How to Hack the Muse

Every Creative has been there. At some point, whether an artist, dancer, thespian, or writer, every Creative just runs out of steam and needs to take a break. Why does this happen? Why are we, the most inventive, imaginative, talented people on the face of the planet limited within cycles of creativity that feel akin to minimized bursts of manic/depressive behavior? The ancients called it the Muse. In modern times we refer to it as being "inspired". There are thousands of blog posts regarding this topic these days, and many will advise that a true professional does not wait to be "inspired" or for the "Muse to strike", but will forge ahead working daily regardless of feelings.
While I embrace this notion - a professional is a professional, and therefore makes their bread money by reporting to work daily and producing for profit - I would suggest (as others have) that there is a trick to it.

Intrigued? I thought you might be.

I grabbed this infographic a couple years back, and refer to it often to help explain this theory. I think <a href=https://elletsonfineart.com/blog/110963/frustration-is-a-good-thing"url">Zac Elletson is onto something huge here. If you track your creative spurts in a journal as I did, you will see that there is a pattern. We burn through the collected inspirational content stored up in our brains after some time in the Production (blue line) portion of the cycle, and then must "refuel" through Observation (red line). For me, everything goes back to taking in loads of visual content. I watch movies that get me geared up. I look at artworks from Masters to contemporary artists (and do not let myself compare my current ability to theirs - the idea is to get inspired, not griefed and depressed!). I take in some video games and comic books. And sometimes, rarely, I will read a book that will spark mental images that inspire me. You need to figure out what it is for you, but I hope you can see that this more analytical approach will help you avoid the more feeling/intuitive sense that tends to dominate the artistic mind (yellow line). We are feelers first usually. Most artists are some of the most intuitive and observant people alive, but that can work against us if we do not understand how it works.

So why all the Hulk pics? Because this subject can be super frustrating, and I just happen to have a progression of Hulk pics lying around. lol. The top image was a 5 or 10 minute drawing challenge, but I was so not in the mood. I was in public, under pressure, and there was a topic of a mash-up of some sort. I know the image is supposed to be the Hulk mashed-up with Animal from the Muppets. I consider it a failure, but keep a scan of it all the same. I'm using this image as an example of a low in my cycle (area of frustration on the chart).

This was just a random doodle, not even a daily warm-up really, that I colored really quickly and posted to social media a few years back. I'm sure it was shortly after the first Avengers film (roughly). It's not great, but for the time I had in it, I got the idea communicated well enough for what it is and moved on. This image is representative of a fringe low area (area of frustration) - either coming into or out of a Production lull. It came easily, but it is nowhere near my best work.

I remember doing this one. I struggled mightily with it, but I was determined to make it work for me. I often go to the Hulk because of his ridiculous physique, but this one was a true duel between graphite and eraser. I would say this image was created on the upward tilt of a Production and Observation period, but it was a grind to create.
(Apologies for the fuzzy scan.)

I also remember creating this one. It was a quick daily sketch that took me about 20 minutes start to finish. It flowed freely from my pencil, and managed to communicate feeling and some story in addition to some decent anatomy. I didn't have to think too hard to create this one, and that is why I feel it falls on the beginning of a Production plateau where things just naturally fall into place (high yellow line).

I hope this information is useful to you or someone you know who loves art or being creative in some artform. Please feel free to share or resteem this if you think it will help someone. I am a firm believer in this theory of productivity and how to "Hack the Muse", and am more than willing to discuss any time.