Thread "Mental states when drawing?" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 6:12PM, Dec. 13, 2015

Does anyone else get this?
-Changing mental states when drawing stuff….
What I find is I think very differently when I'm into a drawing than when I'm donig most other things. I get extremely introverted and self reflective. Often I might get really down on myself for whatever reason, feeling like a douchebag and how "everyone mates me". It's like my mind is being a total dick to me, trying to sabotage what I'm doing.

Posted at 8:12PM, Dec. 13, 2015

It is like a trance… There is no hunger, nor thirst, nor time…

Posted at 11:12PM, Dec. 13, 2015

Got to get this done… got to get this done… STOP INTERRUPTING ME! Got to get this done …. done… well that sucks . STOP WASTING MY TIME… I can fix that…

Posted at 12:12AM, Dec. 14, 2015

I definitely have to be in the right mental state and it is usually a fairly low mood.

Posted at 3:12PM, Dec. 14, 2015

I find myself drifting into the mental states of the characters in the panel I'm drawing…! Whether it's joy, sadness, exhilaration, pain… my face contorts into the particular emotion, and in particularly strong moments I've found myself close to tears…
.
I'm honestly not sure if this is a good or bad thing…

Posted at 5:12PM, Dec. 14, 2015

I'm very much like Kim on this one!
When I start drawing I'm like tupapayon (apart from the thirst bit - I definitely get a thirst going) but once I get to characters and their expressions and body language I get right into the whole method acting thing. My next update has one character in tears. I can't claim to have shed any myself, but I did need to sing a lot of uplifting tunes with a ukulele on drawing breaks.

I would say it's definitely a good thing Kim, especially if you set up a mirror to catch those expressions. I never remember to do that.

Posted at 5:12PM, Dec. 14, 2015

Now I'm picturing Ironscarf belting out Tiny Tim medleys every few hours.

I get into the emotional states of the characters during writing sessions as well as drawing sessions. Especially the sad or bittersweet moments. Sometimes I'll be driving somewhere while working out these stories and scenes and tears will start falling - then I have to stop before I'm with people and causing them distress!

Agreed that it's a somewhat "down" mood that seems to show up. I don't mind that, though - it doesn't feel like depression. But a certain introspecitiveness or touch of melancholy seems to show up during the process.

The self loathing, not really. That's more a permanent state of mind fer me…

Posted at 6:12PM, Dec. 14, 2015

Drawing mostly has a positive, relaxing effect on my mind. If I'm feeling especially anxious or sad about something I'll listen to some Bob Ross while I'm working and I can forget about things for a while – or see my problems more clearly.
If I draw too much, though (in particular, being forced to uphold a sustained recurring deadline without a break) I'll get a pretty nasty mental backlash. "I'd rather eat sandpaper than pick up that pen"

Posted at 11:12PM, Dec. 14, 2015

Banes wrote:Now I'm picturing Ironscarf belting out Tiny Tim medleys every few hours.

Dammit, now I am as well.

Posted at 2:12AM, Dec. 15, 2015

At least I only sing Don Ho when I play the ukulele. I can sing "tiny bubbles" for hours.

Posted at 7:12PM, Dec. 16, 2015

Drawing can be positive. It depends.
It's a very internal activity for me. Very little thought is needed to draw so the mind is free to do what it wants and sometimes that's feeding on itself.

Posted at 7:12PM, Dec. 17, 2015

Hmmm…Well, when I'm writing, I tend to share my characters' emotional states. There have actually been a few times where I had to actually get and leave the room because I was writing a scene in which a character was very depressed or angry, and the intensity of it was actually becoming a problem for me. Anger is especially tricky for me to write because I tend to pick up on it so easily that I sometimes need to calm myself down during writing sessions just so that I don't lash out at the first unsuspecting soul to disturb me!
When I'm drawing, however, I can't say I mirror my characters' emotions. I don't really feel anything other than what I'm now going to call "Focus." When I've got a good rhythm going in a drawing, nothing else in the world seems to exist. I don't feel hungry, I don't feel thirsty, I don't feel any emotions or notice much of anything going on around me. All that exists is the drawing and the vision of the drawing my mind's eye. Everything else becomes irrelevant, including the passage of time. More than once I've come out of a drawing session only to suddenly realize that it's been four hours, I'm starving, dehydrated, and really need to pee.

Posted at 12:12AM, Dec. 18, 2015

Drawing is very therapeutic for me. It can fix a bad mood. I just can't stress over what I am doing and just do it. My earlier remark about "oops, okay I can fix that."

Sometimes for me there can be a little slight of hand , magic, fool them every time playfulness to my creating. And other times it is obsessed with the perfection of every line. That's when I know to stand back from the drawing board and think.