Category: Knowledge

Knowledge makes your brain bigger. Even bigger if it is creative knowledge (which this is).

Getting Good Ideas

Getting Ideas comic drawing

Oh, how we know that feeling. We’re working on our creative thing, whether it’s comics, drawings, or something else, and we just can’t come up with any good ideas. Our mind is empty. It seems that only shitty ideas are left in our heads. But it is important, especially in our creative work, that we can generate as many good ideas as possible because the variety of our work is what we need to make good things. Without many different (good) ideas, there will be no good creative work. And this is where we sometimes struggle. Just generating good ideas.

So how do we do that? We have to distinguish between two things: Belief in the process and techniques for generating ideas.

Belief in the Process

Belief in the process is critical to idea generation. Because sometimes we don’t do the right thing to get the right ideas. We sit around and wonder why this creative thing just doesn’t get better. Why does THE idea never come? We have to believe in the process and this is divided into several areas.

Area 1: Trust in Bad Ideas

We have to remember that not every idea we generate is good. We dig and dig and just come up with nothing good. But there may be one good idea among hundreds of bad ones. It doesn’t matter how many there are. The important thing is that we know we just have to keep working on possible ideas so that eventually the good ones we need will come. And they exist. You know they are somewhere because you have had them in the past. Believe in it! Deep under all that crap is something we can use. So let’s keep digging!

Area 2: Belief in Working on the Bad Ideas

Depending on the creative work you do, the process of turning bad ideas into something is important. For example, in drawing, sometimes the ideas come only when you start drawing. The same can happen with any creative work. If you make crap, at some point the idea of how to make something good out of the crap will come. Sometimes, even if you make a mistake, a good idea can come out of it. It’s very similar to when we have a hundred bad ideas in our heads. But if we work on it and use our hands (or feet, if you can work creatively with them), those good ideas will come by themselves. So: Work on your thing! Don’t wait for a good idea, start working on it and the good idea will come.

Area 3: Believing in Pauses

In addition, the creative process sometimes allows us to take a break. This is important because when we’re not working on our projects, an idea can suddenly come to us. So when things aren’t going well, it helps to just work on something else or take a break. Take a short walk outside, which has helped famous scientists to solve problems. Or get the idea in the shower. Over the years I have learned what is really important when taking these breaks: think about the problem every now and then. If you go for a walk without thinking about your project, you may never get an idea. But thinking too much is not good either, so it is important to find a middle ground.

When things aren’t going well, it’s important to remember these areas and not lose your head. Believe in the process! Believe in yourself! It helps you overcome anxiety and the pressure to come up with the perfect idea.

Techniques and Methods for Idea Generation

While it helps to believe in the process and keep working (or walking/showering) accordingly, good techniques for generating ideas are of course important. So here’s a list of my favorites and a few others. I distinguish between techniques where you don’t have an idea yet and techniques where you already have ideas.

Techniques and Methods Without Ideas

Brainstorming

Just about the best-known technique. And one of my favorites. You don’t have to brainstorm in words! You can sketch, paint, make whatever in a tiny size, and do variations to brainstorm. This will trigger area 2 from before because you are already thinking about ideas and making them. And don’t be afraid to make stupid ideas! Even the worst ones go on this list!

Mind Mapping / Clustering

So I’ve been reading Writing the Natural Way by Gabriele Rico and came across a technique called “Clustering”. It’s similar to mind mapping but you write down the associations of the word you use. So if you need ideas for a topic about trees, for example, you write down the first thing that comes to mind about the word “tree”. For me it is “green”, “leaves”, “book”, “reading”, “free time”, “walking” … etc. Sometimes these associations give you pretty good ideas that even have a deeper meaning. For example, a few months ago I did a comic called “Catch an Eye“. I asked my partner to give me a word and I’d make a comic out of it. She said “eye” and I used the clustering method to get ideas for the story.

Real-Life Experiences

Sometimes we forget that we have a real life to draw ideas from. So if you have a project that could have some connection to your past, search it for good ideas! Sometimes these are the best ideas because they add a personal touch to your project. The second thing is to go to places in real life where you can experience something similar to your project. For example: If you have to do something related to the Middle Ages, go to a history museum.

Word Ideas

If you can get ideas for your creative project from a few words, you could use random word generators on the Internet to get some ideas. You can even combine them. Sometimes when I draw a creature or character, I use some random words to get ideas of what they might look like. You could even point blindly at a book or newspaper to get those words.

Techniques and Methods with Existing Ideas

SO TAME Method

I used this in a Creative Work Problems comic. If you already have ideas, you can use them to get other ideas. Sometimes the bad idea just needs a different form to become good. The SO TAME method is a mnemonic for this:

  • S – Slice it up
  • O – Do the Opposite
  • T – Take something away
  • A – Add something
  • M – Mix it
  • E – Exaggerate it

Pretty much take your idea and do one or more of these things to it. Sometimes you will come up with some very unique ideas. I use it myself almost every day.

Two into One

Sometimes two things should be one idea. To me, that is what an idea essentially is: A mixture of two thoughts. So if you need a good idea, try to combine two things. Do you need a warrior character design? Why not mix a warrior with a baby and make a big baby warrior? Because warriors are “dumb” and so are newborn babies. Voila, we have a nice idea. Maybe this has already been done, I do not know. You can do this with anything that exists.

The “What if…” Method

Let’s say you have a story. But this story is pretty boring and you have no idea how to make it better. Well, there is a method called “What if …”.  This method asks a question about an idea you already have. It lets you think differently and add things that you would never have thought of without it.

So let’s do this quickly: We have a story. Say a whale wants to find his true love. A whale that just swims around might work, but … what if … the whale lives in the sky? Now we have a nice setting that makes the story more interesting. And we go on … what if … the whale falls in love with a cloud that looks like a whale? Well, now we have a bad idea. But remember! You need stupid ideas to get to the good ideas. So just go with the “what if” method and you will find the good stuff. You don’t have to keep everything. Maybe with this method, we’ll find a cool story about the whale finding love, but it’s not going to happen in the sky.

SCAMPER Method

I stumbled upon this method while researching this blog post. I haven’t used it yet, but it sounds promising. It is similar to my SO TAME method. This SCAMPER method allows you to think outside the box. The acronym stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify/Magnify/Minimize, Put to Other Use, Eliminate, and Rearrange/Reverse. The method involves applying these seven strategies to existing ideas to create new ones.

Substitute involves replacing elements in the idea with alternatives. Combine suggests combining two or more ideas. Adapting involves modifying existing ideas to fit new contexts. Modify/Magnify/Minimize involves changing the size or scale of an element. Put to other uses suggests using a concept in a different context. Eliminating involves removing an element or simplifying an idea. Rearrange/Reverse involves changing the order or direction of elements.

Conclusion

Generating good ideas can be a daunting task, but it is essential for success in any creative field. Believing in the process is crucial because it helps you overcome the fear of failure and the pressure to come up with a good idea. You must understand that generating good ideas is a journey, not a destination, and you must be patient with yourself.

In addition, you can use several techniques and methods to generate good ideas. Brainstorming, Mind Mapping / Clustering, and SCAMPER are just a few examples of the many tools available to help you generate new and good ideas. The key is to experiment with different techniques and find what works best for you.

Ultimately, coming up with good ideas requires a combination of creativity, persistence, and hard work. By believing in the process and using effective techniques and methods, you can generate a wealth of new and exciting ideas that will help you achieve your goals and create good stuff for others to enjoy! Now keep on making!

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Why You Need To Do a Big Project

My big project
My messy workspace and my new big project.

While listening to the Draftsmen Podcast, I was struck by a line from guest Flint Dille about his experience writing a novel. Despite being advised to start with a short story, Dille decided to jump into a big project by writing a book. Although the resulting novel did not sell, he gained confidence in his ability to tackle ambitious projects and never again felt intimidated by their scope.

This idea is fascinating – I had previously thought of large projects as simply opportunities to learn but had never considered their potential to reduce the anxiety they often cause. Dille’s example of writing a novel without hesitation is a reminder that anyone can take on such a challenge. And so can you!

My new project

This podcast episode was one reason I decided to start drawing a graphic novel. But mostly because it has always been a personal goal of mine. However, I never felt ready to take on such a significant project. Following the advice of others, such as Moebius, I initially focused on some wacky short stories to improve my skills. However, I now feel that I’m at a stage in my artistic life where I’m ready to tackle something bigger. The wackiest comic I’ve ever done!

Last year I started a major project that required a considerable amount of pre-work, but I recently decided not to do it because I wasn’t feeling 100% committed to it. I decided to turn another idea into a full-fledged graphic novel. It was originally intended to be a sitcom-like webcomic, but with my newfound confidence, I am excited to take it to the next level!

Will it be a masterpiece? Of course not. But one thing is for sure, I am committed to seeing this project through to completion.

I will be showing some work in progress on Instagram in the not-too-distant future. Until then, stay tuned.

Tips for your big project

Working on your big project? Or are you still thinking about it? Then do it! Here are some tips on this topic:

  1. Setting clear goals and identifying milestones is crucial when starting a big project. Celebrate these milestones when you reach them.
  2. Break your project into smaller, more manageable tasks so that you don’t get overwhelmed. Think of it like building a car; you may only see the huge car you need to make all by yourself. But you only need to look and work on the one bolt somewhere deep in the engine. Focus on the damn bolt!
  3. Creating a professional project plan and setting deadlines can also help you stay on track. With a clear plan in place, you’ll know exactly what needs to be done and when. This can also help create a sense of urgency to motivate you to meet your deadlines.
  4. Remember to be okay with imperfection and avoid overwhelming yourself. Don’t strive for perfection (except your perfectionism is the good one), as this can lead to discouragement and stagnation. Accept that there may be mistakes along the way and just focus on making progress.
  5. Most importantly: start! Starting a big project can be the most challenging part, but once you see progress and your project takes shape, you’ll be more motivated to continue. So, take that first step and keep moving forward toward your goal!

Now stop surfing (and reading) and start working on your big creative projects!

A Different Approach to Art Block

Art Block Illustration

There are various names for this phenomenon — writer’s block, creative block, or art block. I made a list a while back with some suggestions if you have this problem. Today I’ll show you a different approach with an exercise.

This exercise includes a) different steps you do in a relaxed body position, b) mental imagery exercises, and c) a visualization of your art block.

It can also help you solve daily creative problems in your work. For example, if you get stuck on a project and don’t know what to do. That’s why I will test and do this exercise myself too.

I have adapted this exercise so you can do it alone, as it is usually done with a therapist who guides you. This means that I will change this exercise over time with feedback.

What Can Help With Art Block?

There is evidence that vivid daydreaming helps with a creative block. That’s why we do an exercise that enhances this.

We all know when we go for a walk with a problem in our mind, we find the solution before we even come back from the walk. In this sense, daydreaming can help us when we have this issue.

But how can we deliberately start this daydreaming? Of course, we can encourage it by doing nothing and letting our thoughts run free. By doing something other than our creative work and thus letting daydreaming take its course. Or just do something else, like Kness did when she had art block. Or we can apply this solution with an exercise, which encourages daydreaming. As a result, it helps with our creative block.

One part of the exercise is a series of mental imagery exercises that form the basis of the Creative Imagination Scale. I’ll give you this part of the exercise in short, there is a link below for more details.

The Concept of The Mental Imagery Exercise

There are 10 parts to the exercise. Here’s an overview of these parts (the actionable and adapted exercise is further below).

  1. Arm Heaviness
    • Think about how your arms are getting heavier.
  2. Hand Levitation
    • Think about how your arms are getting lighter.
  3. Finger Anesthesia
    • Imagine your fingers going numb.
  4. Water “Hallucination”
    • Imagine drinking cool refreshing water.
  5. Olfactory-Gustatory “Hallucination”
    • Think about how you perceive the taste and smell of an orange.
  6. Music “Hallucination”
    • Listen to music in your mind that you heard the other day.
  7. Temperature “Hallucination”
    • Imagine your arms getting warm.
  8. Time Distortion
    • Try to slow down time with your thoughts.
  9. Age Regression
    • Imagine going back in time, e.g. childhood.
  10. Mind-Body Relaxation
    • Try to relax your mind and body.

The Problem With This Exercise

And what’s the problem? A therapist should guide you through this whole exercise, while you are in a relaxed state. It is quite difficult to do with no therapist around. Hence, we’re going to change it up a bit and do it ourselves!

Go through the mental imagery exercise before you start it, preferably writing it down, and try to imagine how you do every point of this. Look for personal examples such as point 8 “Time Distortion”. When is the moment in time you will imagine? Then try to remember these points as best as you can.

If you do the exercise and forget a few things, don’t worry! It’s not a problem at all. If you do the exercise over and over again, you will memorize everything and incorporate the forgotten things.

The Exercise Against Art Block

Remember this exercise and then let’s do this!

  1. Sit in a dark room with your eyes closed and focus on relaxing your body and mind.
  2. Now describe to yourself the contents of your ongoing thoughts and fantasies.
  3. Do the mental image exercises as mentioned. No more than 1.5 minutes for each exercise.
    1. Arm Heaviness
    2. Hand Levitation
    3. Finger Anesthesia
    4. Water “Hallucination”
    5. Olfactory-Gustatory “Hallucination”
    6. Music “Hallucination”
    7. Temperature “Hallucination”
    8. Time Distortion
    9. Age Regression
    10. Mind-Body Relaxation
  4. Now visualize or otherwise experience the elements of your current creative work. Imagine your creative block. What do you want to work on right now? What are the problems and solutions to this? How do you move on?
  5. Come back to reality. Stretch your limbs. Breathe deeply. Open your eyes.

Repeat this daily for two weeks or more. You can do this as a ritual before doing (or trying to do) any creative work.

Conclusion

While there are many ways to tackle a creative block, I am trying to give you a new, evidence-based approach. I have adapted this exercise for you to do on your own, so we need more evidence to see if it works without help. If you have someone to help you, you could use the real exercise down at the sources.

Because this is a work in progress and I’ll continue to adjust the exercise after feedback. So, if you do the exercise for a while, it would be super nice if you could send me your feedback! I will adapt and improve the exercise so that it is even more applicable and can help you.

Sources

Mental imaginary exercises from the Creative Imagination Scale:
https://hypnosisandsuggestion.org/assets/files/Creative_Imagination_Scale.pdf

Singer, J. L., & Barrios, M. V. (2009). Writer’s block and blocked writers: Using natural imagery to enhance creativity. In S. B. Kaufman & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), The psychology of creative writing  (pp. 225–246). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511627101.016

Barber, T. X., & Wilson, S. C. (1978). The Barber Suggestibility Scale and the Creative Imagination Scale: Experimental and clinical applications. The American journal of clinical hypnosis, 21(2-3), 84–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/00029157.1978.10403966

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Ideas, Motivation, and The Best Thing You’ve Ever Done

This blog post brings you four of my latest Creative Work Problems comics and a tip for each topic.

The first one is about ideas and how they can take a little longer than we want them to. The second is about to-do lists and how overwhelming they can become. The third one is about motivation and how it comes and goes quickly. The last one is about how we like things we do, and after a while, we realize what a stupid thing we did (which is good).

Good Ideas Take Time

good ideas comic

Often we have more bad ideas than good ones. This can sometimes make us feel like we don’t have any good ideas. So we often give up too soon. What helps is not to lose hope and to work on the ideas again for a while. Make variations, brainstorm again, or maybe try a completely new approach. If we keep at it, then the good idea will be there at some point, which we can then improve little by little. An idea doesn’t come to us in a perfect form, but it has the potential to become great. We just have to keep working on it.

Here’s a post for getting good ideas: Getting Good Ideas

Too Many To-Do’s

To Do List Comic

Too many planned tasks can be disastrous. 🥵 I hear these little empty boxes screaming at me when I can’t tick them off. Let’s stop this so we can sleep better. We always want to do more than we can do. But in the end, our day only lasts 24 hours. And we have to divide the hours cleverly without overwhelming ourselves.

Here are some tips that you can use to better deal with to-do lists.

  1. Plan enough (buffer) time. Most of the time, your tasks last longer than you think.
  2. Never write more on your to-do list than you can do in one day. If you have to do so many things, then something is going wrong with your general planning.
  3. Do the most important task first.
  4. Have flexible things planned that don’t necessarily have to be done today. You’ll feel better if you still can’t finish them.
  5. Some people only put three tasks on their daily to-do list. Much less overwhelming than an endless list.
  6. Put your To-Do List where you can see it. I have a notebook just for my lists. It always stays open on my desk while I’m working.
  7. If you have problems doing anything at all, it is often helpful to have a To-Do list with just one task. It can be anything. For example, watering flowers. Gradually you can create more tasks when you feel like it.

If you follow some of these tips, it will be easier “to do” your to-do list! And your list won’t annihilate you with empty little boxes. 🔥

When Motivation Arrives

Motivation Comic

Motivation comes and goes. Sometimes it fades faster than you would like. Or in this case, faster out the window. 👉 💥

I can give you the following advice: Don’t wait until you are motivated to work on your creative project. Don’t wait for the muse that may never come. Start with the thing you don’t have the motivation for yet. It is tricky, but sometimes it helps to spend ten minutes working on the task you’re not motivated to do. The magic is that you can get inspired by sitting down and working. And the inspiration will also quickly give you the motivation you are lacking. Ten minutes can then quickly turn into an hour or more. Try this when you’re waiting for your motivation to appear (or when you see it jumping out of the window).

Funnily enough, I had no motivation to finish this little comic. But I kept sitting down and working on it for a few minutes. And lo and behold, something came out in the end.

Some Good Work At Last …?

Good Work Comic

We sometimes have the feeling that we can’t produce anything good. But then the moment comes when we create something we like so much that we think it can’t get any better.

Yet things change after a while.

We look back on it years later and realize what we created back then is just crap. That’s a good sign. It means we have grown in our passion and made progress in our creative life. Those are the moments we need to remember! When we think we’re not moving forward. A thing in the past that we can grab onto when we are in creative despair.

But even if you don’t have those moments where you think you’ve made something great, you can still see how you’ve gotten better.

That’s why I advise you to look at your old work to see how much progress you have made. And use this as a weapon of creativity if you need it.

Those four comics are one of the last ones of my “Creative Work Problems” comic. You will find the new ones I do on Instagram if I start them again. If you have ideas for comic topics you can reach me here.

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4 Mistakes That Cause a Creative Void in Your Mind

Creative Void Illustration

You take the time to create something. Something from your creative mind. But unfortunately, you sit there, in front of this yawning emptiness and your head is completely empty. You have no idea what to do. You still know how to do it. You want to, but you just can’t. Sometimes there are no ideas, other times there is an invisible resistance that you can’t overcome. Your mind is in a creative void. And you need to get out of there.

What many creative people don’t know is that we make mistakes that can create this situation. In this article, I’ll show you four mistakes you may be making and give solutions on how to prevent these errors.

1. You haven’t started yet

Nothing comes from nothing. Often we stand in front of our work and don’t know what to do because we don’t dare to start. But what stops us from just starting something? It doesn’t have to be the finished idea we are working on. A little warm-up exercise can help us get in the mood for creative work. Start with anything! It doesn’t matter what. When you draw, draw something you see in front of you. If you don’t know what to photograph, photograph the first thing you see. Get into the flow of things, get dirty, start! Only then can the creativity come and the ideas that you need for your project.

2. You put too much pressure on yourself

Let’s face it: you haven’t started yet and you’re already worried what you’re doing won’t turn out well. Push those thoughts aside and try to see the journey of your work as the goal, not the end result itself. You are doing it because you enjoy the process, not just to see the finished product. Think of what you are doing as a thing you can learn from and improve upon.

3. You don’t experiment

Sometimes it helps to just let go and experiment. Do something you’ve never done before. May it be a new technique or a different material. Use this to find something that can enhance your normal work. This way you can start with something without putting pressure on yourself and get into the flow of working on something creative.

I once tried to draw only with brushes. In the end, I worked for over a year with a brush and learned important things that I still use in my work today.

4. You have no plan

This creative void often has something to do with the fact that we don’t know what we are doing. What exactly do we want to do and why? Create a plan for it. Are you doing this just to have fun? Then write down what exactly you enjoy doing and apply it to your work. Is it the motivation to learn something new? Then think about what exactly you need to learn and how to do it. You can also plan a whole project that can last weeks or months. That way you always have an idea of what you can do.

I’m working on a comic book in my spare time where I have almost everything planned out. I just have to execute the whole thing, so to speak. That’s why I don’t have any problems with this creative void – most of the time at least – because I know exactly what my goal is and what I have to do for it.

Conclusion

Try to avoid one mistake after another so that the creative void doesn’t stand a chance! Never overextend yourself and don’t feel bad if it doesn’t work out. Changes and improvements need time. Therefore take it!