I've found myself in a creative slump. Story ideas are not coming as quickly as they usually do, my artwork is looking shitty because there is no inspiration, and I am unable to concentrate on even the most simple drawings/sculptures/klik games. It's pretty depressing.
How do you usually get your art 'mojo' back?
Fine Garbage since 2003.
CURRENT PROJECT:
-Paying off a massive amount of debt in college loans.
-Working in television.
Originally Posted by -Adam- Lol, arent you in Australia yet?
Actually, the second film (Prince Caspian) did shitty at the box office, so they have pushed back filming by six months, which is a bitch. They are tweaking the script in order to accommodate the drastically reduced budget. I don't understand why filming would be so difficult; Voyage of the Dawn Treader's action mostly takes place on a fucking boat.
Oh, and to cut production costs, they've moved filming to Mexico. Not as nice as Australia, but cheaper.
Fine Garbage since 2003.
CURRENT PROJECT:
-Paying off a massive amount of debt in college loans.
-Working in television.
Wow O_o Yeah, I thought Prince Caspian was pretty crap appart from the battles... Actually, to be honest I think both the Narnia films suck appart from the battles... work on that elf game of yours it has potential
I have an idea how you can get your 'mojo' back. We give you cool ideas!
How about a game where you evolve from a little creature into a cool fighting creature, a bit like the amoeba stage of spore, and the characters should grow a bit randomly like on the tamagotchi And AND AND! as you grow and evolve you can take on bigger stuff on different layers like on flow.
When I'm stuck for creative energy I watch videos. Pixel animations on YouTube work for me, but thats only if your looking to draw some pixel art I guess.
JOU KIDDING! Are you pulling my leg? Dude that's awesome. Fun stuff. Yea... So... That's really odd that a TDC member is Eustace. O_O I suppose this would be a bad time to say he wasn't exactly my favorite character in the books. Heh.
Lazarus, here's a trick I found useful. Don't think about it. Do something else. Finding your 'mojo' is like finding anything in life.. it's not where it usually is, it's lost where you didn't expect it to be.
Watch a movie or play a game or something. The more you stress on it, the more your brain resists. Or just try doing something similar for no purpose. Like if you're trying to draw something for work/hobby, go walk outside and draw a sunset or something you've never tried to do. Sometimes ideas gush in from places you've never gone. But don't force yourself to do it, it'll make things worse.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
I just finished playing that word game on Facebook, and I thought it was a bit annoying how loads of words they simply didn't have.
So I was thinking I might do a similar one, but web-based, where you give it a webpage and it starts crawling the page, selecting random words on that page and creating anagrams of them.
You have to score a certain amount to get the program to randomly select a hyperlink on that page and move to it. Now the words are chosen from a different, but presumably subtly related page.
Lazarus, here's a trick I found useful. Don't think about it. Do something else. Finding your 'mojo' is like finding anything in life.. it's not where it usually is, it's lost where you didn't expect it to be.
Watch a movie or play a game or something. The more you stress on it, the more your brain resists. Or just try doing something similar for no purpose. Like if you're trying to draw something for work/hobby, go walk outside and draw a sunset or something you've never tried to do. Sometimes ideas gush in from places you've never gone. But don't force yourself to do it, it'll make things worse.
Oh yes, that is very true. Sometimes your mind just needs a break. Not just a "sit down in front of the computer and hope the game will make it self" kind of break, but a real one where you don't think about stuff like that at all. Try to focus on work, school or working out. Eventually you might find your muse again, and perhaps even remember why you started clicking/doing art in the first place (that is, if you ever forgot). Keep in mind though this method is certainly connected to what Ricky and Andy said about ideas just coming, and coming when they are the least desired.
Something I have found myself doing lately is to try and reward my brain with a tasty treat (by eating it (the treat of course)) every time it decides to cooperate and performs outstandingly. Though you might consider switching to sunflower seeds if you start gaining weight .
Do you have some sort of mantra? Ussually when I am in a creative mood I have found myself moving restlessly and playing with balls. Try to find out what you are doing when you are thinking about your work. Ussually, when you start doing something when thinking, you will start thinking when you are doing this.
Something David Newton did way back when he was working on Crystal Towers was to ask all his fellow Daily Clickers to suggest ways of harming him would he not complete the game. I am not sure anyone would actually be bold enough to exercise their threats, but it sure would have been awkward if he hadn't completed it. Maybe you don't need to do just that, but sometimes people just work best under preassure.
Other than that, try to eat well, rest properly, exercise regulary and drink lots of fluids. Also, try listening to some suithing music and engage in some relaxing exercises. A healthy lifestyle and good friends are critical for your self confidence, which I have found to be one of the main ingredients of creativity.
Good advice, however, I was a little stumped as to how your brain can eat its reward. Lazarus, do you ever make any movies? Sometimes when I just don't feel like clicking, if I focus my creative juices towards making a movie, or writing a story, or stuff like that-- it helps alot. But I'd say, as everyone else has said, that a good break is the best fix. Go to a theme park and ride some tall coasters.