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brilee

451d

i love the thought of drawing and making art but i never have enough drive to do it. it’s so hard for me to get up and draw. it sucks because i’ve always wanted to go to an art institute for college but i don’t have enough motivation or even enough pieces to submit in my portfolio so i’ve just settled on going to community college at this point. if i can’t even turn in 2 projects for my senior art class i can’t imagine what would happen to me as soon as i see the college assignments lmao. does anyone know how to break out of this? it’s been an ongoing thing for years and all i want to do is gain my inspiration and drive for drawing back :(

Top reply
    • loki_turtle

      450d

      Sadly, I don't know how to stop this. However, I can say that this is very similar to what's happening to me. You are not alone in this situation. You're still such a great, amazing, smart, brilliant student no matter how many assignments you can turn in. It's okay to be in a slump. Um, the only thing I think to suggest is maybe get out more often if you're not already? Go to a lake and sit and observe, or walk around your neighborhood, go to a forest, things like that. Things that might spark inspiration and therefore motivation. Wishing you the best, stranger.

    • Amimae

      449d

      Ah you're going through an art block it sounds like. I would try to practice the fundamentals and figure draw. Usually studies of some sort help me to get back to doing art.

    • Gingeralamode

      449d

      Honestly I just start putting colors and things together until I have an idea XD the creative process can be all over the place

    • Futuremuffin

      450d

      I think maybe try not putting pressure on ur art. Don’t create it with the intention of using it for ur portfolio but instead start with the intention of creating it to make yourself happy and for your own personal satisfaction and pleasure. 💕

      • brilee

        450d

        @Futuremuffin thank you!!! i tried doing that today and it actually did help!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

    • SapleMyrup

      450d

      I just graduated from an art college this past Spring. It was very, VERY difficult to manage my conditions in this environment. I had to constantly be making work, almost several projects a week, just to keep up with the pace. I was able to do this in high school, but the change of environment and added pressure in college just exacerbated my conditions. Without medication, it was impossible to keep up. I was failing my entire first year. I was waiting for inspiration to strike and getting frustrated/upset when it didn’t. I tried to force it. Or my conditions just didn’t allow me to make art at all… Once I started to stabilize on my medications during my second year, it got the gears turning enough for me to crank out assignments just for the sake of productivity, but it wasn’t from a place of inspiration and passion, it was just art for the sake of making art. I felt like a machine, I was so uninspired… This might be bad advice, but the way I broke out of my creative slumps is to take old projects and iterate onto those instead of making new pieces every time. These iterations can be small or large depending on your energy levels, but it’s important to keep working. Make small changes here and there, keep evolving one idea until it becomes something new. It might not be something new for many, many iterations, but it keeps the gears turning. And sometimes it sparked an idea for a whole new project. It was away to have volume in my portfolio to meet art school expectations, but it also helps to foster creativity. Allowing mistakes to happen is another big one that helped me. Fear of failure kept me from making work during my first year. But every project doesn’t need to be a masterpiece, it is okay to turn in imperfect work. You’ll get feedback during critiques that you can apply to the work in post to help it grow. I got better grades/feedback for turning in less than perfect work than when i turned in something incomplete, late, or not at all. Consider also experimenting with a new medium. Art schools really encourage working across multiple mediums. Trying new things will also spark more creativity and introduce new possibilities for the work you can create. I applied to art school with a painting/drawing portfolio. In the last two years and after graduating, I work mostly with sound design, video art, and animation. To echo what other commenters said, always be looking at art, watching videos/tutorials, going to art shows/museums (if you are able, if not then virtual exhibitions became more prominent during 2020) will help keep your mind open to possibilities and see what others are doing. I wasn’t able to get to that point without medication and therapy, which in itself was a battle. I got there though, and I was able to graduate and get a nice art-related job at a museum in my city. I hope this helps you and good luck with your journey as an artist!

      • brilee

        450d

        @SapleMyrup this help me so sosooso much oh my god thank you 😭😭 also congrats on graduating this year i am so proud of you!!! i feel like my situation is extremely familiar except instead of college it has been happening in highschool. ive been trying to get into therapy and switching medicine so hopefully that helps! what hit me the most though is when you said you were scared of failure. that is exactly how i feel. everything i turn in has to be perfect except i never feel like anything is perfect, therefore i never finish pieces or just simply don’t work on them. what you said made me really step back and be like oh my god. that’s exactly how i feel. thank you so much for that 😭❤️ i really needed that. i definitely do not think i’m ready for art school quite yet so i think im going to go to community college for a year to think about it and then begin my journey. thank you so much for your help! i’m gonna try some of this advice for sure

        • SapleMyrup

          449d

          @brilee If I could do it all again I would definitely go to community college first. It will benefit you soooo much in the long run, health wise and financially!

    • BeeMarrie

      450d

      I used to colour it became such a good hobby for me but then I lost motivation to want to do it so I can relate I'm sorry x

      • brilee

        450d

        @BeeMarrie im so sorry youre feeling this way too :( i hope we both gain our drive back soon!!!!

    • cal980

      450d

      I hate that. I'm so sorry. I struggle with feeling motivated too and I hate it. One thing I realized is that I didn't feel like anything I made was good and I was critical and stopped a lot of things I started before they were finished. But also having an area already set up with brushes and water and everything helps.

      • brilee

        450d

        @cal980 ohh yeah i do the exact same thing it sucks so much. also ohhh that area does sound nice!! environment is so important when it comes to creating so it’s nice that you have that!

    • Keisha

      450d

      i had the same thing, and still struggle with it from time to time. i started watching art and studio vlogs on youtube, i find they really inspire me.

      • brilee

        450d

        @Keisha ohhh yeah those have helped me in the past too!! i should try that again tbh..thank you!!!!!

    • Kitmepz

      450d

      I would watch a lot of art videos that peek your interest.

      • brilee

        450d

        @Kitmepz thank you!!!

    • loki_turtle

      450d

      Sadly, I don't know how to stop this. However, I can say that this is very similar to what's happening to me. You are not alone in this situation. You're still such a great, amazing, smart, brilliant student no matter how many assignments you can turn in. It's okay to be in a slump. Um, the only thing I think to suggest is maybe get out more often if you're not already? Go to a lake and sit and observe, or walk around your neighborhood, go to a forest, things like that. Things that might spark inspiration and therefore motivation. Wishing you the best, stranger.

      • brilee

        450d

        @loki_turtle thank you sososososo much 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️ i think that actually might help! all i do currently is go to school, go to work, and go home. i don’t really go out much so maybe this will help!! thank you!!

☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

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