From time to time, I’ll be asked what the hardest part of being a freelancer or blogger is. In my honest opinion, it all comes down to inspiration. Sure, you can know how photoshop works inside out, and be the master of web languages, but without any type of inspiration or idea, you wont be able to put those skills to good use.
The best part about freelancing or owning a blog is you can do everything in your own time. There’s usually no pressure, unless you’re trying to meet a deadline, and certainly you’d still have time to relax. Before you take on a huge project, or after you’ve accepted it, just chill out for a while. Do whatever helps you relax, whether it be video games, exercise, or just sitting down and watching Scrubs with a big cup of warm tea after a bubble bath.
When you’re stressed out, human instinct is to fight, or run away. We gained this ability to help us when we were in the wild, fighting predators, and killing wild bores for dinner. Stress produces a hormone called cortisol, which can actually shrink your brain size, and well, that isn’t very good for creative people.
The problem with having a job is you can’t run away, unless you want to risk not getting paid, while simultaneously looking like a crazy person. By relaxing you give your brain a little break, allowing it to work better than if you were to constantly push it.
Okay, so this sort of links back to the relaxing bit, but there’s nothing like a bit of music to light up those creative parts of your brain. Music can produce a natural high for a lot of people, and there’s no better time to create than when your brain is on the top of its game. Don’t listen to any stressful music though. When I’m coding or designing something I can sometimes listen to the same song tens of times in a row, just to keep me focused on what I’m doing (Thus why on my last.fm profile Mika and Little Boots are up there at the top).
Everyone loves music, and that’s all down to the fact that it’s hardwired into your brain. Humans are seemingly the only earthly creature with such a passion for music and rhythm. Music does different things for everyone, but seeing as music is just another art (like web design and arguably coding), it can inspire you in a way that will help you with your project. So sit back, and listen to your favourite track.
Okay, this isn’t some new age stuff that I’ve made up. I don’t mean to necessarily meditate, but lying down for a while and thinking (not sleeping) can really help boost your creativity. Just be comfortable and lie down, clear your mind, and you’ll find yourself thinking in a completely new light. Write down ideas as you come up with them, as I find they can leave your mind just as quickly as they arrived.
When you think of meditating, you’re probably thinking of floating monks fighting ninjas in Japan. Meditation really does help the brain though, and studies have shown that mediation can increase brain size, while other studies show how it increases alertness. The greatest thing about meditation though is that it can really clear your mind. Think of your mind like a river. Throughout the day the river becomes clogged up with various thoughts, meaning you can’t think straight, blocking your creativity. Meditating can help you organize all these thoughts, allowing your creativity to come through.
The main way that most people will look for inspiration, is, well, by copying other artists ideas, to put it bluntly. Picasso once said, Good artists copy, great artists steal, and well, that’s pretty true. It’s not a good idea to copy someones work identically. This is called plagiarism boys and girls, and that certainly wouldn’t be good for your reputation. What he’s saying though, is if you look around you, everything is inspirational. Take a look at modern web design and its various traits. Wood and paper design, notebook style layouts, flowers, etc. The list goes on. The point is though, that none of these ideas are original. They’ve all been done before, and they’ll all be done again.
Oh, inspiration is everywhere. Look around you, and you’ll probably see something that could inspire you. However, if you’re inspiration meter is running into the red, may I suggest visiting art portfolio websites. A very popular place for inspiration is Deviant Art, full of all sorts of wonderful and beautiful pieces of art.
Don’t stop there though. If you’re into web design, why not check out a web design gallery like Best Web Gallery, or google about until you find something that’s inspirational to you. Remember, there are no rules to this game we call art. It’s just you and your brain, and whatever you can put on a screen or a piece of paper. Think outside the box, after all, it’s all just a bunch of lines.
What I mean by release is to get a break from it all. This sort of relates back to relaxing, only in this case I specifically mean to release all of those excess emotions. Go for a jog; take up kickboxing; do something that will help you to release any anger or sadness that may have bundled up inside you. Heck, even just punching a punch bag. Sometimes if you get all bundled up in the unique euphoria that is life, you can lose track of your creativity, and not be able to focus on it.
It’s hard to express yourself with a keyboard, a mouse and a screen, even in Photoshop. When you finally get into a somewhat creative mood, and feel like throwing a bucket of paint on something, the closest you can get to that on a computer is the paint bucket tool. It’s important to keep in touch with the physical side of art. Take a pencil or a paint brush and draw. Make something unique. Do a mockup of what you are going to attempt on the computer Just scribble on the page and pick out shapes from the mess of lines.
Remember, your brain is your main tool for creativity. That big bundle of cells and moisture is what’s allowing you to read this article right now. If you’re in a particularly creative mood, your brain can start to use up calories 23-29% faster than normal. Running out of energy can dampen your creative mood, so don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids and eat regularly.
If all else fails, go for a huge walk. Walking can help you to release all that excess energy (Number 6), and relax at the same time (Number 1), while listening to music (Number 2) while looking for inspiration (Number 4). Inspiration is everywhere, and the place where everyone started looking for inspiration was out in the wide open world. A walk can help you to see the beauty of whats around you, and really, you can’t beat a lovely walk by yourself, with a bit of music playing from your iPod.
The world is your oyster. Pull it out and eat its meaty center before it can get away.
Comments
Thanks for the contribution. It’s really hard for a webdesigner to really relax, even harder if you are a freelancer wearing too many hats.
I enjoyed and shared it at my twitter account.
Thanks