OddballGreg - Creative Processes

Well... at least its not a screenshot of Youtube video. 

Creating things, as anyone who has ever tried their hand at one of the many arts, can be difficult. Sometimes artists have no inspiration. Sometimes they hit a "block". The fact is that sometimes things just don't work, and they struggle to find something that they want to do. Lets talk about that.

Creativity and art. These things are essentially synonymous. We unleash our creative urges and create art, even if what we do isn't necessarily art in the normally accepted meaning. (Of course, then we get into the whole debate about what art is or definition of normal, which is a complete article of its own to debate. For now, just accept that when you're creative, no matter what you're doing, you're making art.)

The thing about art, however, is that there is no "right" way to making it. You've probably heard the entire dialogue on it before, most likely in Highschool. 

"Art is an expression of one's own emotions and soul, and signifies their own perspective on the world in a way that only they can achieve." - The voice in my head paraphrasing an old art teacher. (Teehee)

Cliche as my mind's paraphrased words may be, they are correct. Art is unique and relative to the individual and their tastes. There have been many artworks disliked by their creator but adored by others, as well as the reverse. There's no way to measure if something is more artistic than others, so most people will usually understand that perspective is relative and avoid calling art anything other than art when they disagree with it's aesthetic value. (Or they won't... please don't do that.)

Definitions of art... defined, lets actually talk about the reason you're actually reading about this: Creative Processes. As you might have guessed, (or learned first hand), the creative processes behind art tend to be as unique as the art itself. (And by extension, the methods used in making art. Here's looking at you Genitallia artists that use their... well... genitallia to create things. Usually paintings.)

Some people do extensive planning for their artists pursuits. Others... don't. Some, like myself, have a habit of taking a random idea to the apex of a hill and use it like a skateboard to see how far down the hill it takes us. Metaphorically speaking, the latter of the three usually results in a thrilling ride of discovery, but occasionally misses some details. Probably because you only see the subject for a few seconds.

You might think that not planning extensively is simply lazy. Interestingly... no. I've spoken to a fair few dozen of artists over the course of my life, and found that the planning can sometimes be a massive obstacle to the pursuit. If you've ever tried mopping a floor in a kitchen without stepping where you've already mopped, you may be familiar with the sensation of being walled in as you reach a point where you realize you have nowhere to stand in order to complete the final parts of the job. For some, that is the metaphor for their artistic pursuits. Each piece of additional planning only serves to wall them into an enclosed space until they have nowhere left to go. (An experience I am admittedly familiar with.)

On the other side of the spectrum, some people feel unable to work without a guided idea of what they're hoping to achieve. How can they complete the story if they don't know when it ends? How do they know what the characters are like if they don't flesh them out, learn their names and shake their hands. (Mentally of course. If you're shaking imaginary people's physical hands, you should probably dial it back on the drugs.)

Personally, I can work with either method, or a mixture of semi-fleshed out, semi-free-form works when I write or draw, or create in general. (Part of my strangely adaptive personality I suppose.) So why do I usually opt for just grabbing ideas and riding them down a hill? Partially because I'm a tad lazy, especially considering I write blog posts more often than I shave, swim or wear shorts. Then again, partially because it's more fun that way. Most, if not all my blog posts, have had almost nothing more than a random thought or emotion which I wished to convey as I wrote the post, allowing all consecutive ideas and points to flow naturally as I think about it and remember things I've experienced which are related to the topic. If I had to try and plan my posts, you'd probably only get about one a month. (Which is boring for both you and me. So whoopee for wild rides down hills.)

In any case, you've probably gotten irritated at my overuse of parenthesis in this blog post by this point, so I shall leave it off here by simply asking; what is you're preference in creative process as an artist? Do you enjoy winging it like myself, or is planning an absolute necessity. May you even have some specific methodology of your own? Whatever it may be, do be sure to let us know down in the comments below, or via Facebook/Twitter. We here at TCSA love to hear your feedback. And of course, if you enjoy finding out about awesome stuff on the web and world then do please be sure to like the Official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the left to get all the latest posts as they're published. Also, do be sure to share posts you enjoyed with your friends as it helps us out a great deal. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Keep creating my friends.