Oh, inspiration! What’s this? What is its nature? Where to look for it and why?
Here it is, a white sheet, and in a moment characters and stories come to life on it. Illumination, God’s spark, the kiss of the Muse – there are a lot of names for the impetus to work and the desire to create. And is it possible to decompose the process of artistic thinking into atoms?
If we accept that inspiration is the very creative impulse that inspires us so much that excuses and fears smolder, it becomes clear. Let’s take a closer look at where the golden veins of inspiration are hidden and how to open them.
There are a number of “breathing” techniques for the artist to generate new ideas.
For example, the combination technique. You only need a couple of items and the desire to combine them into something new. Say, take a teapot, berries, and a belt with a buckle. Got a fantasy? What can you think of with these things? What are fantastic objects? What creatures?
An equally interesting technique is the search for familiar shapes in clouds, shadows, blots, and cracks. What about face search? They hide everywhere – in bells, dials, sockets, electricity meters, clasps, and bags. Find such a “face” and draw or just take a picture.
The theme of animation can be developed further. What item could you imagine the way the animators of the film “Beauty and the Beast” did, in which a tea set, a candlestick, and even a wardrobe came to life?
Choose at least 2 fantasy techniques and practice them daily for a month.
I assure you that in 30 days the desire to find unusual combinations of objects will become your habit and a source of inspiration.
Works by other artists
Here opinions differ. Watch it or not? What if you accidentally learn something and fall under an avalanche of accusations? In addition, some give up if they are faced with amazing skills. It inspires others and calls for exploits. Here, oddly enough, the system is also important.
If you start your morning every day by scrolling through the feed on a social network, then there will be despondency. From doubts in the spirit of “I will never be able to do this” to “people have already written masterpieces, but I just woke up.” It is important to dose other people’s pictures and use them to search for ideas and admiration. And you can watch more specialized articles that analyze how it is done and what techniques were used.
Challenge yourself – learning new visual techniques
I think everyone knows the uncomfortable state when faced with the unknown. There may be years of drawing, painting, and working in the profession behind us, but suddenly we begin to feel like insecure beginners, and sometimes complete fools, just because we are immersed in a new, unknown technology or method. These sensations are dictated by fears: what if it doesn’t work out, where do I go, why do I need this, what is the use of this?
Starting something new is scary, but so-so interesting!
Evolutionarily, the feeling of fear is responsible for the preservation of the individual and blocks thought processes. A person is forced to act at the level of instincts, without being distracted by philosophy. Our task is to persuade the brain to stop being afraid. New visual techniques help to enrich the experience, expand the horizon and strengthen confidence in one’s own abilities.
For example, many beginners think that oil painting is too difficult. In fact, the difference between working with watercolors and oils is minimal, and the benefits are many times greater. Where water is used in watercolors, in oil work it is replaced by turpentine or a mixture with linseed oil. It is important to know the basic rules for applying materials and the behavior of base pigments and mediums during drying – in other words, to follow the technology. It can be studied quite easily and methodically. When people understand that there is nothing terrible in oil painting, but there is an almost limitless range of possibilities, the paralyzing “I can never do that” also disappears. You can!
Communication with like-minded people
Many artists are by nature introverts. After all, we spend most of our lives alone – in the atelier, workshop, or at the drawing table. People are always difficult. Here is the fear of revealing finds mined with sweat and blood. And the fear that someone will adopt the palette you have developed, the manner of drawing, or the idea. Or maybe it will begin to assert itself at your expense, strengthen its own position and drown your authority. Negativity happens.
However, those who are greedy and too afraid of competition are left with nothing. A creative person needs an exchange of opinions and experiences. If everyone sat and languished over their gold in a closed closet, there would be no progress at all.
In general, it is colleagues in the workshop who often share the latest in literature and information about interesting exhibitions and events.
Drinking coffee and sharing experiences is priceless.
With a like-minded person, it is much more pleasant to go to urban sketching and hang out over a cup of coffee in a beautiful cafe. Is it worth depriving yourself of the joy of communication and exchange for fear of being fooled? Especially with such a colossal inspirational effect.
Creating your own characters
It would seem, why force yourself to invent characters if, for example, you are a graphic designer and not an illustrator of children’s books? Because we are talking about charging the mind. The habit of working productively is lost many times faster than it is acquired. For “charging” you can turn to the simplest exercise.
Draw your friend. Who would you like to chat with right now?
I think each of us in childhood was a fan of this or that cartoon and came up with new clothes or situations for our favorite characters. When my son was about 9 years old, he was a fan of Pokemon. I gave him a small sketchbook in which he began to invent his own Pokémon with characteristic appearance, abilities, and habitat. Who said it’s only for kids? What if you will have a project where the logo should symbolize something abstract like philosophy faculty? Or for example for a cat breed test? What will your characters be like? What will be the effect of such daily gymnastics? Let’s check.
