[voron]

How do you deal with that possible feeling of not being satisfied with your outcome because it doesn't make enough or at all sense? Being it drawing, painting, writing, making music, dancing, whatever.

Do you experience that at all, in general?
Does art have to make sense to you?

I'm currently having these thoughts again when I think about how my art doesn't make enough sense. How would I make it so that it would make more sense and that it would be more enjoyable to make?
Obviously art is often rather subjective etc. but I couldn't say that it doesn't ever "make sense", that it's not logical at all. Art, in fact, makes sense to me at times but I also can get into it's subjetive side. Though, it apparently drains me after a while.

(I draw/paint)

Also, I'm somewhat tired so I apologize for this explanation if it isn't clear enough.

 

[Eryngo]

Yes. I do know what you mean.

Is it possible the thing that doesn't make sense is a practice for the thing that eventually will?

Like, if you can figure out what you were going for, put it through the analysis machine, you could go for it more intently and see what happens.

I do this a lot in my own work. (Writing.)

In my experience, it's not "mine" until I'm thrilled by what it became, and I could explain it if I wanted to (but I never would.)

 

[jouska]

I used to be INTP, and I've been drawing for a very long time.
It may just be because of the particular industry I work in, industrial and entertainment design, that everything automatically makes sense. Primarily because it's for a client and for a specific product or intellectual property. So feelings don't really go into it at all.

I think we may be talking about different areas of art altogether, so I'm sorry if this answer doesn't help or contribute at all.

I've always been good at distancing myself from my artwork and ready to 'kill my babies'. So if I feel it doesn't make sense, I figure out a way to make it better and then go about doing it/practicing to make it happen.

 

[letsrunlikecrazy]

No, it doesn't have to make sense, but the sense-nonsense level/divide/type/whatever should be broadly consistent across the piece. I suppose what I mean is it should make sense within its own realm of making sense.

 

[Eryngo]

I've always been good at distancing myself from my artwork and ready to 'kill my babies'. So if I feel it doesn't make sense, I figure out a way to make it better and then go about doing it/practicing to make it happen.

Yep.

 

[Baloo23]

My art work was focused on character design. Then in the gaming industry I worked on materials and lighting. All my art makes sense, I don't do abstract. Just isn't in my skill set.

 

[Miss Anne Thrope]

I tend to draw really weird and macabre drawings, I don't think any of them make sense.
My issue comes from being a self-loathing perfectionist that isn't happy with my level of talent.

 

[Blue Leaf Mark]

I write and I like my stories to make logical sense, even if it's only inside the worlds I build for them. I also have an difficult time writing subjective stuff, but I enjoy trying. I think I also often set high standards for what I'm creating and I can get frustrated if it doesn't meet them, but sometimes I just get lazy and leave it as it is.

 

[INTPoet]

Art is expression, as INTPs art can be an invaluable outlet for our pent-up, unconcious emotions that we're so detatched from. Let your brush guide you where it may. Nothing is wrong or right in art. I'm probably a hypocrite for saying this because I'm highly critical of my own art (poetry/writing), but in the moment of creation you should dissipate all apprehensions and embrace that red-headed step child emotion.

 

[thoughtful.one]

I completely understand what you mean. As an intp who is devoted to art & design professionally, I've had my fair share of frustration. On the one hand, I love learning and mastering the technical skills - drawing, painting, photography, video, typography, coding ect. My mind loves systems and problem-solving and so design is always exciting and fulfilling to me. Because there is a purpose, a problem to solve.
Art has always given me a hard time. The subjectiveness of art comes because there is no specific problem to solve. Art raises questions while design answers them. Good art captivates people because it causes them to think. It remains interesting because they can't quite figure it out.

My advice to you is to:
1. Celebrate the way that you think (or feel) in your art. Abstract your ideas about the world with metaphors, colors, imagery, compositions & techniques that support your ideas. That way, the meaning behind your art will make sense to you, but it will remain a bit mysterious, allowing others to interpret it themselves.

2. Remember that quanitity will take care of the quality. The more that you create, the faster your skills and ideas will improve. The only way to push past that dissatisfaction is to keep moving forward. With practice, your art will start to make more and more sense.

3. Focus on the part of art that you most enjoy, whether it's the technical skills or the conceptual brainstorming. To make good creative work, you must have fun. Make things that inspire you and make you happy and try to ignore thinking about if it's 'make sense' or not.

4. Think about how you want the viewer to feel or think when they experience your art. Give yourself a problem to solve - a prompt. B And then base all your creative decisions on making it shine.

Hope this helps!

 

[voron]

Helpful advice there @thoughtful.one
Thank you!

I wonder why haven't I thought about it that way before.

 

[inverity]

I have always been told that INTPs are too critically minded and logical to create art. I think this is bullcrap. It helps, for me, when I write poetry to focus in on my feelings and past senses on a certain subject, and to try and pinpoint it into a word or phrase. The less I think about my work and edit it afterwards, the better my poetry turns out (according to others).

 

[INeedToP]

I have always been told that INTPs are too critically minded and logical to create art. I think this is bullcrap. It helps, for me, when I write poetry to focus in on my feelings and past senses on a certain subject, and to try and pinpoint it into a word or phrase. The less I think about my work and edit it afterwards, the better my poetry turns out (according to others).

Interesting. I too hear the same thing about INTP (Ti-Ne-Si-Fe) can't do art because their cognitive function is the total opposite of ISFP who's 'The Artist' (Fi-Se-Ni-Te). This is bull, though. I do digital drawing anime and sometimes I write. But as an INTP, like the OP said, everything has to make sense and I think that was precisely why my writing (and to some degree, my drawing) are more realistic but still imaginative.

 

[Sava Saevus]

I would make art but as stated by others, it has to be perfect or else...

In other words, reality often does not match up to the idea. Any and all attempt to change it usually ends up being worse than the original mess up because of being too observant in trying to fix it. It's like trying to chisel a mistake from an ice sculpture. Not going to happen.

 

[Flamme et Citron]

My art makes as much sense as art can. Anatomy, proportion, background, the choice of colour, the light source, values, the shading technique, the way each type of material and texture reacts to light. And the instinctive aspects like the mood I'm trying to set, the feeling the picture is conveying and my own unique vision.

You need hundreds of hours of work to draw passable art. Thousands to draw good art. If you've never had to stop and think about the technique of your art then your art probably isn't worth a damn. Anyone can draw a bad picture.

 

[lightbox]

I find that writing about my work helps me to clear my thoughts. Often when I start working there is no specific object, but I slowly proceed towards what I subconsciously want to say. Then I have to try to put it into words before I can finish it. But there are good artists whose isn't specifically about anything, or it can be about vague emotions. That's fine. Although, if you want to make a career out of art, it is is kind of necessary to have something to say about it unless the audience can grasp it without any introduction.

What kind of art do you do? Can you recognize any themes?

 

[Narcissa]

My paintings are never ending projects. I make sure that my paintings make sense and no brush-stroke is unintended.

 

[louievt]

kinda old thread but we info seekers always wanna know..i myself wanna know about other intp artist...
for me art is automatic..my typical format is pen are paper been drawing for 21 years
i just follow the pen on the paper before i know it im like holy shit this looks good i don't understand it but it looks so cool,
i try to sell it they wanna know the story behind it im like wtf doesn't the image speak for it self...its right there in black in white.(i myself not understanding it)..
drawing in my eye is like beating a piece of metal with a hammer my art is always morbid and macabre must be a intp thing
....that aside im a master mask maker with clay it was most sify/horror stuff .and pipes
when i see painting that are just smudges one word "conundrum"
and originality is important i don't wanna draw people but thats all people want.
also i could forget about a drawing for years then go back to it like i was working on it like a model ship.....

 

[PandaBoo]

I draw because I enjoy it as a hobby. I like to listen to music while drawing because it's an activity that takes me to another world (or state) that I can be in for a little while before I go back to doing whatever I have to do.

It sounds like you're focused on the thinking aspect of the art rather than the creativity. Your mind is telling you that this piece of art doesn't make sense rather than letting your creativity flow. I would say to just try to turn that off and put on some music and relax. You should see a change.

 

[GusWriter]

When I write it starts with an idea or daydream, and it would be in the middle of the story, then the story starts to build itself outward in general sense. I often don't know a lot of what's going to happen when I write because the story will flow as I'm writing, like a daydream that I'm recording. So to me it's entertainment, I'm writing and at the same time seeing a lot of parts of the story for the first time in my head, and sometimes I'm as excited to see what happens as I am when I read one of my favorite authors. In the end it makes sense, but at first it has no context.