10 principles to make your work better Options

[brooklyneast05]

this is worth reading:

http://www.thinkingforaliving.org/archives/2405


i don't think people here like to click links and go read, so here's for you lazy people. it's a better read on the site though cause of format and pictures and it's just better.



1. Be honest.
Be honest to your audience. An open path of communication is built upon trust. This idea is relevant to every other form of communication, and I think it applies to visual communication. Honesty isn’t just about audience. Be honest to yourself as well. Do the things you’re passionate about. Avoid the things that you hate, if you can.


2. Consistent voice is more important than consistent style.
Voice is about what you say. It’s content. Style is about what you’re wearing. It’s aesthetics. The prior informs the latter, not the other way around. Clothes don’t make the man. They don’t make your work either.

3. Does it have heart?
If it does, make it. If it doesn’t, why spend the time on something that doesn’t have spirit?


4. Have modest expectations.
Spend a lot of time choosing that one thing that a piece of design or an illustration should try to do. Then, work your ass off trying to figure out the absolute best way to do that one thing.


5. Don’t be scared of your tools.
Use them, don’t fear them. For instance, while sketching, I recommend using cheap paper. If the paper’s cheap, you won’t feel bad documenting your bad ideas. Getting the first, awful ideas out of the way is crucial: very rarely does any one hit it out of the park on the first try. If I had a sketchbook filled with nice, expensive paper, I’d feel obligated to make the first idea I sketched brilliant. That pressure would paralyze me. Tools should be enablers, not disablers. If something is more intrusive or intimidating than it is useful, get rid of it. It’s not a tool, it’s a toy. Or worse, a creative boogie man that you’re inviting through your front door.


6. Embrace the subconscious.
In the studio, I have a sofa for naps with a couple pillows. The pillow is kind of comfortable, but mostly not. Just soft enough to relax you. But, just stiff enough to keep you from falling fully asleep. Right before you fall fully asleep, your brain is making all sorts of connections between all of the unrelated thoughts in your brain. There’s no filter from your conscious mind saying “This makes sense. This other idea doesn’t.” Without that filter, you can consider more possibilities. So, grab something to write with, fill your head to the brim with research and what you already know. Then, take an almost-nap and get ready to document the ideas that find you.


7. Edit.
Delete unimportant things. Even if you love them. If it isn’t spectacular, it gets cut. Kill your darlings. Be a cold-blooded killer. Ruthless. Delete. Refine. Improve.


8. Being too comfortable is dangerous.
Most creatures die in their sleep. Keep moving, or get eaten. The only things you should be absolutely comfortable with in your creative process are your tools.


9. There is nothing keeping you from doing the sort of work that you wish.
What do you want? It’s a hard, yet crucial question. We all do creative work to get happy. It’s why we let it beat us up, and it’s why we keep crawling back to it. Figure out precisely what you want, and realize that if no one will pay you to make it, you can still make it for yourself. And you still win, because you’re happy.


10. Execute.
An idea on the page is worth 100x more than an idea in the mind. You can only judge and be judged by work that’s executed. Eventually, we all realize that most of the ideas that look great in our mind look dumb once they’re real. But, at least you now know.

[synapse]

I agree with the part about the sketchbook. I do that very often. I'll draw out 1 thing and stick with it, rather than keeping at it and doing more, I do have a lot of cheap sketchbooks, though, I still feel most comfortable with the first thing that I draw. I really should practice and try harder to come up with more than just a couple designs when I work on something.

[creole]

i agree with everything you said except:

3. Does it have heart?
If it does, make it. If it doesn’t, why spend the time on something that doesn’t have spirit?

anyone can make any creation some type of meaning/heart/significance, even if it's the most stupidest thing.

[Mikeplyts]

anyone can make any creation some type of meaning/heart/significance, even if it's the most stupidest thing.

Um, I'm not sure on this, but it'd be nice if you could explain it a bit better or provide some kind of example.


Also, great tips. I really like 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9.

[creole]

why spend the time on something that doesn’t have spirit?

my reply was mainly emphasizing on this.

[queen]

7. Edit.
Delete unimportant things. Even if you love them. If it isn’t spectacular, it gets cut. Kill your darlings. Be a cold-blooded killer. Ruthless. Delete. Refine. Improve.

i like this principle the most. i tend to be a bit of a "pack rat" when it comes to art work. i do try to "detox" when my unfinished works start piling up, but more often than not they just sit there to rot.

i also like his principle-tip comparison.