This was a hard one.

Somehow, somewhere I got fixed on the idea that I should write about inspiration. Something in my brain made me adamant that I have to write about one of the vaguest and most abstract emotions/force in the creative stratosphere. This was a tough one because when I started to question myself about the topic, I started to wonder what do I really know about inspiration anyways? I already had a hard time defining it for myself, so I was bound for a rocky ride. But hey, since my brain had already made its mind – I might as well try.

 

I think the first time I started to think this subject was couple of months ago, when I was e-mail interviewed by a student, and she brought up the subject of where I got my inspiration. It wasn’t the first time I was asked this, nor will be the last. To be honest, it’s kind of safe question with no real depth behind it since it simplifies the whole creative process, but I played along – not wanting to upset the student – and I listed a few authors, some artists, and history, and nature, and so on until the list was a just big collection of random names and events, and left me feeling very uninspired by it.

Not because the artists or creators were uninspiring, but because I felt like I left something unsaid. But the student was happy to get his homework done, I got my five minutes of meaningless glory, and so life went on.

 

But I couldn’t leave the matter alone.

 

Since then, I’ve tried to analyze and think harder what inspiration really is, and I’ve come to a few conclusions that I’ll try to share with you. Bare with me if it’s hard to follow, for I’m still figuring out things for myself.

 

 

1. Inspiration is potential.

 

We all have these sparks of inspiration when we feel “Oh I could do this!” or “I want to start doing that!”. This trusting feeling that made you feel like you just found a meaning to life’s existence, your true calling. You get it when you see amazing youtube-drawing tutorials from beginning to end, you get it when you read about how to become an artist in a few easy steps, or when your friends tell you how they quit their jobs to follow their own lifelong dreams.

 

Inspiration is the feeling I get when I can see a clear goal broken down into tangible tasks that are easy to follow and fun to perform. That’s why it’s very easy for us creative types to blurb out names of other artists when asked about it; those artists symbolize something that we understand mechanically. I can break down a painting and recreate its essential points and compositions, just as I can do the sam with stories, and when I answer with just a name as my inspiration – it probably means that I have interest to someday, somewhere make something similar.

 

2. Inspiration needs action.

 

But that’s the thing about inspiration, if you don’t do anything about, it’ll just go to waste. Ideas are cheap, goes the saying. We can all come up with great, fabulous ideas for worlds and stories, but without the stamina and the mindset to sit down and perform, no one will ever hear about them. It’s easy to get the thrill of inspiration and talk to your friends about it, but then fall back down as you start to feel the pressure. I’ve seen it happen many times to good people, who lose their willpower after the momentum is gone, so make sure that once you’re hit with your lightning, don’t stop running until you have something to show for it.

 

When young artists ask me how many hours they have to paint per week to become a concept artist, I say at least twenty-five for four years. Some are terrified by this amount of work they have to do. But to be honest, it’s not too bad, just three-and-half hours a day. If you’re patient and smart, you’ll get there. But, imagine how good you’d be if you worked eighty hours a week. Just imagine.

 

For anyone wondering, during my student days, I painted something like thirty-to-forty hours a week. I always preferred to work smart, rather than excessively hard, and always towards to a balanced portfolio. My routine was to paint one really big painting per week, and then take few days off, and then start all over again.

 

Now, that I’m also studying writing besides my full-time concept art work, I wonder if I’m putting enough hours behind it. It’s my personal struggle that I try to balance with healthy eating, sleeping, and absolute lack of social life, and while I’m not working on it as hard as I used to work on concept art during my student years,. But I’m at least three times smarter now, and hopefully that counts for something.

 

 

3. Inspiration inspires.

 

Best part about inspiration, be it small or big, is completing it. Getting it done and gaining confidence, for when that next strike of inspiration comes, it’s so much easier to avoid getting depressed when you realize how much work it will require from you.

 

I advice you start with small tangible tasks and pump yourself full of endorphin and happy memories of one successful project after another, for when you start that big one, it’s a lot less daunting.

Now go do some work!

 

Special thanks to Kaija for the baby-photos. They were inspiring.

Love,
Silver

Tweet tweet me all your baby-photos @runfreakrun or leave a comment below!

 

What can I say about self-learning? Well, I owe my job and my skills as a concept artist to being self taught.

I have no official qualifications to pursue any of my side projects or hobbies either. But who has? Picking it up out of interest and working at it as long as it makes you happy. Isn’t that the definition of a hobby anyways?

And with the hours you put into it and the research and learning you do, you get good at it. There’s no final exam before you can start working or gathering revenue from whatever it is that you’ve taught yourself.

I think the thing I most love about self-learning is that you can move at exactly the pace you need to move. You can either let the skill develop organically or (if you’re as goal oriented as I am) you can set deadlines and manage your progress through completing projects or breaking them down into tasks.

Self directed learning forces you to become a better problem solver, because information is rarely handed to you in a neat package. You either have to come to your own solutions or learn to find the answers you are seeking.

Whether it’s a hobby or a career path that you want to pursue, being self taught speaks of a passion deep enough that you’re willing to dedicate your time to it, whether it’s mornings, days, evenings or nights.

And finally it speaks of self improvement and a will to change.

 

*    *    *

Skillshare is one of my new finds in the self-learning category. It’s an online learning community with short classes on design, business and many other topics. You pay a monthly fee of $9.95 to get access to most videos on the site. With this link you can get one month free trial.

These are a couple of classes that I found and that I particularly liked. So much so, that they made me want to share this site with you guys:

 

Yuko Shimizu – Mastering Inking: Basic and Pro Techniques

This class is taught by a great Japanese illustrator, Yuko Shimizu. She goes through the basic setup for inking and reveals some nice tips and techniques along the way. More for beginners but still nice to watch, and I too leaned a couple of new things.

 

Seth Godin – The Modern Marketing Workshop

Seth Godin will give you a look into the mindset for thinking about marketing today and provide a framework of rules to get you started. I liked this class a lot, especially the two case studies he talks to towards the end and I found it easy to apply what I heard to my way of thinking.

Anya Ayoung Chee – Garment Construction: Introduction to Draping

I love fashion design and I like sewing my own clothes whenever I have the time. Anya Ayoung Chee, who won the 9th season of Project Runway (both me and Silver are crazy about that show) shows the basics of draping and then transferring that to a pattern and a finished garment. Again, this is more for beginners, but even knowing this much you can already apply that knowledge to a vast amount of designs. I would recommend it if you have any interest in sewing!

James Victore – Radical Typography: What Do You Have to Say?

James Victore is an art director, author, designer and filmmaker. In this class he teaches to think of typography not as a typeface composition, but as a strong way of expressing those powerful thoughts that deserve to have an impact. Letting go of perfection and thinking of creative solutions to every problem.

Suffice it to say, it got me pumped up!

Tell me if you checked out any of the classes or if you have any thoughts on self-learning. You can do that through twitter or here in the commets below :)

 

Smiles,

Kaija

 

https://twitter.com/KaijaRudkiewicz