Book notes on Steal like an artist (part 7/12)

 Chapter 7: Geography is no longer our master

• Most art related fellowship is online these days
• But since the time of this book, social media has totally changed from how it used to be. I’ll hold myself back from ranting, but it’s not a great place for artists these days.
• Create your own inner world
• People have always said I live in my own little world. Introvert for life!
• Distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has changed, and that changes everything.
• You should leave home at least once.
• I wrote in my notes for How to do Nothing by Jenny Odell: When we experience new things, as ideas of people and places become a palpable reality, our home no longer (at least temporarily) feels like the center of reality. That’s why it feels weird coming home after spending the night somewhere else.
• Travel makes the world look new, making our brains work harder
• Live and work around interesting people. They don’t necessarily have to be doing the same things as you.
• It’s more interesting that way anyway. Everyone has a different story, something to teach, something to learn. You won't get that if you’re always hanging around the same people as yourself.

Book notes on Steal like an artist (part 6/12)

 Chapter 6: Do good work and share it with others

• Post your work online. What can I fill my website with?
• Show glimpses of the process
• Teasers
• Share tips
• Links to interesting articles etc
• Recommend books
• Obscurity is a blessing when you’re starting your journey
• I’m sure it’s awesome being a popular artist online but I really enjoy working in obscurity. I don’t feel obligated to dance for other people. I just do what I want, when I want. It’s pretty great.
• People aren’t mean or cruel, just busy with their own lives.
• When you’re unknown, you have more creative freedom to do what you want.
• No pressure to please others
• Nothing to distract you from getting better
• Wonder at something and invite others to wonder with you.
• When brainstorming an idea, I always start with what the idea means to me. When I post the art, I try to propose a question or food for thought to promote conversation. It’s a fun way to connect with others.
• Give your secrets away and teach your unique art methods
• Open up your process and invite people in
• You will both learn new things and it becomes a creative conversation.
• I want other people to learn my stained glass art style so I don’t have to do it anymore. It’s tedious work.
• Some historical examples of creative conversation: How Disney cartoons influenced anime; or how ukiyo-e inspired art nouveau. In both these cases, the style went back and forth until it developed into the many unique styles we know of today.
• When posting online, you’re only as good as your last post
• This doesn’t help me overcome my perfectionism. 

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.

Book notes on Steal like an artist (part 4/12)

 Chapter 4: Use your hands

• Make art that exists in a physical space. It’s a very different experience from working with digital. It involves more physical movement.
• When I took the notes on this chapter I was suuuuuper salty. I took it as a personal attack because I liked digital more than traditional. I was probably also mad because I didn’t make it into the senior thesis exhibition. All of my work was digital.
  
• I’ve changed my mind now and really enjoy working with traditional mediums. I realize now that it wasn’t saying digital art is bad- it just means to expand your horizons and see how your different experiences talk to each other.

Book notes on Steal like an artist (Part 3/12)

 Chapter 3: Write the book you want to read

• Like creating fan works, but something original
• Think about your heroes
• What didn’t they make?
• What could they have done better?
• What do I want to borrow from them?
• If your favorite artists all collaborated with you as the director, what would be made? Now go and make that!
• Director: Me
• Cat artist: Louis Wain
• Background artist: Erin Hanson
• Character designers (XX): Ethel Hays, Yuu Watase
• Character designers (XY): Tadashi Hiramatsu
• Story: This is a good one, lemme think on that
• Music: Akiko Shikata
• I’m going to keep myself from overthinking this staff roll. It deserves its own document so I could think about it more in depth. This is just a starter.
• It would be fun to make a list of other “staff members” to rotate through. I can’t pick just one.

Book notes on Steal like an artist (Part 2/12)

 

Chapter 2: Good theft, bad theft

• Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started

• You are ready now. 

• Start making stuff now.

• Imagine the protagonist of your favorite story if they waited until they were ready.
  You would never get to have that story.

• Fake it until you make it

• Everyone is winging it, even the pros.

• Pretend you’re successful until you actually are.

• Pretend to make something til you actually make something

• Dress for the job you want, not the job you have

• Start copying; it’s how we learn

• Many anime artists started with Sailor Moon. For me, it was Fushigi Yuugi,
  Tokyo Mew Mew, and Inuyasha.

• Copying isn’t plagiarism, it’s reverse engineering

• Those who don't imitate anything, produce nothing.

• For the longest time I tried to produce art from imagination as much as possible.
  I thought using references was cheating and only used them sparingly.
  I robbed myself of so many learning opportunities by trying to act noble.

• Figure out who and what to copy: Copy your heroes

• Louis Wain: Cats

• Erin Hanson: Scenery

• Art deco: Women

• Fanart: Men

  Compare and contrast between you and your heroes.
  Where do you fall short?
  Identify and amplify what makes you different from them.

• You start by rewriting your hero’s catalog.

• I want to revisit my favorite artists. I made collages for them already,
  but I would like to write an in-depth document so I can explore
  more about their work and what I like about it.

• Stealing from 1 = Plagiarism. Stealing from 10 = Research

• It’s very obvious when someone is only using one particular artist for inspiration.
  You don’t want to be a dollar store copy of your idol. It’s important to borrow
  bits and pieces from different sources.

• Don’t just steal the style. 

• Steal the thinking behind their style- get a glimpse into their minds.

• Move from imitating them to emulating them

• Learn more about their lives. Art process videos, articles, etc. What kind of
  philosophies or events in their lives profoundly affected their work?

• You are not the same as your heroes. You need to adapt the practices you like
  and make those your own.

• I am not a dollar store copy of Louis Wain, Erin Hanson, or Yuu Watase.
  But there are things I love about their art that I can incorporate into my work,
  making it my own but also acknowledging my creative heritage.

• It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us
  and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune
  and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst
  for profound reinvention - Conan O’Brien

• I agree with this message: I don’t believe in labeling myself as anything
  whether it’s who I am or what I do. I can do whatever I want. In the
  words of Mob Psycho 100: Your life is your own.

• Humans can never make a perfect copy; that’s where we discover our own style
  and how it evolves.

Good theft	Bad theft
Honor Study Steal from many Credit Transform Remix	Degrade Skim Steal from one Plagiarize Imitate Rip off

Book notes on Steal like an artist (Part 1 / 12)

Book notes on Steal like an artist, by Austin Kleon

 Notes: I originally took notes on this book in 2018. I typed them up in April of this year, adding personal reflections to my notes, displayed in orange.

Chapter 1: Creative Lineage

• When people give advice, they’re talking to their past selves.
• I wish I could go back in time and mentor myself. I had to learn many lessons the hard way because I didn’t seek much guidance from others.
• Is it worth stealing? If not, then move on.
• The only art I study is stuff I can steal from - David Bowie
• While doing my file cleanup, I followed a set of rules I made for myself to determine which images were worth keeping.
• What do I like about it? Does it spark any emotions?
• Would I pay to keep this image?
• Would I pay to have a physical copy of this image?
• Does this image inspire me in some way?
• Is there something I could learn from this image?
• We are free from the burden of being 100% original. Nothing is original
• You can’t create something out of a vacuum
• Ideas are just mashups of other existing ideas
• “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” - The Bible
• One of my biggest regrets is trying to draw entirely from imagination. I didn’t get much done that way.
• Collect and curate ideas to be influenced by- things that speak to your soul
• Louis Wain’s artworks, especially those produced later in life which have a timeless quality. Colorful and cartoon-like, but also hints at the profound sadness and inner turmoil in his personal life
• Erin Hanson’s colorful scenery paintings that shine like jewels. I have never seen colors that pop with such spectacular vibrance.
• Stained glass: Beautiful, epic, and majestic. Its many colors and patterns glitter in the sunlight
• Art deco: The perfect combination of simplicity, modern color and form. Cute tomboyish girls expressing their newfound social freedoms. Not only do I love the visual style, but to me it is a symbol of hope and radical social progress.