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Author Topic: Losing Interest  (Read 14824 times)

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Offline IndigoDoll90

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Losing Interest
« on: February 13, 2020, 05:20:11 PM »
Lately I seem to be losing interest in being an artist. Whenever I draw or write these days it feels more like a chore then something fun. It seem like I'm forcing ideas out of me then letting them come naturally.  It use to be that when I was really little I would get my inspiration from the tv shows and movies I would like but these days I'm just not as into watching video as I was when I was a kid. Maybe I need a new inspiration but I'm not sure what. I kind of like video games so maybe I could get inspiration from the video games I play. I kind of feel like I need a new hobby but nothing seems interesting. I thought about getting more into fashion (I'm a girl by the way) but I absolutely hate shopping for clothes mostly because it's impossible to find nice clothes in my size. I could try to lose weight so I could actually fit into nicer clothes but because of my genetics it's impossible for me to lose weight so what's the point of trying to lose weight. I also thought about getting into video game design since I like video games but I seem to lose interest in that rather quickly too. It seems I'm bored with everything these days. What can I do? I feel like I have no passion in life anymore.

Offline L.K. [Taikichi]

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2020, 07:36:06 PM »
I don't know your specific situation but.

It's possible that you're losing interest in drawing because years of input from other people have caused to create art based on their standards rather than your own. It may be worth it to try making stylistic choices that you were afraid of before because of how it might be received.

Losing weight is a lifestyle change. It's like changing your religion. Not something you would do over "fashion". You would eventually get tired of it and be angrier at yourself because you didn't really have a compelling reason to do it in the first place.

But if you were really interested in fashion, you could get into creating fashion especially for people of your weight (which is clearly an untapped market if you're unsatisfied with it.) A black woman in the 1800s became a millionaire by marketing towards an untapped market (Madam C. J. Walker) and that was before the women's rights movement and the civil rights movement. But it is possible that amazon has already taken your market.

There are also many types of art you can try like metalsmithing and jewlery making, photography, fashion design. I would also suggest analyzing the things that inspired you before, why that's changed, and what could inspire you now. Things that you love, things that haven't been created yet, and things you wish there was more of.

Offline legomaestro

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2020, 04:04:53 AM »
One thing that has always worked for me when I'm lost on inspiration and stuff - as much as I don't like looking for inspiration - is looking for groups of similar people interested in doing the same thing and are at the same level as you.

 It's a bit tricky sometimes, but for example I'm subscribed to an mspaint group on reddit.

It's super, super small, but it's really comfortable 'playing' at the same level as other people and interacting with them. You don't need to feel the pressure of being  great at what you do. You share compliments, encourage eachother and learn bit by bit.


My actual method with dealing with having no inspiration is doing regimens. It's not a fun solution but that's the point: I draw a singular thing repeatedly without caring for results, 1,000 times. You could draw for example 1,000 circles or 1,000 squares. 1,000 hearts or 1,000 stars. The point is to just have something you do reliably during any of your down time to draw. During the process you'll have bad days and still be able to draw, and on your good days where you feel bored you'll try to draw more detailed or even get tempted to work on 'better' projects. That's the advantage to having a mindless drawing excercise like that.

Other than that it's always a fun feeling looking back and seeing how much you've achieved over time.


You should join the MR Discord too if you want. It's a nice place to hang out.


Also don't hessitate to post in Chit-chat and PM people if you want to chat. Mangaraiders has a lot more interesting and cool people than you'd think. Don't be shy! Talk to the peeps!

Offline Suuper-san

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2020, 04:50:52 AM »
If you don't like doing something then a change is probably in order. sometimes it's what you do that can make the difference, sometimes it's how you think. It's hard to say "be positive" because that's not how it works, but being happy generally is a good stimulus to enjoying other things. Try and see what's at the root of why you think how you do, and at what point it changed (that's what my mum always says to me!)

To me my art feels like a chore a lot of the time, but I revel in the difficulty of it, so I'm probably not the best reference point :/

But it can sometimes be depressing seeing other pro artists' awesome work and you feel you could never reach that stage.

But indeed there are so many different areas of art and craft that you could try something new every day and never run out of things to try out. I enjoy sewing little purses. It's a quick and easy project, even without a sewing machine.
Pinterest is great for getting ideas.
As Lego says joining a community can really help. MR has been a lifesaver for me in this regard, I don't know how my art would have gone if I wasn't here.

What gives me the biggest boost personally, is getting a good nights sleep at a reasonable time and waking up early. But it does help knowing what you're going to do the next day.

Going outside, if even for a little bit, can also give a great boost to confidence and general well being. Even if it's just a walk around the block or a small errand.

Also eating healthy, more vegetables and so on. If you take care of your body that's a good start to anything.

Specifically I struggle with inspiration as well, I try and create random ideas by combining stuff I see with other artists ideas. As they say, if you find art you like, and think "I'd like to draw like that", then you have a starting point for finding your own style. Try seeing what inspires other artists, to find what could possibly inspire you.
And not always trying to draw outside your comfort zone. there's a reason it's called that. You will grow if you try and get outside it, but it will obviously be more unconformable, so maybe stay inside it and draw what you want, even if it's things very similar to each other. that's how I deal with lack of inspiration as well.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2020, 05:00:16 AM by suuper-san »
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Offline IndigoDoll90

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #4 on: February 14, 2020, 05:28:26 AM »
Thanks for the advice. I think part of the reason I'm not happy is because I feel as though I'm being forced to be happy all the time when I would much rather be sad. I feel like others don't understand that as strange as this sounds I'd rather be sad. Perhaps what I need is a new hobby for now. I'd really like to get into sewing and I feel with some practice and time I'd be good at it. My aunt use to sew and was really good at it. Sewing a purse sounds kind of fun. It's just hard for me to stay interested in something though. I don't know why but I get bored easily. Not sure what to do about that.

Offline legomaestro

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2020, 06:24:46 AM »
Nobody can force anyone to feel anything. It's not exactly the right sentence because it's already true but "You don't need permission to feel sad/depressed." As a life long pessimist I tend to agree to that, but it's getting in the way of my productivity so I hope to get rid of that.

I wish I could sew haha. I repaired my jeans but they broke. I need more practice haha.

@Suuper you make purses I remember! Photos or it never happened muhuhahaha.


Offline IndigoDoll90

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #6 on: February 14, 2020, 09:51:55 AM »
Unfortunately no one seems to understand my need to constantly be sad so they think I'm mental and put me on medication that makes me feel happier but I don't always like being happy for some odd reason.

Offline Suuper-san

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #7 on: February 14, 2020, 12:12:51 PM »
hmmmmm well when I had post viral depression I certainly experienced feelings that I had never felt before, and I can somewhat relate to wanting to feel sad, you sort of don't want to feel happy anymore, like you feel it's not even worth trying anymore. It took me nearly a year to get over it. Up until that point, in my ignorance, I never understood any sort of depression.

It's hard with mind related issues to be definite, like this is depression or this is XYZ. But the way you have described it sounds pretty much like the depressive state I went through. The mind is just another part of the body and things can go wrong with it just like anything else. Even experts don't fully understand it's workings so it's sadly very common that people will misunderstand you or tell you to "just get over it" or whatever.

It would be great to see anything you make, feel free to post it here on MR!

@Lego it's the first thing in my craft thread in my signature :P
I need to make more though, I redecorated my room and I have an extra table now for extra craft XD
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Offline IndigoDoll90

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2020, 06:14:56 PM »
I really don't want to think of myself as mental and having depression. I worry that would mean I have a disability and am useless. But, it seems for some odd reason I like the feeling of sadness. Maybe others really are right and I am useless because I like sadness so much.
 

Offline cometsan

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2020, 12:54:27 AM »
same here


maybe the ergonomic
mayb e the motivation
maybe the company

i do have an idea to fix it tho

interestd?

Offline Suuper-san

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2020, 02:57:34 AM »
First of all, you are not useless!!
And second of all, depression is an illness, not a disability. It's something that can be recovered from.
If you just like being sad, there's nothing wrong with that either, but I dont think many people feel like that so much of the time, so it's a bit hard to relate to. Many enjoy sad music or sad films of course.

Just a thought, do you think being sad is counterproductive to doing stuff?
If yes then basically you have to decide which do you prefer more, being sad, or being productive? If you think to yourself you'd rather be productive, then it's a challenge to try and change how you feel about our own mood. If you would rather be sad, then it'll be a challenge to accept your lower productivity.

But If no then you can try and do both. Like maybe draw sad-themed pictures? Or try different genres of art, like landscapes if you haven't done that before, sort of thing.

As a side point, this can affect everyone:
Quote
I really don't want to think of myself as mental and having depression.
When someone is facing depression, this sort of thought can stop them getting help and treatment for a very long time. It's because people view mental illness as different from other illnesses. It's completely the same. If you had the flu, you'd go to the doctors, you wouldn't say "I don't want people to think I've been ill". It's exactly the same with depression. It's not something that can always be beaten with willpower. And both the person facing it and the people around them need to know this.
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Offline IndigoDoll90

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #11 on: February 15, 2020, 05:35:27 AM »
I'm not entirely sure depression is something that can be cured. I usually am more productive when happy so maybe I should get use to happiness since I tend to be more productive when happy.

Offline MoonFlame

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #12 on: February 15, 2020, 05:48:52 AM »
I didn't read the entire thread, but i also would like to say a few things, the first is that is totally okay to feel sad, like, its normal to not feel happy all the time, right? but feeling sad all the time, doesn't feel good either, if you're sad to the point of not feeling motivated to do anything, or if this sadness makes even your happy moments feeling like black and white, or if you even have some more stressful cases like anxiety attacks and shortness of breath maybe you should try going to a psychologist, therapist or psychiatrist (i dont know which one is the right one).

I once had a pretty gloomy period in my life, when i was sad over a personal situation, and never felt "trully happy" about my conditions, i would often feel like crying for no reason, have anxiety attacks, and even when i suddenly felt happy, accomplished and motivated for no reason, this would last just for some days until i return to my previous state, that made me search for escape routes in addictive habits (i never used drugs thought).

When i used to be like that i was always like, "this is ok, its normal to not feel good all the time, life is just hard like that, and there is probably nothing wrong with me, other people may feel like that as well". But once i get past that situation, looking back at my state, i realize i was really sad, probably way too sad, and sometimes when you're in the middle of the fog you dont see the fog itself.

I am not saying i had depression, i dont know, all i know is that i was way more sad than normal, and i didnt realized it, because i thought feeling sad like that was a trace of my personality, and i should feel unhappy like as if it was normal.

but even if that was not depression, i would still had gone to a doctor if i had the chance, i am to poor, so i cant afford one, but i realize the importance of these guys, some times you need help, even if its something you think its small, i still have some addictions and habits from that situation that i didn't dropped until today, if i could had asked for help things probably could be different now.

So the thing i say to you is, seriously, if you feel like it, go to some of those psychologist, therapist or something, even if you think its a minor thing, a friend of mine ended up discovering he had dysthymia (some type of depression), and overall, he looked pretty much like a normal person, he made jokes, he laughed with me, and he even played a lot whit his friends, but we never know, depression is a serious thing, and even if you don't have depression, its still worth going to a doctor to talk and learn more about your feelings and yourself.

Still, if you're going to a doctor or not is up to you, i am just i guy in the internet...
looks like that's it, got to go...

Offline cometsan

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #13 on: February 15, 2020, 06:59:40 AM »
maybe we can start by making your 11 post worldwide famous more than justin bieber
and feed an entire continent of africa and make you a much more famous philantropist.
and get commission about 500,000 views and followers and watch like yuumei or alchemaniac in
less artwork than them

i mean wow, that's vile

but i have no idea.

just trying to master bolbbalgan4's SOME
BTS' boy with luv, magic shop, spring day piano here
help?

Offline IndigoDoll90

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Re: Losing Interest
« Reply #14 on: February 15, 2020, 11:46:38 AM »
I'm not sure what to think about doctors. I see a doctor but he thinks I have ADHD and I'm not sure what to think about that. I just feel like having a mental disability makes me less of a human. Sorry for coming here and being depressed.