Embracing the Creative Process: Finding Joy in Art Development
There's something magical about the creative process, isn’t there? That beautiful mess of ideas swirling around in your brain, waiting to be brought to life. Occasions we feel guilty that some ideas don't get to share the spotlight but the ones that do, a creative will have more to say than meets the eye.
Take, for example, a recent art project of mine where I decided to tackle the concept of the “monkey mind”—you know, that old saying that describes a state of restlessness, and lack of control in one's thoughts like a group of monkeys playing havoc in the mind!
I used my sketchbook and started drawing. The idea? A serene monkey sitting in a meditation pose on top of a mountain (my idea of calm) —a visual metaphor for finding peace amidst the mental chatter.
This now moved onto refining that sketch, adding patterns and details until the monkey gave off the zen essence and then I could image trace him to Adobe Illustrator and digitising the design. From here I decided to take this idea further and did some research on different meditation techniques and how they help with anxiety. Not only did this inform the design and turn it into a poster and mini booklet but it also gave me the opportunity to research a subject I was interested in and symbolise a journey to calm the mind. You can read more about the research I found here:
Another example would be the simple tree doodle. We all love a tree, draw trees, silhouette, brushstrokes, fine lined there is so much you can do with the subject and that process in itself is so calming and this was no exception.
This tree was a distorted, whimsical tree with patterned branches and leaves that almost seemed to dance in the wind. The idea was to capture the tranquility of sitting under a tree, listening to the rustling of leaves and grass, and letting the world melt away.
The initial sketch was redrawn a few times and after digitising it and refining the details, the tree began to take on a 3D effect. I was now able to play with the colours, blending vibrant hues to give the tree an almost ethereal quality. The digital process allowed me to tweak and experiment in ways that would’ve been tough to do with traditional media.
Through all this, I realised something important: the development process isn’t just a means to an end. It’s an adventure in itself, full of twists, turns, and happy accidents. Your creative brain might throw some obstacles your way, but hey, that’s part of the journey.
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