Inspiration, a Time for Indulgence.

Welcome to the fourth installment of the KidLitArtists series on inspiration! This time we have Andrea Zuill here to talk about what inspires her.

“The object isn't to make art; it's to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”
― Robert Henri

Creating is hard work. I don’t just mean the hours of filling up sketchbook after sketchbook trying to get that damn rabbit just right or spending days at the computer trying to find out how other people have dealt with the look of bemusement. The hardest tasks in art can be creating a nest of inspiration in which you can sit in the middle of, break down all the walls that block you and make art/

For me there are two types of inspiration. The first type involves the work of other artist. I collect a ton of images by all types of artist. These artists help me figure out characters, storytelling and art techniques. The second type of inspiration has more to do with the spirit. 

Inspiration of the spirit flicks on all the creative switches in your brain. Music is the best way I know to get my mind in the right place. Music helps me from overthinking as image. Time of day is important. I am NOT a morning person so I don’t fight it. I usually start working around 11:00am. Being physically comfortable helps too. If I am having trouble with an image often I will change into my pajamas. I can’t create in silence so if I’m not listening to music I will have the TV on (this works best if it’s something that I have seen before and don’t have to pay attention.)

Lastly, some of my best inspiration comes when I’ve just stopped thinking. Is this even possible? Well, kind of. I’m sure that you’ve heard people say that they get ideas in the shower or right before they go to sleep. I actually get flashes of images in my mind’s eye when I relaxing in the bath. I started having these flashes about 20 years ago. It’s like my mind is presenting me a set of flash cards with possible solutions for illustrations. And, I have to admit it is truly a bizarre thing.

My best advice for artist is to be aware of what helps you when create. Your environment can’t be perfect all the time but even small changes can make a difference.