About Inspiration

Well, Max (a classmate of mine) was right in saying that it was inappropriate to start an art blog without actual new artwork, and he was right. Spent some parts of this past week working on this one, which was definitely longer than what I've originally planned to do. I wanted to return to a more 'anime-ish' cel-shaded style, but I guess I kinda drifted back to more familiar territory. Anyway, onto today's topic of discussion:

Inspiration

A lot of people (myself included) usually blame a creative block to the lack of inspiration. But what is inspiration really? Can supposedly creative people become dry and lack inspiration? There are tons of blog posts out there covering this topic, and offer several helpful solutions on how to solve this frequent problem. In fact there are so much resources about this subject that I'll just offer one solution that I usually rely on.

Observation

The act of observation is more than just looking at an object or a scene. It is about understanding it and to be able to learn from it. And seeing is just a facet of the whole process. Hearing, sensing and even tasting and smelling adds to the entire experience.

I feel that we should not limit ourselves in terms of our inspirational and research sources. Need to design a new character for a RPG game? Don't just look at what's currently out on the market or click through conceptart.org or Abduzeedo! Not saying that one shouldn't do that (you should, really), but start looking outside the box! Browse fashion magazines, read novels (which might help in the character's back-story development), heck you can even draw inspiration from that sleeping teen on the train for a tardy NPC in the game. Move outside your comfort zone and who knows what new ideas you can bring into your design.

My former animation teacher Mr. "Woody" Woodman used to enforce the class to turn in at least 10 sketches of various subject matters each week during class. He explained to us how important it is as an artist to understand how things work. Good design isn't something that is overly ornate and detail! Good design is something which works. You can't suddenly attach highly detailed spiky-shaped wheels onto a futuristic vehicle for the reason of being 'inventive'; it has a functional purpose to fulfill and that's why its round in shape.

And it is especially important to observe all the time, even if you are not creating any specific artwork that require that field of research. Most of the sketches I did for the animation class didn't directly affected my animation work. Seriously, how does studying vehicles, trees and buildings help in trying to animate a character walk cycle? But the fact is that it doesn't have to affect anything! You never know when this information is going to come up and become useful again. And it is often surprising and at the same time rewarding to be able to use old information in a way you've never thought of. There shouldn't be a reason to learn. If there is one, it should be this: the moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing.

In conclusion, I can't emphasize the importance of observation. Inspiration doesn't find you. YOU have to find inspiration.