lioness
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Post by lioness on Nov 15, 2024 14:04:42 GMT -5
So I know taking a break is like. THE solution for burn out, especially creative burn out.
How do you distract yourself from the urge to continue creating? I feel like to properly stop I'd need to isolate myself from other artists, since looking at what folks have made is my main source of inspiration... But then I'd not be able to interact with the community!!
If you're not able to take a breather, do you have any little like. rituals or habits that help you reset? (That don't include making different types of art specifically)
I find forcing myself to take a walk around the neighborhood can help short term. Breathe in that ~outside air~
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Kit Collie
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I sleep, therefore I am
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Post by Kit Collie on Nov 15, 2024 15:02:00 GMT -5
I switch over to other hobbies! Reading, gaming, guitar. Stuff that takes my full attention for a while as I recharge ^_^
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yote
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A coyote? A fox? A creature!! ((Avatar by catlawn illustrations))
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Post by yote on Nov 15, 2024 15:40:16 GMT -5
Seconding what Kit Collie said, having another non art related hobby is so helpful for recovering from burnout! And agree that stepping outside for a walk or even just to sit and enjoy the sun is helpful too!
I usually read or watch something, or take my dogs for a nice walk :3 but other than that, there’s not much else I do. It also helps if I have like a concert or something to do, but obviously that’s dependent on if I have tickets to said concerts. Which is not as often as I’d like 😤
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Kachayet
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Post by Kachayet on Nov 15, 2024 18:27:12 GMT -5
Oh jeez, I could go on a rant on "THE solution for burn out" for threads and threads. I've spent the best part of a year doing research on it... But I don't want to overshoot your question.
[Edit: I overshot your question and forgot about the "That don't include making different types of art specifically" part, I apologize and but I might keep this up with a few changes in case it is useful for someone. ]
If you feel like you have a drive to create but acting on it is actually creating problems. I resonate with that heavy, but In my case can't take a step back from art, I have spend 40 hours every week in art school. In that situation I've found that (maybe) it's not you that need a break but what you do.
Perhaps my favorite quote for this topic is from Niklas Luhmann, a German researcher, who published more than 70 books and 400 articles, when asked how he did it he (amongst other not-too-relevant tips to this topic) said: I want to focus on the first sentence. Personally, I've found that the easiest projects are generally what I want to do. And listen, I'm not telling you to use AI to write a novel or paint; easy is not necessarily what has less obstacles but what doesn't mentally tire you.
I certainly had the will to create, but I didn't want to. Every piece felt like a chore. My college told me to follow great artists and use century-old techniques and I received the most attention online when I did so.
For so long, I didn't even notice that I was pressuring myself. Don't get me wrong I liked the results but I started liking the process much better when I realized I could say "fuck it" and devote my personal time to do furry art in simpler styles, even if I didn't have the experience to pull it off well.
Sometimes artists get too hung up on internal and external expectations rather than what they want to do. No one realizes they're changing by the second. Maybe you need to find other creative outlets read and write, do some pottery. But if you don't like what you're doing, you can always leave and go back to what you know you once did. You can't lose your artistic progress and for me that is the most relieving part of art.
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lioness
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Post by lioness on Nov 18, 2024 11:35:24 GMT -5
Sorry for the late response everyone, firstly just wanna say I appreciate the input and the reminders! KachayetHonestly I did say that specifically, but I've been more and more thinking about picking my camera up again and putting my tablet in storage, wondering if that's really all I need to be doing. I guess I feel intimidated like I lost a lot of years without practice. Been considering taking a refresher course at a local community college pretty heavily lately. |
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Post by creeps on Nov 18, 2024 13:01:21 GMT -5
This is just going to be me talking about my personal experience with burn out,
I endured a 4, almost 5 year long burnout where last year it hit its peak and I barely drew. Any drawing I did in this period was like pulling teeth and forcing myself. I hated it. I hated everything I made and was very rarely proud of something.
For me burnout was entirely correlated to my severe depression + phone addiction for me. It wasn’t until I overcame both those things that I became obsessed with art again. I stopped hating every stroke I made in my work and heavily, heavily scrutinizing it. Which also lead to my art getting better. My phone addiction made it really really hard to focus on anything, I would just maybe draw for 20 or 30 mins then look at my phone again. Whenever I was bored I would look at my phone, instead of doing something useful and productive. It was easier. But it sucked. I was pretty sucked into Twitter, and when I had some terrible things happen last year I got even more sucked into Twitter lol. Idk, it was like a coping mechanism for me, I didnt want to think or feel anything.
It took a lot of discipline and taking care of myself first to be able to get back into art properly. It was a lot of work for me. I am definitely here if anyone needs advice for this sort of thing or has any questions on my specific scenario. I hope this isn’t too much! I am just passionate about the burnout topic personally because I have had insanely long battles with it that were incredibly frustrating
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