I just read a short novel that I purchased called Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
This book is about how artists find their inspiration in the stuff around them. It gives the reader an insight on creativity and how to prosper as an artist.. or animator(;
The author's main idea is that nothing is original. One may find this hard to believe but it was even stated in the Bible.
"There is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
Kleon believes that everything has to come from something. Creative work is found from what came before it. When you first think about it, the topic seems depressing but it is actually freeing. The sooner an artist can accept it, the sooner they can embrace it. There is no more pressure of being completely original.
The author believes ideas come from the influences you surround yourself with everyday. The only way to become better is to expand your mind.
How would one do this?
The answer is simple. Collect knowledge. The more your head expands from books, movies, and everyday sights; the more you can choose to be influenced by. After-all, our own ideas are just clumps of other ideas that inspire us.
Kleone encourages artists to take a notebook wherever you go If there is something you see or hear that you find interesting write it down because it could lead to something amazing. An artist is a collector because they take the things they love and build off of it in their own image. Inspiration is all around you so when you see it, steal it.
I loved this book. I believe the author challenges the reader to look at being an artist in a different way than one would. Kleone makes a good argument. When I first started this book, I was skeptical. I believed there were a lot of movies and books in the world that are so unique and wonderful-for example disney- but the more I read the more I became convinced. It made sense to me that in order for an artist to create, it must be inspired with something around him/her.
The knowledge one would take out of this book depends on what kind of person they are. Take me for example. After reading this book, I wish to look more deeply at the world around me and embrace any ideas that will inspire me to animate a story worth stealing someday.
Citation: Kleon, Austin. Steal like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative. New York: Workman Pub., 2012. Print.
The knowledge one would take out of this book depends on what kind of person they are. Take me for example. After reading this book, I wish to look more deeply at the world around me and embrace any ideas that will inspire me to animate a story worth stealing someday.
Citation: Kleon, Austin. Steal like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative. New York: Workman Pub., 2012. Print.
