Years ago, I helped to design an online class for which I wrote some material on how artists get ideas - especially for creating images from imagination. Below, I have rewritten some of that material and added more recent sketches to illustrate my process for “ideation” -- the exploration and development of ideas.
So... where do artists get their ideas? Many great minds have attempted to address this question, yet definitive answers elude us - the late Harlan Ellison hilariously claimed to use an idea service in Schenectady. But seriously, there are techniques that can help you find and develop your own ideas. Below are some of my suggestions for ideation.
The Act of Sketching
Ideas may begin with doodles in sketchbooks, on pieces of typing paper, or even on a napkin in a restaurant. When sketching, let your imagination run wild. Sketch out any idea, no matter how crazy. You can decide later what works and what doesn't. Keep sketches very rough and loose. You might have many false starts before finding something that works. The important thing to understand is that the very act of sketching itself can generate new ideas. There may be a universe of new ideas out there waiting to be discovered, but you will never find them until you set pencil to paper and explore. Below are some doodles from my sketchbooks. These are quite rough and crude, but this is how many of my ideas often start.
Finding Order in Chaos
Have you ever looked at clouds and imagined faces in them? Our imaginations have an amazing capacity to find order in chaos. Visualizing things in random shapes is another technique for generating ideas. Try sketching random lines and shapes on paper, and then try to "see" creatures or landscapes within them.
Ideas That Don't Work
If your sketching doesn't seem to be leading anywhere, don't get frustrated. Sometimes ideas that don't work will lead to ideas that do. In designing Russia for the Reversed Front: Bonfire game, my initial sketches featured a cityscape with Soviet architecture, but it felt like something was missing. These just weren't working for me.
In playing around with the Steampunk elements, I stumbled onto the idea of using spider-like shapes, and the environment design really took off from there. In terms of concept, I think this turned into one of my more successful ideas for the Reversed Front Game (see the finished version of Russia here). It just needed the right twist, but I don't think I could have arrived at the final result without working through the early less-successful stages.
Feeding Your Imagination
In my opinion, one of the best efforts to explain the genesis of ideas can be found in Alan Moore’s essay on writing comics. I won’t restate his words here (but I highly recommend you read his essay for yourself). I’ll just give my own spin on Moore’s advice: ideas seem to happen at an intersection where the objective world around you collides with your own subjective or emotional responses to the world. Each of us has our own unique inner response to life, but we also need broader life experience to fertilize our imaginations so that our ideas can grow. In years past, I have advised students to feed their imaginations by doing research and finding references, by visiting libraries and bookstores; you might read or see something that inspires you, perhaps something that leads you to more ideas (or better ideas). Also visit museums, zoos, historic sites, or places with interesting views and architecture. These places are gold mines of inspiration for artists. Take along a sketchbook and a camera to record your impressions, as well as details that may be useful as reference later. Above all, go out and experience the world for yourself. I believe that research, reference, and life experience provide raw fuel on which imagination runs.