Art vs. Life Balance: The Eternal Struggle
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Time is still the most valuable resource we have, and we're going to talk about how to make time, prioritize, and balance your life and art so that you still get things done without being a pariah.
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Excellent advice about getting up earlier instead of staying up later. I find that when I wake up 2-3 hours before I'm supposed to be at work, then I tend to be more alert and relaxed during the day. When I only give myself enough time to get dressed and rush to work, then I'm groggy, grumpy and have a harder time handling stress. I think I'm going to set a goal of doing a quick drawing every morning before going to work, even if it's just a quick sketch, for the next couple of weeks and see if that helps get my creative juices flowing more.
Awesome goal!
Since you replied to my comment, I kind of saw that as an obligation to actually go through with my goal and I have to say that, one week in, it's been pretty awesome. It's actually done a lot to "grease the wheels" of whatever part of my brain comes up with new ideas and I'm currently working on a new comic idea with all-new characters that I'm really excited about. I think I can directly credit your channel for helping inspire me here, so thanks!
I woke 3 hours early today, I deserve a metal
Dang you really do!
Oh woow so if attention is money🤔YOU ARE RICH BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL OF MINE!
😂 So this is what being wealthy feels like!! 😋
Brookes Eggleston - Character Design Forge Go figure 😂
Thank you for saying the things about parents. I have really found that since I have kids, I do more in an hour than before in a whole day. :)
I can only imagine! That's awesome!
I actually started getting up an hour early to get stuff done when I started school again and I gotta agree it really does work
That’s awesome!
The working-on-your-art-all-the-time advice is really relatable. Especially now that I'm out of college and working a relatively easy job while looking for a better one (thus having plenty of time), I realize that I was actually more productive in my writing during my college years than I am now.
though, the flipside is that currently I am able to spend a lot of time on learning about storytelling, writing techniques and improving my previous writing.
I've definitely had some periods where I sank WAY too deep into working all the time mode
Same when i have so much time i don't do anything and when i have just 1 hour i do a masterpiece
I completely agree with the morning time-allocation. I've been streaming before I enter a consumer mindset so I get a good 3-hours of motivated work done. I usually go for a walk first to wake myself up, and give myself some time to think about what I'm going to accomplish that day.
That’s perfect! I like to add a little exercise in the morning, gets the blood flowing 😄
I disagree with PenguinPotential and im offended now
I love this type of videos, thank you! I really needed!
lol this speaks to like all my problems with art!! thank you!
Your voice is so nice to listen to, and your advice is so concise and applicable. Thank you SO much for your channel! I found your channel today and have been binge-watching all your videos while I work on my own projects.
Thank you so much! Really appreciate it!
You saying our art is only as good as ourselves is probably the only piece of advice that made me think I need to stop being such a horrible person
If that’s really true, self-awareness is always a good thing. Happy personal-growth to you 😄
Thanks for this! I just entered a hiatus on my first comic after weeks of trying to convince myself that I didn't need one... And it feels great!
That’s awesome! Hope you figure out a more sustainable balance!
This is such helpful and timely advice for me. I stay up late all the time and all it does is stress me out and make me sad. Not good for art at all!
Very true! I hope you can find a balance that works for you!
Okay, question from an autistic artist. I'm currently in a workplace where everything is kind of chaotic, unclear, and it's been taking half a year so far to even get things in motion to change that. So, I find myself often having to detox from that during weekdays. And it's causes a pretty much instant artblock for me: it triggers sort of a survival mode in me, and I just am unable to focus my mind on art, no matter how hard I try. I'm wondering: how can one manage that recovery time added to general life stuff and art?
The getting up earlier tip is great, don't get me wrong. I feel advice in that vein can actually be unhealthy for me, though. A big change in routine like that is only going to suck up energy in the beginning, for a way longer time than with anyone without autism. So where someone without is maybe used to it in a week or so, I may take 2 or 3 weeks. I'm definitely taking the rest of the tips of the video,. But if anyone has advice for how I can balance art, life and just plain recovering from the world, I'll gladly hear it.
Oof. Toxic workplace is really a tricky one. Like you're saying, it can be a real drain on artists, and really the only solution I've seen other creatives make a decision on is to leave or change that workplace completely, not that I know enough about your situation to really advise that. Completely appreciate how big schedule changes can affect you, however, seeing how you describe coming home from work being stressed and needing to unwind, it seems like slotting in your art before work is the perfect way to integrate it, that way the end of the day can be just for unwinding. I love routine myself for sure, so maybe it can be something you very gradually introduce. Even if it was waking up 5 minutes a day earlier than the day before, you'd have an hour extra every morning with a few weeks.
I actually met a friend of mine at the animation studio I was working at, and he pre-empted the long months of 20 hour days we crunched through in tiny working quarters by letting us know about his experience on the autistic spectrum, having Aspergers, and how it affected his behavior and communication. It was super helpful for all of us to know how best to get on with him, and I'm sure that helped him in turn. I'm not assuming you haven't tried this yourself, but I think communicating openly at work could ease that stress from you too!
Thanks so much for replying, you probably get about 5000 comments on your videos. I'm definitely trying the gradual change to getting up earlier once I change my situation a bit. I'll see how the actual changes happening now play out first. I actually almost got Asperger on my official diagnosis. People say that I come off as an Aspie, but my diagnosers eventually went with classical autism because of my language skills.
You're completely right that I've tried venting. But the situation is really not because of my boss. He's been really open-minded. He's epileptic himself, and allergic to his meds. In short: if he gets too much sensory input, he'll be spasming on the floor. So naturally, he's been really understanding so far, and very helpful in getting stuff done for me. The problem is: he's running a SMALL business. Like just out of the start-up phase small.
So in the Netherlands, we get our unemployment-related social security from the local munincipality. This involves us to have a jobcoach and a case manager. In my case, both of them are really toxic, and me and my boss need them to fund things. Long story short: my case manager has been believing that I'm lying about my autistic needs. Despite having several documents produced by the munincipality, that describe in detail what I need and why. She's just not buying it, and she's indirectly blocking off access to stuff I need because of that. I really wish that she would listen to me, but I had to call in my not-to-be-messed-with mom. But now that the sheer terror of an angry special needs mom has worn off, even she's having trouble with this toxic woman.
Really, I hope that I can shake these two soon. Really, everything was easier before they stuck their nose in the situation. Spotting your energy drains is easy, but cutting them off is a real challenge in some cases.
Of course, I always try to keep an eye on comments and reply to the earnest ones. I really feel for you Melanie, that sounds extremely difficult! Really the only thing I can help you with from here is to remind you to keep art as something you love doing, and don't stress yourself out by trying to make it into an income, as tough as that may be. It can lead to getting really burnt out. I hope things improve for you soon! All it takes sometimes is one little win to turn things around.
Waking up an hour earlier than I normally do has worked wonders for me. By the time my boyfriend wakes up, I've finished my warm up drawings and still have time to make him breakfast!
Bro htis channel is a gold mine, art and personnal stuff, self-improvement for artists, truely awesome, keep it up
6:54 - 8:06
Man, does this hit home. Most of my life has been focusing on my art so much that I miss out on spending time with family and friends and just living life, and I feel my work suffers from that as a result since I don't really have much of a life to reflect on it. I'm really glad I stumbled upon this channel because of this video (and your other ones that talk about character designs and ideas since I'm working on character designs myself currently).
I agree with this. Your videos make a lot of sense and get a good point across, though I was wondering after watching your video on how to get ideas. Is starting at character designs or story ideas better for creating overall ideas? I'm having trouble with both. If anyone could answer this it would be appreciated. Thank you.
I talked about this some in “How To Make Original Characters People Csre About”, it’s definitely a mix of the two!
"Making good things is not an excuse for being a bad person." There are many artists who can learn from this.
I sttmpted the advice of going to bed earlier and waking up earlier but it doesn't work. I am not exactly allowed to sleep.
okay, but what if I have to wake up at 5am for work at 6am, and I dunno how much I'd really enjoy waking up at 4am to draw before getting ready. suns not even close to up at that point, haha
I have 9 younger siblings that are really time consuming (espacially the toddlers) plus I go to college, but I can always find at least a few minutes to draw every day
Dang, that's a lot of responsibility... good for you, though, making it work!
I try my best
_(Eyes Voltron, eyes sparkling)_
Thank you so much for this!! Your advices are precious
I sacrifice my screen time ...and use for art
I really like your idea of waking up early to do the personal favorite thing. This is such a good advise, wish I heard this when I was still in school. I will borrow this quote and tell every other friends.
Awesome, thank you! I hope it works out!
Hey Brookes. I get really upset whenever I look at people that draw, subjectively, better than me. How can I stop being so upset?
I have a similar problem. And every artist I see on youtube says not to compare your work to others and I end up so confused because then I don't know how to tell how well I'm progressing and if it's in the right direction. Does any body have advice on how to judge your own progress?
I'm absolutely no expert on this kind of thing, so I apologize if all these words don't help, but here's what works for me: the way I compare my art to others' isn't "they're better than me, I'm worse than them," it's more "they're better than me. What elements here make me say that?" Essentially, I'm breaking down the elements of the drawing into numerous pieces ("I like the way they blurred the edges of the shadows, I hadn't thought of that;" "huh, the ruffles on the skirt have kind of a conical geometry to them") and studying the aspects that I think I could benefit from considering for my own work. I take what I like in the piece, see why I like it, figure out how it works, and see if I'd like to use it.
Also, keep in mind that whatever art you're looking at is drawn by an individual who has likely been going along on their artistic journey for a relative while. They had to start somewhere to get where they are, right? While all you see is probably their finished artwork, you don't see all the trials and errors and frustrations and sketch crumplings that led them to that one work. Given time and practice and plain ol' keeping at it, you'll find yourself at your own version of where they are soon enough!
aaaa i hope this helped
Thank you for this video! I've lamented feeling like I didn't have any time at all lately, so I'm going to hopefully use the prospect of drawing to actually get myself up in the morning.
Also, how didn't I find this channel sooner??? Character design/writing is my most favorite thing WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN MY WHOLE LIFE
Hi Brooks, huge fan of of your videos! Nobody ever addresses this but would you consider making a follow up video regarding art school or art jobs and then trying to do art?? I want to do visual development but my art school assignments are all editorial based and I have no chance to create environments, props, or characters and really explore them like a concept artist! I do so much "job" art in school, and have no time for a social life or personal work at all (and I wake up at 5am). Even worse, I always feel "guilty" doing personal art if I still have school art due, making it unenjoyable and nerve-wracking. Please discuss making time for art when we have art based jobs or schools; I almost feel like I would have an easier time doing the VisDev work that I want if I WASN'T in an art school!
This is not a problem for me because I need art to live. It's what controls my anxiety, I can't function without it.
I like to wake up and to bed at the same time everyday beacuse my brain resists getting out of bed less and if i do still wanna stay in bed 10 minutes of meditation gives me that small bit of rest before i get going
No problem, I don't have a life! Wait, I also don't make art...
I still have a hard time waking up earlier to get more work done because I just value sleep so much, lol, but this advice is still so practical. Working earlier in the day than you usually do on your projects buys you so much more time and so Im game to try more of it (It almost feels like when you find $20 in your pocket!) Great vid, great suggestions for anyone in any creative field.
It's definitely easier said than done, but worth it when it's possible. Glad it was helpful, thank you!
Do you know some drawer who didn’t draw professionally before college graduation because of duties?
Absolutely! Check my video about being too old to learn art
Good video as always Brookes!
Off topic: OMG! I just noticed that the tier list has the characters with their associated item/accessory!
Thank you! Which tier list?
One problem with the extra hour; I can't nap, even if it would kill me.
Yeah I’m the same way. No need for a nap!
Unrelated, but can I ask why you don't provide subtitles, or at least don't allow them to be submitted? Subtitles are pretty helpful, for both hearing-impaired people and people who just have trouble following or in a noisy environment.
I thought they auto generated! I didnt know I had to allow them. I’ll look into it!
Ah, well, there /are/ auto-generated ones, but they're just confusing since they have no punctuation, and often get words wrong. The ones that you have to turn on/allow are the "community contributions" (i think that's the term) ones, which are submitted by one user or more, then verified by another. I believe that's how it works.
Having problems creating characters characters bio
I do my drawings most when I had a bad day right when I come home otherwise later..... I´m not a morning person and I have a bad sleeep. On free day´s I do a list a day bevor with different projects I want to do, so I can choose.... and I have a variation of friends one is totally into art like me with another I don´t even talk about art stuff but this friend gives me actually so much inspiration as well. So when it comes to friends you shouldn´t just make friends when he/she does art as well.