What is ART BURNOUT and How Can You Fight Back?

One of the largest foes that an artist can face is this idea of burnout, but it’s still something that can be relatively undefined, undiagnosed, and dismissed as other things. I want to provide some help understanding and combating burnout, whether you’re dealing with it now, or to prepare you for it.

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[CharacterDesignForge]

Have you ever gone through burnout? What helped you to get back out of it?

[alwaysangry]

now i understand, when i looks at other people art0 i feel a mixture of jealously, and sadness and anger towards my own work, basically it drains me 3 times faster

[briennabradley]

Boy it's hard to say "hey I have burn out and don't want to do this right now! let's stop!" It feels like quitting but it's best to acctualy rest and let your brain refill with ideas

[miniksteenholdt]

I just went through my longest burnout yet. It was horrible! I felt like drawing was the only talent that i had, and i thought i lost it forever. It was scary, and i didn't know what was wrong. But after a few months i found out i pushed myself too hard. Sometimes i would draw over 12 hours a day, (almost) everyday for months. It's great to know that I'm not the only one dealing with this problem, and it's completly normal. Thank you so much for the video. 💖

[Surkk]

I think I have burnout... then again it might just be my chronic procrastination? Focusing is not my forte...

[deepseadramatix]

I really really needed this video, and it came out at the perfect time! Lately I've been feeling my art has been getting no where - drawing the same thing again, boring poses, stiff, colorless boring sketch on an empty page.

My friend has been pumping out some really wonderful art lately, and I secretly got jealous of it, burnt myself out and now I get unmotivated after one drawing.

This made me realize a few things, maybe I do need to slow down and make a couple of mistakes - by practicing. I'm going to start pulling out images as references and practice! I need to set a goal for myself. I started because I love drawing my favourite characters or my own, and I'll try to get better at it!

Hmm... So I'll start small. Everyday, I'll draw a couple images from references, I'm not good at humans, so let's say 20 poses I need to sketch out (not everyday! that's the goal!), and id do a few everyday. I think that's a good goal, bonus points if I do shading, oh, and maybe even colouring! Even if it's a small doodle...

...Thanks for the inspiration!

[GiulianaBruna]

At the start of this year I found myself telling myself "why I start this career if I obviously HATE drawing" that was my red flag. I really appreciate that you made a video on this topic, its truly helpful.

[a.j.morrow]

Alright I finished it.

I don't have much to add. Brookes pretty much covered it all. I will say that setting goals for yourself is probably one of the most important parts. While taking some time away from your work is a good way to unwind and relax you don't want to end up getting lazy.

A few years ago I was going through a burnout myself. It had been half a year since I created anything and I was debating giving up art altogether. Then I started actively looking for ways to get my passion for art back and eventually discovered Character Design Forge along with a small but growing community of artists who were eager to share and discuss personalized characters they had created themselves.

[izzytheamazing]

It's so easy to become burnt out when it's so hard to let go and have fun with art. Perfectionism, man! I would love to hear about how you have fun to keep yourself energized and motivated to continue the "grind."

[marilious]

I am having a huge burnout, i thought it was going to last about a week or two, but it’s been months. Everyday since, I get up, lying to myself saying “come on, you can draw today!” But i cant, and its driving me insane. This video has helped me so much and I will try to implement the advice in it. I cant express how much this helped!

[En]

Wow! It feels like I shared my thoughts and problems with you right before playing the video, everything you said hits the spot. Pushing myself for hours on end without even a day's rest, feeling like I gave it my all but it still wasn't enough, spending weeks on end without the desire to even hold a pencil... I'm so relieved to hear that this is something normal especially when it comes from a professional, I thought I was going insane. You have no idea how much peace of mind this video brought me and how useful the tips you provided are, thank you!

[anniecoxdraws]

As a full time teacher who arts after work I appreciate the shout out to our profession! I never thought of it that way, as far as expending empathetic energy and it’s so true! Love your dry humor as well haha

[eternityinmyheart]

I think this is one of the best videos you have done. (Although they're all the best when they premier, and I'll probably change my mind when next week comes around. :) ) I never thought of burnout as being something so attached to emotions, but it makes sense. I wait tables during the day, and I'm constantly thinking about making my customers happy. And your point about social media and unplugging for a bit was well-made! This whole video explains so much, especially when projects seem to take a long time for me to finish and make me anxious. I always look forward to your videos every week; they're the first thing I check in my recommendations. You do an awesome job on these!
I can't wait for your next video!

[kimifw]

I wasn't belled to you, and yet I just got this video on the home page, and it's just what I need. Thank you. I'll bell now.

[RaianneKuzer]

I thought that getting a full-time job as an artist in an animation studio would make all my dreams come true and I have been experiencing a serious burnout -after a year I asked for a week of vacation because I just couldn’t do it anymore.

It isn’t even just about not being able to respect my style/time/process or having to redo everything because of change of direction and lack of consistent management, it is also feeling so drained that I don’t have any motivation to do any personal work or development in my free time. I don’t feel like even picking up a pencil /practicing other mediums or having any other projects that would allow me to progress independently.

Ironically today is my last vacation day and I stumbled on your channel, am binging everything related to the topics and saving the technical ones to a near future. The community is also great and motivating.

So thanks, this was really precious to me and I feel like it is time to have the big conversation as to why and to make my goals. ♥️

[chimerasofhafgufa]

it kinda reminds me
a part of recovering from depression was learning to validate my feelings no matter their cause, allowing myself to dwell in them
i still get around a week long depression episodes once in a while, it feels like my whole body is drained of energy to even do simple functioning
i used to have a bad habit of "pushing through it" from back when i wasnt diagnosed, it made my episodes way longer and worse
sometimes you just have to wait to feel better and allow yourself to rest

[a.j.morrow]

5:27 Brookes pauses the camera and throws a chair. Haha.

[WatchReDirect]

I am VERY bad at balance lol. I am consumed by work and because my work is my hobby the separation is blurred lol

[TheArtofKAS]

Seriously needed this one. Thanks a lot Brookes.

[sugardextrose]

You have no idea how perfect this video's timing is, Brookes. I'm currently working on a final project for my first semester of my Animation & Videogames career, and this burnout feeling i had, combined with (and probably impulsed by) some personal mental health related issues and family stuff has left me really stressed, in a really bad place. Hopefully i'll get my shit toghether and work my way through it. Anyways, thank you, it's very thoughtful of you to make this kind of video!