Book notes on Steal like an artist (part 5/12)

Chapter 5: Side projects and hobbies are important

• The work you do while procrastinating is what you should be doing for the rest of your life.
• The problem for me is I go through obsessive phases every several months. I went through a marker phase, then I went through a file cleanup phase, now I’m in a PDF writing phase. I get bored doing the same thing consistently.
• Practice productive procrastination
• Some of my phases are more productive than others. File cleanup, scanning, or typing up written documents are good. Other times I’m obsessed with a video game or napping.
• It’s side projects that really take off- things that were born out of messing around.
• Get lost and let yourself wander. You never know where it’ll take you
• Good ideas stem from being bored
• Improvisation creates beautiful things. As of writing these personal responses to the notes, I’m creating a list of interesting ways to improvise with my art.
• Alternate between projects
• This really helps keep the ball rolling. If I finish a project and have nothing to work on, it’s hard to get started on something new. It also gives me something to look forward to, and keeps me from getting burnt out on the same project.
• Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind
• Your passions are not mutually exclusive. You can have more than one.
• Don’t throw any of yourself away
• I have many different art-related interests, like digital art, croquis, markers, and painting.
• Don’t leave your longings unattended
• Don’t worry about unity from piece to piece. What matters is that you made all of it.
• I think that eventually your work will become consistent in some way or another. It’s important to keep learning and experimenting.
• Let your hobbies talk to each other. It creates new connections in your head.
• What I learn from one medium will carry over to others. For example, traditional mediums like markers and oil painting changed the way I approach coloring digitally, and vice versa.