Part of me feels like launching into a string of nonsensical words and signals to be correct in expression this week. Suffice to say, forming a sentence feels a little odd right now. You know when you repeat a word over and over until it becomes a meaningless collection of letters or sound? Yeah, that's now.
One thing I've been thinking about that's relevant right now is the notion of copying and replicating other people's art. There's an interesting discussion to be had about whether or not an excellent forgery is a work of art, but that's not what I mean. I'm talking about copying as a way to practice and improve basic art skills.
For some reason, there are artists out there who think this is a terrible idea and would snub their noses at the practice. I've met these people, and let's just say they're not a lot of fun at parties. Clearly I'm cool with it, but mostly because I see it as the same as learning the chords of your favourite song on an instrument.
Many of us would agree that sheer repetition and hours spent practicing has a lot to do with skill development and growth. I try to spend some time every day doing something creative, whether it's writing, drawing, or playing music, it all requires some kind of goal. It's all very well to sit down and draw something, but when you have to create an entire concept, it can be debilitating.
Instead, have a google and pull up the image results. Find an interest shape or picture and try to copy the forms. Perhaps mess with it a little and distort the original to push the envelope a little. The key is having the initial baseline to work from, then it's easy to be productive and get your hands moving.
After all, a lot of it's simply a bit of muscle memory, as any musician would tell you. There's a point with any skill where it becomes a natural ability, and that's where we're all aiming to be. It's hard to write a spontaneous song on guitar when you're focused on putting your fingers in the right place. Just as it's impossible to draw a beautiful line when you're still struggling with ink bleeding on unfamiliar paper.
Hence why imitation is sometimes the easiest way to get the ball rolling and put in the hours of work required to level up your skills. Yeah, I groaned at that terminology as well, but it's true either way.
So suppose the summation of this thought is to encourage creative thinking no matter where it comes from. If you're stuck and need to find someone else's work to get you going then go get some. It's only a problem if you copy someone's work and try to pass it off as your own, which is just plain stupid really. I mean, it's as easy to find the original as it is to recognise the copy, so don't go doing that.
Creativity's a hard task master at times, so embrace any method that helps you open up and breathe in the air around you. Soon enough you've mastered the pen and all you need to think about is the idea brewing inside.
Suffice to say, a lot of my doodles are referenced from somewhere. There's probably a good third that are drawn directly from other sources. If I never tried anything different, they'd all look the same after all.
Excuse me now as I crank my brain back into place and learn how to speak again…