Inspiration

[ashwinjain]

Please advise me as to how I could develop my visualising skills?

How does everyone inspire himself/herself in the first place. It's very easy to get inspired here at the xara conference because of the quality of work presented is so great but god forbid if you have to be away from here for an extended period, what then?

Though the thought is most unsetteling, there has to be a solution. So elders and peers, please advise.

[ashwinjain]

Please advise me as to how I could develop my visualising skills?

How does everyone inspire himself/herself in the first place. It's very easy to get inspired here at the xara conference because of the quality of work presented is so great but god forbid if you have to be away from here for an extended period, what then?

Though the thought is most unsetteling, there has to be a solution. So elders and peers, please advise.

[RAMWolff44]

I am a huge fan of sword and sorcery books and horror novels (try out Donna Boyd's "The Passion" and then "The Promise") rewrote the "werewolf" mythology, in a positive light!! Coudn't put it down. Turned on a couple of friends on to it, both, normally, don't care a thing for werewolves, but...both went out and bought the follow up (The Promise) and raved about the writing. They could actually see scenes form in their minds. That's the imagination working.

Reading books inspires the imagination. If you are reading a good book that makes your mind form images, then if you find a good idea that pops into your head later on, bring your scetch pad with you and put the idea on paper so you don't forget it. Your imagination is like your "dreaming self", they all go up in a puff of smoke after a while.

I am working on an 'angelic' image for my mom, I don't care for the one I am working on for her now, so last night, I started thinking of angels. All of a sudden a perfect, praying angel appeared before my minds eye, I poped up, got my sketch book and in THAT moment it was present in my minds eye (as I call it) I scetched out a perfect angel that I love. So I have to start the project over, but will be inspired througout it.

If you start something with NOTHING in your mind, allot of time, for me at least, I loose interest quickly. Everything I have created, on and off the computer, is through inspiration, inspiration is through your imagination, your imagination is inspired by events in your life, books that your read and of course images that your eyes fall upon and record into the brain. With all those elements strange and wonderful things take shape inside your mind, endlessly.

Of course then there's always artists block, ICK!!

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[ivan louette]

As an alternative or a complement to the interesting RamWolff idea, I am a fan of the structures one can see in natural textures, natural colors, shapes and volumes seen in plants, animals, rocks and other things! They are very inspiring for me!

Kindly,
ivan

Observe the nature thoughts, re-invent the rose.

[jclements]

Have scratch paper and pencil in your car at all times so you can get to it if needed: See something, at least do a very quick doodle of it. As I doodle I often discover something new about the scene or my self ... like 'I can't seem to get the form right,' so this is something I need to practice or investigate at another time.

Learn from others: See a picture on the wall. Look at it *closely*. What about it catches your eye and how did the artist do it? Was it the color, perspective, composition, lack of detail, the lack of realism ... Likewise, go the library or bookstore and look through books and magazines.

Practice with the pen and paper or with Xara. Once every day. It can be only a minute or two (like during a lunch or coffee break).

And, as I often find hard to do, know when to walk away from a task that is giving you problems. Put it on the shelf for a while until the clouds clear.

I find all of these make you more aware and make yourself open to "inspiration".

[gwpriester]

Quaker

The hardest thing in the design business is starting with a blank page and creating something great6.

You hit on one of the techniques that most creative people I know use to inspire themselves--the work of other talented people.

Not to copy what someone else has done, but to feed off the creative energy of great work.

In advertising it was done all the time. Art directors and copy writers would look through a stack of design and advertising annuals looking at award winning work and inevitably the creative energy was there and it kick started the idea process.

I work alone now and I try to generate as many ideas as time allows. (I used to tell my clients, give me five minutes and I will give you a (what ever the project was), give me ten minutes and I will give you a better one). And then I try to generate some more ideas. Because the best designs are rarely the first, second, third, or even tenth ones. They are the ones that come after you think you have done all you can do. And then try to knock out a just one or two more.

And never underestimate the power of the right side of your brain to be working in the background. This is why many times the best ideas seem to come when you are not working directly on a project. They come in the shower, on the highway, in the supermarket, just as you are drifting off to sleep or just before you awake, etc. This is a result of your right brain cranking away on the problem without your even being aware of it. And then when you least expext it, your right brain smacks you upside the head with the winning solution.

Hope this does not sound too pompous.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

<a href="http://www.gwpriester.com">
www.gwpriester.com </a>


XaraXone

[noticies]

books. poetry. cartoons. walking in the open air. magazines. scrapbooks. envelopes. cooking. shopping in small stores comic books. music. playing.

from a more practical point of view, i have my own design annuals. Screenshots or saved pages in my hd. These always spark your own approach and solutions to colour, composition and type. I attach a reduced view to illustrate the point.

also, back-to-the basics books. There are a number of useful sites. I have enjoyed a lot this one. Very well done: Mundidesign Principles of Graphic Design

Have luck.[img]null[/img]

-------------------------
Joan M. Mas
TypePhases: Dingbats and Fonts for yer computor!
http://inicia.es/de/jmas
-------------------------

[RTK]

... like, John - everywhere and on everything.

I love to plow through my art books. I have books on all kinds of subject matters: Artists, techniques (e.g. watercolor, fingerpainting, papier-marche', drawing with this and that...) composition, symbols, graphic design, color... and on and on and on. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I'm not a believer in Artist block - sometimes you just have to sweat a little harder!

If you feel that you can't get going - draw with VERY simple means (e.g. with squares and circles) The act of doing *something* will slowly get the inspiration to trickle.

Good Luck!

Risto

risto@ristoklint.com

Visit my web site!

[Mike Bailey]

If you don't have to draw for a living, then for inspirational purposes you could draw somewhat abstract stories of whats going on around you. It doesn't have to be that good, actually its better if its not. Some intellectual could see what you have done and try to figure it out, If they can't figure it out their left brain will take over and make some kind of sense of what you are doing, Then they will say its art and you could become famous. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

PS: this is a secret so don't tell anyone.

[Ross Macintosh]

Playing is an important design technique. Playing provides a freedom that allows ideas to bounce around inside your head and spill out in a creative flow. Once it gets flowing it is hard to bottle it up. You don't just get to wash your hands - you get to have a shower!

Too often, people approach the blank page with unreasonable expectations on their creative abilities. Before doing anything, they say to themselves that they must do something great. Such ego-driven foolishness is the death of creativity. You might well ask: "what about those individuals who can instantly turn on greatness?" Sure, some can - I believe they do so because they have the ability to look at the blank page with the same kind of freedom that comes with playing.

Playing is trying something - anything really! You need no commitment - just do something. Even if it is a single horizontal line. Think of all the things that line can be: a horizon, vein, rope, stick, water, vector, divider, road, EKG flatline, wall, mirror, subway tunnel, timeline, etc. By opening up your mind to thinking of the possibilities, you make yourself receptive to ideas. For example, if in the line you saw the possibility of a mirror, then perhaps the next step is to add something to be reflected and so on and so forth. Playing in such a manner can of course be directed towards a task. What makes it play is the freedom you give yourself. It doesn't matter if the result is good or crap or something in-between --- in playing you are free of such qualitative concepts.

Now out of such playing can ideas you recognize as good - worthy of more attention. It is probably worthwhile to pursue those ones (with more playful exuberence) than to persue the crappy ones. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Humans are playful creatures. Why did we evolve that way? I think it is because creativity is critical to our survival as a species and that playing is the mechanism to get that creativity flowing. I could be wrong - but if you are playing at least you are having fun! Go on - give yourself permission to have fun and make each moment you are designing sometrhing to enjoy!

Regards, Ross

PS - If you see anything of interest in my ideas on "playing" then you might well enjoy this link: Willing-to-try website. You'll need to have shockwave installed. It is one of my most favorite sites. I hope you like it too - and I hope you see the connection to the ideas I've written about.

[This message was edited by Ross Macintosh on February 02, 2002 at 12:28.]