How do you deal with creative burnout?

[VibrantFox]

It's honestly my favorite thing since I can't really do any interesting exploring irl. Plus the new MC update brought around new fish, sunken ships, dolphins that actually do the jump thing and coral reefs. Not to mention schools of fish, so now I can have exciting adventures on land and in the sea

[DiegoPalacios]

Productivity can manifest in different ways. From advancing a page to learning drawing/writing techniques. Learning is valuable.

When you feel blocked, the best trick is to try and seek inspiration somewhere, like listening to a song that gets you in the mood for writing your story or try to clear your mind.

Try to remember why do you make comics/novels. Remember what makes you to enjoy doing this and the joy and fun you feel when telling a story.

Hope you get over the burnout and wish you the best!

[MGComics]

Honestly, what works fo lots of people
1. Sleep.
2. I know it sounds horrible, but If you're not getting paid on creating your comic or sth extra, you can take a day off, a week off. Take it as a little vacation, that's necessary to provide quality content next week!
3. Something that takes your mind off completely, here can go videogames, movies, etc. But that may also be exhausting so it depends how tired/sad you are.
4. Workout, and make sure you sweat. Then take a shower. It feels amazing because it produces endorphines and stuff. Take a walk, dance hip hop with a YouTube video, do new things!

Personally
Me taking a tea and watching an hour long documentary about Nature, helps me so much. Idk why, though I also need sleep and excercise, that's the "quick" fix I use when I really can't anymore.

Avoid social media. It's not the same as really resting. Good luck with everything!

[375]

Oh my god yes x3 That sounds absolutely amazing! Now Im gonna just slowly wait for the update to xbox one then!

[frostdrive]

For short term burnout, Here's how I optimally take a break.

5min Walk around Block

Hackey sack 5 min

Spray face with a hose.

Meditate for 5 more minutes.

play guitar or clean up for a bit.

Spray myself in the face with the hose again.

Go back inside.

Go back outside.

Turn the hose off.

[Shanny8]

• Watch TV- Take a nap

Definitely these. I try to get away from doing art stuff for a minute. I'm usually able to gauge when I'm ready to start back doing art stuffs again, it's almost like I crave looking at other peoples' art or get an itch to draw something myself.

[eleviken]

yeah I'm actually going through some creative block right now, and it's not too bad but has been going on for a few months! I just feel like my story has been going into kind of a boring, routine mode. So story wise, you can try to switch up the scenes and make sure that something happens on every page (which is what I'm striving to do!)

If you burn out, go have a snack, drink some tea! Maybe work out, which is def hard but you'll feel better afterwards. Maybe take a nap, rest your eyes from the computer screen. These are all things that are healthy for you, so I think you should definitely step away from your project for a bit!

[Hexigate]

Moping is my favorite pastime.

[Im_moron]

here's how to get through creative burnout...

I sometimes get it, and when I do... I vent doodle

I don't worry if I draw good or not, I just vent doodle... take a walk... then come back and actually seriously doodle for my comic...

[Thesleepypencil]

This would be something that I do too.

If I'm burnt out I can't stop drawing because there is a chance that if i do It will take a long while to get back into drawing.

It never has to be anything big. The best bet is too draw the story characters, so I'm still thinking about them. But mostly its just redrawing sketches, or doodling new cloths, or drawing them in new or different poses or expressions. I also have a inspo blog that i scroll through to get ideas for a quick piece.

Burn outs hard, and sometimes you DO need to step back from your series to draw something else (thank goodness for buffers). But i can't stop drawing. Once I stop, it's just me for weeks on end watching youtube videos and not doing anything else

[sweatpiecomic]

I god idea if you write, draw, have a comic or what ever, is to read it all over, it helps to see why did you started and how far have you gone, I allways burn out, I got really a short fuse. so when I get blocked in short term, I go walk, drink a lot of water (Sometime is just dehydration), take a nap, or something that doesn't has to do with computer (Because I usually work on computers). And if is a long term, maybe give me a break, go to my parents place for a weekend, or go out with friends. I just get out of a long term block that get me even depresed, so if its to hardcore, I really don't know what to do, it'll pass. Also, you can't force you to work in creative if you're burnout, It won't help, It will make things worts.

PD: Sorry if it doesn't make any sence

[Draconic]

Play video games, watch a long TV series, buy some new books, go to the largest local supermarket,...

If you couldn't do anything about it, why waste your time to worry then?

Just relax and enjoy your "doing nothing" time and your creativity will be recharged.

[Penni]

Those doodles in the boots are fantastic

[djwaglmuffin]

I was working on some assets for my novel: chapter covers, icons, etc. I mean...it gets your mind off of the grind but..

I dunno.

These are all great ideas.

[violin]

I can't speak for comics, but for novels sometimes what I'll do is read other stories or poetry for inspiration.

It also helps me (provided you are a semi-plotter like me and not totally a pantser) to sometimes jump ahead and write down bits and pieces of different parts of the story, like the ending, or just future bits I've thought of, because sometimes I'll have great ideas for those but no ideas on how to get there.

I actually try not to take too much of a break because one break may turn into another which may lead to the abandonment of the project... IMO finishing the project is super important even if bits of it are bad

But yes I think this is the bane of all creators... at times you are super excited by your ideas/results and feel on top of the world, and the next minute you are assuaged by crippling self-doubt wondering if you've literally produced utter trash that is contributing negatively to the world

Just remember - even Stephen King often feels the second way. aka it is NOT an accurate reflection of reality!!