6 Tips to Turn Ideas into Actual Creations

As creative people we have ideas all the time. Good ideas, bad ideas, sometimes even what seem to be brilliant ideas. Let’s just ignore the horrifically awful ideas for now. Of course, it could be said that everyone has ideas, but what sets us apart from those people is that every now and then we turn our ideas into creations. This is not always easy however, so here are some tips to help you put the proverbial pencil to the proverbial digital paper.

1. Write down or sketch your ideas as soon as you have them! Look, if you don’t write down your ideas as soon as they pop into your head, they will change. They will change into something completely different, and by the time you start developing the idea into something concrete, the original idea is long gone. And guess what? Chances are that the original idea is totally much better than what you’re trying to make now. And then you start kicking yourself in the head for not writing that idea down before. So what do you do? Nothing, you can’t do anything, that idea is gone and you will probably never get it back. So for the next time, keep a notebook of some kind handy. Any scrap of paper will do. Write that thing down and make it concrete. It will probably need some changing, but at least now you can be in control of those changes instead of letting your mind link some random cool looking/sounding stuff together. Keep a notebook. Keep a notebook. Keep a notebook.
2. Get started! This is a continuation of keeping a notebook. Get started. Let your ideas out of your notebook. Develop your ideas beyond a few lines of text or sketches into something more concrete. Create storyboards, turn your sketches into concept art, just start writing or modeling or making the music or whatever. The only way to see/hear how something looks/sounds is to make it and have it there. From there you can see whether your idea is good enough for you, and really get going.
3. Make time! Even the smallest project requires a certain amount of time to complete. Plan that time into your schedule. As an amateur, you are less likely to be able to accurately judge how long a project might take, so you might not be able to set a solid deadline for yourself, but still plan in some extra time for your work. How do you expect to make anything if you don’t make time for it?
4. Make preparations! Even the smallest project requires some preparation. Once you have your ideas on paper, see what resources you might need and collect them. See what new things you might need to learn and find out where you can learn them.
5. Stay motivated! This one’s really simple. Unless you’re some kind of freak, if you’re not sufficiently motivated, you will not create anything. Find out what motivates you, what drives you, and use that to keep going. Ask yourself if the work is worth the payoff (whatever that might be for you), if it isn’t, don’t waste your time.
6. Seek help! If your project is too big for you alone, find someone to help you. If you want to know what people think of your work, show them and ask them. If you don’t know something about whatever software you’re working with, look up tutorials and such. If you need help with your inspiration or something like that, go to your favorite amateur digital artists blog!