One of the most difficult things I have trouble with as an
artist is just getting started. To me it’s something that drags me down like
quicksand. The struggle of pulling myself together is a fight I deal with
daily, and the more I fight to get started I find myself procrastinating more.
In my case I feel as if I start one project I am neglecting myself of another.
As of now I have split my talents into several different locations, that I am completely
scatterbrained at times. It’s as if I am stuck in a dark tunnel with ten paths
to choose, and rather than take the chance of taking the wrong path I stay in
the same spot. Unfortunately choosing the safe spot moves me nowhere and
nothing gets done, and every project suffers.
If you are new to my blog, or website my name is Derrick
Rathgeber, and I am a husband, father of four great kids, a colored pencil
artist, comic strip writer/artist, blog writer, free online art teacher, web
designer, graphic designer, and soon I will try my hand at writing a book. All
that is true I have done all those things, and you can find them on my website
and right here on this very blog page. What the funny part is that I have put
my hat in so many pots that I have overwhelmed myself to the point where I don’t
know what I want to do. Each of these things are my hobbies, and I really do
enjoy them all equally. I love making people laugh with my comic strips, I love
designing characters for my story, and I love drawing detailed pictures with my
colored pencils. So how do I choose? When I finish one project, how do I choose
what to do next? When I start one I put all my energy into it, energy that I
could have put into another one.
This was a problem for me for a very long time. I tried
different things, and ultimately what worked best was just being down right
organized. First of all my greatest enemy is procrastination. That to this day
is the hardest enemy to kick in the rear, but you know what I am learning. I’ll
start tomorrow, I never do anything for myself, I am tired, I don’t have what I
need and so on. Some great tips to help with this little demon are as follows.
- Ask yourself: Is what I am doing now beneficial?
What would be more rewarding? How will I feel if I continue to put this off?
- Put off Procrastination: It may sound funny but
think about it. Turn off any devices that may lure you away from your projects
ie. Tv, internet, PHONE! All these things will be there later.
- Reward yourself: I always tell myself if I draw
today for x amount of time then I get to have x amount of time to do something
I like GUILT FREE.
- Break it down: Sometimes we are overwhelmed by a
large project. So overwhelmed that we don’t start it. So break it down. Say I am
going to sketch it today, color this section tomorrow ect. This also helps you
take your time and enjoy your new project.
- Share your Success: Let people know how
important it is to you. Sometimes we feel guilty for taking time from our
friends and family. Sometimes they don’t understand what it means for you to be
productive. Let them know, and ask for support. Say don’t call around 2-4pm I
will be working, or can you watch the kids for a bit. And once you are finished
working thank them by giving them your full attention.
When it comes to deciding on what to work on next that is
another hang up us artists deal with. Do we start on that commission piece? Do
we draw that picture your mom has been asking for? Do I dare ignore everyone
and draw that image bouncing around in my head? Again it answers the question
how do I spend my time and energy? In my case I pulled myself so thin at one
point that I just fell apart and did nothing. I had to get focused, and combat
this problem because I wasn’t getting anything done. So what I did was I got
organized. This was very important for me because I was all over the place. I didn’t
even know what projects I had half of the time, or what I finished. So these
are some of the things I did, that you can do yourself, to get organized.
- Make a list: Write down a list of projects you
have. This can be commissions, drawings you would like to do, blogs, website,
ect.
- Prioritize them: Number these projects from
1-10+ based on which projects you would like to get done, or maybe ones you
were putting off that you would like to finish.
- Make a Time Table: Next to each item write down
how much time you need for each project. If it’s unknown it’s not a big
problem. Ones that you can finish fast are good ones to knock off in-between
larger projects.
- Make a calendar: This is actually fun. Make yourself
a weekly calendar giving yourself that day to work on a specific project, and
be sure to add a FREE DAY on this calendar to give you the opportunity to work
on projects that are behind, to work on whatever you want, or just take a day off to rest.
- Don’t make it Law: If you have to make
adjustments it’s okay. Life changes and so can your schedule. So don’t feel
guilt about changing the calendar, or missing a day or two. It’s mainly a tool
to help you decide on what to work on that day. If your heart is in another
project follow it and finish that project, you should never force it.
Once you have everything in perspective you will find your
days going much smoother and a lot of guilt that goes along with starting
something new will start to pass. You want to get into a good routine of developing
yourself as an artist, but also find yourself being productive. Above all try
not to make it work. A reason some of us find it hard to start up something new
is fear, and worry. We worry that it won’t come out right, or fear that it has
become work instead of enjoying it. When you feel that pressure, and fear
building up just sketch. Don’t feel obligated to share it, just grab your
sketchbook and just draw. This helps relieve that pressure we all feel to be at
our very best all of the time. As artists we are our worst judges, and that can
do nothing but hold us back.
So today if you are holding back a great new design that can
wait, push through the muddiness and get through. Today it’s harder than ever
with the many distractions that we face, but we have to close that world off
and dive into our imaginations and pull it out. It’s not an easy fight
sometimes, but this world of technology needs more creativity. Just remember every
time you start a new project you are making the world that much better and more
imaginative. That itself is a great reward, and incentive to start today.
Thank you for reading,
Derrick Rathgeber
