Sometimes those of us that aspire to be artists fall into slumps. Why can't we have any good ideas, we wonder. Why can't we think of anything inspiring or socially relevant enough to have meaning? Why don't we have some powerful message that no one has ever thought of before? The truth is, that even the best artists of all time had to force themselves to be creative. If we sit around and wait for perfect inspiration to hit us, we will be sitting forever. But when we must force ourselves to be creative, how do we start? Here are five ways to force yourself to be creative!
1. Journal
Sometimes the best thing to do is just sit with a notebook or piece of paper and start writing down whatever comes to mind. Some ideas include writing about your emotions, the environment around you, or something that happened to you that day. Try to be as descriptive as you can. When you're finished, read over what you read and use it to inspire you to create a piece of art. Sometimes just a sentence or phrase you wrote down could be the inspiration of a new piece of art.
2. Collaborate
Maybe you have an idea and it just doesn't seem like it's going anywhere. Maybe you have no ideas at all. Either way, it can be super helpful to team up with a trusted friend and work on art together. In improvisation (acting without a script), we have a rule we call "yes, and". It means that instead of shooting down someone's ideas we say "yes" and then add on an idea of our own. I use this rule all the time when I do art with a group. Instead of saying no to an idea, I come up with a way to make it better. When used effectively the principle of "yes, and" will layer ideas until it creates a truly awesome result. Two (or more!) heads are better than one, after all.
3. Steal Other Ideas (Yes, You Read That Right!)
A lot of art has come about as a result of other pieces of art. In school we are told not to plagiarize (and rightly so), but sometimes as artists its ok to use ideas that aren't quite original. Obviously, it's not ok to completely copy another person's work and try to pass it off as original, but there are other ways to use art you enjoy as a way to create new art. Take fan art or fanfiction, for example. The artists are using characters and sometimes plots that are not their own, but the drawing or story they create is their own, and not someone else's. Another example could be to combine ideas you've seen before. There are lots of movies about dogs and lots of movies about reincarnation, but the new movie coming out "A Dog's Purpose" is the first to combine both ideas. A final example is to take the message of another piece of art and create an entirely new piece of art that has the same message.
4. Prompts
Often times, the word "prompts" can bring back bad memories of middle school writing classes, but prompts can be helpful when trying to find a way to start. A quick google search of "art prompts" can lead to a long list of suggestions on themes, topics, or ideas for your next art project. The best part about these prompts...if you don't like one, you can just skip to the next! Some prompts can even come in the form of generators, showing you just one or a few prompts at a time so you aren't overwhelmed. I know when I like to write short stories, I often times look up plot and character generators. They help me stretch my creative abilities and they are so fun!
5. Relax
Artists are known for being critical of their own work. It's what we do. It's what helps make us grow and improve as artists. But sometimes it gets to the point where we don't let ourselves create anything at all because we are so sure it won't be good enough. Don't let that happen! If you have an idea, even if it doesn't seem like the greatest idea in the world, give it a try. You might end up liking it better than you expect. Even if you don't, at least you accomplished something. At least you created. And overall, the more you create the better of an artist you will be.
