While I can work without music, I do enjoy listening to music while drawing or coloring. Usually it's Japanese music, but I'll also listen to Celtic music or instrumentals(usually ones with a fast beat).
So what kind of music do you listen to while drawing?
I have very eclectic taste in music. I like everything from heavy metal to country. I don't care for rap or hip hop. Other than that I like most stuff.
While drawing (or writing, or programming) I tend towards quieter music. Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash tend to come up frequently. I like a lot of African music. Franco (Sorcer Of The Guitar) and Ladysmith Black Mambazo are favorites. Sometimes I'm in the mood for some Gregorian Chants. Not very often, mind you. ;-)
If I'm in a metal mood, I'll turn on last-fm and set up a Motorhead channel. I also like '80s German heavy metal.
I'm kind of all over the map, I guess, but I do enjoy having SOME kind of music playing.
Metal. Right now I'm really into The Human Equation by Ayreon--it's a rock opera with guest singers from a bunch of metal and other groups (like the lead singer from Dream Theater) about a guy who's in a coma after an accident. The songs are different facets of himself arguing with himself, trying to wake himself up and his wife, father and best friend visit him in the hospital. It's super epic, and you can totally find it as a playlist on youtube if you're interested in checking it out.
It varys for me. My play list has far too much stuff for it's own good. Lots of video game BGMs including Grandia, Lunar series, Chrono Cross, Sonic and Parodius, remixes of classical and romatic period music, Aya Matsuura, Browny Circus, Shakalabbits, Bare Naked Ladies, Aqua Lung, Eminem, almost anything with the Vocaloids but mostly Len/Rin Kagamine, Miku and Gakupo.
Very odd indeed.
For me it depends on the nature of the comic. I listen to literally just about every type of music out there. As long its a good song with sensible lyrics. For example if the comic is of a mare action like nature I will listen to something a bit more angry and fast paced. For anything tragic I'll play something slow and depressing :P. Just depends what I happen to be working on :).
Quote from: SleepyKiks on February 17, 2010, 03:57:08 PM
It varys for me. My play list has far too much stuff for it's own good. Lots of video game BGMs including Grandia, Lunar series, Chrono Cross, Sonic and Parodius, remixes of classical and romatic period music, Aya Matsuura, Browny Circus, Shakalabbits, Bare Naked Ladies, Aqua Lung, Eminem, almost anything with the Vocaloids but mostly Len/Rin Kagamine, Miku and Gakupo.
Very odd indeed.
Haa, Chrono Cross has some of my favorite arting music. :3
My music in general would probably be considered pretty eclectic. When I'm planning and scripting and sketching all day I'll usually listen to trance, dance, symphonic metal and classical, soft ethnic(afro celt soundsystem kinda thing) kind of stuff. When I'm settling in the long haul and inking/filling/flatting/doing easy shading it's usually more active stuff like modern alt rock(Seattle flavor stuff) and metal and rock/punk like Flogging Molly to keep me interested and singing along during the tedious bits.
When I listen to music I tend to go for folk and folk rock (Tanglefoot, Oysterband, Great Big Sea), but to keep myself entertained while drawing I listen more to podcasts and audiobooks. Hooray for audible.com, provider of instant-gratification audiobook entertainment! And also my local library, if I'm willing to be more patient. ^_^
I can't listen to podcasts and such if I actually want to listen to them, because half the time I tend to tune the out background noises like music anyway.
I'm the kind of person who needs background noise, or my mind just trails off... It depends on the month. This month I'm all into Daft Punk (Alive 2007). A couple of months ago it was... ABBA. And Queen. And the pillows. I have weird tastes. ???
Quote from: ran on February 17, 2010, 03:02:13 PM
Metal. Right now I'm really into The Human Equation by Ayreon--it's a rock opera with guest singers from a bunch of metal and other groups (like the lead singer from Dream Theater) about a guy who's in a coma after an accident. The songs are different facets of himself arguing with himself, trying to wake himself up and his wife, father and best friend visit him in the hospital. It's super epic, and you can totally find it as a playlist on youtube if you're interested in checking it out.
I am totally sold on this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
I'm one of those people with a very wide range of music tastes. I'll listen to anything from jazz and new age to punk and death metal. But I have to have something on, especially when I'm writing. It's one of the two things I need. The other is a cup of coffee (or, if it's later at night, some chamomile tea).
If I listen to music at all, I will listen to Eels (the greatest band of all time), Soul Coughing/Mike Doughty's Solo Work or Counting Crows.
I usually don't listen to music at all though, because I find it distracting. I'm often reminded of a page in the Animator's Survivor Kit where one of the great Disney animation masters scolds a student when he asks "what kind of music do you listen to", screaming something like "You idiot! I'm not smart enough to do two things at once!").
Oddly enough, listening to stand up comedy shows or watching TV shows or movies on the side makes me work more efficiently. So I often end up watching Eddie Izzard shows, or Firefly, or Raiders of the Lost Ark.
See, now I can't even imagine being able to get work done if I'm trying to watch TV at the same time! I know plenty of people do it, but I can't divide my attention that way.
Quote from: TTallan on February 18, 2010, 02:58:44 PM
See, now I can't even imagine being able to get work done if I'm trying to watch TV at the same time! I know plenty of people do it, but I can't divide my attention that way.
I can watch tv and draw at the same time, but only if I'm watching things with little substance. I totally recommend CSI and all its incarnations for this.
Trance. I get lost in the music and put in a "zone" of sorts. It's great for when you have to work for a while, because songs lead into each other half the time.
TV and music are sort of 'white noise' to me. I tend to tune it out while working, but it having background noise helps me focus. Like Ran, though, it does help watching shows that don't have much substance for me.
If I'm doing more tedious things like linework or toning comics (and sometimes even coloring), I tend to lean towards listening to podcasts or audiobooks (or podcast audiobooks (http://www.podiobooks.com)), or having the TV on. It gives me something else to concentrate on while I'm drawing so my mind doesn't wander off and go "hey, I wonder what's going on on the internet" and make me waste an hour checking Deviantart, Facebook, etc. :P
If I'm sketching or working on something particularly...inspired, I go with whatever suits the mood, usually. My playlist contains everything from country to punk rock and just about everything in between. Hah, I actually have some lists set up with all music that fits a certain mood/situation. Like one labeled "Fight Songs" for drawing battle scenes. It's mostly fast, angry...fight-y...sounding music. Yeah. Something like that. (Actually, there's two of those. One in English and one in Japanese XD)
And sometimes I just go through phases where I'll be addicted to one type of music and it'll influence everything I draw. Like, lately, I find myself rather attached to pop rock/pop punk. Ahaha. That's producing some interesting stuff.
Quote from: Hazumirein on February 20, 2010, 12:53:33 AMIt gives me something else to concentrate on while I'm drawing so my mind doesn't wander off and go "hey, I wonder what's going on on the internet" and make me waste an hour checking Deviantart, Facebook, etc. :P
This is a HUGE problem for me. In fact, I have no idea why I'm here right now instead of working. I get to work, get distracted for ten seconds and suddenly Firefox is open and I spend hours following link through link on TVTropes.
It's a problem for me too. One minute I'll be working on art and the next a windows open and I'm playing with StumbleUpon. Like right now. Oops.
Depends on how motivated I am at the moment to work on the page. If I need a bit of pep, I listen to dance-able music (not club dance music, incidentally). If I'm motivated and just need to concentrate, my Ennio Morricone station on Pandora.com is just perfect =D
Danceable music is a good choice. I find fast music helps me work faster, or at least it seems that way. Right now I'm listening to Caramell's speedymix(the artist responsible for the infamous Caramelldansen).
I like listening to music while I draw. It seems to make things go faster. I listen to a variety of things, but recently it's been stuff like Michael Schenker Group, Triumph, Savatage, Collective Soul, Red Rider and Spock's Beard.
I have a hard time concentrating on drawing while watching tv, unless it's something like a football game or a NASCAR race that I can follow by mostly listening to it without looking at the screen too much.
-S
I've got a station set up on Pandora (http://www.pandora.com) that I play a lot while working, either words or pictures. It's a pretty wide mix from Smiths and Joy Division to Johnny Cash to Tom Waits to Radiohead to G Love & Special Sauce to Ani Difranco to The Pogues and right back around to The Cure, and because Pandora is supergreen, I'm adding new stuff regularly. The station is called, cleverly enough, Pictures of You Radio. Once I've tweaked it into oblivion, I'm going to release it to the world.
Very much into anything electronic or with a fast-paced beat. The less lyrics a song has, the better I can focus on drawing.
When I am allowed to play my music (Read Wife and Daughter are out of house) I play Jazz Miles Davis some big band. Not blues that's for drinking. Otherwise I just put the TV on as background noise on the History Channel or Food network.
I pretty much have to listen to music while I work, but mostly because I'm usually in a room full of noisy people and I need a way to tune them out. Lyrics usually hitch me up and pop me out of being able to think visually, though, so almost all of what I listen to is instrumental or electronic. I do pretty much the same thing as Gibson with Pandora, but I've got a station set to Ratatat, which as an added bonus plays a lot of RJD2 and Rob Dougan.
Depends really on what im working on but soundtracks are my favorite.
Pandora doesn't work outside the USA, but I joined Live365 lately and found a good station which plays remixes of 80s music (Club 80s with DJ Lex) which is pretty good to draw to.
Most of the time I listen to the Rolling Stones, but if I really need inspiration I listen to a my collection of Muppet Songs.
Before my computer died, I had a playlist called "Ladies' night is alright for fighting" that was very Tori Amos/Belly/Blondie heavy, and that worked well. Since then I pretty much just go with a random Pandora station. Although I haven't drawn a lot since then...hmm...
And on nice days I really just prefer to open the window and listen to the outside noises. :)
I listen to all sorts of different music - rock, metal, German industrial... whatever I feel like listening to at the time. I have a couple of very different channels on Pandora that I alternate between. While I don't HAVE to have music playing to draw, it certainly helps me focus.
Sometimes when I'm working on something that has a central character, I'll find myself listening to whatever type of music I feel fits that character. I've always associated certain music with characters, so who I'm currently working with tends to effect the music mood I'm in (and what's currently playing can influence who I want to draw).
Quote from: Lego M on May 10, 2010, 01:57:17 AMI listen to all sorts of different music - rock, metal, German industrial... whatever I feel like listening to at the time.
I mean no offense by this, and I hope I don't hijack the thread into an argument or insult you with this because it's definitely not my meaning, but that doesn't really strike me as "all sorts of different music", because those genres often overlap to the point of blurring together. I'm not saying I DO listen to very varied music (as a guitar player, I've noticed a pattern that I pretty much only listen to bands or musicians that blatantly overuse the D chord), but just sayin'.
Quote from: Rori on May 10, 2010, 12:05:29 AMAnd on nice days I really just prefer to open the window and listen to the outside noises. :)
I miss the days before my neighbors moved in when I could do that. Now every nice day is made less nice by hammering, sawing and engine revving.
Quote from: Funderbunk on May 25, 2010, 02:37:43 PM
Quote from: Lego M on May 10, 2010, 01:57:17 AMI listen to all sorts of different music - rock, metal, German industrial... whatever I feel like listening to at the time.
I mean no offense by this, and I hope I don't hijack the thread into an argument or insult you with this because it's definitely not my meaning, but that doesn't really strike me as "all sorts of different music", because those genres often overlap to the point of blurring together. I'm not saying I DO listen to very varied music (as a guitar player, I've noticed a pattern that I pretty much only listen to bands or musicians that blatantly overuse the D chord), but just sayin'.
Yeah that's true, the examples I gave were pretty bad in terms of listing different music. I actually DO listen to more than just what I wrote, but as they're what I normally have playing they were the first ones on my mind when I was writing my post.
While I've been working recently I've been listening to Nicolae Herlea's opera arias, as well as Zucchero, Slaughter and Steelheart.
That's pretty different. Or pretty weird....
-S
Quote from: HarringtonAW on May 26, 2010, 11:06:10 PMSlaughter
Shiver me timbers! Haven't heard that name in a while.
My old band mate is actually in the studio working with the drummer from the Meat Puppets. He's paying some producer to make some of his songs into professional sounding tracks. He sent me a couple of the songs and they sound like The Doors. LOL.
Song 1 (http://www.mediafire.com/?mjzxmm2vxmh)
And
Song 2 (http://www.mediafire.com/?yclgbihzmgz)
The funny thing is as much as I disdain most 60's music that isn't the Hollies or The Beatles (with a few other exceptions) and have a real loathing for The Doors I can't seem to get these out of my head. But I guess I'm off topic because I'm not listening to them while arting. I don't art. So I'm listening to them while I work on a gajillion other webcomic related things. :-\
Oddly enough, Miljenko Matijevic from Steelheart is currently touring with the Doors (the ones that aren't dead, that is).
-S
I've actually been listening to fantasy novel audio-books while I draw. Weird but it relaxes me.
Recently I've been playing Eels' album "Electro-shock Blues" over and over and over while working. By all means listening to an album about cancer, suicide, death and mental hospitals over and over should destroy my psyche but somehow it keeps me going in some odd, cathartic way.
I generally listen to talk radio or an audiobook. When doing the more mechanical aspects of drawing in particular (inking/colouring etc) I don't really need my intellectual focus on the screen, so I can catch up on current affairs or get through one of the classics. (check librivox.org for a bunch of free audiobooks of just about anything big that's pre 1930's)
When I do listen to music (during the sketch phase mostly) I typically listen to game soundtracks, or OCR tracks (remixed game music). Good for pacing yourself. I also have a particular love for the cat empire, a local band that do a huge variety of styles from hip-hop to neo-jazz to reggae to basically anything that you can do with a trumpet, a trombone, drums and a keyboard. Their music is warm and happy, full of energy and great to get you going.
Hey everyone
I've become a real podcast junkie in recent years, though sometimes when I get into the drawing zone, I like to blast some METAL, gansta rap or drum and bass to feel the energy blast through me.
But podcasts have become surprisingly inspirational for arting. Whether it be "Art & Story", "Ninja Mountain", "SModcast" or whatever, my creative juices still get pretty fired up.
But then, at times like RIGHT NOW, I gotta throw in some Genius/GZA - "Beneath The Surface" and/or "Liquid Swords"
What I listen to totally shifts depending on my mood at the time, but one thing that's constant is that I NEED noise to create.
Lately I've been addicted to various Kitsune label compilations for some hipster french electro, for example. I'll also play a lot of TV shows and movies on the other monitor (right now chewing through all of Cheers sequentially, and on a Broken Lizard kick). It changes all the time.
I'll never have shows/movies running while I'm writing, though. That's impossible. But I often use them for drawing because guitar music can get me distracted and make me start playing guitar instead of drawing. Plus drawing is such a lonely sport, having some talking going on is almost like being social, heh.
I've been listening to this playlist of videogame music (http://vip.aersia.net/vip.swf). It's good for drawing to because videogame music is written to accompany an engrossing activity. Some of it's a bit annoying, but it shuffles if you refresh the page.
Also this (http://mysterytricycle.com/7-alternatives-to-pandora-and-last-fm/) has given me some good music. Ocarina of Rhyme! (http://8tracks.com/teamteamwork/the-ocarina-of-rhyme)