I loss inspiration
TY3DArt
Posts: 154
I used to love creating new art with Daz3D. But lately, I have absolutely no inspiration to even get started on a new project. Maybe it's my depression IDK - I feel so uninspired lately I don't know what to do. What do you do to help motivation or inspiration? Also, with all these new AI systems out I feel kind of at a loss. I mean like my work isn't as valued as it once was. Now anyone can type in words and a solid description and make incredible art. Sorry just venting a bit too. 
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My motivation is something internal that not many people have, because cannot easily be extinguished. My inspiration is completely random; more likely to get inspired by a corny joke. (I don't get inspired by seeing other people's art because I think it's "stealing" if I do similar themes as others.)
What I enjoy most about art is the creation process, the experimenting and problem solving. (This why AI and DAZ serve completely different purposes for me.) I don't really care for the end result that much but it serves as "proof" of my work. I redraw or re-render things occasionally.
Back before I started animating, a lot of my renders came about from playing "Daz Roulette". I'd go to Smart Content, select Figures, grab the scroll bar, close my eyes and move the mouse up and down, then open my eyes to see what interested me on the current screen. Then I'd repeat that process to get a second character. Then I'd see what ideas those assets inspired in me. For example, Mikka for Mei Lin 8 and War Goblin for G8.1M led to this:
It's not impossible for AI to generate something similar, but you'd have to write an incredibly specific prompt to get anywhere close to that.
so sad to be so easily disheartened
just because Disney does awesome animations doesn't mean I don't enjoy using AniBlocks on DAZ characters to render them doing corny dances
using Filament
I use AI too
I also sing badly in the bathroom even though Florence Welch exists
"Incredible" is pushing it a fair bit, unless you mean in the literal sense of not being credible. Most AI artworks give themselves away with inaccurate lighting, distorted anatomy, vague details, and things blurring into each other. Not to mention the difficulty it has deviating much from the datasets.
This is not to say I completely hate the AIs - they can be entertaining for daft "What if" type prompts (not that long ago I wanted a render of Elmo as a representative in the US Senate), but as far as actual works of art, I find they still fall short - most of the people who say it looks great are people who, self-admittedly, do not have artistic skill of their own and don't have the eye to spot all the mistakes and tell tale signs that give it away. And, quality aside, there are still lots of people who value human-created work.
The thing is, there is no easy path to creating art, because art is a process. It's not something that is done purely for the end result, the actual making of it has value - both to the artist and to the audience.
To me, it seems more like AI's "creativity" is mostly misinterpreting prompts.
I have asked AI on several occasions to create centaurs wearing clothes but (assuming I actually get a centaur at all, which is something most models seem to be untrained on) it can't actually contrive how that might work, even with quite specific instructions.
A human might have to stop and think for a bit about what a centaur one piece swimsuit might look like, but a human can imagine outside the scope of things they've specifically seen...
... whereas I've yet to see any AI be able to show the ability to extrapolate like that. It doesn't have the understanding or the imagination to be truly creating for itself.
(If anyone's wondering, yes, I did have to make that from scratch).
I have no opinions on Muppets in Congress, but representatives belong in the House, not the Senate.
Funny you would ask, because I've been struggling lately with some art-related existential questions myself. I've been working on a monologue thread in Art Studio revisiting what I've been trying to do in hopes of finding my way again.
Same here, idk what cause it but back then in 2018, 2019 i was super creative and did amazing works. Now i compare the renders i'll do with my old works, it is like my new renders are the first ones i did in 2018-19 and the old ones are new, professional ones. I didn't touch the daz almost 1 week now and idk what to do when i open it, sometimes blankly looking it sometimes loading up figures, environments and doing absolute random things.. Hope we get rid of this sickness soon. *cough, i think the damn vaccines have a major role in this.
I find when I'm not feeling inspiration is a good time to work on tutorials, or just load up things like UltraScenery to do nothing but play with all of the options. No pressure on myself to create, just maybe learn a little more.
There are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to inspiration, and the desire to create, everything from health to age, events in the world and things closer to home. Validation, or the lack there of, can also play a role.
There are things you can control and others you can not, knowing the difference and accepting that, is the first step in moving forward.
Use that lull to do other things, that's what I'm doing and I've been very happy with the progress in my other endeavors. Man cannot live be bread alone. Also, in doing much reduced DAZ activities, it's a noticeable help to have that DAZ model money available to do these other activities. As an example, I used a year's worth of my DAZ money (about $200 - $300) to buy every bluetooth enabled metabolic measurement device Beuer GmbH sells on Amazon. That includes a blood pressure, temperature, pulse oximeter, and scale. All are Bluettoth enabled and save measuments directly to their apps in my iPhone that gets shared automatically with Apple's Health App. From a business called Renpho I also bought a food scale with nutritional database built in, a digital body tape measure, and a digital jumprope and all are also Bluetooth enable and save their measured data to the Renpho app on my iPhone. I've been mostly very pleased at the availability of these devices and the ideal of a digital jumprope was so funny but it's a good ideal. I've been pretty healthy and those devices will save me a boatload of time, much reduced finger pecking, and help me monitor my health without it being a chore to measure and record manually what cumulatively are a lot of measurements! I've been also hardening my computer LAN (they can still get in but that's not on me) and that's a never ending process as I'm getting ready to drop another $200 in May, after spending thousands since the end of 2019 until today, to further expand my efforts to make things more difficult (of course I'm totally reliant of the hardware and software engineeers doing their job right for effective of my efforts) for them, further DIY to make my property presentable to folk, and doing a lot of individual workout activities like swimming, walking, weightlifting, & whatever.
So don't try to force the issue, it is almost always a futile effort. Use the lull time to diversify your activities and then come back to DAZ & 3D with new perspectives and new ideals, and new techniques.
I think that the more detailed the Daz figures become the more difficult it is to create because of the expection these days that digi art should look as real as possible - especially when comparing with high end AI art programs. I struggled with this alot until I got my head around the idea that digi art isn't supposed to be 100% real. All art should be a representation not a reality otherwise you might as well become a photographer and work in the " real world". Thats why I got into working with toon/semi-toon characters while putting then in "realistic" clothing and enviroments: toons seem to give mea wider range of possiblities. Ever since then I'm been able to push myself a bit more. Inspiriation is a personal thing and it is difficult to produce the image we have in our heads into a piece of art.
Also its difficult to be inspired while living in a world that surrounds us with negative images and stories. Something to try - I know this might seem a bit new age hippy stuff - but sit down and write down (or type if you like) not just what is blocking your inspiration but why you think its doing it. Getting it out of your head often helps. You could also look up how writers deal with creative block.
Also I understand the depression issue - I suffer from it too, have done for a longtime. It goes around in circles - ups and downs - and I do think that some depression medications can screw around with creativity. Something you could try is using the feelngs/thoughts to create: you said in your post that AI art and the ease with which it seems you can create with it is an issue, you could use that as your inspiration to create: if AI is making you feel that your work isn't valued then create images around that narrative using any genre you like. E.g. an artist forced into begging on the street because AI art has driven him out of his home; an artist decided to sell his soul to the devil so he can create work that is better and more admired that AI works; an artist who has lost his inspiration. I know it may sound counter productive but if you look at what you think/feel AI art is a hinderance/threat to what you do and turn that into images that might give you the boost to create again while also getting the thoughts and feelings about it out of your head.
Hope this helps
Andrew :)
@ Virusboy
I love realism, mainly because I like to push the boundaries here.
Once realism has been achieved and has become boring, I'll try toons then.
must be nice. i have too much inspiration sometimes
I feel ya. The whole AI thing depresses me also and because of it, I really have little motivation as well. I can create great images with various AI apps, but I'm not really creating anything in my mind, the AI is. So while fun to play with, it isn't the same as actually creating something in 3D.
Luckily I have other hobbies until i feel inspired again. Picked up some games from Steam in their last sale, for both flatscreen and VR and a couple of those are great. it is also warm here in TX, so lots to do outside (went to the gun range yesterday, too much fun) I start 10 days of paid vacation today with no plans, so i am sure i will be opening DS at some point, LOL
I lost a few brain cells reading at least one of these posts
When I was younger, I would spend hours trying to come up with really brilliant and completely original ideas. Then I realized that was idiotic and incredibly self-limiting, and that, most of the time, almost all of the creators that I most admired were really just recycling and recombining the same elements. As a result, I got into the habit of sending myself emails every time I had a random idea, even if it was only half formed, a bad joke or pun, or just something really dippy, and at the same time I also started collecting cartoons, photos, paintings, and story ideas by other creators that I liked and thought I could do a riff or variation on. As a result, whenever the creative juices feel a little low, I just go back over those notes and images until something catches my attention, then fiddle around with that to see what develops.
If the oasis of your creativity has turned into a desert it is time to caravan to a new water source. It can be soooo difficult to find the energy to move when you are depressed, but in my experience nothing good will come from just squatting in the sand. There are many springs, streams, rivers, lakes and, seas in the world. It sounds to me like it is time to go find one.
Try a diffrent technique, a diffrent genre, a diffrent style. Learn a new software. I started sculpting G9 characters awhile back in Blender, and it is awesome!
Perhaps it is time to do some serious self assessment as to why external influences are having such a negative effect on you.
For me the act of creation is a deeply personal internal process. It affirms and enriches my life. It is the act of creation itself that fulfills me. Outside influences don't change that.
edit: worlds worst typist
I'm often prone to procrastinating, telling myself that I'll eventually finish certain artworks that I've made a start on. My inner autistic savant is also a perfectionist, given both have strong overlap.
Sorry to hear you're feeling that way, TY3DArt. A.I. hit a lot of artists hard. I know I spent years learning digital painting in Photoshop, but I have no appetite for it anymore.
In terms of inspiration, I write stories and Daz3D is my playground. I put lots of effort into dreaming up my characters and scenes and Daz helps me bring them to life. And the renders in turn help grow my stories, because little visual details that crop up often become plots points or help set mood. I don't mind if no one ever sees them.
I enjoy the technical challenges they bring, like last week I spent a whole day trying to get a realistic, very specific tattoo because I'd already written about it and submitted that scene to my writing group so I didn't feel I could cheat. Fun I couldn't have with a text prompt.
I enjoy using Blender and Marvelous Designer to make props that I can import back into Daz or render out in Blender.
In terms of illustration, AI has prompted my return to traditional painting and ink wash. I don't think a machine can replicate how a painting feels in real life. Daz was originally just a lighting reference tool for me, so it will still have a role to play for this work.
I hope you have stories you want to tell and that you get your inspiration back.
Yup, a bitter pill, but you are not alone in this. I think most of us are craving for attention. The artistic mind just has something to say and wants to be heard.
If you feel like shouting into the void, it's just highly frustrating, but being the artist, that you are, you will do it anyway.
What to do, when you're missing inspirations?
Maybe just taking a mindful break. Making different expeeriences, seeing new things. The lack of ideas is like muscle cramps in your creative part of the brain, so you need to relax.
the second thing, I#d advise is to take care of your tools.
In case of Cg: Check your software, plug-ins, assets or create some own assets for a possible later use.
all the best
Oh, BTW look in art history. Depression is like an artist's disease. Very common, and possibly just the flip side of the artistic coin.
Maybe the human mind just suffers from seeing things to clearly and therefor non-depressend people always have an endorphine high.
Again: All the best. Relax and take care. Right now is just a snap shot in time, and there are for sure better times ahead.
I go with what moves me. I never sit down and decide to make this or that. I wait for an image to hit me, to appear in my mind's eye. A lot of my images involve the woods, mainly because I can turn my head to the left right now and there is a view of the forest a couple of hundred feet out, plus I've done a lot of hiking. Sometimes it's a word. Sometimes its a song, or a single frame from a movie or show. Sometimes it's from a conversation with my son about our latest obsession. Inspiration can hit me when I'm cooking dinner, walking my dog, thinking about writing, about what could be, etc.
I've never cared about realism in art, it's just not what moves me. I rarely make more than 1 image in a 2-3 week period. And I'm fine with that process, that timeline. Maybe you should just do something completely unreleated, like cooking, read a book, gardening, anything really. Maybe you just need a break.
Enter contests.
Browse art to see if something strikes you as amazing and try to improve it or put your spin on it.
Try a different style. If you like realistic try doing toons or abstracts
If you render Goth Girls try rendering Techno Guys or you render in cities try forests.
Take a break for a month or two and come back fresh.
Do something fun like including a cat doing something in the backround
while AI does provide nice stuff ATM I find it all looks like AI. It like asking a computer to do a commision for you. Its about as much your art as if you paid someone else to do it for you.
I used AI when I lost joy in doing anything else. In fact, AI got me through the first and most difficult year of my life (although life is still pretty difficult now). But AI was also the reason I got my love for art back.
I am aware of certain reasons as to why people hate it. Although like many others, I've had my work scraped to train AI - Which I find incredibly hilarious (from my angle) seeing that I watermark EVERYTHING (apart from AI works). I LOATHE seeing people dunk on AI (or dunk on anyone that uses it) because of eveything that it has helped me with during the past year or so.
No one's work is valued any less. Heck, there was a time when "real" artists dunked on Daz and Poser users - And since AI came onto the scene, those people still do (I've seen it on DeviantArt).
For now, I'm at a point where I'm working on personal projects (some long overdue). Plus, I do have other works to post, but I've fallen out of love with sharing my works (especially on DeviantArt).
I've learned that my computer doesn't need to be turned on everyday (but should be at some point because the RAM keeps becoming unseated in my PC), or that I need to be rendering everyday. Sometimes it's good to just doodle.
It doesn't really inspire me, but I usually have the TV blaring in the background, or I'm listening to music when doing stuff. But that's because I like a bit of noise. Although I have had some inspiration just from sitting on the toilet (lid down, while stuck under a 5KG ball of fluffy terror who has gone to sleep), and thinking for an hour or so (with or without music).
Inspiration does come back. I promise. It may not be today, tomorrow, or next month, but it will happen.
Hubby was on a suicide hotline list and treated as an emergency . . . but it started with depression, so I get it. First think of your past. What made you happiest? What made you laugh until your guts ached? Can you draw it, compose it as a scene, or write about it? What makes you hurt, sad feel vulnerable? Can you make a scene like that? Comedians excel when they draw on personal trials and triumps. The solution is inside of you. Pull from what you feel. You may never feel this way again. Express yourself. AI cannot feel what you feel. They fail at empathy etc. This is where you can shine. Do something that tugs on our heartstrings.
...not sure if they are still happening but there used to be a fun monthly challenge called the RRRR (Random Runtime Roulette Renders) where entrants would choose 5 items at random from their content list and have to create a piece based on the monthly theme. I found this a good way to rekindle one's muse when it had stalled.
Personally, I find the rules of RRRR too restrictive, and I don't feel the need to catalogue my entire runtime and involve a random number generator to get ideas.
...I still find it a good way to jumpstart the muse when I'm in a creative rut.
I simply dumped my entire library into an Excel spreadsheet years ago (taking out items like utilities, scripts, plugins, and bundles) and added to it when I purchased new products.
Oh, and mods, thank you for getting rid of all those duplicate posts.
I am not great working in Daz3D nor as an artist. I am someone who has lived with depression most of my life. Life experiences and medical causes the primary reasons. Counseling can help. I have found a walk in a park, nature, whatever, but anything out of your home helps. Visit a museum, zoo, botanical garden... if any of those options are easily available to you. The other day, I was in Target and my eye caught sight of a package of ochre colored markers with different tips and something clicked. Check out different styles of music on You Tube with your eyes closed, see what your brain hears.
Ignore A.I. unless you plan on working in it. Does an artist who works in metal freak about another who works in oils or watercolors?
External events you can't control, well I am with you. My stress level is ratcheting up.
Mary
TY3DArt,
I find that "What is art?" is a phrase that doesn't get enough respect here. But when the creative blues settle in, it's worth asking questions like these just to get back to fundamentals. When I hit the same lows as you describe, I put myself to a variant: "What is my art FOR?"
I hit my creative and productive highs with 3D art whenever I use these as assets for storytelling. It could be for D&D. It could be for a short comic strips that I share with friends. The artwork isn't an end in itself. Rather it helps my players or my readers undrestand what I'm trying to convey ... an idea, a sentiment or moment.
Professionally I work in tech, and I've used 3D art and it's associated tools to understand computer graphics. The "itch" -- geeky/nerdy as it is -- has led me to dive into tutorials not just for software applications but also for the technology underlying them. On the creative side, I've also picked up basic art theory and such, things that formal learning never really prepared me for. Why? It's all in the spirit of curiosity and of learning by doing ... and the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction it brings.
Conversely here a few things I believe don't get us out of the creative rut. One is hanging around negative people. Two is trying to keep up with the Joneses. And three is not keeping track of your growth/progress, be it by not having a portfolio that you review and cull, or by not tallying monthly expenses at the Daz marketplace. The first two suggestions speak for themselves. As to the last one, having that sense of awareness of what this hobby's demands and rewards are helps keeps you grounded. Motivation that isn't grounded isn't something that we can sustain for long.
Hope this helps.
Cheers!