Motivation (not gender politics!)

[maggie]

Fitts originally said (in a thread that got horribly derailed):

I think that I'm finding that what drives me is success, it is so hard to put in hours upon hours to no avail. Success has many forms, praise, financial, popularity are the three that spring to mind.

However sometimes I am also compelled by beauty in one of it's myriad forms to draw. Even when I know that my meagre attempts will never rival the images that are in my head.

Just wanted to open up some discussion here, hope someone replies.

[Demongoldfish]

[rumpusroomie]

Another form of success is just the success of improvement for me. Drawing something that's closer to that ever illusive image in my head than it was yesteray and knowing that if i pick up the pen tomorrow hopefully i'll edge another step closer.

[azahru]

remembering how important stories were to me as a kid and hoping my stories can be something of value for others who struggle with whatever shit, or helps people think.

And watching characters squirm and surprise you, suddenly get bossy and twist your story - that sensation of creating a life, a precious thing and then fighting for it to live.

[jacen_c]

I'm motivated by one reason and one reason only- FUN.

I like drawing my silly little characters and silly little stories- I find it a great way to unwind and relieve the stresses of the working week. When you sometimes have to deal with unpleasant people and circumstances at work, and work in a profession where you've always got to be serious, it's nice to just sit down with a pencil and paper and scribble away whatever comes to mind.

I realise drawing and story telling will never be my livelihood, but it's a good counter-balance to my "9 to 5" world (which is more 7:30 to 7:00pm nowadays).

[practicecactus]

I'm gonna be that guy, and say I lack Motivation. People telling me my stuff is good and that I should do more isn't enough.
I do get a feeling of accomplishment when I finish something, but it's the getting started I have problems with..the actual, "why?" to do it. I think it's cause I just don't have a story I have a burning desire to tell. Always trying to improve my art, and I do enjoy it I spose, but that's not motivation I think..for me anyway.

iunno..probly saying more about the state of my mind and lack of confidence in life in general more than anything.

[Azzamckazza]

[bluetoaster]

[TregorySullivan]

I just like seeing my stuff published...

TS

[bluetoaster]

Shouldn't this go in the forum : "What drives me"?

.

[BMB]

I'm really not sure what actually motivates me, I'm a fairly impulse kind of chap, I do things that I like to do (Unless she has a headache, then I grab a DVD....)

But I do like looking back and feeling that I've improved, that seems to motivate me. My best example would be that I was tweaking my comicspace page and I noticed that the story I was using as an example of my work was making me cringe a little, which was funny because at the time of uploading it I was creaming my panties at how happy I was with it....I like to think that if I continue working at this, I can look back at my current stuff and cringe...which would be funny as right now I'm creaming again.

Good thing I'm not lactose intolerant.

Also, certain words of praise really tweak my niblets, on another forum a couple of people called my stuff intriguing...I'm not sure why but being called that really made my day/week (It was recent so I'm still floating )

But also, as has already been said, it FUN! Although you might think I have tourets as I'm erasing that panel for the fifth fucking time cus this godamn shitty building refuses to look right...but once I finally get it...Hooray!

[antains]

I gots in me several stories. Big things. I ain't writin' them for a while, though, because what I need to make them right is more experience with this planet.
These are things that I just absolutely believe are stories that are worth telling.
The story/comic I did recently about my car getting broken into was motivated by that sense of worth in the tale, as well as being a coping mechanism for the frustration of the experience.
This month has been my most prolific in ten or twelve years. That's because of deadlines. As well as the carfish comic, I'm writing a play (hi, my name's Anthony Earl, I'm a playwright of no success) and I have been drawing a comic for the monthly challenge, both of which have deadlines next week. (EEEK!!)
So the two things that really motivate me are deadlines and relevance.
Biggles, the cushions. The three things that motivate me are deadlines, relevance and other people (ie. the television series I wrote over the last two years would not have been completed without my writing partner repeatedly kicking me up the arse.) And to impress the ladies
The four things...

[Ian T]

Thanks for this thread, Maggie!

Who can explain the weird compulsion to do this stuff?

I don't always feel motivated, but if not I try to make time to be at my desk and once there, it somehow starts.

As others have said, the burning desire to tell stories, and communicate what your characters are up to, are prime motivators. When I first (re)started on this journey a few years ago, I wondered if the stories would come, but now I'm swamped! The key to unlocking your story vault is to start on a couple of things and, while you're working on those, note down every idea you have.

Ultimately, it's all about print for me. If a story doesn't end up in print then I consider I've wasted my time (even though I probably learnt something on the way). What's the point of a story without an audience? So I get pretty pissy with unprinted material (in case anyone hadn't noticed ).

The time commitment is huge and that has to be justified. If I'm going to take time away from family, work (nearly all my leave) and other commitments, then it had better be productive and it had better be worthwhile. For that reason, as Bluetoaster has said, I've had to learn to draw like a machine - no excuses, no stuffing around - on a regular basis and often (particularly with deadlines involved).

What frustrates me when I am feeling creative is so much time away, where I have to pursue other necessary things (such as a dayjob). I gave up music (playing and writing), maintaining the garden and nearly all TV watching to make the time to write and draw comics.

I could imagine giving it up, but only if I immediately took up another creative activity again, such as writing and recording music.

But I do it because I have to.

Cheers,

Ian T.

[Harbenger]

[heronimous]

what motivates me is a simmering internal rage.. if i don't regularly twist and turn my inner thoughts into completely different forms i find that my insides begin to wither and droop..

so when something adds to my level of pissed offedness i can either scream my frustrations and loathings out to the world.. like some demented hobo type person.. or i can force them all out onto a page or computer screen.. bash them into some sort of recogniseable shape..

the melding and the sculpting both distracts me from and provides a focus for my sometimes petulant outbursts..

i can launch a scathing critique of whatever it was that tweaked my frustration buttons.. or i can condense all my nasty thoughts on a person/thing/subject into a squirming little ball.. wrap it up in the skin or skins of a character.. and then i can do terrible nasty things to my new creation - all in the name of anger alleviation..

x