12-14-2014, 06:56 AM
Hiya it can be a hard thing to look back and see you have lost your way a bit, but this is good. The first step to a better balance and change is awareness. You seem to be becoming aware that the motivations for you have changed. You have moved your focus from "fun" to "getting kudos". From 'careful craft' to 'speed'.
Often I believe it is exposure to the wider online community, especially things like facebook groups that promote this type of behaviour shift: we want to get likes, views, comments, to feed our ego as our reward, rather than the reward to be gained from enjoying the process rather than the outcome. This negative aspect to online community can override our initial motivations in doing the work so be aware of it and DON'T LET IT.
If I was to suggest a few things to you to try:
1. Don't start to overthink why you are doing a piece. Do what you enjoy first and foremost, not what you think others will enjoy .
2. Don't post it online.
Yeah I mean #2! Not forever, or with everything but just hold back from that false reward of getting "likes" until you get back to the fundamentals of why you enjoy what you do artistically. After a while of doing this, you will realise how addicted to that reward you have become. It isn't healthy in my opinion, so I would stop posting on facebook, dA or anywhere where there is a reward system to your posting until you can do so without caring about who or how many like it. Posting here in CD in your SB is probably fine, because it is a smaller audience and we don't rub each other's egos as much as those other sites tend to allow.
In terms of time and patience, well these are just a factor of what you are doing and your motivations behind it. I wouldn't pay too much attention to how long or short anything takes you. It takes what it takes, as long as you are fulfilling your own internal needs for expression with the piece, what difference does it make how long it took?
Often I believe it is exposure to the wider online community, especially things like facebook groups that promote this type of behaviour shift: we want to get likes, views, comments, to feed our ego as our reward, rather than the reward to be gained from enjoying the process rather than the outcome. This negative aspect to online community can override our initial motivations in doing the work so be aware of it and DON'T LET IT.
If I was to suggest a few things to you to try:
1. Don't start to overthink why you are doing a piece. Do what you enjoy first and foremost, not what you think others will enjoy .
2. Don't post it online.
Yeah I mean #2! Not forever, or with everything but just hold back from that false reward of getting "likes" until you get back to the fundamentals of why you enjoy what you do artistically. After a while of doing this, you will realise how addicted to that reward you have become. It isn't healthy in my opinion, so I would stop posting on facebook, dA or anywhere where there is a reward system to your posting until you can do so without caring about who or how many like it. Posting here in CD in your SB is probably fine, because it is a smaller audience and we don't rub each other's egos as much as those other sites tend to allow.
In terms of time and patience, well these are just a factor of what you are doing and your motivations behind it. I wouldn't pay too much attention to how long or short anything takes you. It takes what it takes, as long as you are fulfilling your own internal needs for expression with the piece, what difference does it make how long it took?