An Artist Prepares

I think it was Stephen King who wrote that writers should read everything under the sun in order to broaden their perspective and enhance their range of influences to pull from; i.e. science fiction writers shouldn't just read science fiction, but also non-fiction, mysteries, etc. Taking that advice and adapting it to drawing, I started reading Constantin Stanislavski's book on acting, "An Actor Prepares", to see if it had anything to offer me as an artist.

Part of my thinking was that, drawing characters (as in comic books) was, essentially, creating actors with pen and paper. And beyond their surface details, I should also consider things like character motivation to better determine the way they ought to be posed, why and how they were doing the things they did when I drew them.

As it turns out, the book gave me more than I bargained for. Here's an example:

"When the actor's reactions are more powerful, inspiration can appear. On the other hand, don't spend your time chasing after an inspiration that once chanced your way. It is as unrecoverable as yesterday, as the joys of childhood, as first love. Bend your efforts to creating a new and fresh inspiration for today. There is no reason to suppose that it will be less good than yesterday's. It may not be as brilliant. But you have the advantage of possessing it today. It has risen, naturally, from the depths of your soul to light the creative spark in you. Who can say which manifestation of true inspiration is better? They are all splendid, each in its own way, if only because they are inspired."

A lot of what Stanislavski had to say about acting I found could apply to being an artist in general, particularly when it came to developing creativity and generating inspiration. Insightful stuff.

Forget the Film, Watch the Titles

Submarinechannel.com has a section called Forget the Film, Watch the Titles, which is devoted to really cool opening credits. It's a great concept, and something I've hoped that someone would do. It's definitely worth checking out. I've included one of my favorite opening sequences above (it's not showcased on the site), and true to the subject, it was the one thing I really liked about Casino Royale.

Business Card Design

Photo Credit: creativebits

While browsing Jaiku, I happened to see a post by Ben Gold that listed Kevin Rose's TumBlog, which posted a link to this post on Cool Business Card Designs (I think I'm having a meta moment).

There's some neat stuff. I'm not sure how I feel about nonstandard sizes and cards with stuff attached. I feel like a business card should be cool, but that it should also fit into a wallet or card holder. Although these days, I have a tendency to add the information to my address book and toss the card unless it's worthy of keeping as a sample, so maybe that's not really relevant.

This was timely find for me because I need to start designing my personal card very soon. I don't plan to start looking for clients until next year, but I'd like to start designing identity now.

There was also a nifty Yoda quote among the comments: "Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try." as well as a link to Steve Wozniak's business card (apparently he uses it as a steak knife).

Welcome!

My vision for this blog is to create a small community of creatives to share information and resources. In theory, a small core group will post design-related news and inspiration as well as their own work for review or just for show. For those in the Chicago area, I also plan to have real world get-togethers to talk shop.

This concept is most definitely an experiment. I have no idea if it will work. At the very least, I hope to post regularly and create an online resource of creative news and ideas, as well as chart of my own personal development. Over the remainder of this year I'm hoping to bring my design knowledge, skill and portfolio up a couple of notches. I find that blogging helps me keep my motivation and focus up, and it's always nice to be able to share what I learn.

If you would like posting privileges, email me and let me know. All creative types, not just designers, are welcome.

I've also created a Yahoo Group for conversation and a Twitter account for announcements to complement this blog. Feel free to sign up for either, both or neither.