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Trapped in Study Mode? Steps Towards Original Art
🕑 Added 2023-07-14 15:05:52 +0000 UTCHey Everyone!
I've been discussing with some of you the challenge of stepping outside the 'study' zone and moving into a more 'original' or 'creative art' space. So today I wanted to bring this topic to the table and see how I can help.
Testimony
Recently, one particular artist/patron has been studying anatomy for a significant period of time (a year and a half) and currently doesn't feel comfortable stepping into a more creative approach. One of their goals was to apply this knowledge to original ideas without feeling like time was being wasted, time that could possibly be invested in more studies. As a result, this artist feels trapped in a cycle of suffering.
Problems
I see a few issues here:
- The intention/goal is mainly study-oriented
- Low tolerance for exploration outside of the main goal, which is studying.
- Struggle to create something "original" or "authentic", assuming we agree this is a key part of being “creative”.
Solutions
I usually start by questioning ideas that I consider problematic, like:
1. What's your concept of "creative part"? Does this involve entirely new concepts from scratch? No references?
2. What do you mean by something outside of studies? Creating something without learning as the primary goal?
3. Why not combine both? Integrate creativity into studying or vice versa?
Here are some answers.
Creativity and its goal
“Creative” encapsulates a wide range of ideas, including things you might not have considered.
For example, you can draw a realistic whole body (kudos to you, that's very difficult) and replace the head with a simple, smiling circle. This is being creative. Does it sound silly? Maybe, but it's true. Is it useful? Does it make you feel better? If yes, why? If not, why?.
You need to clarify what “creative” means to you and what the goal of being creative is. In my experience, a useful way to justify being creative as an artist is to tell my personal stories or ideas and consequently create a portfolio among other things.
A portfolio is a collection of visual ideas that you as artist find interesting and also that can solve your clients' visual problems (in the concept art context). If it's concept art your direction, the goal in general is to enhance or create a specific kind of product. So, is important for you to ask questions like, what type of product would you like your portfolio to visually address? Games? What kind of games? How does the concept behind these games look and why? I suggested games, but I recommend that you ask these questions about the specific product you find artistically and professionally intriguing. This will help you define a direction where your creative goals might be valued.
After knowing a bit more about your direction, here are some other questions that might help you find a "concept" to apply your skills:
- What do you like visually?
- What criteria do you use to assess what you consider “creative”? A concept about what?
- An idea? What kind of ideas? Food, animals, nature, tech?
- A series of ideas all within one category? Series of animals, series of plants, etc.
- How can you visually represent these ideas into characters or concepts?
The simpler the idea, the better. All of this is part of "creativity"; you're creating something new through the combination of ideas.
Combining Study and Creativity
If you feel stuck in your studies, you might be closer than you think to deriving something creative from your routine. If you can integrate visual shapes from your conceptual ideas into your drawing studies, you'll learn while addressing your definition of creativity to some extent, killing two birds with one stone (not wasting time).
For instance, if you feel absolutely blocked in terms of creativity, choose an "easy" challenge. Make a rough "study" of female anatomy with the objective of learning the female head or any aspect inside/outside that shape, and once you're done, add a "hat" on top. You don't need to create the entire body, but pick one specific aspect you are trying to address during your study and, once achieved, explore simple ideas that your current reference doesn't include.
This may seem trivial to you, but you can't run before you know how to walk. If the suffering is unbearable, choose a fight you can win, and slowly you'll be able to tackle bigger challenges.
Creating a piece of art is a process of translating real-world experiences or pictures into a new, unique image. Studying may feel inauthentic because it seems like you're just copying the entire idea, but balance this approach by adding shaped objects in line with your creative goal or portfolio. After a while, you may feel more comfortable starting to build ideas with less reference support.
As long as you're trying to reproduce reality, from memory or references, you'll learn. The key in your current situation is balance.
Where's the fun?
It's there, but it shouldn't always be. Think of "fun" as a cake. If you eat cake every day for a week, by the end of the week, the cake might not taste as good as if you hadn't had cake for a month. My point is, too much pleasure can lead to its devaluation. Balance is key, a bit of suffering and a bit of joy.
The creative process, like life itself, sometimes brings fun, sometimes pain, sometimes both. It's different for everyone, and you need to find out what works for you. For me, the initial stage is usually a struggle, but once I've managed to shape my idea through the drawing, a significant part of the work is done. The rest might not always be fun, but at least it isn't painful, leaving room for the fun to potentially emerge. A good strategy to consider during your drawing or studying process is to identify the most challenging part and why. You might find that addressing this area early on could open up space for joy afterwards.
What matters to me is getting the job done, regardless of how I feel, to accomplish the idea. That's why it's essential to know your goal. In your case, make your goal a combination of studying and creative exploration.
Lastly, fun is almost always absent when you're tired. What keeps me going is understanding, to some degree, how my mind and body work. I take enough rest and food to recover my strength, so I have the energy to get back in the fight.
Pay close attention to your daily habits because even if you're doing everything right, you might feel awful as a consequence of not balancing your life correctly. Maybe you need to determine how much rest you need to keep fighting.
Sometimes you rest and don't want to return, but think about the best strategies to get you in the mood again. Perhaps choose simple battles at first, maybe work a bit extra on days when you feel energetic and inspired, to lighten the load on days when you don't want to work. Maybe music helps? Maybe working at specific times of day. Do some introspection to figure out how to get the best out of yourself and what to avoid know yourself.
Conclusion
Don't fall into despair. I know you guys want quick results, but these things take time, and the smart approach to becoming faster is to start step by step. Ask the right questions and be honest. Be aware of your limitations and make a plan to achieve your goals. But most importantly, balance your life to become more efficient, so you don't have to deal with additional chaos during your journey. I'm sure you'll see results.
Please share these results with me in our Discord group. You are not alone!
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Tomorrow, I'll share the process video, file, and further insights related to these series. These resources will be available for the Mastering Maestro tier and above. If this piques your interest, feel free to upgrade!
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