4 Ways to Get Inspired to Create

Illoguild Question #14

Each month members of the illoguild answer a question together, and this month it is: Where do you find inspiration?

So many places!! Where to start?

Below I will share where I find inspiration, and if you’d like to share what inspires you, the comments are always open. I have a feeling we find inspiration in many of the same places but also many different places, so I’m looking forward to being inspired by your inspiration :)

And be sure to check out the illoguild page on Monday to read everyone’s responses!

🎉 Have you heard the news? The

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Ways I find inspiration:

Something that’s unique about being artists in the 21st century is that we have access to as much reference and imagery that we could ever want. If I’m curious what a bat looks like (spooky season is coming…), I just google it. I might come across the image below, which was painted by Bhawani Das in the late 1700s. He was hired to record unique flora and fauna in India. His job was to create accurate records of life around him, just like many other artists at that time. I’m curious how those artists would answer this question about inspiration. The world is so connected now that us artists can find literally unlimited inspiration, photos, illustrations, videos, etc… of places and things all over the world.

So with this unlimited access to inspiration and imagery, where do I focus most of my energy? I try to lean into my own interests so I’m not finding the same reference as everyone else, so I usually find myself doing these 4 things…

1) Walking around, both at home and while traveling

Going on walks and looking around sounds so simple, but it’s can unlock a treasure trove of inspiration. I wrote about this topic last year, too!

I was recently in Scotland, and the charming towns were full of inspiration. I always snap tons of pictures when I see something that I would want to use in a book. Below there’s a shop with tons of plants and crates outside, which would look so charming. There’s ivy growing up the side of a stone cottage, and the parking signs were beautified by hanging flowers. All of these details are so sweet, and they all would create such a charming backdrops to make the world building come to life in a book.

Photos from a recent trip to Scotland that would make adorable details in children's books

This was the backyard of a the AirBnb we stayed at, and sketching it in person helped me to understand how to translate it into my style. I always embrace organic, messy sketches. It’s about the idea and exploration. Now my sketchbook has inspiration for a future composition.

10 min sketch outside the Airbnb to log inspiration in my sketchbook

2) By studying other artists, new and old

We can learn a lot from studying art across time. A few months ago I was working on a spread with 15 characters.

Adam Ming

expertly suggested I start by drawing groups of 2-3 people. It was such helpful advice, and I began to notice that painters from hundreds of years ago did the same thing, such as in the first painting below. Notice how the people are grouped. In the second painting, I was inspired by two things: the dog (of course) and how the carpet is ruffled under the little girl’s feet. Kids were wiggly in the 1600s, just like they are now. That is a fantastic, yet subtle detail that could be included in either a kids book or a grand Flemish portrait. Who would have thought there could be so much inspiration in these works?

Picking up tips from paintings in the Scottish National Gallery

I also study my favorite contemporary illustrators, and wrote about that here. I observe what lines they used or how they composed a page. I regularly check out library books and note what I like. Tom Frose has a class on Skillshare that teaches how to analyze your favorite artists to help inform your personal style.

3) Instagram challenges

This is a biiig one for October. Some of the most popular instagram challenges start next month. I compiled a list of Inktober and Peachtober prompts for you below. Sometimes I combine challenges. It’s like how Friday Doodle Club offers three words a week to spark imagination.

Remember: There is no need to do these challenges. They’re supposed to be fun, so if starts to feel like a lot, you don’t need to draw any more. Pick one prompt, do all of them, or do none! That’s the beauty of it. I’m not sure how many I’ll do, but I’d definitely like to join for some.

I really like Instagram challenges, because they provide a deadline (which I absolutely need - anyone else?) and it’s so entertaining and inspiring to scroll through all the posts and see how everyone interpreted the prompts in their own styles.

Some folktale week submissions from last year. IG challenges are so valuable for getting work done!

4) Scrolling on Instagram

Yes, I really do find inspiration just by scrolling. Sometimes I’ll see something cute or funny that I want to draw, or I’ll see something that sparks an idea for a character or scene. I have a saved folder on instagram called: “Want to Draw.” It’s full of things I like, and drawing what you like is part of style, plus it shows the work that you want to get. It’s a great way to collect visuals that inspire me. Then when I’m wondering what to draw, I can go there and pick. Here’s a sampling of some things in that folder:

Posts saved to my "want to draw" folder on instagram

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I think that’s the most photos I’ve ever included in a post, so I hope you enjoyed seeing them all. I’d love to hear where you find inspiration, because it will inspire other artists and myself to look in new places.

Thanks for reading, and make sure to check out the other posts from

illoguild

next week!

See you next week to chat about kids books,

Katie