I'm almost sure that every artist knows the "bad frustration." Those times when you sit down to work and nothing is coming out right, you work in circles for three hours and end the evening with a pile of crumpled paper or clicking the words empty trash in a fit of rage.
But I'm curious if many other artists also feel the "good frustration" that I sometimes do. By this I mean that you're actually happy with how things are turning out, you're having a good time... but you can't just keep going due to other commitments. You get frustrated by the potential you see that must remain unrealized (at least for a little while longer) thanks to real life.
That's where I'm at now. I'm really happy with the direction my latest "Penciltember" piece is going but I'll have to put it aside for the evening. The pieces I'm doing now are the first times I'm actually beginning to show interactions and relationships between the characters of "I Thought It Would Be Zombies...", even if in just single silent images, and I'm getting a rush seeing them brought to life.
A lot more work to do on this, but I'll be back at it tomorrow.
And here's the crew in more finished form (previously posted) to help visualize the possibilities and make sense of my sketch!
I can't draw for crap, but I'm no stranger to the "why won't this just work" vibe when it comes to writing. Glad to see a success story emerging from your chaos. :)
This reminds me of the statue of the greek goddess who is being chased by apollo and then turns into a tree to hide from him, very cool!
I don't usually have good frustration, probably because I work from home and tend to have more time than I have strength of will. That being said a famous author (possibly Hemingway) once said that during a writing session you want to stop while "the well of creativity" is still a little full.
That is you shouldn't write until you have nothing left because then the next time you sit down it's harder to get into the groove.
Perhaps that's part of why the frustration is good? You're excited to come back to your drawing because you still know what you want to do with it?
That's a good way to look at it. I've heard similar stories and advice from authors who always end their writing day mid-sentence. When they sit down the next day just finishing that line breaks the inertia!
I'm going to have to dig up that myth too... I'm still doing a lot of reading and research, and sun lore & mythology is a huge part of the story.
Here we are! Apollo and Daphnae, sculpted by bernigni. My favorite sculpture I've ever seen!
Thanks for the references, spectacular!
Yes good frustration as you call it exists and not only in visual arts, indeed! I feel this many times when i learn something new and immediately consider how many uses i may find for it. For example, as soon as i learn a new method for analyzing or visualiIng data, i get a rush trying to apply it in anything that comes in front of me, i even review older cases and try to fit the new skill there!
Just yesterday i was reading about how fractal transformations work in apps like Apophysis & JWildFire, stayed up late at night and even tried to use ehat i learned immediately. Could not last long though, i almost fell asleep in front of my PC!
The crew looks nice, each character feels solid and unique -- keep going at it!
Totally familiar with it, but we are just humans with other obligations as well. It's like reading an amazing book and then realizing it's 5 in the morning and if you'll read one more line, your going to get the migraine of a life time. But your still in the middle of the best part.
Can't wait to see your finished work though.
Great comparison! Consuming great content can definitely get you into that same zone!
Yeah. I made a very big mistake with the Hunger Games: Catching Fire. After about 15 hours of straight reading, your body kinda starts to collapse, even with food and water. I never repeated that mistake again, but it was a really good book and I really wanted to know what happens next.
I haven't done a marathon reading session like that in many years. Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series prompted those several times.
Occasionally I take a weekend day and sit on a book. But I never do so many hours straight, never to repeat that mistake, gave me such a horrible migraine that I am unlikely to forget.
I’ve experienced both frustrations! With the good- it’s usually my eyes burning from lack of sleep or they’re dried out so I have to stop.
I usually don't get to push to that point because that nagging voice in my head reminding me I have to get up for work in 4 hours shows up first! I've always wanted to participate in 24 Hour Comic Day for that reason... to really work until exhaustion...
I'm sure you'd produce an interesting range of drawings with that time!
I've read a bunch of 24 Hour Comics and they're almost always hysterical! No matter how they start, halfway through they've become a delirious fever dream on the page!
I wanna read one now. 🤣
Nice work! Believe me, visual artists aren't the only ones that feel that.
Thank you, and yes, I think the feeling definitely applies to any creative discipline from visual to writing, music, even a good late night roleplaying session! It's just a funny dichotomy to me that I get angry when something is going well!
Diggin' that medusa style hair lol. sure this will turn out really rad!
Glad you like it! I've got to buckle down and get it to actually "turn out"... good or bad!
It is always gratifying to make something from nothing! It's fun seeing your process!