find out there!
Good luck!
Greetings,
@tmraider - I'm so sorry. It can seem like a vicious circle; you don't create, you feel bad about not creating, which puts you in a mindset that's not particularly creative...and eventually it's been long enough that you feel a bit of self-loathing and depression at it, which is really not conducive to the process of creation.
I can't offer much more than, 'It gets better.' I'd love to share my ways of getting out of it, but none have been consistently successful, even though they've all worked at least once. For me the tricks are usually some variation of 'Don't try to do anything big.' So I start out doing postwork on an ancient image that I never published, or seeing what the scene looks like rendered in Iray. (I have this problem with programming a lot also, where my answer is to do tiny incremental cleanups, starting with fixing spacing, renaming variables, adding comments, and slowly my brain warms up to it, and I find larger and larger changes to make.)
But sometimes the inspiration just doesn't come, and you need to be okay with that. "Okay, this hobby isn't fun right now. Let me do something completely unrelated, like go stare at a large body of water, and come back to it another day." Don't let the internal nattering nabobs of negativism drive you down that dark spiral. I've found the categorizing of depressive thoughts (e.g. filtering out the good, overgeneralizing the bad, all-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing, self-labeling, mind-reading, fortune-telling, perfectionism, and 'should's) to be immensely helpful in recognizing when I'm going into a bad place, and countering it with realistic thinking.
That's why all I really have to offer is, 'It gets better.' How things are now, is not how they will always be.
-- Morgan
Great advice. I call those "ANTs" -- automatic negative thoughts. They really are worth stepping on!
I find watching video tutorials on a subject which is new or one you might feel weak in helpful (youtube or some I have bought here). You don't have to be in a creative mood to watch it but if you pick up some new tips and tricks it feels like you are advancing your skills and often does generate an interest in trying out your new skill with an example project which can help get you back in the swing of things creatively.
Focusing on mastering technical aspects of the work instead of finished artwork might be the key. The need to create art is only one driving force...curiosity can be just as motivating. SXo pick something technical like say...posing, and go from there. Build the entire scene around some interesting pose and call the finished result "art." It has been curiosity about the CG rendering technoilogy that has always kept me going. Very little art for me.
It's a times like these that I find re-organizing my content files to be useful. After a while of looking at a whole bunch of products that I completely forgot I had, I'm frequently inspired by whatever thoughts I first had when I saw the items in the store. If that doesn't work, then I will set about posing, dressing, and saving background figures for complicated scenes I may or may not do later. Or just spending some time practicing posing figures based on pictures. Or I might grab the camera and look for some locations for background images or textures for props. Or if I really want something that takes little effort, I can start collecting reference pictures, which can be anything from pose references, to images with compositions or color pallettes that I like.
Unless you're starting to tumble into a major depression (which should be treated appropriately),anything that does not require a great deal of *creative* effort and is somewhat repetitive but still useful can help you to get over the blahs. It's the best time to do those creative chores (like organizing files, if you're the type that does that at all) that you probably need to do but hate doing when you're in creative flow. That way, when the juice comes back, you've got the other stuff out of the way already. A bit like not feeling inspired to paint -- and so sweeping the studio or cleaning the brushes.
big depression on the forum today
if you are not here for earning money like most of us
this is all for your fun
if it gets old just stop playing a while
The last time I was really burned out on this was because I was using preset lights, cameras, poses, sets, etc. to the point that I did not feel like I was creating art. So now I make sure there are always things I am doing. The output from unbiased renderers like IRay and Reality+Luxrender can also help (easier to try your hand at lighting and you can get some impressive results).
More recently I have been upping my game on the post-work/compositing front, including artwork for a friend's CD releases (cover, CD, traycard, etc). And I just did a scene that could be the cover for a graphic novel for one of my role-playing charachters. These can be renders with no floor, backgoround, set, etc. that you specificaly intend to take into Photoshop (or any program that uses layers). This could open up a whole new world to your artwork, where 3D is just part of the workflow.
Another option may be to check out some tutorials that cover an aspect you have not done much with (compositing, camers, lighting) and see what inspiration the brings up. Or e.g. the Above the Fog product gave me reason to load up some old scense and throw that in just to see what they look like (it can look really good when placed just above the floor).
Or as others indicated, you may just need to take a break.
This happens to me ALL the time, like on a monthly basis, presumably the reason why I have so much purchased contents and not much rendered images to justify the purchases. I started joining monthly contests and sometimes even the weekly ones just to give me ideas on what to work on and to also force myself to get something done and meet a "deadline". A lot of times I would open DS or Poser and it will just remain inactive.
Don't be depressed. Most of the time I think what happens (with me anyway) is that I don't have any idea on what to work on. What's my theme, what do I want to showcase in my render? If you join contests it will pretty much give you some sort of direction as to what you need to have for a finished product. Try that (if you haven't already).
Inspiration is not a light switch you can flick on and off and it doesn't always have to come from inside you, there are literally millions (dare I say billions?) of artistic works of art, music, architecture, on the web you can look through to get inspired - and if you like cats - The internet is crazy with cats!
In the mean time there are search engines you can try the following phrases:
maurice sendak, hieronymus bosch, william blake, maxfield parrish, antoni gaudi, insert your favorite artist here. On second thought probably not wise to write the word "insert" into a search engine.
last but not least there's this. While I won't tell you inspiration will twinkle over you like a shower of gilly flowers on a spring morn it may get you out of your funk (unless you are featured on it.)
http://www.museumofbadart.org
I was in that situation too. So I went to watch some video games on yutube. Sometimes I saw video games as a source of inspiration.
I am in a similar situation. I do not know what to do next.
You could try another creative outlet for a while, see if it gets your muse talking to you again. I also knit and do jewelery crafting, which helps with just being in a creative mindset. Writing is another good one, and often ends in a picture I want to get out.
Sometimes when I find myself staring at Daz or Poser with a blank screen and a blank idea, I pull out or search down a tutorial on something I'd been meaning to learn to do better. Not every session needs to result in a masterpiece. It's okay to just play for a while, test things out, poke around the program, contort Vickie into a pretzel, then close without saving. Sorting or going through your content is another good suggestion. You might find something that suddenly gives you an idea, or reminds you of something you had meant to do.
Depression is definitely hard on our creative selves. I hope you find a spark again soon.
I have been a fiction writer for many years and I have had to write my novels according to the publisher's deadline, whether I felt creative or not. (I've also written a book on creativity--Thomas Talks To Me: How to Find Your Own Muse--shameless self promotion). Anyway, I learned early on that when I would feel blocked, I would impose a self-directed deadline. Write a chapter. Write a page. Write a paragraph. It didn't have to be good. It just had to hit the page. Low and behold, each time I did it, I worked through the block and my creativity would begin to flow. I have done the same with my art. Feeling blocked, I would just select a theme and give myself a day to come up with a piece of art expressing the theme. At the end of the deadline, it might be a keeper or it might not, but the act of putting pixels down will always spur other ideas and arty desires. Hope this helps. Good luck. Denise
Another idea -- see if a friend has some artwork they would like made and give that a shot. That can give you a loose deadline (nagging) and a source for feedback/ideas.
You could also pick a favorite song and try and come up with album artwork inspired by it. One of the biggest struggles I had was with "Off the Wall" for a friend (album has not been released yet). Trying to come up with something that works for that theme and can still sell the product (i.e.. draw interst) was really tough and it went through several interations (and I was not the first artist to attempt it) over the years. I was probably not even ready to tackle it a few years ago. It's only recently that I have really gotten into compositing. Now I just need to come up with my own projects. Seems like cover-style artwork has been working out well for me.
Here's a cover I just posted to DA this week: http://argel1200.deviantart.com/art/The-Return-of-Action-Girl-Graphic-Novel-Cover-570148249?q=gallery:argel1200/29282196&qo=0
It's part of life, part of art. You're not alone. It took a while but I realized:
a. It happens, don't sweat it, inspiration and motivation will return but..
b. you have to sit down, open studio/poser and actually try to do a picture and
c. whatever you do will be crap, honestly, the first few things you try will almost certainly fail but
d. no matter, keep at it and
e. by the 3rd or 4th try you'll know you're on the way back and
f. there will be a surge of creativity that will shock you and it's wonderful until
g. the next time then
h. go to (a)
If you watch Supernatural the answer is obvious; Amara ate your soul.
Otherwise get some sun, or go out and get out of your normal habits. Think of why you wanted to do this in the first place.
I've been getting there, especially as my old machine and limited time allows me to either work on setting up a scene OR rendering (then fixing mistakes), so a nice image can take days. Well beyond what I want to put into a knock-off render. So keeping focus is hard and thinking and rethinking a scene makes me question why I want to do it at all. I find if I shake myself up a bit, like talk a walk in an area I haven't gone before, or eat at a hole-in-the-wall I've never been to, kicks me a bit out of my funk. I wanted to illustrate a story I was working on, and have been (slowly) gathering assets and technical abilities to do that, a goal I had let drift away while I got into the process - remembering that has helped me focus in again. I'm working on an image and I'm starting to feel pretty good about it and thats inspiring me (now I just need a stronger machine to get me to realize my images - I suppose I should start looking for a job in this field).
if you have carrara, could spend some time learning particle physics :)
You know, I think you're really on to something.
There are some solid neurological reasons why your brain may not function as well if you get so stuck in a routine that you have not had any recent novel experiences (new people to talk to, new place to see or eat at). Research suggests that relationships are strengthened by having lots of novel, but shared experiences, but they wither without them. Perhaps our creativity is also particularly fed by seeing, hearing, tasting -- sensing -- new things. But *directly sensing*, in the flesh. Not online or TV or YouTube. (Edit: really good and immersive books may help because while they're not direct, they can be very engaging. Likewise, maybe even immersive video games you've never played before.)
In any case, it's always worth experimenting with. :)
Don't let your lack of inspiration get you down... If you really have nothing better to do, try new techniques or work on/try out something new... I don't recommend naked bungee jumping... It's not good for you... But try out new lighting techniques or render styles... Also not a good idea to try while bungee jumping, but practicing something new or difficult isn't a bad waste of time... Actually that might not be waste of time... If you really are feeling lost, or out of touch with your art, just walk away for a while... Sitting in front of a computer waiting for inspiration to strike is like waiting for water to boil... The longer you sit in front of it watching, the longer it takes to boil, until eventually you realize you have to turn on the stove first and then you have to go looking for a match and then when you finally find one you remember it's got an electric igniter and when you push the button you realize it's not even the kitchen stove but that old one you put in the storage shed way out in the back yard and you start wondering why you are in the storage shed trying to boil water... It gets very complicated. I wish I knew where I was going with that. I think maybe my point was don't turn on the stove and then go looking for a match... No... Maybe it was something like Joe Webb once said... "Go out and do something to distract yourself... Go to a lousy restaurant and get food poisoning, or better yet just go and take a long walk outside and maybe antagonize some stray dogs until they chase you... Go to the zoo and pee on the Grizzy bear and see where that leads... Rob a bank... Shake things up a bit... Find something that will inspire you or distract you, and when you get out of the hospital or jail, you'll have a new perspective on things"... That might not be completely how he said it or even remotely close, but that's the idea more or less... Do you have a bike? Go for a ride... Don't have one? Build one!... Can't ride? Learn to ride, build one and then teach stray dogs to ride... I find teaching stray dog to drive or use power tools is a great way to distract myself and build an army of driving, tool using dog minions. Whatever you do don't let the blues get to you... If you sit around being depressed it will just depress you and that's redundant. Redundancy never solved anything. If there is a library near you... I bet you thought I was gonna say "run through it naked", actually I was, but then I thought about it and I figured you might not find that funny and you'd be all like "who the hell does this guy think he is!?"... Sometimes Teddy Roosevelt, but that's besides the point, what I later decided to say was, go fully clothed to the library and look at some art books... Or if you are interested in sci fi or fantasy look for some well illustrated "the fantasy art of.. " type books... Or if your local library mysteriously burned down, go to one of those big bookstores... Buy a coffe and sit around checking out those kind of books... Eventually they will tell you to leave, but if you run fast enough you can hide somewhere and stay all night... Or... Or if you have a tablet with wifi go to a park (lots of squirrels seem to have wifi these days and their passwords are always stupid easy... Nutz... 123... Qwerty... Password... Etc)... Just sit outside and go to 3D art sites and let the imagery and outdoor air take your imagination away... Don't do it if it's raining or there is an active volcano nearby... And don't stay out after dark or someone may hijack you. Or... Read a book you really liked but haven't read in a long, long, long time because you gave it away... Track it down and steal it back, read it again and let the imagery stir your imagination... Reading really is a great way of getting your imaginative juices flowing... And I'm not saying that because advocating reading is part of my community service plea deal... In fact I'm saying that because it's true. I think.
Well, that mess is the best I got... It's not inspiring but at least it's long and if you have survived reading it, it may actually inspire you like some near death experiences have moved famous writers, artists and other great psychopaths.
Thats all... Feel better.
Later.
Lots of good tips here. When I want to be creative and produce work but I'm just not feeling the muse I tend to work on technique. I might do something like a super simple like throw a bunch of primitives into a scene and work on shadows, materials and lighting. Actually, I'm going to go do this right now. I'll also do the same with modelling. Working on producing things like eating utensils, crockery, furniture, and simple architectural/geometric pieces are a great way to develop skill and inspire future works. I find starting as simple as possible, without even having an end goal in mind (other than getting something small done), is key to getting started when I approach this method. Big things can quickly grow from these small beginnings.
I find music isn't so much an inspiration, but it can help me find or stay in "the zone". I also find that looking at the works of others is more of a generation of passive inspiration, than "BANG! I want to make something just like this".
Sometimes images will just create themselves, sort of, if I start playing around. Add a new light to a scene, then a character. Fiddle with the light color, put the character in a pose, add hair -- then a story will start coming into my head, and I'll start going in a direction I would never have consciously thought of.
Emboldened for emphasis. This.
Another tack I use since I always want original characters is to create characters. Like Jan19, as I develop my character a story begins to form.
Try this site: The Character Name Generator, I like it because it gives you a basic description of the person's traits. It's up to you what they look like. Even if a story doesn't form immediately, save the character so that you can use it later. Still creative, still productive. The site is good for story writers, too.
There are thousands of generators like this for any given ethnicity, race (alien, elven, game), or specialty.
Edit: Note - Not all generators create accurate names. I ran across a Japanese name generator that was really bad, I found out from a Japanese lady that the name couldn't exist. But that won't stop the creative process, just vet the name before publishing.
That would be so interesting for fleshing out ideas. :-)
I've also heard of people who generate birthchart horoscopes for characters, if they're writing, to tell them more about a character's persona. The lady who wrote the Outlander saga did that, I believe.
I do like the idea of using generators though! Nice for adding details.
what is worst?, not having inspiration for create and nevertheless being noticed?,
or my case, super creative and being ignored (even for my brother) ?
...bingo, you're lucky.
Well, actually being ignored, not having any inspiration and being attacked by a grizzy bear who is on fire... That is worse... But being ignored sucks big time... Most people tend to ignore any images I post, aside from my kids, no one who in real life has ever seen any of my renders or models understands or is interested in them... I used to tell people about my 3D stuff, and show them stuff that I have on my computer... Nothing... Megh, now maybe if someone asks I talk about for a few seconds and move on... People will go on at length about their hobbies or their BORING golf game, yet I show them something I was working on... Zero interest. Megh... Being ignored or not being taken seriously is super annoying... But few people understand what is involved in 3D art or modeling, so what can you do... Enjoy what you do, for you...
By the way Zilvergrafix, it been quite a while, but I've seen your stuff and it's quite good... Don't get bummed out by being ignored, if that's what you meant... Too many people get focused on whatever they like or enjoy and if your stuff does not meet their exact criteria, they can't see it or appreciate it in its own right.
I wonder what happened to tmraider... I hope he/she wasn't literally lost... I shouldn't have focused so much on dumb commentary and more on suggesting GPS apps.
I've actually been feeling uninspired ever since G3F hit the store with all of her hyper-realistic characters. Though, I slowly started making some unique G2M characters again and the assumption that G3M is coming this month is putting mein a better mood about shopping here again.
I tend to have bags of inspiration all the time... its the one thing I'm not short on... then I try out setting up one of the scenes I have in my head in DS, realise after several days of work and trial and error and hundreds of trial renders that I can't quite create it the way I want to... then I get disillusioned and forget about Daz for a few weeks. Then the cycle repeats again.
This time I've got 2 more days left to try to make the scene I'm working on behave itself before I take a long Daz break in favour of a Fallout 4 binge
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