Talking about inspiration

[Klaustasya]

Do you think inspiration is like a muscle that you have to train in order to create more or just something that has to come naturally into you?

The origin of this question comes from a personal experience, it's been months now that i keep tripping over small or big art-block periods and recently i noticed that the less i create the more my attachment to art becomes weaker.

i know once Pablo Picasso used to say "Ispiration has to find you working", which means that sometimes you can't just wait for it to strike you good, but yout have to force it or more like training it.

what do you think about it?

[VibrantFox]

Personally I don't think it's something that you force but rather something you have to draw out.

I've been stumbling in and out of art blocks but mainly due to burnout and as a result it's been tough to "get inspired" but I can't exactly just wait around for it either. My solution is somewhat in line with the quote but rather as you make things (good or bad) eventually inspiration will come. It can't be forced but sometimes doing nothing is just as bad so you kind of crap around till something hits.

One thing I've done is open MS Paint (mainly because i feel less obligated to draw well in it) and just doodle whatever. After some "bad" drawings i start to get ideas, do some more messy sketches then take the ideas i like and move em into another program whether to write or to draw.

Switching mediums has also kind of helped since I'm almost always working digitally whether editing for work or drawing for my own stuff. Putting paper to pencil feels great after feeling glued to my tablet and sometimes I'll even get bold and sketch around with ink (a ballpoint though since i can't buy the fancy stuff)

Everyone works differently so it's a matter of finding what's comfy for you personally but trying different things can be good.

[joannekwan]

For me it has to come naturally.

When I don't feel like creating, I don't force it, lest I get burn-out. But I don't totally disengage with creative works overall, instead I consume them. I watch a movie, I read a book. Sometimes even talking about a totally random subject with close friends can spark an idea.

If I feel like I need inspiration for a particular project, I will try and consume things with similar themes to get my brain juices flowing. Like I watched a bunch of movies depicting gay relationships when scripting and developing my mxm story.

Other times I'm not particularly inspired to draw, so I write instead. So yeah, changing mediums can help!

[yansusu]

I think this depends on what we take as 'inspiration'. To me, inspiration would be akin to 'getting ideas' and with that I mean actual ideas for new stories. This does come to me naturally very often but on the other hand, I'm also able to work something out by, let's say, brainstorming a topic or doing some other creative technique.

Something I think can be trained is 'being creative' as in 'creating a project'. I am writing daily and I seldom have days where I'm feeling stuck because I'm knee-deep in those projects already and doing them has become something like a habit.
On the other hand, I had to take a break the last week where I first relied on my stockpile and then only wrote what definitely had to be written. When the stockpile was finished, I had some trouble writing the first chapter afterward and that was after only a few days. I'm experiencing the same thing with the days after I took a vacation: I just have some trouble to start. As soon as I've written for a day or two again, that problem goes away on its own and I'm back in the habit. So yes, I'
d say this is something I've trained to do

[DokiDokiTsuna]

In my experience, inspiration is something you gotta wait for, like a bolt from the blue.

But it helps to become a good lightning rod while you wait:

1) Think actively about your stuff; run the areas that you want ideas for through your head as often as you can.

2) Get your blood pumping (feed your brain)! I have some of my best ideas when I'm walking home from class, especially for music. So much so that I want to try taking walks on purpose during the weekends, just to take advantage of that effect while I actually have time to create.

3) Be open to a creative mood. That is to say, trying to do all this while you're depressed is (at least for me) a recipe for disaster. I have to cheer myself up first; get rid of whatever weights are dragging me down. So that when inspiration strikes, the motivation to follow through with it is waiting to react.

[Iris-Grimoire]

To me it's a muscle. I look at things that might fit the mood, I observe the rooms around me, I browse art that seems interesting even if it's not my style, read, play video games, etc with some degree of attention if I'm in a good mood. And if a cool idea comes, then it's better to quickly sketch it out wherever I can, then work on it later, than to wait until I'm at home or at my PC and probably forgot all of it.

[SeraphicMayin]

Art is a reflection of Life. Therefore I think Life is the inspiration for art. And if that's the case, I think inspiration is more of a muscle.

The way I ensure inspiration finds me is to have projects I've committed to in a visceral way.

For instance I work art full time, If I don't work on commissions, adopt characters, or other revenue streams, I won't make money and then can't pay bills. Thus parts of making art become "work".

I place myself in such a situation that its do or die. For me, that's motivating because I believe it's all or nothing if I want my career to succeed. I intend to make this work because it is my life's work, nothing else will do. Kind of a 'burn the ships behind me' approach.

This ensures my skills are always at a level where I know I can act on the inspiration and make it become reality. After all what use is inspiration of you are unable to act on it?

Inspiration and storytelling skills in your given medium go hand in hand.

Now when not doing the work, I also make sure to take time for myself to live life. Go see people I love, enjoy exercise, absorb good story content, cook nice food, study story and art, and daydream a lot; all to make sure my inspiration well is full.

I don't think you can force inspiration because inspiration is a thing that happens when disparate pieces of information in your head find new and surprising links. I think it's something that can be practiced by being mindful of life.

Storytellers are the keenest observers of life because that's the source of inspiration. Life is so vast and varied that the content of inspiration will differ person to person, but Observation is key, I think.

As well as knowing your Self. You have to reflect on why you're creating art and story. What about it is important to you?

Self Reflection becomes the "exercise" for my inspiration muscle. Because when I can have faith in my abilities and in my reason for making stories, inspiration has an easier time bubbling up cause my brain is primed to receive it.

[CarltonIsaac]

i know once Pablo Picasso used to say "Ispiration has to find you working", which means that sometimes you can't just wait for it to strike you good, but yout have to force it or more like training it.

True. Nothing beats hard work, grind away the rough and the diamond will shine through.

[sadghost]

If is inspiration for drawing i rely heavy on using references.

I'm not like Kim Jung Gi (he is like a human printing machine) that could make all that great stuff from his mind alone, without looking at references or even sketching.

[OttoGruenwald]

Yeah it is like a muscle. You have to always seek out new inspiration otherwise you'll fall into ruts. I like superhero stuff but if that was all that was in my life I'd be a pretty bland person. And bland people aren't very good writers. I look for nonfiction books to read, documentaries, online math lessons--just stuff to keep me well-rounded and inspired.

[ben]

It’s definitely like a muscle.

I remember when I was drawing comics for fun and it would be SO HARD for me to sit down and come up with ideas and I would literally have to wait months for something to come to me.

I’d ask professional comics people for advice and they all said really similar things about how once you start practicing and doing it everyday it’s not hard to just come up with things anymore.

And now I’m a couple years into my career and I haven’t had problems with that in a realllly long time. My husband is much better at me but he’s had more practice BUT I’m still infinitely better at having ideas than when I started. It’s really exciting to see the progress because I could sit down right now and come up with a new graphic novel proposal if I wanted to (but I already have toooo many things I have to finish ) and then comparing myself to a few years ago where that would take me months to get ideas for. I’m very proud of that!

But it’s also the hardest thing in the world to talk to people about sometimes who want advice in that area. I remember getting the advice and feeling so frustrated because I couldn’t just sit down and “practice” having new ideas if I couldn’t come up with any ideas. But it’s one of those weird things you just learn by doing and sounds batshit crazy when other people explain it to you before you get to that point.

[Lyric]

Inspiration is moot without the hard work necessary to transform it into something.