The Creative Process: Part 1
Many people often ask me what the creative process is like. Where do ideas come from? And why is it that some people seem to always have new ideas while others don't?
The creative process is not an easy one. It, like anything else in life that is worth having, requires hard work and patience. There are 4 equally important steps to the creative process.
1. Observation
2. Practice
3. Play
4. Repeat
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Observation.
- Just as water cannot be released from a dam if the river is dry, our creative output won't amount to much unless we are trapped in to a continuous source of fresh ideas and information.
- Creative people don't just see the world, they observe it. They look closely at objects and are constantly being exposed to something new, all the time.
- Take the time to look at architecture, art, fashion, and the advertising that you see every single day. Look at automobiles and everyday objects of all sorts; study their aesthetic ad functional qualities.
- Look at people…closely. Look at their arms, their hands, their feet, their mouths. Look at the stuff that other people put on their walls.
- Make observing and absorbing a normal habit and you will fill your reservoir with new and fresh ideas.
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Practice.
- After getting a plethora of ideas, it is now time to practice. Practice is all about suspending the rules and combining old or new ideas to make newer ones. As designers and artists, most of us have always been doodlers or drawers. Do you think we ever stop doodling or drawing after becoming "pros?" Of course not!
- Carry around a sketchbook wherever you go. Or an idea book. Something you can write in all the time.
- Learn something new. Go learn a new musical instrument, how to correctly operate a camera, etc. Creativity learned in one medium will undoubtedly help you in another.
- Practice what you are good at. Practice hand drawing, digital imaging, look up some Photoshop tutorials. Whatever it is that you want to be good at, practice at it. Day and night.
- After getting a plethora of ideas, it is now time to practice. Practice is all about suspending the rules and combining old or new ideas to make newer ones. As designers and artists, most of us have always been doodlers or drawers. Do you think we ever stop doodling or drawing after becoming "pros?" Of course not!
