Artistic work morale and how to finish off a piece of art

[nutritious]

... how to finish off a piece of arse. No, no art is the subject!

Hi all,
this is a particular question for artists so I chose to post this in this particular section. I don't know if this applies to all artists but I guess its pretty common: I want to ask how you keep your working flow up to finish a piece of art
even if it takes several days or weeks. I do some painting on my own but more often than not, I find myself distracted or impatient to finish the piece with the same energy I started. I have like 1000 unfinished pieces and I think its a pity that those are just half baked. I wonder if some of you have experience with those circumstances and what strategies you use or mindset you prefer in order to keep focussed (Maybe ritalin? :p).

Thanks!

[Retale]

Unless you don't already, I find it always useful to try and not show WIP's of art if possible to people.

I know that's real weird advice, but some of the main rush I get from a piece of art is other peoples reaction to it, if I show WIP's and people have already seen the art it takes some of my drive to finish it cause its like I've had my pudding before I've finished my dinner if that makes sense.

I work to finish art /because/ I want people to finally see what I've been working on, if that makes sense.

[nutritious]

Unless you don't already, I find it always useful to try and not show WIP's of art if possible to people.

I know that's real weird advice, but some of the main rush I get from a piece of art is other peoples reaction to it, if I show WIP's and people have already seen the art it takes some of my drive to finish it cause its like I've had my pudding before I've finished my dinner if that makes sense.

I work to finish art /because/ I want people to finally see what I've been working on, if that makes sense.

Thats a very good recommendation! I do tend to show some WIP stuff too soon and then its more likely that this thing is done for me. Curious but great that you have figured it out for yourself, thanks for shareing!

[Mouhr]

I find myself struggling a lot with motivation to finish a piece. I prefer working on a piece for hours on end when I have a burst of motivation but sadly, those don't come along that often and I don't have that much time to spend drawing.

I don't have much of a 'strategy' to keep the motivation all the way to the end of a piece, and I'm really not one to talk when it comes to finishing my drawings lol, but I have a few ways to maintain my momentum, if you will. Now these might just apply to me but maybe they'll help?

For one, when I feel really motivated to draw, I try to do so for as long as I can and with the fewest amount of interruptions possible. This helps me keep my focus on the same thing, aka the drawing.
I also tend to listen to some music while working on a piece. Or listen to a video that doesn't require any visual attention. This kinda keeps me in my own little 'focus bubble'.
I tend to get myself some snacks and something to drink so I don't have to stop and take a good chunk of time to have a full meal.

If I have a nice seven to nine-ish hours of time, that's usually enough to almost carry me to the end of a drawing. For the end I usually just have to pull myself up and power through it, even if I don't have the motivation anymore. Since, if I don't, the drawing will just sit there for weeks or even not get finished at all. Plus, it's pretty satisfying to finally be done with a piece.

I hope any of this is helpful!

[Retale]

No worries! My PM's are open if ever you wanna talk and just need some encouragement and someone to talk to my dude.

[CuttleScuttle]

I agree with Retale! I also find it useful to set little goals for yourself. If I'm having a hard time plowing through a section of a story, I'll tell myself "just try to write for ten minutes—no distractions." Usually, time flies! I'd think this also for other media.

Make sure to love your work and keep it fun for yourself! Think about how cool it'll look when it's finished.

[Humbug]

Considering I have completed massive projects that have taken over a year, and I'm still working on more, I guess I'm pretty qualified to answer this. Here are some things that I do that personally help me. I'm sure everyone's at least a little bit different, but you can at least give these things a try:

1) Juggle projects. If you swap between 2-4 things, especially varying between bigger and smaller projects, it really helps avoid burnout on any one project in particular, but going back to it when you're about to get burnt out on another one helps relight that fire.
2) Involve your audience to some degree. Works best if you have a subscription service going like Gumroad or Subscribestar or something, but even if you just put up polls on your userpage, having the audience pick from among a few options from time to time will help annihilate any decision paralysis you may experience.
3) Don't be a perfectionist. Sticking the landing is good, but it's not everything. The more stuff you do, the better you'll get naturally, and your works will get closer to what you envisioned so long as you're paying attention to your mistakes and only taking time to fix the biggest ones. Smaller things are important to take note of, but most people won't notice them, and you can simply not make those mistakes again in future projects.
4) What Retale said: Don't release WIPs to the public. Sharing among friends or as a bonus to subscribers is usually fine, but only completed works should typically be what everyone else sees. It's a major motivator to get that "Wow!" reaction from the audience when you post something huge, and I find that typically I get an influx of watchers when I do this, which also really helps motivation.
5) Stream your artwork on a schedule, even when you don't really feel like it. It's okay to take a couple breaks here and there, but you should probably give yourself 1-2 freebies a month, for when you're at your lowest mental energy. I know this sounds like you're showing WIPs, but having a much smaller audience there to hold you accountable keeps you focused and on-track, and it provides the short-term feedback of wanting to see things completed that you may seriously need.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. I hope it helps!

[nutritious]

I agree with Retale! I also find it useful to set little goals for yourself. If I'm having a hard time plowing through a section of a story, I'll tell myself "just try to write for ten minutes—no distractions." Usually, time flies! I'd think this also for other media.

Make sure to love your work and keep it fun for yourself! Think about how cool it'll look when it's finished.

That sure makes sense. Splitting the work down in smaller milestones. I think also in this regard about tasks like brushing up things for 10 minutes without distraction.

[nutritious]

Considering I have completed massive projects that have taken over a year, and I'm still working on more, I guess I'm pretty qualified to answer this. Here are some things that I do that personally help me. I'm sure everyone's at least a little bit different, but you can at least give these things a try:

1) Juggle projects. If you swap between 2-4 things, especially varying between bigger and smaller projects, it really helps avoid burnout on any one project in particular, but going back to it when you're about to get burnt out on another one helps relight that fire.
2) Involve your audience to some degree. Works best if you have a subscription service going like Gumroad or Subscribestar or something, but even if you just put up polls on your userpage, having the audience pick from among a few options from time to time will help annihilate any decision paralysis you may experience.
3) Don't be a perfectionist. Sticking the landing is good, but it's not everything. The more stuff you do, the better you'll get naturally, and your works will get closer to what you envisioned so long as you're paying attention to your mistakes and only taking time to fix the biggest ones. Smaller things are important to take note of, but most people won't notice them, and you can simply not make those mistakes again in future projects.
4) What Retale said: Don't release WIPs to the public. Sharing among friends or as a bonus to subscribers is usually fine, but only completed works should typically be what everyone else sees. It's a major motivator to get that "Wow!" reaction from the audience when you post something huge, and I find that typically I get an influx of watchers when I do this, which also really helps motivation.
5) Stream your artwork on a schedule, even when you don't really feel like it. It's okay to take a couple breaks here and there, but you should probably give yourself 1-2 freebies a month, for when you're at your lowest mental energy. I know this sounds like you're showing WIPs, but having a much smaller audience there to hold you accountable keeps you focused and on-track, and it provides the short-term feedback of wanting to see things completed that you may seriously need.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. I hope it helps!

This certainly sounds like some experience! I am glad you all share your experience because this will help other artists. I don't have much of an audience but several projects that I could run in parallel . And its reassuring to read about the positive effects
of practice and see how things evolve. I guess its really a matter of getting the art somehow out, getting the feedback and improve from this point onward, there is no way around. Also I think its vital to get feedback from others in general. So thank you for pointing this out too!

[Datonenumbnuts]

Unless you don't already, I find it always useful to try and not show WIP's of art if possible to people.

I know that's real weird advice, but some of the main rush I get from a piece of art is other peoples reaction to it, if I show WIP's and people have already seen the art it takes some of my drive to finish it cause its like I've had my pudding before I've finished my dinner if that makes sense.

I work to finish art /because/ I want people to finally see what I've been working on, if that makes sense.

Wow... I never realized how much I do this... This is really good advice. Ill have to try and do this. Ive been to focused on getting stuff out to show it off, and get the joy of doing so..

[Datonenumbnuts]

Considering I have completed massive projects that have taken over a year, and I'm still working on more, I guess I'm pretty qualified to answer this. Here are some things that I do that personally help me. I'm sure everyone's at least a little bit different, but you can at least give these things a try:

1) Juggle projects. If you swap between 2-4 things, especially varying between bigger and smaller projects, it really helps avoid burnout on any one project in particular, but going back to it when you're about to get burnt out on another one helps relight that fire.
2) Involve your audience to some degree. Works best if you have a subscription service going like Gumroad or Subscribestar or something, but even if you just put up polls on your userpage, having the audience pick from among a few options from time to time will help annihilate any decision paralysis you may experience.
3) Don't be a perfectionist. Sticking the landing is good, but it's not everything. The more stuff you do, the better you'll get naturally, and your works will get closer to what you envisioned so long as you're paying attention to your mistakes and only taking time to fix the biggest ones. Smaller things are important to take note of, but most people won't notice them, and you can simply not make those mistakes again in future projects.
4) What Retale said: Don't release WIPs to the public. Sharing among friends or as a bonus to subscribers is usually fine, but only completed works should typically be what everyone else sees. It's a major motivator to get that "Wow!" reaction from the audience when you post something huge, and I find that typically I get an influx of watchers when I do this, which also really helps motivation.
5) Stream your artwork on a schedule, even when you don't really feel like it. It's okay to take a couple breaks here and there, but you should probably give yourself 1-2 freebies a month, for when you're at your lowest mental energy. I know this sounds like you're showing WIPs, but having a much smaller audience there to hold you accountable keeps you focused and on-track, and it provides the short-term feedback of wanting to see things completed that you may seriously need.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. I hope it helps!

ive tried polls before, but since im not too active at times, or well at least post stuff due to irl stuff, no one replies, leaving me with no input. Being a perfectionist is also my downfall, plus worrying about using the same pose as a previous piece. leaving me to attempt new things, when im honestly not ready to do them...

[Humbug]

ive tried polls before, but since im not too active at times, or well at least post stuff due to irl stuff, no one replies, leaving me with no input. Being a perfectionist is also my downfall, plus worrying about using the same pose as a previous piece. leaving me to attempt new things, when im honestly not ready to do them...

Oh, yeah. Posting frequently really helps cultivate an active audience. There's a certain hurdle you have to get over to be able to engage with your audience as a tool for your own motivation. Just keep at it; eventually things will start to stick.

[nutritious]

Hey there! Thank you so much for contributing. As it happens to be, I have another thing to add being currently working on a piece. Its really good to have a strong image already in mind early on. It helps to keep up the steady pace and then it feels you just chisel what is in between away.