Inspiration -- Lacking

[LucentDreams]

uhm for sketching lately I simply write down a list of things and then draw them, some are lame sounding, so then I've been making it a challenge to make them interesting. as for 3D, I think I'll start doing the same, but recently I"ve had troubles finding that inspiration myslef, till the bunny came along, and then the computer no worky, but I think I mght have the problem solved.

Another sketching trick I used to do a lot at resteraunts when with firends is scribble on paper, say five scribled lines, whil talking and such so I wasn't looking at the paper, then I'd look at the paper and build on top of those lines, usually heads and such, I got some funny characters and such out of that.

key is not to think up a milion ideas, think of something really quick and rather then thinking that its a dumb idea (my common flaw) keep the idea and think about how to make that idea not dumb. I look at those and instantly think of rollerskate with rockets, pretty lame I know, but what if rather then making them really small engines on the sktes, you actually had them as full sized jety engines attached to tiny roller skates with a small scrawny character inbetween. could make a nice pic.

[JIII]

I am expermenting with something that I hope will give me more motivation. Is called withdrawl, I am stoping 3d work entirely hoping that when i go back to it in a short while I will have my creative jucies flowing at a high rate again.

[ndat]

Yeah I think I am definitely going to have to sketch... the only problem is that I suck at it :(. And I usually have some specific idea that I just cant get out of my head and end up with something entirely different from what I wanted. The same thing happens when I model too, maybe if I bang my head just right... lol

"till the bunny came along, and then the computer no worky, but I think I might have the problem solved."

Aha your computer started on fire didn’t it? I didn’t dust mine and it started on fire big time. It was pretty damn funny until I figured out my insurance policy wouldn’t cover it unless it was part of cumulative damages.

[ndat]

Originally posted by JIII
I am expermenting with something that I hope will give me more motivation. Is called withdrawl, I am stoping 3d work entirely hoping that when i go back to it in a short while I will have my creative jucies flowing at a high rate again.

Man I seriouslly dont think I could do that, the longest time I've gone without 3D is probally 3 days since I got Cinema 4D. I need it more than food or water...:argh:

[Beechdbum]

Remeber when you were a kid and you could make up a million little stories and imaginery friends in your head, well ha ha ha ha i still do..... i mean i still can and im turning them all into 3d, no but seriously i go do allot of things go look at art, or watch tv i get so many ideas from random places just watching and observing, then just write them down on a pad of paper and sketch them out later, the hard part is getting whats in your mind onto paper and then into the computor with out screwing it up.

[Animator395]

Well this is going to sound odd, but man what I do when I have not inspiration or motivation or heck Im just bored out of my gord, is I grab a pencil and sheet of paper and turn on a tool album. From there I go wherever the music takes me. Most of the time its just scribbles but eventually it always turns into something. Its kind of an imagination exercise turning scribbles into a work of art using "tool" as a catalyst

Anywho thats my jacked up way of doing things.

good luck

John

[Wilson-3d]

Hi. I can totally relate to you. I have been there more then a few times. I have had characters I worked on for a long time just drawing shapes until it was the one I was looking for and then going in and refining. I have read enough comics you would think I could just sit down and design anything, but nope. I wanted to share an exercise I read in a book. If it is to basic and everyone has heard of it then sorry-mabey I am the only one who has not always been doing this. On a piece of paper make 3 rows. Environment - Character - Conflict. Then go down the rows writing all kinds of things that come to your head. Try and write 3 or 4 environment and then go to characters. Do short descriptions like Environment - Used lamp store. Character - A ninja that lives with his mom. Conflict - Afraid of the dark. Anyway the fun is when you just start going through the list and mix and matching. This way you come up with some crazy ninja that lives with his mom because he is afraid of the dark and always had a lamp on.(ok-that one may be dumb but you get the point) Then you have the start of the story and can start to imagine what he will look like. HTH. I have had some fun with it.:)

[DELTAadmin]

I got my inspiration, by observing the created world as it came out from the hand of the Creator of the Universe.

I've noticed something. If man creates, lead by his own ideas, most often he does perverted things (monsters ...). If man had the ability to create truly, surely he did this ( as movies testifies about this question), but not with God. All his creatures testifies of a much higher beauty, yeah it has been damaged by sin and the Devil One. but even now after 6000 years of sinning His works ferlect His perfectness, His Loving Style... .

This way I think the reatest art is not to create by man's own perverted mind, but to immitate the carefully observed Real Beauty.

If u look around great designer in the industry almost always copy accordind this way (even in the car industry I could post some eaxmple).

[DELTAadmin]

Rhino and a Car

[bobtronic]

Hi,

I get my inspiration mostly from different medias.
I read many books, hear much music and I love
good movies. The biggest problem for me are not
the ideas but the handling of the tools. You can get
inspiration from everywhere. Pick up a mood of
an book or try to make your character look funny or sad.
Often I draw simple shapes (circles, lines...) and let
my fantasy work to connect them to objects.
Another tip try not to search for the ultimate idea.
Real genius ideas are rare. Keep it simple, you can
expand your ideas later.

Bob

[Kotayus]

My particular path is more random and not model based, as i dont really model with cinema...i make concepts on abstract ideas.

This allows me to start with nothing, and end up with something...such as a freehand spline....*whoosh* across the screen, there is my foundation...i start building with that.

So in the modeling aspect....maybe let it just go for a little bit...treat it like a puffy cloud....you look in the sky...see a cloud, it will look like one thing to you, and maybe something else to another...start with something primitive...and make it grow...as you progress...it will evolve, and at some point you will see its "cloud shape" so to speak...it will take on a life of its own. Then you will have a direction...

The above is a pure abstractionalists viewpoint though...but very much likes kais way of sketching. Great minds think alike, what can i say?

[celestine_b]

Here are a few tried-and-true inspiration methods.

Method 1: Find a great 2D design--or artwork. Recreate it and animate it. It changes as you work with it and becomes your own.

Con: Can be accused of being derivative, but amazingly enough, where you end up is totally different than where you started. A Miró or Klee would be a great starting point.

Method 2: Really look at the world, instead of thinking about looking at it. Squint at it to posterize the colors. Turn sideways to loosen gravity. Shake head to get motion blur.

Con: May cause :drool: vomiting.

Method 3: 'Sabrina,' dances 9pm-2am at Seventh Veil on Sunset Blvd, Hollywood.

Con: Cover, $20; Lap dance, $40 + $5 tip. You'll leave smelling like baby powder.

Jest funnin' ;)

[Kotayus]

celestine....thats just fricken classic...i love it! high five to you!

[modestmouse]

Try This:

1: Go get your favorite record

2: Put it in your cd player.

3: Listen to the whole thing with your eyes closed.

4: Go to the bathroom because it has been around an hour of nonstop music and you are feeling very inspirational and need to get the toxins out of your system to work at peak performance.

5: Get some water cus you just pissed it all out and nobody can work while thier thirsty.

6: Finally, make a guitar because you just listened to all that music!

[flingster]

concentrate on the subject matter...then start expanding your ideas around it....then build on each step...further expanding your ideas....then go back to the beginning...starting completly from scratch...with a fresh basis to start from....
then refine between your two ideas...and build on that...

alternatively...take a concept and think totally unrelated to to...shape...form...usage...whatever to give you the idea or spark you need..

other than that there is NOT right or wrong way...just use what worked for you in the past...and then improve on your method..

good luck...good start so far...:shrug:
:beer:

[JoelOtron]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DELTAadmin
I got my inspiration, by observing the created world as it came out from the hand of the Creator of the Universe.

Well arent you special. Please tell me more.

I've noticed something. If man creates, lead by his own ideas, most often he does perverted things (monsters ...).

I've noticed that whenever I give my daughter macaroni and cheese with her sandwich she never eats the sandwich, yet she wants more macaroni and cheese.

If man had the ability to create truly, surely he did this ( as movies testifies about this question), but not with God.

I told that to the last client I worked for. When he was done laughin I said "No, i'm serious."


All his creatures testifies of a much higher beauty, yeah it has been damaged by sin and the Devil One.

That would probably be the guy who created that Elmo character on Sesame Street.


but even now after 6000 years of sinning His works ferlect His perfectness, His Loving Style... .

And lets not forget all those sinful Dinosaurs running around all those millions of years. Oh yeah--that devil guy buried the "fossils" to confuse us. Right. Makes perfect sense.


This way I think the reatest art is not to create by man's own perverted mind, but to immitate the carefully observed Real Beauty.

Thanks for showing us the way.
I'll only draw rhinos from now on. Cause their real art.

If u look around great designer in the industry almost always copy accordind this way (even in the car industry I could post some eaxmple).

Anyone ever see an Aztek? What were they thinking with that one?

Yeah, I see, rhinos. But Devil Guy added that smell right?. Or is my nose sinful since it finds the scent of God's work repulsive. Or maybe just the bacteria which makes them smell that is evil---but they make things like cheese and yogurt, so that cant be right, but then maybe cheese is sinful....


You may mean well, but please keep the religion out of this forum--there are plenty of forums out there where people might actually care about your conceited opinions.

[LucentDreams]

okay now guys, the religious tones didn't need to be brought into this thread, and didn't need to be confronted either, I'll close the thread if it continues. Do keep in mind this is a cg forum we are here to disucss cg, and thisis not an attack on those who feel the need to shae their religious views, but do keep in mind this is an international forum visited by all races and religions (including the C4D cult I guess) so while you may feel your view is valid others will not, so please useit on a religious forum and keep this to what we are here for, cg.

[bobzilla]

I like to check out the extras and beind the scenes stuff on DVDs. The interviews and demonstrations usually get my juices flowing. I've been working on this dinosaur for ever, but If I watch Walking with Dinos, or a "making of" thing, it kind of inspires me. I used to just say, "Why bother. I can never do that.", but I've come a lot further than I ever thought I would. Lots of people say it helps to come up with a "back story." You have your object, or character, come up with a history. Where did it come from? Why is it here? What does it do and why does it do it?

Just a few quick thoughts...

[JoelOtron]

I have the same problem as far as inspiration goes.

i think its all a state of mind. Dont try to forrce yourself. Its like falling asleep or getting rid of hickups. the more you focus on the transition you are waiting for, the harder it becomes, yet if you ease up and let it be, it flows naturally.

In the meantime, have fun and trust that you'll eventually have the inspiration you need.

When I'm in a creative mood, I will be cooking dinner, looking at the stove and the flame interacting with the pot of boiling water and thinking about how to recreate that in cinema 4d. When I'm not in that kind of mood, I cant even draw a square straight I've learned not to force myself to be creative or perfect. Those are nice looking gear thingies by the way. Instead of making something with them, why not put them in a still life or something abstract?

[JoelOtron]

Originally posted by bobzilla
I like to check out the extras and beind the scenes stuff on DVDs. The interviews and demonstrations usually get my juices flowing.\

My obsession has been to recreate the opening to Fight Club. The extras on the DVD showing the development of that sequence blow me away everytime.

Here were my lame beginnings.

http://www.joeldubin.net/fun/fightclubripoff1.mov

[ndat]

I got some inspiration :)... I listened to the new Mudvayne CD until I passed out. When I woke up I decided I wanted to sleep on the roof, it got really cold and I had some strange dreams. Ill show you the sketch tomm. Im really pressed for time now with finals are a day from tomorrow. And tonite Im going to a lan party to say goodbye to some freinds that are leaving and I have been going to graduation parties all day. So tomorrow you can expect to see where my strang hypothermia dreams and your help are leading me :).

[Shademaster]

I am expermenting with something that I hope will give me more motivation. Is called withdrawl, I am stoping 3d work entirely hoping that when i go back to it in a short while I will have my creative jucies flowing at a high rate again.

This could work, I have been away for a a computer for 6 weeks (holiday) and when I came back I had enough ideas for the entire year! But then again, this kind of thing is quite a harsh one and I found out that just playing with the tools leads to new ideas in almost the same way as going away for a long time.

[Beechdbum]

Originally posted by ndat
I got some inspiration :)... I listened to the new Mudvayne CD until I passed out. When I woke up I decided I wanted to sleep on the roof, it got really cold and I had some strange dreams. Ill show you the sketch tomm.

Sounds like fun, maybe i should try it

[bobzilla]

I found this site a while ago when I was looking to but Vue d' Sprit for landscapes (incidentally, Mac X users can get Vue for $149 'till the end of June!)

I think it's pretty amazing. Definitely check out the "Making of..." section. If you have a slow connection it will take a while.

Sorry...he's a Max user, but interesting stuff none the less...

http://www.cee-gee.net/

[Xilica]

when you don't have inspiration, model realistic objects :beer:

it's what i do! :buttrock:

[hmmdonuts]

You know, I can't do that thing with music - if I put a CD on whilst I'm trying to work I just tend to sit there listening and daydreaming and not getting much of anything done!

Cheers

hmmdonuts

[handige_harrie]

I have problems with inspiration also. But I have some sketches (made during lessons @school) lying around that might come in handy for those moments :).

I try to be original, but trying to recreate someones 3D-images can be very meaningful, you'll probably learn a lot from it (I did). I mimiced two images originally made by Thomas Suurland focused on recreating the lighting:
http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=252522&Start=1&Artist=handige%5Fharrie&ByArtist=Yes
http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=257423&Start=1&Artist=handige%5Fharrie&ByArtist=Yes

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