The Artist Motivation & Inspiration Thread

[Slime_Punk]

Everyone gets into a slump at some time or another, so I had an idea: maybe we could post inspirational videos, podcasts, or our own words of wisdom to help others (and ourselves) get the ball rolling again! To start off with, this video seemed really similar to what I struggle with, with my own chaotic brain, which may or may not be related to ASD but seems to be a common theme in my life. Is anyone else like this?

 

[Rodafina]

well, it’s 3 AM, 3:35 where I am, to be exact, and I’ve been furiously drawing for the last couple hours… So yeah… I can relate to the chaotic passionate. Throw in a massive dose of anxiety, and this weird sort of chaotic order emerges.

Do not optimize for consistency, but for passion.
Very interesting. This is the one line that is, sticking with me that I keep thinking about.

Following my passions and leaning into them can be an uncomfortable feeling for me… with addiction, following your passion is a dangerous path, and in recovery, I am always second-guessing my “passions” and making sure that they are relatively healthy.

But in a sense, passion is energy, and why fight natural energy and motivation, at least for me, those are much-needed things in my life. So optimizing for passion seems pretty reasonable.

 

[Markness]

How do I get past what someone on Discord said about my drawings looking “derpy” and how can I feel motivated when I usually don’t get comments?

 

[Rodafina]

How do I get past what someone on Discord said about my drawings looking “derpy” and how can I feel motivated when I usually don’t get comments?

Such a good question, and such a huge problem for me, too. Criticism. Disinterest. The bane of my existence when it comes to sharing art.

@Markness, I think it’s a very interesting question that you raise and I’m gonna posit a guess here that it is very common among any of us who love to make art and dare to share it.

As soon as we share our art with other humans, we are suddenly susceptible to their opinions of our work. I fully believe in the statement “art is in the eye of the beholder.” As soon as you present your art to the world, there is a certain level of control over the interpretation and appreciation of it that will vanish beyond your grasp.

The question is a good one because the risk is very great – when one starts to worry too much about how their work is accepted and the validation they get from that, one can stop creating artwork all together. The saddest outcome.

That’s mostly me just rambling, because I think about this kind of question alot… Here are some possibly more useful thoughts for us to consider.

One. Did you make the art because you enjoyed the process in some way and are you satisfied with your work? If the answer is yes, then you have already benefited from the process, and whether it is received well or poorly won’t really affect the value of making the art.

Two. Do they have a point? If an artist truly wants to improve their work for a wider audience, then it is important to find out what that wider audience thinks. It is difficult to hear criticism. End of story. But, is the artist courageous and confident enough to hear the criticism and actually use it to improve their work in ways that they desire? (And, maybe the answer is no, they don’t have a point and their opinion seems like an outlier. Not every critique is a valuable one.)

Three. Prepare yourself. I think it’s important to share art with the proper intentions. If one is looking for validation, then choose the audience carefully - if one is looking for useful critique, perhaps ask a teacher or an artist community that you respect. Many many people assume that when you present artwork you’re willingly seeking critique – I think maybe this is where the phrase “everyone’s a critic” could come from. Sometimes, it just sucks when you weren’t really looking for feedback, just wanted to show your art.

I actually have way more thoughts… Like I said I struggle with this question. But, I better cool it for a bit and maybe see what other people think, too. @Markness, I am right there with you though. I know you may not totally trust me because I didn’t even know what derpy meant initially, but I definitely struggle with this issue that you brought up, so I think about it alot.

 

[Markness]

Such a good question, and such a huge problem for me, too. Criticism. Disinterest. The bane of my existence when it comes to sharing art.

@Markness, I think it’s a very interesting question that you raise and I’m gonna posit a guess here that it is very common among any of us who love to make art and dare to share it.

As soon as we share our art with other humans, we are suddenly susceptible to their opinions of our work. I fully believe in the statement “art is in the eye of the beholder.” As soon as you present your art to the world, there is a certain level of control over the interpretation and appreciation of it that will vanish beyond your grasp.

The question is a good one because the risk is very great – when one starts to worry too much about how their work is accepted and the validation they get from that, one can stop creating artwork all together. The saddest outcome.

That’s mostly me just rambling, because I think about this kind of question alot… Here are some possibly more useful thoughts for us to consider.

One. Did you make the art because you enjoyed the process in some way and are you satisfied with your work? If the answer is yes, then you have already benefited from the process, and whether it is received well or poorly won’t really affect the value of making the art.

Two. Do they have a point? If an artist truly wants to improve their work for a wider audience, then it is important to find out what that wider audience thinks. It is difficult to hear criticism. End of story. But, is the artist courageous and confident enough to hear the criticism and actually use it to improve their work in ways that they desire? (And, maybe the answer is no, they don’t have a point and their opinion seems like an outlier. Not every critique is a valuable one.)

Three. Prepare yourself. I think it’s important to share art with the proper intentions. If one is looking for validation, then choose the audience carefully - if one is looking for useful critique, perhaps ask a teacher or an artist community that you respect. Many many people assume that when you present artwork you’re willingly seeking critique – I think maybe this is where the phrase “everyone’s a critic” could come from. Sometimes, it just sucks when you weren’t really looking for feedback, just wanted to show your art.

I actually have way more thoughts… Like I said I struggle with this question. But, I better cool it for a bit and maybe see what other people think, too. @Markness, I am right there with you though. I know you may not totally trust me because I didn’t even know what derpy meant initially, but I definitely struggle with this issue that you brought up, so I think about it alot.

One: It’s a soft yes. When things go my way, I like the process. It’s when I struggle that it isn’t fun.

Two: The person who mocked me only seemed to do it because she was taking advantage of the anonymity of the web.

Three: I don’t know if I even have an audience, especially since I am not well received by the autism community.

I envy those who can get engaged in the process and make a living as well as friends and even relationships through art.

I attended a drawing event on Saturday to give myself a reason to draw as well as socialize. Unfortunately, I still struggled and most of the people who attended had company with them.

 

[Rodafina]

One: It’s a soft yes. When things go my way, I like the process. It’s when I struggle that it isn’t fun.

Same. When things are really not going my way, sometimes I can quit for months at a time. I hate it when I do that, but fortunately so far I always come back to doing some kind of art and having it go my way again. Ebbs and flows, you know?

Two: The person who mocked me only seemed to do it because she was taking advantage of the anonymity of the web.

Yes, what a terrible and devastating social trend – to throw insults at each other from behind keyboards and screens. It’s a shame that the ease of throwing insults anonymously does not equal the ease of letting them go when they are hurled at you. My ultimate goal is to learn how to displease people and be okay with it… in life and in art. I’m confident I do the first part all the time, but I do not know how to do the second part yet.

I attended a drawing event on Saturday to give myself a reason to draw as well as socialize. Unfortunately, I still struggled and most of the people who attended had company with them.

Hey, well done for trying… just showing up is hard for me. A drawing event sounds kind of interesting. Never thought about trying something like that. I too find it a bit easier to socialize when there are some people there solo, like me. No matter what, it’s hard though. I do much better here on the internet.

 

[Slime_Punk]

How do I get past what someone on Discord said about my drawings looking “derpy” and how can I feel motivated when I usually don’t get comments?

Well, the truth hurts. For me? The answer is simple:

1. Get more negative feedback (or better, get torn to shreds often)
2. Stop fishing for praise and positive comments over serious criticism
3. Learn that every negative reviewer speaks the uncomfortable truth

1 is easy; I don't let a negative review or 500 stop me from sharing. I've heard everything from "Your guitar playing sucks" to "Your tone is dog [expletive]", and the equivalent across the board for visual arts ++. They all sting, even if it's coming from a child. Dust yourself off and get back up again, if you're passionate about this.

2? Well, we all like praise. The problem is, it can become a vicious loop that stunts progress if all you do is cater to your audience, don't upset the apple cart, and get a whole bunch of hearts on Instagram (I do it, too). At some point you need to do exactly what your soul is screaming at you to do, regardless of what anybody thinks of it - even if that means the negative reviews and critique are bound to come flowing in.

3 is hard. Anytime I'm looking for honest, non-planted reviews (hello, Amazon!), I just go to the negatives. Obviously, they're never lying - you just have to decide which 'worst-case' scenario you'll put up with. The same goes for art - if somebody is telling you something sucks, they're speaking their truth and if you're open to it, you can actually make your art better by asking them what they'd rather you do. Although this might seem like you're catering to them, you'll probably learn that it's more a free mentoring opportunity if you're open to it than anything else. 9 times out of 10, these people seriously know what they're talking about if you give them a minute to explain.

Every negative comment is a chance to grow, every word of praise is an excuse to stagnate. Which side are you on?

 

[Slime_Punk]

I know this doesn't relate exactly to visual art, but it's still super creative so I figured it fits!

 

[Alexej]

How do I get past what someone on Discord said about my drawings looking “derpy” and how can I feel motivated when I usually don’t get comments?

Good question there

WHy is it that if we have 10 compliments and one criticism that we forget the positive and focus on the negative. I have heard that we need to linger on the positive comment for a while for it to sink in whereas the negative attaches itself like velcro to us.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Good question there

WHy is it that if we have 10 compliments and one criticism that we forget the positive and focus on the negative. I have heard that we need to linger on the positive comment for a while for it to sink in whereas the negative attaches itself like velcro to us.

People are more willing to share a bad review of your art than not, too. Most of the actual reviews of my music (that people sunk actual time into) sitting around on the internet and in magazines are blatant jabs at what I was doing at the time, and this can be really difficult to get over if there's no positive equivalent aside from "3-4 stars" (an average rating) with literally no excerpt or anything to go along with it.

I look back at them with a smile on my face and a bruised ego, because you can't win everyone over! The more you put your work out there, the more vulnerable you become, but it's still totally worth giving it your all.

 

[Shevek]

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" collected 119 rejection slips and 5,000,000 sales.
Edison said that he knew a thousand ways not to make a light bulb.
You are just finding out a few places your audience is not. Like a swamp on a map, just leave the area alone, don't think about it.