#the creative cycle

[hjbender]

Creative Inertia

One of the things nobody talks about is when a writer or artist wants to start a new work while still "owing" on an unfinished Thing. But instead of following their motivation (striking while the iron is hot; going where inspiration leads), their guilt for not working on the old Thing keeps them from attempting the new Thing, and since they don't feel like working on the old Thing right now—but they can't start the new Thing—they end up doing nothing. The motivation for new Thing eventually dies in utero, they try (in vain) to work on the old Thing, nothing happens, pressure increases, the cycle of inertia repeats itself, and the writer/artist feels like shit. At least until they can finally break free of it.

[nutnoce]

Fresh Cicada: Some things take like a huge amount of time to mature deep in your head and then when you start putting it on paper it just blooms and blooms and blooms.

From a conversation with @lemondesouterrain 

[hjbender]

[hjbender]

I can't speak for all creative people, but the hardest thing I've ever done is nothing.

[nicocharles-blog1]

The Creative Cycle - Evaluation

The important part of the creative cycle - the evaluation. 

This is where you explain every step of your project, everything you researched, everything you took inspiration from. You will have to explain what went well, what failed, and more importantly what you would change. 

When using evaluation techniques you will want to look back on what you did and explain why. As if you are teaching someone else what to do to create a similar outcome and they’re a complete beginner. 

As for why you should write an evaluation for yourself, it’s because it will help you remember techniques better and why you should use them in the future. It’s self-reflection into yourself and the way you work.

When I am evaluating my work I like to include all my failures and how the happened so that I can tell myself how to avoid them and how to make the next shoot or next project as close to perfection as I can get.

You can also use evaluating techniques in research because you can do a step-by-step on what you think the artist did and why that gives you inspiration, when everything is spread out plain and simple it can be easier to focus on and understand. 

[nicocharles-blog1]

The Creative Cycle: Development

Development is an important stage to focus on within the creative cycle. When you are in this stage you should take the time to reflect back on your work and make notes on what you have done versus what you could have done to make it better than before. Such as what you can do to change further photos using Photoshop or different camera settings.

You can also compare your work that you have done to the brief requirements and see if they match, and if not you can change how you are working and not make the same mistakes again. 

Comparing your work from the beginning of the project to the work you have produced nearer the end can be very refreshing as you can see what has improved since starting and you can also refresh your ideas and take a minute to think properly about everything you have done so far.

It’s important to not skip the self reflection as it really will help your understanding of your work and how much work you can produce in a set time. It also helps you organise your work as you can pinpoint exactly when in your sketchbook you put your work and what stage it was at. 

[nicocharles-blog1]

The Creative Cycle: Research

The first part of the creative cycle is to research as this is what you will base your project off of. You can research artists for inspiration and new techniques or you can research a specific kind of work/technique to gain knowledge about how you improve your work. 

Whilst you can get a lot of information online now, books and magazines are still the most reliable way to get information for photography as they contain a lot of specific instructions and history that is often skipped out on.

Obviously the more work and effort you put into the research the better your end results are going to be, as you will further understand what you want to do and how to do it. 

You can also research whole genres and styles of fashion to help aid you in a project that is set with specific requirements. For example if you were given a brief that asks you to create a photoshoot that matches a 90′s theme, you would need to research what kind of patterns and techniques would appear within that time. 

Research is very important and will always help you create the best image you personally can as you will know exactly how to match the brief and how to mimic any style given.