Train of Thought

[curiousb]

It's been a bit quiet around here lately, hasn't it?

This is the reason: I feel like I'm stuck in a complete rut, creating-wise.

I guess it's not really something anyone can help with (unless anyone has some helpful words of wisdom they can share?), but I just feel the need to get it off my chest - so please forgive this minor rant, Friends' List!

See, this is what happens: I get all motivated and enthusiastic about a new project; everything starts well, and for a while I'm motoring along quite happily, making good progress, when suddenly I seem to hit a brick wall. This is usually about the time when I'm trying to put the finishing touches to something - tweaking the final textures, dealing with minor mapping issues, eliminating weird shinyness in-game, etc. I just seem to reach a point where nothing I try to do works as intended, so I get incredibly frustrated with the whole business and decide to put the project on hold for a while. Then I start a new project thinking maybe this time I will actually be able to complete something, and the exact same thing happens.

As a result, I have god knows how many nearly-finished projects lying around that I can't face dealing with, as it just gets me too wound up when I can't resolve the problems that made me put them aside in the first place. Grrrr.

I'm not sure whether this is a case of extreme perfectionism, or just plain lack of skill/ability/talent.

Anyway, suffice to say, I'm heartily fed up with myself - and my projects folder - at the moment. I have so much new stuff I'd like to be able to share, but I just can't get the damn things finished to my satisfaction. Humph.

OK, rant over - I know there are far, far worse problems to have than this - but I just wanted to have a bit of a grumble to the only people who are likely to understand. Now I'm off to make a comforting cuppa.

Comments

[aquilegia]

I sympathize! I've hit this sort of wall on all sorts of creative stuff; it seems to be a big part of being creative.

A lot of times it has been related to my skill level just not being at where I needed it to be to do what I was trying to do, and walking away from the project for a while and then trying to finish it -- or starting a new one very similar -- goes much better because I've given my subconscious time to work out how to fit everything I know together.

Sometimes it's being too close to something, and the same applies -- step away from the project a while to return to it with fresh eyes. Sometimes I come back to see I was being way too nitpicky, or that I missed something obvious that I couldn't see until I'd pulled back for a while.

When I step away, it usually means stepping away from making things entirely to give my brain a rest and feed it by consuming media -- like playing the game for once (XD), reading, looking through online galleries of artists I really like or searching for fanart of my favorite media, general puttering around. Whatever entertains you! The point is to fill that mental well that depletes when you make stuff.

It helps, but all the same, I could probably fill a small library with all of the projects I've ditched over the years. Sometimes things just don't work or I just can't look at anymore, period.

[curiousb]

Thanks, Aquilegia - it is good to know that so many other people hit the same wall at times!

Yes, I think you're right, that taking a break for both reasons you mention can be a good idea. I'm pretty sure that there are projects I abandoned months ago that I would now be much better equipped to complete, and certainly with the problems I'm trying to iron out at the moment I feel that I've been staring at them so long I can no longer even see them clearly any more! Oh, and you know I'm as bad as you for never actually playing my game, and spending all my time tinkering in Photoshop/Bodyshop/SimPE instead, so it would be rather a treat to do that for a while instead. ;)

And maybe I will have to accept that there are some projects I'll never be happy with, and just move on from them (bye bye, alien skintone project).