Drawing is one thing I was never good at, and so I'm extra impressed by people that are good at it.
Right now, one of my favourite artists is Kelly Angel. I like Kelly's work for several reasons. One, she is very talented. Two, she draws a lot, meaning I get to see new creations from her quite regularly. Three, the variety in her work is astounding. There's variety not just in the type of art that she puts out, but also the tone and the subject matter. She can turn out completely different pieces of work from one day to the next.
There is also a wicked sense of humour that pervades her work.
I know little about Kelly, other than she's from the UK, she's a cat lady, and she's really creative.
Wanting to know more, I asked Kelly about where this well-spring of creativity comes from. Whilst she couldn't point to anything specific in her history, she did touch on something that I've always felt helped push me to be better; having a sibling who gets what you're into and wants to pursue it as well.
I don't really know who or what inspired me to start drawing. I've always remembered doing it and enjoying it. I was lucky enough that pretty much everyone around me was really supportive - my parents, teachers etc. It also helped that my sister was so close and we're both pretty creative so we'd draw and paint a lot together.
Like all of us, Kelly finds it hard sometimes to motivate herself to work, but she knows that there are things you can do to ensure you push past your immobility and just start working.
Sometimes I find I need to force myself to be motivated until I feel motivated. Also, I've found if you set yourself deadline(s) (say, if you have a webcomic that updates every week on a certain day) can be helpful.
And whilst the work can be it's own reward, hearing positive words can also be helpful.
It's always really great to get feedback from people. Knowing that people are looking at your work and are enjoying it is always motivating.
I always like to finish by asking our creators for tips on getting in a creative state of mind, and Kelly articulated her process in a such a refreshing way.
I think I'm always in a creative state of mind, or most of the time anyway. However, there are a lot of things that really inspire me. It could be anything - a TV show, movie, book, cartoon, even an ugly dog I see in the street or something that piqued my interest. Watching videos of people draw/paint is really inspiring for me. It's interesting to see how different people work and watching how they build something potentially amazing from nothing.
Sometimes it's nice just to do something for the simple pleasure of doing it and not worrying about the outcome. Mindlessly doodling on paper or just playing around with different tools is fun. There's no commitment or expectations to meet, it's just fun.
Watching clips of other people creating was not a technique that I had thought of, and is something I'll definitely be adding in to my repertoire.
If you have any intentions of indulging your creativity, you could do a lot worse than heed Kelly's words, whether that's being always on the lookout for inspiration around you or just creating for fun to jumpstart your process.
Do yourself a favour and check Kelly's work out at the following links:
http://www.anythingcomic.com
https://www.facebook.com/KangelArt
http://kangel.deviantart.com/
http://kangel.daportfolio.com/gallery/751186
No comments:
Post a Comment