What's your method?
 

Um, well... I do several artistic things, while being proficient in none of them, but what the hell.

For drawing, I generally spend quite a long time deciding what to do. I almost exclusively draw people or characters nowadays, and that takes several steps. (Basic stick figures, tube figures, clothing and body form, and detailing). If on any one of these steps I happen to become bored, frustrated, or too tired, there is a more than 50% chance I will stop working on the piece for at least a day, and possibily not pick it up again until much, much later. (Case in point: that JAQ picture I recently posted. Everything but Melfice had been done for at least a month if not more.)

As for writing... well, that can be different. Sometimes I'll have a preconcieved notion of what I intend to write, and will go from beginning to end without stopping and arrive at a finished product that needs little to no editing or revision. Other times I have to really force the words down onto paper (or else can't think of anything to write at all), and that can slow a plot down horribly. As another example: senior year in high school I had a composition notebook that I would write scripts for short films in. I started one the summer after graduation with only the faintest idea of a plot but after a few pages, didn't know where to go. It's been two years, and I've not written in that notebook since.

For me, I can't write something until I have a title. I know that's backwards, but it's the only way I can work. Often, I won't have any idea for a plot, but assuming I can find a good title, I can usually infer from that an entire story. Again as example I'll use the aforementioned notebook, in which I simply wrote "The Silent Ones Beckon", and somehow managed to create a cool Bradbury-eqsue tale of an old man's death.

This method does not always work, however, as it's the exact reason behind the demise of example #2.

The only other artistic thing I do is movie making. But I'm afraid I can't explain my methods for that, as they're never the same, and I'm not usually all that aware of them anyways. But there's no better feeling than having shot your film and sitting down to edit it. Editing's a craft, and it's one of the few I think I take to naturally. (Or, rather, that I have a sense for.)

For poetry I just write what comes to mind when it comes to mind. Afterwards I might change the poem a bit.

poetry: If it comes to the mind, it goes to the page.

Prose: I have my "chaotic brainstorming" segment that is always interrupted by me simply starting to write. I rarely have a complete idea of what I'm doing. Probably something I ought to fix

Drawing: I've developed a method recently that seems to work pretty well, although I haven't been able to scan, and therefor have been unable to post, any of drawings I've done with it. I start with a wireframe of the head. I make the horrisontil face lines for the forebrow and the cheekbone, and then a lighter one for the eyes. I use that to make the head look realistic as opposed to drawing a simple oval.

Using the head as a reference to scale, I do a stick-figure-esque thing for the rest of the body, putting circles where all the joints are. I then connect the circles, creating a rough outline for how the body ought to look, then put more detail, develop muscle and the like. I work on the face, putting in a mouth and eyes, giving hair if desired. then finally over this, draw clothing, making sure to note the fact that even spandex has thickness, so that the clothing is always a off the skin a little bit. Once all of this has been drawn, I ink the visible lines and erase the rest.

On the rare occasion I spew forth media (as opposed to my normal mode, which is to be a black hole of media consumption), I find that I have a much more difficult time coming up with something completely from scratch. I can't just decide to draw or write something, sit down, and begin. I need a jumping off point, some previous idea or goal that I can use as a point of reference.

Example: When playing City of Heroes, I usually make a character based on which powers I think will be the most effective, then I look at those powers and see if I can't come up with some cool origin story that might tie them together, and then the origin story will usually determine what kind of costume that character might be wearing. Often times I can extrapolate a whole series of comic book type stories from these basic ideas, which were spawned simply by picking some powers from a list.

When drawing, I almost always use a reference photo or model of what I want to draw, as opposed to drawing straight from the brain. I've never had much luck without a reference.

Well, I do three things and hope to expand to four.

Drawing- I mainly draw in my own unique cartoon style, though I have been known to buckle down the odd time and draw something that looks semi-realistic. My only problem is differing angles, which I'm getting better at doing.

Writing- I write and write and write. But I have yet to finish something, despite my excessive creativity.

Improv- I'm just really really good at improv.


Also, I'd like to start Machinima, but I need a team to do it with.

Unfortunately, I generally procrastinate enough to eventually forget what my original intentions were. Therefore, I don't really get much completed other than the odd random poem whenever something comes to mind. (And even then, I don't really like them because I haven't managed to complete them to my own standards and desires.)

As for my books, I tend to write when I'm feeling a certain way. Unfortunately it's been a few years since I've felt in said way, but I still remain hopeful I'll be able to finish them one day. I guess that's what I get for starting too many titles at once.

I work in the same way, strangely enough. That's how I came up with my poem 'StrawberrySundaeSunday'. I was asleep and woke up, sat bolt upright with that title in my head and had to use it for something. It's one of the very few poems of mine I can actually say I don't hate.

If anyone knows how to get rid of writers block, though, I'd be happy to hear it. It's been a few years now since I've worked on any of my books and I'd really like to start getting into roleplays again, considering the Avariel roleplay hasn't gone anywhere since I couldn't write anymore.

Spriting: I work on it when I feel like it for as long as I have the mental image of the sprite's "true" form in my head. I usually begin by thinking of various styles to make the sprite of, or finding a set of game sprites which look somewhat similar to my goal.

Drawing: Most of the time, I just draw pretty simple versions of an idea (Kinda like Concept Art), or draw random things until an idea pops into my head. From there, I develop the idea, make mental notes of where Object A goes or how ArticleOfClothing B looks from such and such an angle. I rarely ever use the "Draw a framework, then fill in the details and erase guidelines as you go" method, as it usually ends up about the same in the end either way. Then when I'm done I decide if I like it or not and either store it someplace for future use/reference or trash it if I don't like it (Or if it's just one of the aforementioned random pieces that I drew in school out of sheer boredom). If I think it's good enough for the scanner (And at the same time am not too lazy to actually scan it), I do so, open up GraphicsGale or GIMP, and work with it (erasing smudges, darkening lines that didn't appear too well, etc) until I decide to save it.

For drawing: I doodle A LOT on any surface that can take pen/pencil (including my arm >_>) and generally come up with some ideas from these doodles. Then I draw numerous less crappy versions of a doodle I like until I get a basic idea of what I want in the final product. After that I draw a rough sketch that actually looks like something you can recognize (this usually doesn't happen, as I get disinterested in things pretty fast). I clean it up, then trace the main features on a new piece of paper (because even after cleaning it up it's messy as hell) and adjust details and add new things I've thought of.

Repeat the last step several times until I get something that I'm positive I won't change and start to shade and/or colour it. Throughout all these steps I generally use many references. I also use a basic stick figure or frame before putting in details, as I have a tendency to make the head unproportional to the rest of the body.

I've found that a good way to tackle artist's block is to write out a scene before drawing it. You can easily describe every little detail and put in a plot, and it can give your artwork a lot more character. Dunno if that'd work in reverse for writer's block, though.

For writing: I write sporadically and try to put down the exact wording I'm thinking of, even if it's crappy. Then I write new drafts of it. I don't take my writing that seriously, though, and rarely complete anything. It's hard for me to think of ideas, so my writing tends to end up being boring strings of unrelated metaphors. >_>