getting the creativity flowing...

This is going to be a big question(s), so bare with me.

I've been having trouble making my Half-Life 2 map, generally when it comes to ideas. I'll have creative sparks, then I won't be able to think of shit. I also have trouble getting a good workflow going, and sometimes I'll get more done in an hour than I would in a few days, and vice versa. It's annoying.

What do you guys do to get the creativity flowing? What do you do to set up a good working environment (I guess this applies to school also)? Be specific, I want to know the strategies individual to you.

For things not specific, how does one get the creativity flowing/create good workspace?

Ok, what I meant by those questions is the first set is exactly what YOU would do, the second set are general tips that can apply to anyone.

I have a HORRIBLE time coming up with ideas. It's not that I'm uncreative, it's just inside my brain is a scattershot mess of ideas which rarely form a concrete concept. If I ever create something "good" and "original", it's usually a fluke or I managed to draw it. (which I can't draw good at all...) I guess my only suggestion is draw whatever pops in your head the moment it does.

Here's a bunch of stuff about my creative processes and influences that may or may not help, but hopefully you'll take at least one thing from it that gives you a bit of insight on your own inner workings.

I'm the opposite: I'm brimming with concepts for multiplayer and single-player environments, but never have enough time, talent and dedication to see all of them through. What did I do to rectify this? I combined them all together into one cohesive and segmented campaign so I could manage attempting (and seeing through to completion) each region, one at a time, and get results quicker. Enough about that though, on to your questions.

My best environment for getting ideas is viewing other peoples' works. Going in-depth into campaign story-lines, looking at every intricate architectural detail, examining all of the sight-lines and potential combat flow in an area, all of those help me to process my own ideas. Also, I always listen to music while working. I make sure to either have music that has no effect upon what I am designing, or that goes hand-in-hand with it. For example, when designing a certain segment of my campaign, I like to listen to music that represents, and will later be played in that area.

Most of my creativity within my current project actually comes from having everything logically arranged and chronologically & physically consistent. Having things that make sense both on the small and large scale appeals to me creatively, so I strive for that in my own designs. All of Half Life 2 (and its children) and most levels of the Halo series (some just don't cut it) have given me many great ideas and initial inspirations for concepts of my own. Look at what you know and what ideas it gives you, then go back and look at it in much greater detail.

Well, that's it for now. Basically, have your inspirations readily on hand for further examination and have a workspace that buffers you from other distractions and enhances your project's concept.

Thanks a lot. I actually do have a lot of ideas, it's just that remembering them by the end of the day, and figuring out what to put in between those ideas is one of the hard parts.

Good tips for the music and environment, thanks for the advice and suggestions.

Best way to get some artistic muses flowing? Go outside. If you are in an urban area bring a camera and take lots of pictures of different architecture, different things, different people, different everything. Take note of defining features in those pictures and group those things together in your head. Smash these things together with a given theme and tweak it a bit. Make that Dinosaur have tiny lava lamps sticking out of it's back. Put a giant plasma globe on top of that apartment. Whatever works out.

If you live in an area with lots of natural landscapes and stuff just go around taking pictures of anything that happens to stand out. Again, group these together, smash these ideas together, make some tweaks and voila.

Also, going to used book stores and picking up some architecture or art books might help.

I find it hard to get ideas, so when it comes to photography, I wander around and hope to find inspiration, or look at other photos and then wander around with those in my head. With other forms of art, I look at other people's work or sometimes have sudden inspiration. Music and food always help.

I don't really know where I get mine from, I do listen to alot of music I guess.

I have pretty much the exact same problem jngrow, and have pretty much the same questions you've asked. I have found that sometimes listening to music helps when I model. I'm gonna try legionnaire's advice though, because I often get inspiration when I'm out somewhere, but taking pictures is a great way to be able to look back on that.

Yeah, you should also go out and see how things are actually built and how the terrain exists naturally - it really helps. I've been working on mostly fictionally-based architecture, so I for got to add that as well. I've gotten some interesting inspirations in the past that have been quite beneficial in progressing project concepts.

You know what's crazy legion? During the summer, I went to Lake Tahoe twice, and the ride over there was beautiful. I tried to remember to bring a camera the second time, but forgot. I live in a pretty urban area, but nice scenery is at max a 20 minute drive away. Thanks guys, keep em' coming.

you sound like me... I work on stuff and get more done in long sprints than I do over long time spans.

At the same time it makes me run out of ideas more quickly, and makes current projects boring... this is related to modeling maps and map projects though. I've always had a good work flow when it comes to drawing, idk why.

What I do is push everything out as fast as I can, with a notepad time guidline for each part, if somethings not quite right, I leave it and go onto the next scheduled part. Then I give myself a day without even looking at it. When you reopen it a day later, you see all your errors and things much more clearly than you did when you first started.

Frankly I apply a lot of the stuff mentioned here in my concept arts. Though I would give the advice that if your out of ideas, look over some unfinished older work if you have it. I do that all the time with some of my older arts and lists of ideas, and I find I can reinvent some of my own ideas with a more experienced mind.

I also find reinventing the work sometimes spawns new ideas in a really nice chain reaction.

For completely fresh ideas though, I've got nothing that hasn't already been mentioned.

(Oh and hay guiz, haven't seen you in a while :D)

Thought I posted this earlier, but I must have accidentally closed the tab.

To fully explore your creativity, you must first have a solid foundation in your productivity tools so you can translate your ideas to a digital format.

Zeph hit the spot, you need to build a solid foundation first! It's kind of a looped cycle because I end up learning the tools during my creative bursts, wasting those bursts on learning the tools and producing nothing of interest. But I learned.

Then when the cycle of creativity begins again (which I'm getting REALLY good at controlling now, simple walk, or an event, party, social, and/or some damn good ambient music), the tools have already been established, and everything just flows. Maybe it's the synesthesia, but damn everything just feels lucid when I'm working on all 200 cylinders

Good advice, that's really true. Whenever I think of something cool, a lot of the times I say to myself "I have no idea how to do that" and move on. Not good. :/