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When Creativity Feels Hard, Take Action

You might think being creative on demand is “hard”. Here’s what I’ve learned on the job.

I’m sad that society heavily sells this idea that creativity is “too hard” That we are constantly being indoctrinated into it. Adults spout tropes about the difficulty of creativity, sounding like children talking about monsters under their bed. No evidence of a monster, just fear. (See also: Face the Fear of Failure)

Hard is one of my least favorite words. Most of the time considering difficulty is impractical. When you catch yourself doing it, take it as a sign to practice. Pondering how easy or difficult a task manifests as a common procrastination habit. We place mental blocks in front of our own goals to protect us from imagined outcomes.

Anyone who got to the point where they could read this has already tackled countless difficult tasks.

Fairly early in my career, a more experienced designer told me starting with a blank page is the hardest part of the job.

So I’ve found to make it easy, at the beginning of a project I focus on the most practical parts of it. Break apart the project. Open a document. Get the size right. Put something on the page without judgment.

If it’s a particularly creatively challenge project, I name the file “Project Name Ideas”. Then it’s a super judgment-free space.

If you know any text or ideas for text, put it on the page. If it’s even more intimidating, scribble some messy thoughts on paper.

Sometimes just drawing boxes or grabbing a photo or texture works. Or make a list of steps.

Creativity doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Look at inspiration and try using very specific parts of what you like in your own idea. Draw from a few inspirations and try getting them to mesh together

Try out the bad ideas too. Afraid of becoming unoriginal? Copy something and then try to fix it until it’s unique. Make something hideous and see if you can fix that too. Even at your worst, you’ll have some usable thoughts.

The important part I’ve found is to show your work. If someone could see you, could they describe an action? Thinking is not an action in itself.

Think through actions and through making.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

When Creativity Feels Hard, Take Action was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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How do you become a prolific artist? 8 secrets no one says outloud

Last month I attempted my first plein air painting in Montrose Park in Washington, DC. I was very nervous and had a lot of doubt: “I’m supposed to be an artist! I have a degree in art! I work as an art director and I’m a good painter. Why is this scary?!”

Whenever we’re doing something new, it’s still a test of wills. The same lessons come back to us every time. No one tells you it’ll be easy, yet they don’t exactly proclaim to you how hard being an artist can be. Here’s the final painting which is no masterpiece and at the same time I learned a ton and felt proud about it:

First time trying plein air! Learned a ton while doing it!

A photo posted by – Brian E. Young (@sketcheeguy) on Apr 12, 2015 at 6:53pm PDT

1. It’s okay to procrastinate

Prolific artists procrastinate. Procrastinating is a form of thinking. You’re doing one thing like watching tv or playing video games, and you’re distracted thinking you could be painting or drawing. It is okay to procrastinate. You’re still thinking about your art. Use whatever you’re doing to find inspiration. Write down any thoughts you might have.

I thought about plein air painting for years. Even had planned to last fall at a plein air painting event. It started to become a big deal in my head. I thought I needed the right supplies, the absolutely right event, the right motivation, and the right place. It turns out all I needed to do was go outside.

Try this: Write down your goals and ideas. While you’re procrastinating, while you’re in the super market, while you’re at work just stop for a split second and jot down the note such as “I want to paint trees.” “I want to sketch people.” You can use a cellphone app or tweet it or text it to all of your friends. Next time you’re finding yourself free and tempted to reach for your television remote, you’ll be more likely to know that you really would rather sketch and paint.

Read this: Awesome Secrets to Super Inspired Procrastination

“You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.” Bill Watterson

2. It’s okay to be be messy

Prolific artists make messy sketches and thumbnails. I use stick figures in my thumbnails to quickly get ideas down. Stick figures are a cute and fun way to draw out an idea and not care if it’s a masterpiece. Even though I’m a trained artist with a degree in art and a job in art, I still use stick figures. These poses can be further developed into bigger and better drawings later. Once I see an idea as a concrete thumbnail, it really helps me to get excited about it.

When I worked on my first plein air painting, I quickly was disheartened by the composition I chose. I didn’t really think about it much. I didn’t do any planning. I just looked in a direction and started making marks with paint. That’s okay! I learned something from that! Next time, it would have been smart to take 60-seconds to scribble down a few different compositions. There is no mistake if we can’t learn from it.

Try this: Take 60 seconds to create 3 thumbnails before making anything “real”. You’ve heard this and yet you still don’t do it. I preach this for years and I still didn’t do it. Practice it, make it routine. It’s just a fun way to break the ice. Don’t look at it as a must, an obligation, or as pressure. This is the fun part where you get to be a child and not care about the result. Make them and ignore them. Make them and learn from them.

Read this: Acrylic Painting Tutorial: How to use thumbnails for inspiration

“We all have 10,000 bad drawings in us. The sooner we get them out the better.” Walt Stanchfield

3. It’s okay to fail

Prolific artists are persistent when facing failure. It’s only a failure if you give up without learning anything. Don’t give into your fear and doubt. Be persistent and decide on the next step. Be nicer to yourself.

After a night of painting, I often will feel discouraged. The painting didn’t look exactly how I imagined it could. The next morning, in the light of day I will look at it and say wow that actually looks pretty cool. It’s different yet something about it works. I’m ready to take last nights failure and make the adjustments needed to get the painting finished.

There is a lot I didn’t like about my first plein air painting. The composition is centered and uninteresting, the colors are brighter than I wanted, and I wish it had more depth. How do I know this? I know it because I tried. I tried and now have something physical to look at. Through those experiences, I’ll have a better idea when I try this again. And I will try it again.

Try this: Fail at something you’re afraid of. If you’re afraid to paint, then paint. I used to be afraid of asking for help at the grocery store. I know it’s silly, there are people there to help you and they’re friendly. Still I was afraid of it. Then I just learned to ask anyway. Whenever you’re afraid and you have all of the reasons that failure is possible, just do it anyway.

Listen to this: Face The Fear of Failure in 6 Steps: The Uncanny Creativity Podcast, Episode 31

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.” Octavia E. Butler

4. It’s okay to take breaks

Prolific artists take breaks and then just pick up where they left off. We retain information better when we have space away from it. Ever have trouble remembering something? The best thing to do is to stop focusing on that thought and return to it. What happens is that we focus on the idea that we can’t remember so much that we can’t actually process the memory. We often find things when we aren’t looking for them.

When we’re focused on the thought “I forgot”, “I feel guilty for forgetting”, or some variation, it just makes it that much harder to remember and reinforces our “I have a bad memory” persona. Let go of that! You walk away from that guy at the gym who’s name you forgot, then remember it that night while doing dishes. Yes, this has happened to me.

When I was painting outside in the beautiful park in Washington, DC, it turned out to be insanely helpful to just say to myself “Wow, this is a beautiful day and I’m lucky to be here.” See all that was around me and know that I’m inspired by it all. The memory of that is a good one. Practicing a bit of gratitude can help fix any situation or problem. There’s always a lot to be thankful for, don’t miss it!

Try this: Focus on one task for a block of time. Then take a break. One study shows the best in their field only practice for 90-minute blocks (PDF link). If you are going to return to the task after the break, try to take at least 20 minutes focused on anything else. Do your best to focus on your new task. If your mind wanders back to work, be nice to yourself and bring your attention back to what you’re doing now. If you’re taking your lunch break, you might just focus on the taste, sound, and look of your meal. If your break is another type of work, try to give it your full attention.

Listen to this: Picking Up Where You Left Off: The Uncanny Creativity Podcast, Episode 30

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” Maya Angelou

5. It’s okay to have hope

Prolific artists are positive. Optimism boosts creativity. One of the easiest ways to find a silver lining is to understand what we are grateful for. Yeah somethings in life suck and you’re okay for feeling that way. At the same time, those bad things don’t have to outweigh the good things. A realistic approach is ultimately healthy and positive. Reaching an understanding on how to balance the good and bad thoughts you might have will put you into a better place to make decisions and not cave under pressure.

Now I have a better understanding of how my thoughts and feelings play out when I’m painting in a more public situation. I’m used to painting at home, by myself. The only critic I deal with there is me. Now I understand that the critic even when there are others in the park asking about my work is still just me. Only I give their words any meaning. Most onlookers in a park are probably wishing they were bold enough to be there. By painting, I’m already brave enough to do something that many people never tried. By even reading this article, you’re contemplating ideas that many people would be too afraid to even consider.

Try this: Learn something new. Look at a situation or experience you found challenging and use this as a chance to learn something new. Next time you’re in a similar situation, what will you do differently? The past can’t be changed and the future can.

Read this: You’re not an innovator and you never will be: 7 Reasons

“Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible.” – Albert Einstein

6. It’s okay to have bad ideas

Prolific artists create first and judge second. Put an idea down, try it out, see what happens. It’s okay to be average. Your first idea is rarely your best. This is why we sketch (see number 2) so that we can work out the best idea. Even if your best idea was your first one, creating a few bad concepts can solidify your choice and help you feel stronger about your final drawing.

Try this: Brainstorm without judgement. Write down all of your thoughts as a quick list before starting on an intimidating or time-consuming task. The thoughts might be completely related or really stupid. Make a point to include the ones that usually feel very uncomfortable. Facing that discomfort and writing it down is part of the fun. It’s now just words on paper without any meaning.

Read this: 5 Steps to Having More Creative Ideas

“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.” Linus Pauling (Nobel Peace Prize winner)

7. It’s okay to improvise

Prolific artists make it up as they go along. We give up the idea of how we once thought it “should” be and move on to how to make things work. Every brush stroke is a fresh start.

I painted my trees, even as I realized the composition didn’t work. I could have left or just started over. Those would have been great ways to improvise too. I just chose to continue and that made all the difference.

Try this: Finish what you start. No matter how you are feeling about a project, rather than give up find a way to complete it. It might be as simple as signing your name and calling it done. Your usual next step doesn’t have to be the next step you take. Do something that isn’t obvious.

Read this: Can Improv Teach Us About Graphic Design?

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” Charles Darwin

8. It’s okay to ask for help

Prolific artists are part of a team. You have a support system, friends, family, coworkers, and a professional network who you can rely on. They may not even be part of your art, they just may help you be a whole person. The people in our lives help us by inspiring us, by helping us with conversations, by showing us love and affection. Having confidence in more parts of life helps us realize our abilities. Be prepared to not get the help you want and still be happy that there is someone who will listen to the question. Ask for exactly what you want and need.

By now you’re probably tired of hearing about how I created that painting. I didn’t do it alone, I am lucky enough to have someone in my life who enjoys painting as much as I do. We went to the park together and created very different work. It’s really nice to just spend time with the people you care about. At the end of the day, it wasn’t about painting at all. That day was about a new experience. Create experiences, not just things and not just images.

Try this: Reach out to someone you love. Provide help, a listening ear, or a fun night out and give them everything they might need. You’ll see how much others love your help and create friendships that will be there when you’re in need too. The idea of reciprocity isn’t to just trade, it’s to give. Create a generous experience together with those you care about. When you’re genuinely interested in others, there is a beautiful impact on those around you.

Read this: 6 DOs and DON’Ts for Killer Creative Teams: Confession of a bad team player

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”  Martin Luther King Jr.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

How do you become a prolific artist? 8 secrets no one says outloud was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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7 Lucky Gift Ideas for Artists

If your thinking of getting something for the artists in your life, this guide is for you. Birthdays, holidays, or just a gift for Monday and Tuesday. Here’s a wish list:

A Complete Graphic Pencil Set

Start off with a basic A Complete Graphic Pencil Set. The #2 pencils from school were great for filling out classroom exams, but an artist needs a soft 9B, a sharp 9H for details, and all that in between.

Green Guide for Artists: Nontoxic Recipes, Green Art Ideas, & Resources for the Eco-Conscious Artist

Inspire your craftsman with this Green Guide for Artists. If you think he or she will be into creating non-toxic paints, glue, and recycling paper then pass this one on.

Acrylic Paint & Easel Art Set Has Everything You Need To Start Painting! (1 Set)

This Acrylic Paint & Easel Art Set will get anyone who has lost their painting habit back into the game. Twelve colors of acrylic paint, six brushes, a wooden palette, an 11″ x 14″ Canvas Board, a plastic palette knife, a tabletop easel, and a sturdy portable tote.

Paint Chip Wallet

If you’re feeling creative yourself, follow these directions to make a Paint Chip Wallet. It just takes a little sewing.

Prat Paris Start 2 Presentation Portfolio Case, Zippered Multi-ring Binder with Ten 8.5

Encourage your artist to get out there in showing prints (or photos) of their work with a Presentation Portfolio Case. The one pictured has ten slots for them to show off their very best work, although it is expandable.

Darice 97912 14-Inch Two-Tray Storage Box Petroleum Blue

For a more complete way to store all of those supplies, how about a Storage Box with lots of compartments for the big and small utensils.

Multicolor use Writing Table W / 1 Drawer

If bigger is better, then maybe you can help define your artist’s space with a Drafting Table.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

7 Lucky Gift Ideas for Artists was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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What is the difference between stealing and inspiration?

“What is the difference between stealing a work and inspiration?”

Mohamed-76 asked on Quora

Substantial similarity is the term used in the United States copyright law to decide if a creative work is infringing. The court’s mindset can be used as a helpful creative framework.

Thedecision rides on whether the resulting work can only result from pure copying and not a coincidence. When making the distinction between copying and inspiration, the court use many factors such as:

Uniqueness, intricacy, or complexity. Guarantee that your work includes its own voice and structure. Expand your own experiences by telling your personal story. Draw from various ideas that you’ve discovered instead of just one and describe why they resonate for you. Start by explaining the story’s details and then give your ideal audience the your personal thinking behind it.

An unexpected element. What addition can you impose? Remove a common element that can be discarded to establish an element of surprise.

Mistakes in both works. Direct copying from a source can show mistakes. The copyist may not even understand the error. Without having a familiarity with anatomy, for example, an artist might copy an unrealistic invention or error. Only take inspiration from elements you understand. Study from various sources and learn from observing real life as much as possible.

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” Pablo Picasso

Attempts at superficial differences. Making a copy while switching only colors or cropping is different from making a unique piece. Start from a base that is original to your piece. Make your piece mostly inventive. This is the fun part!

How to borrow creatively

When working with inspiration, try focusing on one aspect. If working with visual arts, you might look at only the color or only the composition. Think critically about what you really like about source material. You’ll fill in the blanks with other inspirations. Whatever thoughts you have collected over your lifetime will lead you to diverging paths than any other artist.

“Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources” C.E.M. Joad

Austin Kleon asks “Is it worth stealing?” in his book, “Steal Like An Artist”. Your choice of inspirations will be unique to you. If you love the design of Ikea furniture, antique houses, and country living… You’ll end up with a house that you love and that is custom made for you. Apply this idea to your artwork.

  Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

What is the difference between stealing and inspiration? was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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Is imagination a gift or a curse? 9 Tips to Manage Yours

“Is imagination a gift or a curse?” Anonymous via Quora

Worry is Imagination. And so is Hope.

Both are taking current events and guessing at a possible future. Usually without much thought about how likely the events are. And often without much thought on how we apply those thoughts to the present.

Our thoughts and imagination can be trained. We’re training them every day. From Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Positive Psychology to Meditation and Yoga, there are many methods of training our thoughts.

We often live out the story we imagine for ourselves. To change your life for good or bad, all we have to do is imagine it.

“Everything you can imagine is real.” Pablo Picasso

Tackling our negative imagination:

Tip 1: Compartmentalize. In his book How to Worry Less and Start Living Life, Dale Carnegie gave some great tips on how to minimize our worrying thoughts. One very strong thought is to contain bad events within the day they happen. Anything bad that happened yesterday has happened and can’t hurt us today. What happens today will be done and gone by tomorrow. And tomorrow can’t leak into today. Accept the events that happen and let them go.

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night

Tip 2: Improve. Since we have an imagination, might as well use its powers for good. Learn what we can and look for opportunities to make our lives better. Sometimes the lesson is that we’ve put enough thought into something and even a moment more is not worth it. Plan a trip to getaway. Think of your life goals, career, and education. What have you always wanted to do?

“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.” Maria Montessori

Tip 3: Visit. Visit someone else’s imagination. Listen to your friends and family. Talk to people on Quora. Read a book or articles. Watch a television show or movie. Memorize the lyrics to your favorite songs. If you love your imagination, then put it to work by visiting fiction and nonfiction.

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” Gloria Steinem

Tip 4: Keep busy. Write down ideas of things you love to do or need to do. When you’re imagining problems, use that time to focus on other things. It’s the perfect time to start cleaning, working on projects, and organize your junk drawer. Your imagination is just looking for things to do. Apply it to some real tasks and you’ll start coming up with amazing solutions

Encouraging positive imagination:

Tip 5: Doodle. Research shows that doodling helps us focus. Get a sketchbook and doodle about all of the good things in your life. Food, shelter, love, health, minor and major kindnesses. If you let yourself be creative, you can train yourself to notice all of the things you have going well in your life. Have you ever had a moment of courage, hope, or peace? You can probably fill a sketchbook with images of your happy thoughts. Pull it out when you need a reminder and keep adding more.

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein

Tip 6: Love your enemies. While you’re doodling, try making notes of all of the great qualities of people you have problems with. Even if the best you can come up with is “Not a murderer.” “Not here right now.” You’ll start to see yourself as someone who can see the good in anyone and any situation

“You may think I’m small, but I have a universe inside my mind.” Yoko Ono

Tip 7: Project. We all often tend to project negatively on others. Projection in psychology is applying traits and motivations on others based on our biases and experiences. Practice imagining other people around you are happy thoughts about you and themselves. Even if they don’t say it out loud. For example: “My boss is grateful that I’m taking care of this! Even if he doesn’t know about the details, it’s one less thing he has to think about”

Tip 8: Transform criticism into compliments. Imagine that anything negative someone says to you is a compliment. If someone says you need to do something better, think to yourself “Wow, he must really think I’m capable of improvement if he decided to share that.” And for times when others don’t believe in you? It’s just a compliment to be noticed.

“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” Dr. Mae Jemison, first African-American female astronaut

Tip 9: Change external circumstances. A study showed that students who transferred to a different University had an easier time changing other habits at the same time. Any time you have a new habit you’re working on, change your external world as much as possible. Consider ideas like always sit at your desk when you work on your art instead of sitting in bed with your laptop. Go to a coffee shop, art museum, or park to spark your imagination.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Is imagination a gift or a curse? 9 Tips to Manage Yours was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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15 Tips to Work More Like Pixar: Creativity Inc. Summary and Book Review

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration tackles Pixar and Disney from the view of technology, individuality, and artistry all while creating a viable business. 

As a graphic designer, I love to balance creativity and responsibility. Like Pixar, we’re in the business of bottling and selling our imaginations. 

Ed Catmull, the computer scientist who became president of Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, deals with this awesome collision of seemingly conflicting interests with sincerity right out of Wall-E.

I’m a huge pop culture fanatic: My friends would do trivia and one night they turned in a guess before I even heard the question figuring no one would know the answer. I felt shocked to learn that no one else knew who played Robin in the old Adam West version of Batman. It was Burt Ward, people. Burt Ward. Do people not know this?

So as you can imagine, I’ve laughed and cried with Pixar in the theatre over the years. Remember in Toy Story 3 when Woody and friends held hands and resigned themselves to incineration? You have no soul if that didn’t rock you to the core.

In the spirit of Pixar’s films, I have 15 tips on how you can apply Ed Catmull’s experiences at Pixar and Disney to your own life full of imagination and wonder:

Tip 1: Build trust

In business we all hear so much about positivity, though do we question what that means? 

For Ed, positivity is about putting people first. People want to trust, hope, and have faith. The book targets anyone who wants to be creative and says anyone can be creative. We want people to solve problems without feeling that they have to ask for permission.

“Trust doesn’t mean that you trust someone won’t screw up – it means you trust them even when they do screw up”

Ed Catmull

Tip 2: Respond well to failure

When we create an environment not driven by fear and failure, we develop the people around us and help them grow. 

To cut the natural fear response of controlling and micromanaging, we have to make surprise more comfortable and not threatening. Trust can’t be created as quickly as fear.

Ed tells us that facing the fear of failure and forming trust happens when we avoid secrecy when it’s not necessary. Sharing “secrets” shows that employees are trusted. When given trust, people are more likely to keep secrets. As a company, Pixar is excellent at keeping secrets internal by treating employees as smart, trustworthy, and capable partners.

“Every single Pixar film, at one time or another, has been the worst movie ever put on film. But we know. We trust our process. We don’t get scared and say, ‘Oh, no, this film isn’t working.'”

John Lasseter

Tip 3: Step back to see the big picture

Our view remains the only perspective we really will ever know. 

Pixar views daily versions of each film to discover problems. Ed describes “The Problem of the Beautifully Shaded Penny”, that if not aware of the big picture each employee will treat their piece as if it was the greatest piece. 

The penny metaphor describes how a motivated animator could create a very detailed penny if that’s the task given, even though in the final film it would only be seen for a blink of the eye.

“Working at Pixar you learn the really honest, hard way of making a great movie, which is to surround yourself with people who are much smarter than you, much more talented than you, and incite constructive criticism; you’ll get a much better movie out of it.”

Andrew Stanton  

Ed reminds us that we can’t that assume creativity can’t be quantified as data. Creativity times time, it takes several revisions, and we can compare time estimated versus real-time. We can view the state of work at deadlines and the quality level at every transfer between departments.

Tip 4: Know your weaknesses

Ed acknowledges that sometimes we’re all confident. Sometimes we’re not. The key reason for constructive and practical communication is letting others know it’s okay to make mistakes. 

How we deal with mistakes is what counts. As a designer, I have to make revisions, corrections, and changes. Rather than leap to the idea that we should have known, remember this is part of the process.

Tip 5: Evaluate the process

Something as simple as the shape of a table can change the way we interact. A beautiful table at the Pixar office was impractical for work, setting up a hierarchy that left employees feeling too intimidated to speak. Remember how King Arthur brought his knights together at around table. This showed they were all equals.

In our personal and professional lives, encouraging proximity and equality in all situations benefits communication. The Pixar building was also designed to force employees from all departments to interact. 

Informal interactions between employees with no working relationships encouraged solutions that you’d never come to in a meeting while sitting around a table of any shape. This matches research about proximity and friendship.

How do we enable you to solve problems and do things differently? Question the perceptions and assumptions that went into the current situation.

“You don’t actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it. When enough of the right action steps have been taken, some situation will have been created that matches your first picture of the outcome closely enough that you can call it “done.”  David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Tip 6: Embrace the unknown

The best managers make room for what they don’t know. 

Loosen controls, accept risks, build trust. Engage with and pay attention to anything that creates fear.  The book’s subtitle, “Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration”, is a great summary of this theme.

Ed reminds us that many of these forces may stay unnoticed and may not ever be visible. Employees may never want to discuss certain issues with their manager. The best managers, according to Ed, are the ones who don’t need all the information.

When Pixar employees attempted to become middlemen, Pixar reminded them that in their culture anyone can talk to anyone at any level. Communication structure shouldn’t mirror the organizational structure. 

Being a manager means employees won’t be so open with you.

Tip 7: Show that you listen

It’s not enough to listen. Take a responsive action.

Use words that connect those actions to what you heard and who gave you the idea. Try not to expect others to guess where you’re coming from.

Ed describes how the Japanese made manufacturing defied the conventions of American companies who only allowed the very highest levels of managers to stop the production line. Manufacturers in Japan shifted assembly lines away from quality control inspection after the fact.

Instead, every employee on the production line was responsible for product quality. While the American system gave each employee no say in how to make their job more efficient, Japanese worker culture created pride. They felt encouraged to carry out even the smallest changes and not just accept their role in a robotic assembly line.

Silicon Valley, Pixar, and Apple brought these ideas to the United States building trust with each employee as an ally in making quality products.

Tip 8: Embrace humility

We tend to think success or failure signifies factors within our control.

Often external forces and randomness play a role. We must use care in not believe our own hype. We can’t account for the factors. The simplest explanation with fewer assumptions. Unforeseen things happen that are not anyone’s fault.

Tip 9: Take risks

Don’t prevent risk, make it safe for others to take a risk.

The cost of preventing errors is often greater than fixing them. Pixar animators show characters moving before going forward to make movements predictable. Moving left for a split second makes the audience anticipate moving right. Leaving out these moments and ignoring the rule, however, gives an element of surprise.

Tip 10: Acknowledge the challenge

General agreement won’t lead to change, it takes a lot of energy even when all agree. 

Success in creativity isn’t repeatable by process and pointless to try to recapture it exactly as it was. Steve Jobs predicted that Pixar would one day make a bad movie, it was inevitable. 

The team had to be prepared for a disaster and look for other hidden problems. Accept that flaws exist. Inevitably, there will always be some problems that cannot be avoided.

“Our fate lies within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it. “

Merida, Brave

Tip 11: Be decisive

Director Brad Bird learned to deal with stress by acknowledging he holds stress and must find coping mechanisms. 

We all have feelings, it’s just about how we deal with them. Sometimes Brad’s coping method is simply to do nothing.

As Andrew Stanton said, “Hurry up and fail”. Decide to be decisive and forgive yourself. A director is like a ship captain. Commit to a destination and if you are headed in the wrong direction, you can change course then.

“When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you’ve gotta do? Just keep swimming.”

Dory, Finding Nemo

Colleagues want committed decision-making and honesty about decisions that didn’t work. Make your best guess and hurry up about it, then simply change course. Collaboration creates complications.

When we have allies, the nature of collaboration makes us a solver of problems. Letting others know about problems allows them to offer solutions as well. Be prepared and not irritated with challenges. Creatives know that when we’re sailing, we will face weather and waves.

Tip 12: Embrace teamwork

Movies don’t often emerge from a single visionary, even if it’s possible as a seed. 

Even a good idea needs to be excavated through effective collaboration. Like in archeology, Ed tells us that the bones you find in creative work may belong to several different dinosaurs. 

When working with Disney, they decided to move away from a notes system where people who did not have film experience and did not know how to give constructive feedback.

“You and I are a team. There is nothing more important than our friendship.”

Mike, Monsters, Inc.

While Ed and his new team started at Disney, he did have to train Disney employees to be more helpful by steering clear of negative evaluations and focusing on the positive. This balance helps everyone feel more comfortable with the facts of the day. 

With their own truths, detached from those of Pixar, Ed helped Disney as a modern studio to have its own individuality reflecting the culture its own employees wanted. 

In graphic design, art, and movies, the most effective creatives know that every team and every project is unique.

Tip 13: Expect Change

Creativity is complex and evolves. Small companies work differently than big ones. 

Things change and we have to keep changing. New employees didn’t know the history or reasons for processes and had new ideas for processes. 

At Pixar, as new employees joined the company that was now viewed as a modern legend, new challenges to the core values emerged.

“I can’t stop Andy from growing up… but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Woody, Toy Story 2

As a bigger company, Ed and his team created drawing, sculpting, and coding classes to teach about each other’s work. Classrooms are where mistakes happened. This also put all of them in social interactions outside of the work structure and set a tone for everyone to keep learning and be flexible.

“Protect the future, not the past”

Ed Catmull

Tip 15: Make it personal

In a creative business, we all know that there exists a huge personal element. 

At Pixar, the leaders would not only hand out bonuses. They would personally deliver them with a thank you. After the success of Tangled, they printed personal letters and give each of them a DVD copy.

“Don’t wait for things to be perfect before you share them with others. Show early and show often. It’ll be pretty when we get there, but it won’t be pretty along the way.”

Ed Catmull

Verdict

Creativity, Inc. uses the how-to and self-help book format to tell the story of Pixar. 

When viewed as a storytelling framework it is an effective and time-tested format for all kinds of content. 

Tina Fey told her story this way in Bossy Pants and Amy Poehler took the format self reflectively with Yes Please that seems more comparable here. 

Ed has some of the expected behind the scenes stories for the Pixar movies up to this point. Still, his focus remains on cultivating an environment of ideas.

We also get a look at Steve Jobs’s evolution and how his strength of views. His vision remained malleable and formed based on his reliance on building a good team of people. 

As a designer and artist, the idea of incorporating that feeling of creativity into sustainable living is the end game for me. For the creatives, at Pixar, Disney, and everywhere else the obstacles of combining creativity, art, and business ultimately form our lives.

More book reviews

How do you find your talents? Steal Like an Artist by Austin Keon

Can Improv Teach Us About Graphic Design? Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madson

Thinking with Type: A Primer for Designers by Ellen Lupton

  Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

15 Tips to Work More Like Pixar: Creativity Inc. Summary and Book Review was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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Be Creative About Making Your Own Opportunities

It’s not that I particularly like being a person who tries to make my own opportunities. It’s just the easiest way. So I’m very lazy in that sense.

I wish opportunity just all appear before me. If all the things I want appeared like magic. Then everyone knew what I want and did it. So that I wouldn’t have to look to find all the things I imagine.

I’m a realist. We see many who live as if that fantasy is what’s supposed to happen. They serve as a good reminder to ask for what you want. Be cool when you get what you get. Do what you can to find what you’re looking for.

At the same time it still often feels like I imagine things and they happen.

When you’re used to be a creative, you forget about the work a lot of the time. It’s a habit that is developed and cultivated.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Be Creative About Making Your Own Opportunities was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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7 Creative Values: Define Yours With An Action Manifesto

I created my defined list of creative values for myself and for this site and podcast. I was heavily inspired by the manifestos of Gretchen Rubin – author of The Happiness Project and The Four Tendencies. Gretchen writes more about how she developed her own Twelve Commandments.

What does the phrase “Uncanny Creativity” mean? Since I believe in productivity and action, I chose to make each of my values a key active verb. Gretchen suggests short phrases that you can check and remember: “I’ve found that my commandments help me most when I review them at least daily, to keep them fresh in my mind, and to do this, it helps to keep the list short and snappy.”

When I was a kid and even still at times as an adult, I would freeze with an anxiety response called “Selective Mutism”. I’d just become silent and mute for long periods. And then suddenly – situationally – free. One incident that comes to mind: visiting my cousin’s neighborhood pool. At the entrance, the person at the front desk took each of our names for their records. When asked my name I said nothing. My mind was blank. I couldn’t remember my name. So I couldn’t say it out loud as much as I wanted to. That any of us have any ability to communicate with each other at all feels like a miraculous concept. I attempt not to take communication for granted. Uncanny Creativity for me means making attempts at shameless self-expression.

Of the manifestos I’ve wanted to write to simplify and solidify my core values, Creativity became the biggest challenge. I’ve shared many books, experiments, and studies on creativity on this blog and podcast, Uncanny Creativity. Writing helped me find these core themes:

Seven Creative Core Values: Defining Uncanny Creativity

Go. Take action.*

Be bold and decisive about trying actions that might work.

Listen for your voice.

Looking is more worthwhile than finding.

Collect thoughts and ideas.

Save freely your own thoughts and those of others.

Know Like a Kid.

Kids know they don’t know it all. They play courageously anyway. Find a child-like sense of modest participation.

Think Big, Medium, Small.

Chase the big picture, the little details, and the levels in-between.

Find Fun.

Enjoy the weird. Humor yourself in the present moment.

Use Your Powers For Good.

Take your turn to help. Everything will be okay. No one has it all figured out.

Productivity Manifesto: Go. Take Action.

Make any choice. Find the action in now

Challenge yourself. Be inspired, not compared.

Begin a little. Take steps. Find out. Start very small.

Make it a game. Reframe.

Spill milk. Clean up, learn, move on.

Good enough is enough. Be average.

Put eggs in many baskets. Something will work.

Happiness Manifesto: Find Fun.

If all else fails, let go a little. Or a lot. Don’t sweat small stuff (It’s all small stuff)

Different people like different things.

Effort over outcomes. Show up.

Events involve pieces beyond us.

Win-win or it’s okay to walk away! 

Notice what right. Say good things out loud.

Mistakes are neutral at worst, helpful at best. Decisions go forward, not backward.

Kindness Manifesto: Use Your Powers For Good

Act generously in spirit. No one has it all figured out.

“Nice” is different from good. We’re born good. (Babies act very rude tho!)

Soft heart + Hard Limits. Kindness isn’t a weakness. Know its strength.

Act thoughtfully. Consider others and yourself.

Respect the human experience. Value all beings and yourself for what they are.

Embrace benevolent honesty. Neither insincerity��or cruel truth help as often than you might think.

Decide with courage. Character inspires confidence in each other.

Connect. We learn more from each other when we feel safe.

Display your values. Especially when it’s inconvenient.

Make mistakes. Feelings and situations can’t be perfect. Fail with admiration of your abilities

Show appreciation. Show that you notice and care.

Find playfulness in internal integrity. External reputation is less fun without it.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

7 Creative Values: Define Yours With An Action Manifesto was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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52 Podcasts That Inspire My Creativity & Productivity

Podcasts I listen to:

Feeling Good – Psychiatrist and Author David Burns discusses mood improvement tips and exercises.

Happier with Gretchen Rubin – Gretchen (author of The Happiness Project and The Four Tendencies) and her sister Elizabeth Craft (TV writer) discuss habits

Happier in Hollywood – Liz Craft and Sarah Fain discuss the struggles as TV writers in the male-dominated entertainment industry.

Awesome Etiquette – The great-grandchildren of etiquette author Emily Post discuss modern manners in the digital age based on the tenants of consideration, respect, and honest.

Getting Things Done – Productivity tips from author and consultant David Allen.

TED Radio Hour – TED Talks adapted for audio

The James Altucher Show

The Upgrade by Lifehacker

Slate’s Dear Prudence – Life advice from columnist Mallory Ortberg

Windows Weekly – I’m both a Mac and Windows user. Power tips for power users of Microsoft’s operating syste

Pop Culture Happy Hour

InDesign Secrets

By The Book – Jolenta Greenberg and her  friend Kristen Meinzer live by the practices of a self-help book each episode to find out which ones might work

Hidden Brain

HBR IdeaCast – Business and management ideas from Harvard Business Review.

PBS NewsHour – Rated as one of the more objective sources of news coverage.

Hello From the Magic Tavern – A man falls through a dimensional portal behind a Burger King into a magic land filled with wizards, magical monsters, and adventurers. Starring Chicago Improvisers.

That’s How I Remember It – Actors flawlessly recreate perfectly exactly movies they’ve seen and haven’t seen from memory on the spot.

A Way with Words – A call-in show about the English language linguistics, slang, new words, jokes, word games, grammar, regional dialects and word history.

The Marie Forleo Podcast

Radical Candor – Workplace advice

I Hate My Boss – Workplace advice

The Dinner Party Download

If I Were You

Dear Sugars

Get-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More

The Savvy Psychologist’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Mental Health

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

The Nutrition Diva’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Eating Well and Feeling Fabulous

Money Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a Richer Life

Planet Money

Freakonomics

Recode Decode with Kara Swisher

Recode Media with Peter Kafka

Katie Couric

Judge John Hodgman

Anna Faris Is Unqualified

The Backline – An Improv Podcast

This Week in Google

All About Android

The Accidental Creative

Side Hustle School

The Mortified Podcast

Schmanners

Myths and Legends

Hannah and Matt Know It All

Improv Nerd with Jimmy Carrane

improv4humans with Matt Besser

The American Life

Design Matters with Debbie Millman

Marvel Cinematic Universe – Covering Marvel Comics films.

FiveThirtyEight – Politics through the eyes of statistics and probability

Also check out my podcast Uncanny Creativity. What are your favorite podcasts? Any I missed that need to be included?

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

52 Podcasts That Inspire My Creativity & Productivity was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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Quotes to help you have more fun

A few quotes that help me have more fun:

When overgeneralizing, be curious about what’s new and different: “All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.” Alexandre Dumas fils

When it’s all or nothing, explore the what’s in between: “We must stand firm between two kinds of madness: the belief that we can do anything; and the belief that we can do nothing.” Alain

When magnifying the bad and minimizing the good: “Disappointment is really just a term for our refusal to look on the bright side.” Richelle E. Goodrich

Jumping to conclusions and imagining the other’s thoughts and possible terrible futures, be present: “Our busy minds are forever jumping to conclusions, manufacturing and interpreting signs that aren’t there.” Epictetus

When emotional reasoning, look for truth: “That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.” Christopher Hitchens / Hitchens’s razor. (Latin proverb “Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur”, “What is freely asserted is freely dismissed.”)

When “should” clouds your expectations, stop resisting: “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

When labels feel true: “People are too complicated to have simple labels.” Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass

When blame, comparison and guilt cloud your senses: “Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Quotes to help you have more fun was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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Graphic Designers, here’s how make your client relationships better

“In a book about an octopus, Tomi Ungerer purposefully gave the octopus seven tentacles. He said so many kids would have the pleasure of calling it to his and our attention” Ursula Nordstrom

When clients call or email with an edit, I like to react with almost too extreme gratitude. Usually, they’re ready to justify or perhaps thinking I’ll be defensive. It’s more practical to encourage them to please freely give details so I can do my work.

Connect. We learn more from each other when we feel safe:

Rather than suffer, accept vulnerability as a reminder to solve one’s own problems and develop self-reflective awareness

Rather than lash out, accept the priority of casual clarification and direct assertiveness without blame, criticism, or accusation.

Rather than play hero, accept the skill of showing concern without fixing. Encourage others to develop and practice their own life tools.

Listen to more about Ursula Nordstrom on Gretchen Rubin’s podcast: A Little Happier: Sometimes, Flawed Can Be More Perfect Than Perfection.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Graphic Designers, here’s how make your client relationships better was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

[uncannycreativity]

Do work you love and stop doing what you hate

Once upon a time, I once started a job as a graphic designer.

A brief introduction to design work. All my jobs have been in design. You just put some colors, text, and shapes down in a way that looks nice. Your day gets filled with Color Purple Moments.*

There’s often other business and administrative tasks. File paperwork, mark time, organize digital files. Most of which I enjoy to varying degrees as a break. This department was perhaps a dozen or more office workers at various levels.

Until one day – only a few months into the position – my manager calls me in. Maybe I’m in trouble. Instead, I’m promoted. It’s retroactive. The next check adjusts my pay as if I was paid that way for the last month.

(Sounds great on paper, except that I made very little. So small that I just now had to double check to make sure I was above the Federal Poverty Guidelines.)

Here’s the thing. I reacted with confusion.

The manager explains that I had been doing the new job already. First, I handled all of my own work. Then did work for the vacant position that I filled.

From my point of view, I thought everyone in the department did that. Split the overload, right.

Plus, I was bored!

I’m data driven. Obviously so are they as they had time records and accuracy (never my strong suit).

Cool news right! There was and still is a part of me that’s like “Why work so hard???”

The truth is, most of the time the concept of “hard work” doesn’t often cross my mind. Thinking about difficulty feels unhelpful, impractical, and stressful. [Cue “Stop for A Minute” by Keane]

I really try to veer toward answering questions like “Is it possible to do it?” “What would it take to do it?” Focus on the steps, tools, and behaviors involved.

I’m sure I read this in many productivity books when as a young adult. I tried it. I noticed I felt less stressed.

(The 2012 paper “When thinking about goals undermines goal pursuit” by Fischbach and Choi tested this concept. This story takes place before then.)

The early pre-smartphone internet leaned more geeky. So the productivity boom was afoot.

Flash forward a few years, another job as a graphic designer.

Once again, I’m called in to discuss with my manager. Let’s make more duties official. This time it was not really design oriented work without any immediate incentives – salary, flexibility, and perhaps if there was a new title it would be more out of my intended field. So I was less enthusiastic.

From my point of view – once again – I thought everyone helped do this work! They asked us to split the overload.

I learned a valuable lesson and acted on it. If you can get away with just doing more, you can get away with doing less. That’s exactly what I did.

All of this new administrator work – I didn’t want to it and so I didn’t. And it all just went away.

Someone else in another office somewhere did it I guess. Or they decided no one needed to maybe. I don’t remember because I stopped being involved.

That part of me that asks “Why work so hard?” That’s super annoying when you have goals you care about. Useful when you have anti-goals that you want to stop caring about.

Nowadays, still bored.

  “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.” Alice Walker, The Color Purple

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Do work you love and stop doing what you hate was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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Are you a badger or barker? Achievement Versus Initiation Driven Creativity

What drives your creative projects more: the thrill of the fresh start OR the finish line?

Learning to love both makes us productive and creative.

Creatives love the part in the middle where we get to indulge in the business of making things. At the same time, I’m betting that you’re creativity sparks more from either (a) the love of starting something new or (b) the satisfaction of completing a task.

Imagine the nature documentary. The love of a new start VERSUS the joy of completion.

I see this Creative Drive spectrum as

Badgers versus Barkers

Picture this:

Badgers love achieving merit badges. They’re achievement driven.

Barkers love embarking on new tasks. They’re initiation driven.

Badgers: Achievement Driven

I call these lovers of achievement-focused creativity… badgers! They love collecting merit badges.  The badger Creativity Drive focuses on finishing tasks.

Badgers love the end goal. If they see a finish line, they’ve found focus. They love seeing an idea become real.

They become the classic gamer who wants to complete 100% of a game.  In their game, there exist only a few items. If you’re a Badger, you’re constantly envisioning finishing every single specific piece and then completing everything. That’s because you know exactly what it is. When given a well-defined goal, a Badger figures out how to beat the game.

Psychologists dub one type of a higher achievement drive as “performance orientation”. This is a high focus on positive outcomes such as grades and promotions. If the goals focus on comparison to others, the outcome can be psychologically negative. This high achievement mindset becomes influenced by environment according to a 2012 study by Stanford psychologist Paul O’Keefe. Healthy goals lean toward a “mastery orientation” where finishing the task with a focus of developing new skills, improving, and gaining knowledge.

A badgers favorite part of creating and making involves completing goals. A badger loves small tasks and finishes them.

A badger wants to start in the right place for a goal they know they can complete. Figuring out the unknown feels harder and less interesting.

A badger might tend to finish tasks that don’t really need to do at all. They write things on a checklist just to enjoy an official ending. They love the feeling of crossing a task off of a list more than the feeling of writing it on their first.

As part of a team, badgers are excellent finishers.

They’ll figure out how to get a task done on time. That’s because they are swiftly decisive when they see a way to cross a finish line. If they’re not given a new finish line, they wander off. They might even finish tasks that have nothing to do with the original goals, just because they know they can finish them off.

What are badgers afraid of?

They may be driven by the fear of not finishing a task and not the fun of finishing. If they don’t see how they can win, they won’t try. A fearful badger may learn to be driven by external recognition of a finished task or by an internal sense of accomplishment.

The badger procrastination style:

They do what they can finish easily. They’ll need to practice looking for ways to create finishable achievements. They don’t naturally see those link to real priorities with new projects. They’ll put off looking for goals as a way to delay starting.

Past versus future?

Badgers romanticize past wins. In their fishing stories, the fish gets bigger every time. An extreme badger might remember themselves as a king of their high school. Without those kinds of externally focused starts, that same person might not have done as much in regular life.

How badgers learn:

Badgers learn by looking backward. They love reflecting on completed work. An achievement, trophy or merit badge strongly represents their best qualities. Even when doing a current task, they learn to use past patterns to figure out new tasks. From the outside, this might look like a strong vision and plan.

Analysis paralysis at the beginning.

Achievement driven creatives find resistance when they’ve encountered a task they consider new and undefined.

How can badgers become better at starting tasks?

As badgers love to collect finished tasks, they’ll need to see starting a new task as an achievement. What task can they cross off their list that counts at the start? Get specific on the first step. If a badger learns to see “Finished Starting” as an achievement, they can adopt the best parts of the initiation driven style. Reward yourself at the start by completing even the most ridiculously small step.

Barkers: Initiation Driven

I call an initiation leaning Creativity Drive being a … Barker: They like to embark on new tasks. Barkers have a Creativity Drive focused on starting tasks.

Someone on this side of the spectrum leans towards creativity that involves start on a new work. They love to start lots of tasks and all of them seem ongoing. They find more ways to add and stretch any task as they find new pieces to explore.

A barker starts a new task with energy and then quickly their attention wanders. They chase the next shiny thing.  After all of this dreaming, their project becomes too big. Their ideas began without defining a clear realistic end point.

Research experiments on abstract thinking links such new goals with discpline. (Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) This kind of thinking helps barkers dive into new adventures. What’s hard if you’re a barker? Focusing on the smaller and seemingly mundane details along the way.

As part of a team, barkers are excellent starters.

They’ll know the best place to start is anywhere. They’ll remind others to notice new paths to wander. That’s because they are swiftly decisive when they see something new to jump into. They stop at any point due to frustration, losing focus, or when realising how much work they have involved. They may just start something else and forget the original task if not kept in check

What are barkers afraid of?

A barker may even be afraid to finish realizing that the result may not match their ideal

What’s a barker’s procrastination style?

They’ll start something new and unrelated to put off the old task. If they practice seeing new opportunities to start within the current project, they have a better chance of success.

Past versus future?

For a barker, starting a new project feels like falling in love. A barker feels excited by possibilities to come. They’re disillusioned by possibilities when they realize the effort, work, or planning involved. A barker feels more likely to seem like a perfectionist. After they’ve created an idealized task, they want the reality to live up to their vision.

Barkers love trying new things. The downside? Barkers love trying new things. The tendency to fantasize about the future – experiments in the American Psychological Association demonstrate – results in a false sense of finishing. We imagine how it ended, felt the reward of that, and so we don’t actually feel like we need to create any of it.

Listen to more on the podcast:

How to Finish What You Start (Uncanny Creativity Episode 33)

Since a barker loves new beginnings, they open a new and different box of cereal before finishing the last one. Leftovers lose their appeal and they’re ready to cook something new. Creation feels like exploring new wonders in life.

How barkers learn:

When a barker learns, they love to think about their future use of knowledge or an ability.

Analysis paralysis at the end.

Initiation driven creatives find resistance when they’ve encountered a task that needs a well-defined end. The dream of travel might be appealing to a barker. At the most extreme end of the spectrum, a barker would be paralyzed by the mundane details of travel planning.

How can a barker become better at finishing tasks?

Since a barker loves to embark on new adventures, they have to see the journey of finishing. Get specific on the last goal, break down each small step along the way, and take a minute to see the fun in starting the next little thing.

Research on self-control demonstrates how focusing immediate rewards help us meet our goals. Reward yourself at the finish line by leaping into a brand new fun thing that you’ve withheld beforehand.

Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and artist in Baltimore, MD.

Are you a badger or barker? Achievement Versus Initiation Driven Creativity was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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Artists Don't Want to Work for Free, Facebook isn't Email, and Secrets Behind Viral Hits

Artists Don’t Need Your Exposure

@forexposure_txt is a Twitter account of quotes from artists who were expected to work for free. Too many people don’t value art. Artist Ryan Estrada posts real quotes from real people who think we need to work for exposure. Especially now in the internet age, exposure is incredibly easy to get for anyone for free. My networking guide post contains better ideas for promoting your work and making healthy relationships as an artist.

I respond by explaining in detail how I design. I drew for years as a child. Educate others kindly that creating is truly difficult work. I’ve worked as a designer the moment I turned 18, while also studying Fine Art (and classical piano). I learned to love studying computer programs and reading books on design and productivity. Slowly putting that knowledge to use every day. Spent the last 17 years learning techniques from many amazing colleagues. That said when others (even clients) are excited to tackle a design project I encourage them to do so. If they can stick with it and do it themselves, good for them!

Facebook isn’t email

Most people don’t even see your posts. The FB algorithm shows only what they think will keep you on FB. All of your friends are hidden.

“I learned a real profound lesson with the Inside news app. You can get 500,000 people to download an app, but only 1 percent or less will use it a day. And then I realized, I took the same information that was in the app, I emailed it to the same audience and 40, 50, 60 percent opened it every day.” Jason Calacanis on Recode Media Podcast

On the user end, email is super easy to control. You own it. Most email programs make it easy for users to sort email automatically, search, and surface content when you want it.

Hit Makers make content popular, not viral sharing

Viral sharing is over rated. Tracking memes and “viral content”, analytics discussed in the new book Hit Makers show that they stay within small circles until famous hit makers and influences get involved. Distribution is more similar to traditional broadcast media than you think. And most people find out about content through the big broadcasters promoting.

“Facebook initially went ‘viral,’ not by building a product that every person might share with five other people, like a disease, but by using networks that existed. They digitized the Harvard network that existed, and the Ivy League networks that already existed.” Derek Thompson, Atlantic Senior Editor

Artists Don’t Want to Work for Free, Facebook isn’t Email, and Secrets Behind Viral Hits was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

[uncannycreativity]

Download These Free Public Domain Drawing Books for Artists

Learning to draw? The library is probably your first stop if you’re on a budget. But the internet has its own answer with public domain resources such as Project Gutenberg, OpenLibrary.org, Google Books and Archive.org, you have a collection of free drawing books at your fingertips. You can view these online or download it to your Kindle or eReader of your choice.

Contents

The Practice and Science of Drawing

Pen Drawing

The Elements of Drawing

Blackboard Drawing

Constructive Anatomy

Composition

The American Drawing Book

A Progressive Drawing Book For Beginners

The Essentials of Perspective

Book of a Hundred Hands

Human Anatomy for Art Students

A Handbook of Illustration

The Practice and Science of Drawing

The Practice and Science Of Drawing, by Harold Speed

The Practice and Science Of Drawing by Harold Speed. This book originally published in 1913 takes an expected classical approach to drawing that holds up amazingly well today. Although the techniques are classical, you can benefit from the discussion presented no matter what style you ain for. This is the kind of title that reminds us the power of a well-consolidated book as opposed to the quick-fix approach of internet tutorials. (As valuable as those are.) It’s filled with beautiful sketches to study and serves as both a starting point and a reference book.

Pen Drawing

Pen Drawing, An Illustrated Treatise by Charles Maginnis. Pen and ink drawing continues to astound and amaze the average artist. This bible on the subject would be of interest to the modern comic book inker. The author here has you create a light pencil outline to plan your composition and then you create amazing detail straight to ink. Various styles are discussed and dissected. For the price, it’s worth checking out and playing with the techniques.

Pen Drawing, An Illustrated Treatise by Charles Maginnis.

  The Elements of Drawing

  The Elements of Drawing, by John Ruskin

The Elements of Drawing by John Ruskin. Hailing from the 19th century, this book is written in the poetic language of the time. It’s a practical guide that mentors the beginner or advanced artist in how to improve their skills. It lacks in step-by-step illustrations but instead tells you how to discover and view the world with your own eyes. This book is also available for free from Google Books.

  Blackboard Drawing

Blackboard Drawing by Frederick Whitney This one takes on a different subject, blackboard and chalk drawing. And thankfully it’s filled with images to illustrate the unique look of this type of art.

Constructive Anatomy

Constructive Anatomy by George B. Bridgman. Learning to draw the human figure? This book tells you how with over 500 illustrations showing you exactly how to build a figure. This is a must read for the serious portrait artist and one of the most useful and visual books in this list. It’s one of the few books of this type that details and discusses the wrist, movement of each bone and muscles in excruciating detail.

Constructive anatomy by George Brant Bridgman

  Composition

Composition; a series of exercises in art structure for the use of students and teachers. by Arthur Wesley Dow This one may be self-explanatory by title, so I will emphasize that your drawing is only as good as it’s composition. Good composition can elevate stick figures, while bad composition can ruin what would otherwise be a technical masterpiece.

The American Drawing Book

The American drawing-book: A manual for the amateur, and basis of study for the professional artist. Especially adapted to the use of public and private schools, as well as home instruction by John Gadsby Chapman. Speaking of self-explanatory titles…

A Progressive Drawing Book For Beginners

A progressive drawing book for beginners by Philip Henry Delamotte. The first half of this book is text and the second half illustrations for careful study. Perhaps a good place to start if the other drawing books mentioned are overly advanced or technical for your taste.

The Essentials of Perspective

The essentials of perspective with illustrations drawn by the author; by L.W. Miller Perspective is a must no matter what you’re drawing.

“I CALL this little book ” The Essentials of Perspective,” because it seems to me that it has as much information about the science of which it treats as the artist or the draughtsman ever has occasion to make use of, except under the most unusual conditions. “

Book of a Hundred Hands

Another free drawing book is George B. Bridgman’s Book of a Hundred Hands which I recently reviewed. Bridgman writes: “It is the purpose of this work to present the hand not only to the eye but to the understanding.”

Human Anatomy for Art Students

Human anatomy for art students with drawings by Innes Fripp & an appendix on comparative anatomy by Harry Dixon. From the introduction: “The object of this book is to give the shortest description of human anatomy compatible with the interest of the artist and essential for his work, and to burden his mind as little as possible with names, with technicalities, and with those details which do not bear directly upon the surface forms.”

A Handbook of Illustration

A Handbook of Illustration by A. Horsley Hinton who writes “Every artist or draughtsman, be he beginner or expert, must draw for himself and according to his own feelings and promptings. In every department of art the successful have had their imitators, and these again their imitators, and at each successive stage the further one gets from originality, the more trammelled, the more impotent and hopelessly beyond the possibility of really great work.”

There are also several drawing books available as online only versions at Open Drawing Books.

Know of any other public domain artist resources? Let us know in the comments! I’d love to keep adding to the list.

Download These Free Public Domain Drawing Books for Artists was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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How Yesterday’s Type Has Inspired Todays Styles

In todays modern world the term ‘typography’ is used very loosly and you could argue that, since the digital age, typogrophy is no longer a specialized occupation. Furthermore, it is performed by anyone who arranges type such as comic book designers, graffiti artists, art directors, clerical workers and graphic designers. There are many instances where the modern typography we use today was inspired by old styles. In this article we will take a look at how yesterdays type has inspired todays styles.

Initial

The large letter that is often seen at the beginning of a chapter or paragraph in printed publications such as novels and newspapers is referred to as the ‘Initial’. The name initial comes from the latin initialis which means ‘standing at the beginning’.

Going back to the very early history of printing the initial would be added to a manuscript or text by a scribe or minature painter annd not by the typesetter; The typesetters just left the necessary space so the Initial could be added later.

There are several different types of Initial, the first type is the one you will normally see on a computer, sat on the baseline and flush with the left margin. The other type of Initial you might see in html is in the left margin with the text to the right and indented.

The last, and probably the most common, type of initial seen in newspapers, magazines and novels is the drop cap, where it runs several lines deep with the text wrapped around so the left and top margins are all flush.

Old Style Typefaces

Often reffered to as Humanist, the ‘old style’ typefaces are inspired by the hand lettering of scribes before the modern typefaces we’re introduced; The very first old style fonts we’re produced in the early 1500’s.

The thick to thin transitions that can be seen in the old style typefaces highlights its relation to calligraphy and they look very much like they have been drawn with pen and ink. If you we’re to draw a line between the thinnest parts of the character you can see that ‘the stress’ is always diagonal and the serifs on old style fonts are very angled.

Old style fonts are generally best suited to pages with lots of body text on as they are very easy on the eye and are often found in magazines, newspapers and books. One of the most common used sans-serif old style fonts used in the web today is ‘Times New Roman’.

Modern Style Typefaces

The modern style typefacesare often referred to as ‘Didone’ and despite the name ‘modern’ it is not a new typeface. Going back to the eighteenth century when new advanced printing methods came to to light and when the paper qualkity drastically improved there we’re changes in how typefaces we’re created.

Compared to the old style typefaces the Didone have thin and very long horrizontal serifs, the stress is vertical rather than diagonal and the thick and thin transitions syle is much more clear cut and a dramatic difference compared with old style typefaces.

These fonts can be very eye catching when used in large sizes and are not suited to pages with lots of body text due to their thick lines becoming too powerful and the thin parts been nion impossible to see. The modern style fonts are best suited to titles, headings and sub-headings and common ones you will see on the web today are Didot, Onyx and Times Bold.

This article was produced on behalf of PrinterInks – suppliers of printer cartridges, toners and stationary services throughout the UK and Europe.

  How Yesterday’s Type Has Inspired Todays Styles was originally published on Uncanny Creativity

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Is Print Dead? (Infographic)

We all know the newspaper industry has been hit long before the economic downturn of 2009.  As a magazine designer for a newspaper company, I was curious about how the industry is doing as a whole: What parts of the industry have the most growth?  Where are the jobs?  Is employment falling?  How do books, magazines, and newspapers compare with “new media”?

Here are some stats showing a few of the more interesting sectors packaged with some editorial illustration. Make sure you check out the references for links to more numbers coming out of the industry.

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<a href=”http://uncannycreativity.com/is-print-dead-infographic/”><img src=http://uncannycreativity.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/02/is-print-dead.jpg” alt=”Is Print Dead? (Infographic)” /></a>

Print isn’t dead. The classic rules of newspaper layout can also teach us about graphic designer: the best newspaper page designs have clear headlines, excellent flow, relate photos to their stories and have informative captions that add more to the related stories.

Is Print Dead? (Infographic) was originally published on Uncanny Creativity