"How do you come up with that?" "How do you get inspiration?" "Did you make that on your own?" "I can never come up with any good ideas."
Well hello there. Those are questions that I get quite a lot regarding my artwork. It's actually really simple & probably somewhat cheesy/odd to some of you. Here's how I do it in six easy steps.
1. Light a candle.
I love love love LOVE lighting candles while I'm doing things, especially when I'm drawing. Lighting a candle just calms you & fills the room with a pleasant scent. I usually opt for a Christmas candle like this one from Yankee called "Sparkling Cinnamon."
2. Plug in your Christmas lights/open a window. (or both!)
You need good lighting while you're being artsy! Open a window, turn on some Christmas lights, point a spotlight at you, whatever you'd like. I like opening my shades, turning on my light, and plugging in some lights. Ooh! And make sure you're drawing in a spot that there won't be a bad glare or shadow over your piece, because that's no bueno my friend.
3. Find some music that'll get you in the mood for creativity.
Do you see a recurring Christmas thing going on... whoops. Christmas music (especially instrumental!) really calms me down & puts me in a cheery mood. Play something that will make you happy & calm you so you won't feels so uptight while drawing. I usually listen to the "Instrumental (Holiday)" station on Pandora or search for Drawing/Chill playlists on 8tracks. Personally I enjoy instrumental music/music I've never heard for art the best, because if you're listening to something without words or with words you don't know, then you'll focus better. (Or atleast I do, if I play Taylor Swift I'd never get any work done because I'd be too busy jammin' & singing along.)
4. Put something on that you'll be comfortable in.
Slip into something you feel cozy in. Pretty much anything goes. I usually throw on a tshirt or hoodie & some shorts or sweats. Or if I'm feeling super daring I'll just wrap myself in a blanket.
5. Brainstorm or Google ideas for inspiration.
No ideas? No worries! We are blessed with this fancy thing called Google. It is perfectly okay to Google ideas for art if you are completely stumped or don't have a creative bone in your body. Looking up famous artwork & putting your own spin on it is always fun. Or looking up different techniques then creating something totally original using a specific technique is also fun. There's really no limits to what you can Google. But just be sure you aren't claiming anything you recreate as your own, it's fine to do recreations/imitations of something but don't take all the credit! :)
6. Get to workin'! And don't stress yourself out over it.
Hit that pencil to the paper! Usually once you begin sketching you'll come up with something. Even if it's a thousand circles all over the page, just say it's the largest game of Connect Four ever played & run with it. Everyone has a different perception of art & creativity & that's what's so beautiful about it & why I love it so much.
Toodle-loo!
-Rachel x
