currently in a serious modeling slump, barring a few units and weapon models i haven't actually modeled anything in months.
how does one get out of a modeling slump? (or a creativity slump in general)
*edit* spelling
*edit* requested a lock, this thread has devolved beyond a useful purpose.
art, epicfail and me [mods, lock please]
Moderator: Moderators
-
Pressure Line
- Posts: 2283
- Joined: 21 May 2007, 02:09
art, epicfail and me [mods, lock please]
Last edited by Pressure Line on 03 Oct 2007, 05:07, edited 1 time in total.
Reference images of cool robots tanks etc. Try to reproduce them.
I know you dont like feedback, but im a feedback whore. Personally when im working on something and i just hit that stage where i dont know what to do with it, i get feedback on it. It gives me a different perspective and i can go back to working on it with fresh eyes.
I know you dont like feedback, but im a feedback whore. Personally when im working on something and i just hit that stage where i dont know what to do with it, i get feedback on it. It gives me a different perspective and i can go back to working on it with fresh eyes.
-
Warlord Zsinj
- Imperial Winter Developer
- Posts: 3742
- Joined: 24 Aug 2004, 08:59
-
Guessmyname
- Posts: 3301
- Joined: 28 Apr 2005, 21:07
-
1v0ry_k1ng
- Posts: 4656
- Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 10:24
imo:
watch terminator 2 then pump loads of iron in a orgy of bodybuilding then
get high by eating nothing but drinking loads of coffee for a few days while
listening to motivational music or captain jack on loop
and then start a "noob join here :) :)" server and spank lots of noobs.
assuming you dont die from malunitrion and/or exaustion, it might help!
watch terminator 2 then pump loads of iron in a orgy of bodybuilding then
get high by eating nothing but drinking loads of coffee for a few days while
listening to motivational music or captain jack on loop
and then start a "noob join here :) :)" server and spank lots of noobs.
assuming you dont die from malunitrion and/or exaustion, it might help!
Go outside.
Be social.
Read a book.
Intentionally troll a Forum you're never going back to
Go look at DeviantArt.com for a few hours.
Do a Google image search for something you'd normally not bother looking for pictures of, like "Model T" or "Microwave Oven" or "Bottle". Something that will give you a chance to look at lots of images, and links to move you towards new things.
Do a Google search for images from something you thought was really cool when you were 11 years old, like some super-nifty robot show, rocket-powered cars, monster trucks, a comicbook hero you really liked, a movie you really liked, etc. Sit down and find a good site about (whatever it is) and learn all sorts of things about it and how it came about, that are a lot more interesting now that you're older.
Draw something, paint something, sculpt something- do art, but a different medium. Do it sloppily and quickly- make ideas the main focus.
Basically, slumps are normal. Everybody has them. As my list indicates, I've developed all sorts of coping mechanisms. Sometimes I go a week without modeling anything at all. Sometimes, I model 10 good things in a week. Most of the time, I try to get one thing done, from start to finish, in a week, if not better- last week, I managed three (I think it involved not sleeping enough, though- bad policy).
The main thing is that you've recognized you're in a slump- you've visibly improved overall, quite a bit since you first started posting stuff around here, but you've plateaued (holy cow, that is how it's spelled), and to get your art to the next level, you're going to have to invest:
A. A lot more time in raw modeling. You're at that funny point, where you can make stuff that is OK, but not leet yet. Getting to leet is often hard, unless you're just wildly talented and get it without thinking about it. I had to work at it a lot, and study theory before I started making stuff that didn't completely blow...
B. A medium amount of time learning the finer methods of skinning. You're still basically doing texture fills- you need to learn the next steps, which mainly involve understanding how resolution and unwrapping can be used creatively, plus how to apply 2D painting concepts to 3D shapes- basically, art theory. People think that what I do is "so hard", but it's not- any Photoshop monkey could do it, if they just got their brains wrapped around how what they're painting relates to the uvmap.
C. I think you should start making concept drawings. Your stuff mainly looks like you just sit down and model, which is ok if you're already very fluent, but I think it's bad practice if you're learning, and I wish I'd made myself do it more often when I was learning- I do them all the time now.
You don't have to share them with us, or whatever, just make some.
What I do is say to myself, "I want to make a _____" then I sit down and bang out the quickest concept drawings I can- no fancy 3/4 views, I usually don't even do 3-views unless I really like whatever popped out. Drawings are soooo much faster than modeling- you can literally do 10 in an hour, if you don't worry about whether or not it's "good art" and just concentrate on visual concepts and ideas. Moreover, trying crazy stuff in drawings can help you take the crazy stuff and tone it down for final art.
One final trick I use, when I'm doing concept drawings, is I literally draw with straight lines, on all large details, to create the polygonal shapes, instead of cheating and using all sorts of fancy curvature that I know I won't even think about modeling. That helps a lot, when you sit down with a cool sketch and try to make it actually work.
Be social.
Read a book.
Intentionally troll a Forum you're never going back to
Go look at DeviantArt.com for a few hours.
Do a Google image search for something you'd normally not bother looking for pictures of, like "Model T" or "Microwave Oven" or "Bottle". Something that will give you a chance to look at lots of images, and links to move you towards new things.
Do a Google search for images from something you thought was really cool when you were 11 years old, like some super-nifty robot show, rocket-powered cars, monster trucks, a comicbook hero you really liked, a movie you really liked, etc. Sit down and find a good site about (whatever it is) and learn all sorts of things about it and how it came about, that are a lot more interesting now that you're older.
Draw something, paint something, sculpt something- do art, but a different medium. Do it sloppily and quickly- make ideas the main focus.
Basically, slumps are normal. Everybody has them. As my list indicates, I've developed all sorts of coping mechanisms. Sometimes I go a week without modeling anything at all. Sometimes, I model 10 good things in a week. Most of the time, I try to get one thing done, from start to finish, in a week, if not better- last week, I managed three (I think it involved not sleeping enough, though- bad policy).
The main thing is that you've recognized you're in a slump- you've visibly improved overall, quite a bit since you first started posting stuff around here, but you've plateaued (holy cow, that is how it's spelled), and to get your art to the next level, you're going to have to invest:
A. A lot more time in raw modeling. You're at that funny point, where you can make stuff that is OK, but not leet yet. Getting to leet is often hard, unless you're just wildly talented and get it without thinking about it. I had to work at it a lot, and study theory before I started making stuff that didn't completely blow...
B. A medium amount of time learning the finer methods of skinning. You're still basically doing texture fills- you need to learn the next steps, which mainly involve understanding how resolution and unwrapping can be used creatively, plus how to apply 2D painting concepts to 3D shapes- basically, art theory. People think that what I do is "so hard", but it's not- any Photoshop monkey could do it, if they just got their brains wrapped around how what they're painting relates to the uvmap.
C. I think you should start making concept drawings. Your stuff mainly looks like you just sit down and model, which is ok if you're already very fluent, but I think it's bad practice if you're learning, and I wish I'd made myself do it more often when I was learning- I do them all the time now.
You don't have to share them with us, or whatever, just make some.
What I do is say to myself, "I want to make a _____" then I sit down and bang out the quickest concept drawings I can- no fancy 3/4 views, I usually don't even do 3-views unless I really like whatever popped out. Drawings are soooo much faster than modeling- you can literally do 10 in an hour, if you don't worry about whether or not it's "good art" and just concentrate on visual concepts and ideas. Moreover, trying crazy stuff in drawings can help you take the crazy stuff and tone it down for final art.
One final trick I use, when I'm doing concept drawings, is I literally draw with straight lines, on all large details, to create the polygonal shapes, instead of cheating and using all sorts of fancy curvature that I know I won't even think about modeling. That helps a lot, when you sit down with a cool sketch and try to make it actually work.
Well, rattle, playing games doesn't help me much, depending.
It keeps me COMPLETELY neutral, which is my worst working time, but my favorite time overall. What I do when I play games is I scrutinize even minute details and say "alright, next time I model BLANK, I should make sure to include those (or texture them)" and I also get inspirations from merely looking at vehicles on games. Sometimes part of the game is looking merely at the graphics, and what makes them so good.
Sometimes, its a competition. When I REALLY am in a horrible slump, if I turn around and look at myself, I will get so pissed I am on the verge of crying. It makes me so angry to think that they can do all of this, so well, while I can't. I look at myself like a fuckup and... Prove it wrong.
Pride sometimes is my saving grace...
It all depends how you take it.
It keeps me COMPLETELY neutral, which is my worst working time, but my favorite time overall. What I do when I play games is I scrutinize even minute details and say "alright, next time I model BLANK, I should make sure to include those (or texture them)" and I also get inspirations from merely looking at vehicles on games. Sometimes part of the game is looking merely at the graphics, and what makes them so good.
Sometimes, its a competition. When I REALLY am in a horrible slump, if I turn around and look at myself, I will get so pissed I am on the verge of crying. It makes me so angry to think that they can do all of this, so well, while I can't. I look at myself like a fuckup and... Prove it wrong.
Pride sometimes is my saving grace...
It all depends how you take it.
-
Pressure Line
- Posts: 2283
- Joined: 21 May 2007, 02:09
tbh ive tried a lot of the things mentioned. and not a lot of them have turned out well. and i'll hold off on the walk until the weather becomes predictable enough to warrant going outside for more than 30 seconds (had lightning strike the power pylon across the road yesterday when i was rescuing the paper, nearly blew my eardrums out)
a lot of the slumpiness is coming from my detriorating mental condition (which ironically was the reason i started modding in the first place) i think if i can get into a space where i can relax and unwind completely, things will begin to unfold nicely.
finding that space is the key.
*edit* the fact that im getting jack fuck all support from friends/family isn helping :/
a lot of the slumpiness is coming from my detriorating mental condition (which ironically was the reason i started modding in the first place) i think if i can get into a space where i can relax and unwind completely, things will begin to unfold nicely.
finding that space is the key.
*edit* the fact that im getting jack fuck all support from friends/family isn helping :/