4 tips on how I stay motivated
When we think of the word motivation, what words come to mind? Goals? Drive? Ambition? The word motivation comes from the word motive, which according to Merriam-Webster, means 'something (such as a need or desire) that causes a person to act'. When you have a goal, there needs to be a process which is a series of actions to get to that goal. And the closer we get to our goal, the more accomplished we become as artists. However, sometimes it's very hard to stay motivated and our goal gets pushed further and further away. In this blog, I will explain 4 tips that I use to stay motivated.
Tip #1: Passion
In order to have any motivation to do anything, you have to like/love what you are doing. As an artist, I really love what I am doing. It comes out in the art projects I put out on the internet. I always put my best work out because I believe that everything I do is a reflection of me. And I want my viewers to see the love and care I put into my work. I wouldn't be as motivated as I am today if I was not passionate about art. It has been more than 4 years since I finished school and I am surprised to see that I am still here actively improving everyday. Many classmates of mine are no longer pursuing it and I could've been the same way if I did not push through and continue learning despite the circumstances. There were tons of reasons where I could've just quit and moved onto something else. However, passion is the reason why I continue working on art projects. And I will continue for as long as I can. If you do not have passion, you do not have a motive. And If you do not have a motive, how can you get better at your craft?
Tip #2: Write your ideas
Writing my ideas in a notebook has been a constant practice of mine since 2017. I always think of artistic ideas and tend to forget them right away because my mind is all over the place. So, I practice writing my ideas all the time. Even if the ideas don't make any sense, I write everything down. Whatever unique idea comes to mind or inspiration you get throughout the day, it is important to have it in writing so that you can always remember them later. Your idea notebook can range from a number of things that you simply want to try or study in the near future. Ideas can be drawing fruits from your kitchen using only pencils or practicing gestures using markers for a week. I have done both those examples which you can see in my Instagram account. Some of your ideas can be long term and you can break them up into smaller tasks that you can do daily. Which ever way you want to organize your ideas is up to you. I prefer to write using a pen and paper but you can use your phone or computer to take art idea notes. This takes more discipline on my part since I've been doing it for a long time but, having your ideas written down is very fulfilling.
Note: I never show anyone my idea notebook. This is strictly for my eyes only. Therefore, I have no restrictions in making it look a certain way. I am free to be as chaotic as I can be because only I can understand my own scratchy handwriting, doddles, and messy lines. You would be surprised at how ideas just flow when there are no boundaries for yourself. Give it a try!
Tip #3: Do art studies
Art studies turned out to be very effective in my art development. There are many definitions, forums, and examples that explain what an art study is however, the term 'art study' cannot be defined in a single sentence. Here is what I came up with. An art study is when you take an existing piece of art and study the different artistic elements in order to help develop your own art skills. Art studies are to help you improve and clear up your understanding of a specific art term. If you want to improve how to draw hands, then you study how other professional artists draw their hands. Look for books that teach you how to draw hands and study the structure of how they are made. Find your favourite artists online, and study how they draw the hands of characters you watch on TV or in movies. Draw as many hands as possible in your sketchbook until you understand the process of how they are done. Art studies are basically another form of practicing art.
However, art studies are not always done in your sketchbook. As you know, I love 3d modelling and I like to include both 3d and 2d elements into my work. For this specific art study, I chose to focus on the composition of a frame from a music video. Listening to music and watching music videos are part of my inspiration for my art. I really appreciate music as an art form. Sometimes when you see something, you want to capture it and explain what you were thinking when you saw it. It is kind of like photography in a way. I was watching a K-pop music video by a group called Got7. I paused it just in time to see this frame below.
This particular shot stood out to me and I thought it was very cool. Maybe it was the colours. Maybe it was the contrast in size between the entrance of the hallway to the person walking. Maybe it was the lights. I wasn't sure then. But, instantly I just wanted to do a study on it and put my own twist in it. Looking at the image now, I realized that I loved the overall composition of the image and story that it told.
By doing art studies, you learn. That is the objective of art studies. You learn it so you can be better at it. When you learn something new, it gives you more motivation to continue learning and improving to get even better in your art. It's like a chain effect. And it works for me so far. Plus, it's fun!
Tip #4: Don't delay
I say this because I know that waiting to get better in your art before doing an art project helps you procrastinate. I would sometimes write an idea down and immediately say, 'this will be a good project to do but for next year because my art is not good enough yet'. Now, I am not talking about anything over the top like a one and a half hour animated film. I'm talking about a single art study that can be done in a couple of hours or days. My latest art study that I am referring to in my YouTube channel is the project I am talking about. It took me almost two days to complete it. Yup! Two days! If I had just pushed through with it instead of waiting, I would've had more art studies completed by now. Like I said earlier, the more studies you do, the more you learn. And learning motivates you to learn more. I did not do that. I chose to wait an entire year plus two months before starting that study. I would've had a lot more completed if I did not delay. Time is valuable. Don't waste it overthinking that what you are doing is a bad idea before you even try. I understand that not all ideas are great but at least you tried to execute them. If you do not like how it looks, then put it away and start another idea. You don't even have to mention it to your peers or your followers on Instagram. Just start fresh with another piece. It's okay if you think you that your idea did not come out the way you hoped. But at least you tried it.
Do not wait until you are good enough at art to do your ideas. Start your art projects as soon as you can. Just get started.
Watch my art study on YouTube
You can watch the full process of my art study on my YouTube channel Chrystal Moe Art.
Equipment
For this art study, I used the Wacom Intuos drawing tablet. I bought mine when I was still a student years ago but, you can still find the updated one that I have. It is a very good purchase especially if you are starting out in digital painting. And they can be used for as long as possible (as long as you take care of it).
I hope this information was helpful to you as you proceed in your own art journey. Leave a comment and let me know what other ways you stay motivated.
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