I don't feel like it right now...

[Mrpearlzildjian]

I'm having some huge motivational issues. I think I could label myself the biggest procrastinator in the World. I do everything I can think of, self motivational speaking, setting goals/deadlines, etc. but nothing ever gets done. I really would like to finish 5 high quality pieces by GDC Austin to take with me to the conference..but it's looking less and less likely...

What do you do about motivation? I need some suggestions. :yawn:

[dmightyone]

man, if I were you i'd just look at a reference library, and all the most kick ass pieces i could find on the web. usually when i see something too good, it makes me wanna finish my stuff and push my limits just to make something better. I guess in the end competition is always the best motivator, at least it works in my case.

[miezis]

set little tiny goals!
like - all i'm going to do today is tweak that eye's topology... and you'll end up remodeling the whole face.
it usually works for me :)

[LowRez]

first take a week off what you normally do, motivation is great but you may have burnt out doing work over the last few months. So take a week off (if you can) to just chill and play games, go out in the sun and relax...

Then when your back do what miezis said and set yourself little goals till your in full flow.

[Maph]

It's always fun to think big, but as you said, it can be a serious hit on your motivation as time goes by.
I'm creating my own indie game at the moment and having to keep thinking in the big picture really hits you hard in terms of productivity.
You feel as if you hardly get any work done, and I tell you; it gets to you. Especially paired with a stressy day-job. :)

The suggestions made by miezis and LowRez are worth gold imho. Burn-outs are a major motivation killer and working with smaller goals in mind gets you going much easier.

Also, do not underestimate the power of a good and clean working environment. I found that working in a neat workspace really lets you focus on the job at hand.
Another thing I'd suggest is ditching the headphones or music in general when you're working. You get less distracted that way.
To say it in Milt Kahl's words "I'm not smart enough to be thinking about two things at the same time!". :)

[zeke3d]

first off, stop making characters and do make amazing props or furniture pieces. people think characters are easy, but they take years worth of professional and academic 40+ hours a week study to get decent at. when newbie’s start with large aspirations to make characters they are setting themselves up for failure if you ask me, make things that you can actually do and finish with a reasonable amount of free time, get a full or freelance gig, work that for a few years while studying the figure. go from there. I don’t mean to sound like a dream crusher, I am just giving you the straight facts. I think all artists get a passionate to study the figure and be creative, but something tells me that urge won’t be satisfied, ever. there are endless endeavors of studying design, form, the figure, color, composition etc. that take lifetimes to swim in and love. so stop with the characters, stop the whining, or quit, or get ready to spend 5 years worth of every spare moment of your time to get to a decent level. either way, it doesn’t happen overnight.

this should get its own sticky.

[3D Skillet]

I struggled with this for years,

I wanted so badly to be an animator, doing this with a 40 + hour a week job and family wasn't easy. What I learned from the experience was that I was becoming mediocre in all disciplines, and not good at any particular one.

I guess what I am saying is that, 1 good character will be better than 5 rushed characters.

I had a talk with a friend on this subject the other day, and a cliche' came up, "1 % inspiration, 99 % perspiration"

that said if you have 5 ideas for characters, write them down. Come back to the other four later. but get them out of your mind.

another thing he keeps bringing up, is to simplify your life.

I'm sure you are like a lot of people (including me) where you come up with so many goals, it eventually becomes overwhelming . This is when your ideas will cripple you. Happens to me all the time.

I like what miezis said a lot

keep breaking it down into easy more simple chunks, an before you know it you will be working on the bigger picture.

also as suggested, it may be time to just take a break
there is no shame in that ;)

[ubermensch76]

Great tips !. I have been feeling the same way as Mrpearlzildjian and I think it has a lot to do with Burnouts and juggling way too many orbs !

[Mogster]

go for a walk, jog, ride a bike. helps i got the same issue atm but thatts mostly due to other issues.

[Frump]

I was like this at the mid/end of Dom War IV and it caused me not to finish. :(
I was totally burnt out from working ridiculous amounts of time for the last 4 months to finish my portfolio and graduate. I didn't take any time off between the last week of graduating crunch and starting my Dom War entry. Eventually I just lost productivity and motivation... Taking a break though really helped me recharge and now I'm back to working a lot... Pacing yourself is probably best. If you don't get burnt out at all you don't have to take tons of time to recover.

I agree with miezis about mini goals too. Making a schedule really helps keep on track and possibly avoid burn out.

[Yozora]

I been feeling the same recently, but for a good reason! Its soooooo hot here, I dont feel like doing anything creative at all -.-
I spent the majority of the past 3 days playing TF2 :p

[Mrpearlzildjian]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I can't really call it "burn out" because I havn't done that much work in it, but I'm starting to wonder if it's that I'm "burnt out" of other things, which is leaving me no energy to do this. That, and trying to juggle too many things at once like Skillet and Uber said. I know I do that a lot, so it may be contributing..

@zeke3D

I've actually been doing this on and off for the last 5-6 years, so I'm definitely not new to it. I am comfortable enough with my knowledge of form and anatomy, so that's no issue. I agree the learning is never over though, and that even goes for professionals such as yourself. Since you don't know me, I won't hold it against ya, but the whole drill instructor approach doesn't really work with me. The question at hand was related to my motvation, not my skill, and your answer seemed more skill-focused than the other way around. Thanks for replying regardless though.

[Wynn]

I love the advice given so far. I completely agree with taking a break.. that's usually my first step if I find myself getting burned out... and sometimes its not even working too much that gets you burned out... it could be life, other work, or whatever. Its best to take a breath now and then and refresh your mind.

I'm not going lecture, because I don't know how you plan or set goals, but something that has helped me stay motivated is proper planning and time management. I'm a procrastinator by nature myself.. and I find if I take my larger goals and break them apart into small obtainable goals, I usually end up becoming more productive and less burned out as I can see that I'm actually getting somewhere. And I mean break them into tiny tiny bits.. It's hard to set a goal to make a character and leave it at that, you're going to get burned out after god knows how many hours and having not achieved your one goal.

[zeke3d]

thank you for not taking my comment as bashing, all though it may sound like that. but I must restate that the problem isnt your motivation, its the tasks that you are setting out for yourself. If your goals are unrealistic, no amount of motivation will get you there. If you play it smart, with a little amount of motivation you can take "real" steps to acheiving your goals. read through my last post if you have to, till you get it. your perspective is based on what you know, try to understand that. Its good to dream but know art opens itself up to you at its pace, not the other way around. I wish you luck ;)

[ReplicA]

I go through this same thing all the time. Part of MY problem is that I'm not getting anywhere professionally, and that's a bummer to the ego, as well as whatever it is that inspires me. Also, this is the worst year of my life so far, which doesn't really help when you're trying to be creative.

If you think you COULD be burned out, take a break. It doesn't have to be a week, it could be a day, or a few hours. just do something else, ANYTHING else.

Also, if you're like me, you're cooped up in the same room day in day out, working on your stuff. A simple change of environment can help a LOT. Move your computer to the living room, or any other room of your place, and it really does help. If you have a laptop, put your work on that, and go do it somewhere else.

If it is just a matter of motivation, what miezis and LowRez said is some of the best advice you're likely to get. Small goal are key. Trying something different is key as well.

Example, I had the same exact problem a few weeks ago. I thought of an idea for a scene with a character that uses a lot of weapons. I don't normally do weapons, so I tried it out. Having something new to learn, and try was a great motivator for me. I'm getting a good chunk of that scene done, AND learning how to model and texture guns, which is another tool in my toolbox for getting work.

Oh, and if the idea of sitting down to do any kind of creative endeavor makes you sneer, or get a sinking feeling in your chest, you are in fact, burned out. Just saying ;)

[EDIT] And write down your ideas for projects, but don't be surprised if they don't come to anything. Having too many projects can kill your motivation, as they kinda add up, and make the work load seem a lot bigger than it actually is. I'd take the time you have to do one great piece, that can showcase how good you are in as many aspects of the 3d game as you can do. Example, if you're a character guy, show off how well you can do sculpting and hard surface modeling. Maybe make a Strogg, cyborg guy, or make something with a lot of armor. If you're a background guy, you got a LOT of things you can make that will showcase organic, and hard surface modeling, as well as lighting, composition, and all that goes with being a background guy. Just make that one piece look significantly better than any other piece you've ever done. Get the lighting as perfect as you can. Get the textures as perfect as you can, get the modeling, normals, uv's, compocition of the renders, all that stuff as perfect as you can. THAT will look better than 5 pretty good pieces.

[makoa]

This is a constant struggle - one that we all deal with from time to time. I've been working on overcoming it lately and have learned a few things.

First, I had to face the truth. Procrastination is not caused by laziness. It's caused by fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, whatever. For me, I would have all these great dreams and goals of how awesome my shit would be, but when I'd think about beginning I'd be paralyzed by the notion of not living up to that greatness. Then I'd go play some video games and hang out with friends...

The key for me is to forget any expectations of myself, and just have fun. Explore. Play. See what happens. I may make complete and utter crap or I may make something completely awesome. Or, as is most often the case, I make something kinda crappy, but turn it into something kinda awesome. It won't look like what I had envisioned, but that's what makes it exciting and fun.

Buy this book:
The Artists Way by Julia Cameron (http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421472/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246559122&sr=8-1)

It has helped tremendously, I recommend it to all. Good luck!