You have the power of imagination.
Well, to be realistic, everyone has the power of imagination, it’s pretty essential to the human experience. But you, you know how to harness that imagination to create things, new things, great things. The problem is that imagination does not come from nothing. You need to be inspired. Inspiration is the coal you need to burn to power the steam engine of imagination. Wait, it’s 2009… Inspiration is the wind that turns blades of the windmill of imagination! Yes!
1. Get Inspired.
Well this one’s obvious. Probably too obvious. Even if you have your own little sources that have worked for you in the past, consider expanding your horizons. Go to museums, not just art museums, but also natural history museums, aircraft museums, tobacco and pipe museums, medical freak show museums, anything interesting. Go to amateur theater performances or experimental art festivals. If you usually stay outdoors, go outside and see what the world has to offer, from nature to architecture. If you’re out all the time, stay inside and analyze your own environment. Just go explore.
2. Try Something Different.
This is about getting a different perspective on things. Don’t actively search for inspiration, just keep your eyes open and let the inspiration happen to you. Take a break, do something completely unrelated, and let your mind soak up its surroundings. Better yet, do something outside of your interests, maybe even something you’ve never done before, to get the ultimate freshness perspective. I’m not saying you should go BASE Jumping, but… Wait, no, BASE Jumping would be totally awesome and I’m sure it could inspire a ton of creativity. So now you know what I’m talking about, yeah? Different perspective = more new stuff. And imagination is all about thinking up new stuff.
3. Do Some Research.
It’s important to increase your knowledge. And there is so much knowledge to increase! Learn a bit more about the theory of whatever medium you prefer. I know that, as an amateur, you are probably lacking some basic theory required for your discipline of choice. There’s a ton of info both online and in books. Look up some color theory, or some of the musical basics. Don’t let you imagination be hindered by ignorance. Use some tutorials, but not too much, increase your technical abilities, by taking some courses for example. I recently got the chance to take part in a Blender animation workshop at a discount price, and for what I learned it was worth the full price. Get your hands on some reference material. My girlfriend was kind enough to give me a book full of pictures of interesting materials that has not only been useful for accuracy, but has been an invaluable tool to pump some of that inspiration juice. Besides that, you can also get some insights into the minds of other digital artists, both pro and amateur, figure out how they work, what they do to turn inspiration into imagination (and eventually into creations.) Don’t be afraid to go far outside your domain either, remember that digital arts are in many ways themselves inspired by traditional arts.
4. Don’t Drown.
Knowing when to stop is pretty important. Actually, it’s very important. Don’t let yourself get too deep into trying to get inspired. If for some reason you just can’t get yourself to be inspired, try a different technique. If nothing works, just stop, take a break. The more time you spend trying to find inspiration, the less time you actually spend making anything. You also run the risk of getting a bit too inspired and you might end up emulating your inspiration a bit too much. That’s a bad thing, my friend.
5. Make Something.
Just make something. Sketch something down on paper, make a few notes with your instrument (or software) of choice, record some video, open up whatever software package you prefer and just get to work. You don’t have to have starting idea, you don’t have to have a plan, you don’t even need an end result. One thing can lead to another, and this can mean that the process of just trying to make something can generate enough inspiration to finish the project, or at least bring you one step closer. Sometimes you just don’t know what something is going to look, sound, feel or even taste like until you start making it. Besides that, sketching, through whatever medium you like, puts your thoughts down on paper. I have about 4 notebooks filled end to end, each with at least a year’s worth of sketches, doodles, ideas and, dare I say it, prose. Because they’re on paper, I don’t have to rely on my feeble human brain to remember them, I always have a reference to my own creative thoughts. Get inspired by your own inspiration, and turn that windmill into a jet engine of creativity!
Does that make sense? Oh, whatever, it doesn’t matter, you know exactly what I mean.
