How do Artists Generate Ideas?
 
First- spend some time looking through the notes at the link below!

(Where Do Artists Get Their Ideas https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/inspiration-in-visual-art-where-do-artists-get-the


You can choose whatever media you want to work in--pencils, pens, crayons, tempera paints, watercolor--whatever you enjoy working with. 

How will you come up with your own idea? 
  • What inspires you? Brainstorm and list as many things as you can that you are interested in or inspired by.  You can do this in many ways: a list, mind mapping, scattered words across the page, sketches or whatever way works best for you. Remember that in brainstorming there are no wrong wrong answers. Come up with as many things as you can without judging them.   Do this quickly, before  your mind starts to judge the ideas.  If it helps you can set a timer for 5 minutes and free write---just write without thinking anything that passes through your mind.  it doesn't have to make sense, or stick to a topic. It will be random, scattered, and disjointed; flowing, like your thoughts throughout the day.  You can arrange the thoughts or ideas however you want- try to be creative and have fun with it.

After brainstorming, think of and list:
  1. a memory 
  2. something you believe strongly in or value i.e. spiritual, religious, philosophy, ethic, etc.
  3. a story
  4. a dream (or if you don’t remember your dreams, a daydream)
  5. a hope, goal, or aspiration
  6. something you enjoy

Check out the Incredible Art Department's list of ideas-generating here! 
 
Explore some of the lists and jot down notes of things that appeal to you. Your spread should be cohesive, creative, and full of notes, ideas, resear

  • Keep all of this in your sketchbook/journal on ONE SPREAD (two facing pages.)
Where Do Artists Get Ideas?


​*Teams pass around their drawings, collages or, or assemblages as they work. They work on each other's work to develop enough ideas so that each team member can then redo one of outcomes to make it into a personal cohesive composition that incorporates new ideas contributed by others on the team.

Conceptual Art 
Students write and illustrate the imaginary history of a mysterious still life object (comic book style). What if a Granny Smith apple is drawn as a portrait of what Granny Smith must have looked like and what she wore the day she discovered the Granny Smith apple. Can a piece of driftwood be explained then drawn in terms of its life in a castle or some imaginary unrecorded prehistory. Design a still life that is represented by the molecular diagrams of the materials (molecules) present in the still life. What is the story of a stone age tool if it is illustrated at the moment of its invention? Can good and bad art be created and shown with a halo and devil or some other symbolic designation?

BUIILDING AWARENESS
Students are given five to ten minutes to walk around the room with viewfinders and small drawing boards, clipboards, or unlined sketch pads. A 2x2 slide frame can be used as a viewfinder. Each student makes three or more quick compositions in 4 x 6 inch pre drawn rectangles on their paper. they make one drawing per sheet on letter size computer paper. Drawings must fill the 4 x 6 space. 


Dr. Craig Roland
Learning to think like an artist means:
  • looking at things more closely than most people do.
  • finding beauty in everyday things and situations.
  • making new connections between different things and ideas.
  • going beyond ordinary ways of thinking and doing things.
  • looking at things in different ways in order to generate new perspectives.
  • taking risks and exposing yourself to possible failure.
  • arranging things in new and interesting ways.
  • working hard and at the edge of your potential.
  • persisting where others may give up.
  • concentrating your effort and attention for long periods of time.
  • dreaming and fantasizing about things.
  • using old ideas to create new ideas and ways of seeing things.
  • doing something simply because it's interesting and personally challenging to do.
  • (Accessed on 4-30-2020, from http://web.archive.org/web/20070218021739/http://www.arts.ufl.edu/ART/RT_ROOM/%40rtrageous/think_like_an_artist.html)

"Failure is only for those who quit." Bud Biggs


Blockbusters for Artists 
© 1999 Nita Leland
Every artist wants the answer to this question: How do you break blocks? The process is different for everyone, and probably different every time we get stuck. Here are some ideas to choose from that might help you jump over your hurdles:
  1. Adjust your priorities. It's all about choices. If you're not painting, it's because you've chosen to do something else. Like making a living? I know, life gets in the way sometimes. If you're watching soap operas, lose the remote. You know what you have to do each day. See what happens when you take the last thing on the list and do it first.

  2. Lower your expectations. You don't have to paint a winner every time. It's the process that's important. Why face a full sheet of watercolor paper or large canvas every time? Cut up some 5" x 7" cards and play with small compositions in paint or collage. You might come up with an idea for a design, but at the very least you'll be working. And you can use the small pieces for gifts.

  3. Do something art-related every day. You might just need to stoke the fire of creativity by visiting a little gallery or museum. Or take an artist friend to lunch and talk art. Just sorting sketches or photographs, tidying up your studio a bit, or puttering around your art space can sometimes stimulate your interest. Sharpen pencils, play with paint, whatever.

  4. Do one thing. Sometimes we get blocked because the task ahead looks too intimidating. Break it down into individual steps and start with the first one. Sounds too obvious, but the fact is, we let ourselves get psyched by the thought of doing a painting, when all we really need to do is stretch paper or canvas....then make a little compositional sketch.... then play with some colors...then do a drawing....you get the idea. Once you get started, you'll probably pick up momentum as you go along.

  5. Play with ideas. This is the "what if" scenario. Frequently, we get blocked because we're stuck on one idea or subject and we're just lukewarm to it, thus reluctant to get started. Take that idea and free associate or brainstorm. Write down every word you can think of relating to the idea, and if some seemingly unrelated word pops into mind, put that down, too. Then sift through your words for a transformation of your original idea. I once brainstormed the word "hat" and came up with a composition based on a pile of baseball hats stacked in the hall closet.

  6. Change one thing. For example, change the format of your picture. If you usually work horizontally, try vertical for a change. Or change the proportions of your canvas--long and narrow. Or the shape, from rectangular to oval. You'll find it more interesting to fit your subject into a different space, and this will frequently get you rolling again.

  7. Draw. Put a sketchbook in your car and sketch the scene around you while you're waiting for the car pool. You don't have to make pictures. Draw the traffic light, the stop sign, or the dashboard. Draw everything. You'll improve your skills and your self confidence at the same time, and possibly even break that block with a new idea for a picture.

  8. Finish something--anything! Take a piece from your stack of unfinished pictures and finish it, no matter what. It doesn't have to be a winner--see what you can learn from it. Try new techniques, collage over it, crop it, make it a diptych or triptych. If nothing works, throw it away without regrets and pull out another.


​Janean Thompson writes: "I often take a mental break by simply walking away from a project. I fix a cup of tea and sip it while sitting on a lawn chair, under a big tree next to my studio. It is a commune with nature, a moment of quiet relaxation and a slate cleaning for the clutter in my mind. When I go back to work, it is with renewed clarity."
(http://www.nitaleland.com/articles/blocks.htm)



Other Sources for Inspiration:

​
  • How will you come up with your own ideas?
  • What inspires you? Brainstorm and list as many things as you can that you are interested in or inspired by.  You can do this in many ways: a list, mind mapping, scattered words across the page, sketches or whatever way works best for you. Remember that in brainstorming there are no wrong wrong answers. Come up with as many things as you can without judging them.   Do this quickly, before  your mind starts to judge the ideas.  If it helps you can set a timer for 5 minutes and free write---just write without thinking anything that passes through your mind.  it doesn't have to make sense, or stick to a topic. It will be random, scattered, and disjointed; flowing, like your thoughts throughout the day.