APPROACHES TO CREATIVITY
The MICRO + MACRO of WORLD BUILDING
Earlier this year, I started in earnest back into oil painting has I’d been planning a new approach to my career. It got me to thinking about how often I’ve been at this crossroads but always had hit a brick wall. Each time I’d tell myself, “This time it’ll be different!” Years ago I thought I had the answer when I started painting portraits of made-up creatures. I’d come upon a theme that I thought I’d really like to explore: MONSTERS OF THE CIVIL WAR!
Here’s how I went about putting together everything I needed to explore this vision.
Prefer a downloadable PDF? Get it here.
I wanted to put these characters in costumes, and I didn't really want to do any research: Enter my mental library of films, photos, experiences and whatever else I've gleaned throughout the years.
Once I got into the idea of it, then the stories start to reel through my head. It's weird how these things work. If there was ever a formula for creativity this is what it might look like:
Take 2-3 disparate elements and combine them in a familiar way.
Take 2-3 contrasting elements and combine them in an unusual way.
Most of my humor, and usually what seems to get a laugh from friends and family (I don't claim to be a comedian, I just look like one) is me, reinterpreting what people have said, or what I've seen. As if, I misheard, misremembered, or didn't quite understand what I was looking at. I think it might have been something I picked up on in my youth, but it tends to work for me. If nothing else, at least I'm entertained by it.
BLANK PAPER SYNDROME
I hate to say it, but I've never really had this problem...at least not for long. Ideas and creativity for me come early and often. Usually when I first wake up and I'm still a little sleepy. If I don't distract myself with the CHURN & BURN of the internet then staring off into space will do it. Meditating on a WHAT IF? can do it, too. And sometimes, if I'm easily lulled into the internet's open maw...sometimes a headline from SCIENCE or TECHNOLOGY, especially will get those gears churning.
When other people make discoveries, I often wonder how that will affect the population as a whole, or animals, or the planet. What are the repercussions. Everything is in relation to something else. A chain of events can be big or small. It can snowball from something tiny to something colossal. Or it can melt, like the ice caps, literally affecting everything downstream.
IDEA JOURNALING
I keep an IDEA JOURNAL within easy reach. It's not a sketchbook; it specifically has lined paper and it's nice. I find if I keep my ideas in something nice then they actually have a perceived value. The way I format the journal is simple really.
IDEA #xxx Today's Date
Description:
And maybe a little sketch if I need to round out the description.
Also scanning through old sketchbooks help. Though...it can be a daunting task when I see a wall of sketchbooks and I don't know where to start. Some months ago, I made the realization that the sketchbook flip-thru videos I did for THE PROCESS are a great way to look at those books quickly. So now I'm thinking I should probably do more flip-thrus and see if I can economize my time whilst making more content.
SET AND SETTING
Putting yourself in an uncommon situation or space can spur creativity like no other. Be prepared, have a way to record those moments and capture all you can. That's why museums are just as important as a walk in the woods.
Have you ever crawled through the woods? Getting close to the ground challenges one's scale of things and opens up whole new worlds of possibilities. Here, I'll show you what I mean.
Early morning sunlight can have a very powerful effect. By choosing a low camera angle and pushing your ISO (the speed of the shutter let in more or less light, usually found on good cameras) you can create fodder for amazing scenes. It's like having your own miniatures to work with. These were all shot within an area of about ten feet.
IDEA STARTERS
Like going out to take photos in uncommon ways or of uncommon objects I also keep a PINTEREST board of items that make wonder what the heck is going on. Stuff, that causes you to ask questions will jumpstart your brain into problem-solving/deciphering mode. That's a good place to be and can be a highly creative endeavor. Stimulus like that is good and can eventually culminate into something more, depending on the day you look at it and the mood you're in. So, keep that in mind, too. We don't necessarily see the same thing the same way every time.
And in case you're wondering about the paintings that started this article. Here's the palette I used:
Fast-Matted Titanium White- It actually dries matte....and fast...just like the name.
Cadmium Lemon
Yellow Ocher
Iron Oxide Red
Earth Red
Quinacridone Red
Burnt Umber
Viridian Green
Prussian Blue
I still prefer the colors of my other palette, but I wanted to use these up and focus more on my brushstrokes. It gave me an opportunity to try other paint brushes, too. More on that later.
Anyway, I hope this helps you in your creative journey. If you have other ideas that you use to spark that imagination, feel free to comment below. We could all benefit from coming at this problem from ways that have yet to occur to us.
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