Hahahaha i second that appinion!

Must check out the sites.

This book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Fear-Ob...../dp/0961454733 covers the subject, I own it and it's a fascinating insight into why we don't do art.

Oh yeah, that one's a great read. Silly how I forgot to mention it.

Big library perhaps? I know I tend to forget I have certain books often because I have so many of them.

To tell the truth, I was reluctant to include it, because it didn't really help me as much. I'm not entirely sure why, i've read it atleast 10 times and mulled it over in my head. It's smart, it describes the thought processes well and it has good points and yet it seems to lack actual workable solutions. It has never helped get through a creative block. Rather, it stays a long-term philosophical guidance kind of book. I'd say it's because it adds more complexity to thoughts when clarity is needed.

With me, it mostly helped me figure out why I wasn't making art. The thing is there's no one answer, people either make art or they don't, if they don't then they need to find out why and address that.

That's actually the conclusion I came up with before buying the book... I was mislead into thinking it would offer more clues and things to try, rather than philosophical musings about one possible cause for a creative block.

Yeah, I can see how the book wouldn't be very helpful in that case.

http://www.tomato-timer.com/ !

This site is absolutely invaluable to me. I have such a hard time just sitting down and focusing, sometimes. This helps me regulate that, and it encourages me to take frequent breaks so I don't burn out quite as quickly. I love it.

I really wish that time management, organization, and coping mechanisms for stress were taught in schools... It would likely increase the success rate of graduating exponentially. Such a shame.

Thank you for the other links! They are fantastic.

Oh, I've been searching for some timer app for a while now. It's assigning time for work and taking breaks is great.
(Too bad this one doesn't work too well for me - can't set custom time, keyboard shortcuts don't work.)

Lately I've learned that medics have time management, organisation, coping, etc. in their curriculum, but artists don't.
When you think about it, they're essential skills in nearly any field nowadays.

Searching for "pomodoro timer" should bring up additional timer sites, and desktop applications, that may be more beneficial to you. I don't use keyboard short cuts or adjust the time settings on that website, so it has never bothered me that they are dysfunctional (and they are, what a shame).

I agree. Knowledge of those subjects are critical to success in anything anymore, I think.

Yay, found a good working one: http://code.google.com/p/pomodairo/
I didn't know of this pomodoro system before. It's a great help after all.
Thanks a bunch. :]

This topic is relevant to my interests. =-)

Art Education isn't real education, what's new?

back at my school, there was a class called "survival skills for illustrators" that covered similar topics. i unfortunately never took the class, as it was not mandatory when i was in school (it is now i think) and could never fit it in to my schedule. it almost seems ironic now that i am so proficient at wasting my own time outside of college.

http://danidraws.com/2007/02/21/101.....-illustrators/

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/200.....-productivity/
some of these seem counter-intuitive to "the creative process" for artists, but these are important things for "just getting shit done."

http://zero2illo.com/productivity-t.....ration-career/
that whole site [and podcast] is actually really good. you can follow along with their weekly challenges on the road to becoming a working working artist. another good illo podcast: http://escapefromillustrationisland.com/


what i really like that kind of gets me motivated and inspired are reading working artist interviews and studio tours. i like /knowing/ that the people i admire and have made it work have off days and find ways to get inspired and press on.
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/tags/featured-seller/
http://studio-sweet-studio.com/tagged/interview
http://illustrationfriday.com/blog/.....ry/interviews/
http://www.fuelyourillustration.com.....re/interviews/


i'll see what else i can dig up in the ol archives

http://www.fuelyourillustration.com.....re/interviews/
not sure why that link screwed up.

Oh hell yeah, these are all brilliant. Added!

I really appreciate this journal! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and resources. <3

Yeah seriously. Not to toot my own horn but I don't think my work sucks, I could produce decent pictures but I am WAAAAY too lazy. I just have this huge gap to cover between idea and product. I've always had a problem with it.

I always loved your link dumps :)

But no time to read!

As for getting art done, I'm a social animal and I have to work with others. If I know there's a job to be done and everyone's doing their thing, I will get it finished. These days my problem is more a question of efficiency, there's only so much a body can do without proper food and exercise, but hey, that's more money problems...

The art I make privately in my free time is a bonus but it's not reliable - It's mainly why I'm so wary of opening for commissions.

I also do better when there's an athmosphere of productivity floating around in the room with other people. A few hours of nothing but sound of clattering keyboards ends up achieving more than a full work day otherwise.

Money problems really hurt productivity in creative jobs. :(
(Though both ways - if the pay is too much, the productivity also drops, unlike in physical jobs where productivity scales with pay directly.)

These are wonderful, and not just for art!

This isn't exclusive to art education :(

Okay I approve A LOT.

I was going to mention the book that everyone recommends on ConceptArt: Art and Fear. Not surprised to see that another has mentioned it! The book didn't help me right away, but it did give me some insight to avoid certain habits and try other things. For example, it mentioned how quantity produces quality and that artistic mistakes should be seen as stepping stones (the more mistakes I make, the less I will have to make). These seem like common sense for most people but for some like me, not really. It wasn't easy because it was different from what I was used to but I am getting a hang of it.

Also, the underlying problem to why a person is unproductive may not necessarily be an art problem. I know a former friend who is very good at drawing (and self taught), but lacks confidence and thinks negatively due to his unsupportive environment and depression.

Okay, some links:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/li.....lf-taught.html
http://www.sketchoholic.com/contests.php

I especially like your "How to steal like an artist" link!

Yes, Art and Fear has nearly become a cult book already. It's a good read, that's true. But as I've mentioned in a different comment - I'm sceptical about just how actually useful it is if the problem isn't caused by a rut in thinking.

Oh yes, depression is completely debilitating, especially in anything requiring creativity and having high standards. Slightly less in physical proffessions. I still hadn't shaken mine, but I'm not as stressed as I used to be, since my work doesn't involve much creativity and the standard is less "way out there", more like "if the client likes it, it's done".

Lovely, added the links, thankies. :>

You are so amazing and I want to read the hell out of those links. Seriously.

i had the same thoughts about saving for your retirement. money management and taxes and why those aren't taught in high school

Thank you for sharing this. Lack of motivation is something that constantly plagues me so resources to combat that are something I'm always grateful for.

Walking on Water by Madeline L'engle was really compelling. It may oversimplify some things, but the author takes her time to explain:

-The importance of imagination
-Staying creative
-The marriage of an artists beliefs/purpose with their body of work

Hm, that's an interesting one. The emphasis on christian art (as opposed to just art) in the description would've probably scared me off, though I agree that spirituality (not just in the faith sense) is somewhat important for sustaining work and staying focused. Though sometimes it's a curse...

The author is, of course, Christian, but my (admittedly biased) opinion is that it's important/relevant information for any artist. All the cool kids should read it, you included. :3

It peaked my interest, it's on my list of books to get.
The themes you mentioned are indeed relevant, but I wonder how religiosity comes into play here.

Concerning interviews of concept artists and illustrators, this site is probably the best:

http://www.sidebarnation.com/

oh boy this is my worst problem!

I found the best way to assure I can get shit done is to drop the pretense of being an artist, leave FA altogether and go back to my childhood when drawing and painting was fun and a means to escape from reality as necessary to survival as food and sleep. We all seem to get stuck on playing characters instead of just being what we are. FA is just a symptom of that, more obvious through the use of roleplay, avatars, character- (artist/pen/screen/web) names. I've notived it quite often with fellow design students that they are playing a character, the artist, the professional, the outsider, the future boss, etc and adjust their behaviour and output accordingly to back up that claim, effectively hindering their creative work. They never begin a creative process fearing that its result would not suit their character. A friend of mine is quite a good illustrator but he's so focused on being the "illustrator" that he refuses to engage in anything not related to his limited perspective, endlessly procrastinating creative processes worth pursuing in favor of a character-driven ego-trip that keeps getting more disappointing because it can't keep up with reality. I just seem to ramble on endlessly, don't I? Well, to make it even more abundantly clear what I was trying to get across somewhere along the line: drop the pretense of producing "art" and just get your ass working. Rather do ten horrid sketches than nothing at all.

http://fineart.sk/ - The Andrew Loomis books they have scanned here are phenomenal in text and image.
http://www.characterdesigns.com/ - Plenty of photo refs with a variety of models and image sets (:

University work is drudgery. The way I survived last semester is to pretend academia was a game, the goal of which was to collect "shiny gold stickers" (good grades) on a "piece of paper" (GPA) that could be traded for the "winner's certificate" (degree).
It put the importance of class work in perspective. As I played the game, I began to realize everything I did was not really about "becoming an artist", but rather becoming generally knowledgeable about art. That sounds obvious, I know. But studio assignments make it easy to get caught up in the rush to achieve some imaginary mastery level that simply doesn't exist in an undergraduate setting.

want to fave this journal /am doing in equivalent way possible

Thank you for these resources.

Can't really type out some long and meaningful when everything is already spelled out in the original post. Creative [self]-annihilation happens often and makes something fun otherwise unbearable. And coping with it is not unlike coping with shell shock. And yet, we all have to endure.

But again. Thanks for the resources. I hope they help both me and others along their way.

thanks for nailing me in the first few paragraphs, bet you never heard that before

I'll start reading through all this stuff, thanks for the links