Michael Harney wrote: > > I have a question for all the artists on > the list (3D, 2D, music, or otherwise). > (snip) > The problem I have is that the best models I > have made seemed to flow out so effortlessly. > I feel like I wasn't even trying. This makes > me worry... If I wasn't really trying, if I > were to deliberatly try to produce similar > results, could I do it? I know from experience > that I can, but somehow it still seems strange. (snip) > I stare at the picture and say "How the > heck did I do that?", and am afraid to try again > for fear that the next time I try it will > be a collosal failure. > > Has anyone else on the list ever dealt with > something like this before? If so, how did > you deal with it? This is really screwing > with my head, and really inhibitting my > Lightwave work. (snip) > Any suggestions?
I've come across similar experiences when programming. There are days when I'm super productive, and days when I can't seem to get anything done. It helps to keep a few things in mind: 1. Your skills *are* as good as your best work, there's no such thing as exceeding your capabilities. When you exceed what you *thought* were your abilities, that was when you were increasing your skill and experience, even if you don't conciously understand how you did it. Understanding what exactly you did comes later, and requires practice. Think of your skill set as a bag of tricks. As you use your skill more and more, you'll find yourself reaching deeper into the bag of tricks, and occasionally discover new things down there in the bottom of the bag. 2. Don't be afraid to produce crappy work on an bad day. If anything you can use it as an example of what to avoid, and learn what doesn't work. If your're lucky, the bad stuff points the way to the good. 3. Nick's trick of occupying part of the mind works for me as well. I like to listen to Phillip Glass's music, the repetition, etc. helps keep a part of my mind occupied that normally would distract the other part (the part that focuses well on the task at hand) 4. If you do get onto a creative roll, do what you can to avoid interrupting it, epecially by people with different problems to solve. Try asking them to meet with you in an hour or so, to give yourself enough time to reach a milestone or other stopping point.
