Loosening up and the secret of enjoyment

**Rio** · 06-16-2011, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by Bardic-Dragoon

I'll admit I haven't had much quite time recently (long story short, I HATE CHILDREN) but i have tried this idea and it seems like it sort of works. basically, the logic seems sound (well assuming you're suggesting this in the way it seems you are, though i can't think of another way you could suggest it) and indeed i am more capable of it than i would have though ( half expected to stare at the blank paper for 15-20 minutes and give up), but the big problem stems from the fact that sticking wholly and exclusively to basic shapes and what not is, well in a word boring. as i found myself freehand connecting a random series of dots for the 4th or 5th time and just not caring i stepped back, looked at the paper, and tossed it. it doesn't seem like their'd be a way of spicing this there's a way of spicing this thing up while keeping at the same activity, but the logic behind it seems sound and i'd love to give it more thorough attempts.

I'm glad to hear it sort of works! It's a start and one step forward is better than none, imo. What I would like to know is when you draw, do you get depressed if the result is not always 100% as you saw it in your head or it's not that great in your opinion? If you said "Yes" to that, then maybe you should just learn to let go of how your drawings will not always be masterpieces. Normally, I would advise you to move from simple shapes to slightly more complicated drawings and progress from there but if you have a block of hating whatever you drew (even if it's just random doodles which aren't meant to be that great), then you'll have to tackle that problem first before you can move on.

i have a major backlog of things i want to draw and hardly need new ideas(heck there is a certain amount of stress stemming from the fact i've been sitting on some ideas for years with no progress and more ideas just seem like they'll make it worse)

Why not just work on the stuff you want to draw? Take it one at a time and knock 'em off your "Drawings I want to make" list. You know, I used to make games. They were short hobby stuff but I came to the point where I wanted to do so much and took on a lot of projects. In the end, there were just too much on my plate and I ended up not doing any of them for years. Fast forward to today - I still haven't worked on them; rather I've been working on other things; but I still have them at the side so when I'm ready to tackle them, I will make the games. Maybe you just need to step back a bit, do something else and come back to it when you're ready (i.e. have the motivation for it). ...Either that or just get it done so you won't have that weight on your back anymore.*

* Trust me, I've had stuff I'd procrastinated in doing and when I actually did them, I started off hating it but in the end, the actual thought of getting them done was rather uplifting