A lot of people ask me,
“Lex, where do you get your inspiration from?”
“Who inspires you?”
“How do you think of what you think of, is there a secret?”
No, there really isn’t any type of secret. I have always kind of been this way I guess. I draw inspiration from everything I see, and everyone I meet. A lot of times, people see things as they are, instead of possibly seeing them as something else. You always hear children asking “why”, and “how”, but as we get older, most of us lose that sense of curiosity. We have more responsibilities, and in todays day and age, we become more involved in technology than in every day life, thus, a lot of people question “how do they do that?”.
We look at kids playing, and they pretend to be all kinds of things. If you ask them to create something out of a horse, they’ll give you a unicorn. Probably a rainbow one. That’s also made out of candy.. and flys... and lives in a nest of Twizzlers. We stop thinking of that when we become adults. A horse stays a horse, and everything else is just your imagination. BUT, what if you could make that idea, or creation, a reality? That’s where I come in.
I get inspiration from colorful or creepy things most often. There is so much room to draw different interpretations out of existing things. Maybe you don’t like the way something looks, and you think it would look better this way or that way.
I am often told that copying is a form of flattery. (I’m not sure the exact saying). While I agree, at the same time, it really actually isn’t... but yet it totally is! (That was confusing).
“Lex, where do you get your inspiration from?”
“Who inspires you?”
“How do you think of what you think of, is there a secret?”
No, there really isn’t any type of secret. I have always kind of been this way I guess. I draw inspiration from everything I see, and everyone I meet. A lot of times, people see things as they are, instead of possibly seeing them as something else. You always hear children asking “why”, and “how”, but as we get older, most of us lose that sense of curiosity. We have more responsibilities, and in todays day and age, we become more involved in technology than in every day life, thus, a lot of people question “how do they do that?”.
We look at kids playing, and they pretend to be all kinds of things. If you ask them to create something out of a horse, they’ll give you a unicorn. Probably a rainbow one. That’s also made out of candy.. and flys... and lives in a nest of Twizzlers. We stop thinking of that when we become adults. A horse stays a horse, and everything else is just your imagination. BUT, what if you could make that idea, or creation, a reality? That’s where I come in.
I get inspiration from colorful or creepy things most often. There is so much room to draw different interpretations out of existing things. Maybe you don’t like the way something looks, and you think it would look better this way or that way.
I also draw inspiration A LOT out of my dreams. I have a very vivid imagination, and my dreams interpret life in such crazy ways. Luckily, I remember most of my dreams very vividly, so I am able to remember what a character looked like that I created in my own mind. Don’t worry guys, i’m not crazy! I think.
Another main inspiration to me are my emotions. Do you ever just sit there when you’re so angry and picture yourself as something different? Maybe the incredible Hulk, or Godzilla. Or when you’re so sad, you wish you could just take off like a rocket, break through the clouds, and float among the stars as a beautiful creature. Something that needs to be able to breathe without oxygen, with skin thick enough to make the transition between Earth and space. Maybe you can heal people through a light that comes through your skin. Maybe you’re a good character that will help make people feel comforted, so no one has to feel the sadness you feel, or maybe you’re an evil character that wants to make everyone feel how you’re feeling. You begin to develop ideas when you let your mind drift. If you over think creativity, I often find, you won’t go anywhere, and you will get “artist block”. One of the main keys to creating a character is understanding their purpose.
My creations and ideas are my own. They are developed through my emotions, through my life, and through my mind. For every artist, I believe, their art represents something that is often times extremely close to their own life. It’s just a matter of how they see the world through their eyes.
Another main inspiration to me are my emotions. Do you ever just sit there when you’re so angry and picture yourself as something different? Maybe the incredible Hulk, or Godzilla. Or when you’re so sad, you wish you could just take off like a rocket, break through the clouds, and float among the stars as a beautiful creature. Something that needs to be able to breathe without oxygen, with skin thick enough to make the transition between Earth and space. Maybe you can heal people through a light that comes through your skin. Maybe you’re a good character that will help make people feel comforted, so no one has to feel the sadness you feel, or maybe you’re an evil character that wants to make everyone feel how you’re feeling. You begin to develop ideas when you let your mind drift. If you over think creativity, I often find, you won’t go anywhere, and you will get “artist block”. One of the main keys to creating a character is understanding their purpose.
My creations and ideas are my own. They are developed through my emotions, through my life, and through my mind. For every artist, I believe, their art represents something that is often times extremely close to their own life. It’s just a matter of how they see the world through their eyes.
__________________________________________________________
Which leads me into something that I, as well as every artist runs into, every so often.
“Copy Cats”
When I first created my youtube channel, I started because I wanted to see if there were other people out there that would enjoy my work, and also to help people be able to use the look for events, parties, Halloween, and anywhere else that you might wear a really cool, fun makeup look. They are meant to help make you look like a BOSS (pretty much!)
When I first created my youtube channel, I started because I wanted to see if there were other people out there that would enjoy my work, and also to help people be able to use the look for events, parties, Halloween, and anywhere else that you might wear a really cool, fun makeup look. They are meant to help make you look like a BOSS (pretty much!)
There is a difference between “copying” someone and giving them credit for the idea (which, in this case, it is okay! that is what makeup looks are for, especially when presented with a tutorial. If they were not meant to be replicated, they would not have tutorials!), and recreating the look and then claiming it as your own idea. That is NOT okay! It would be like if someone took a Papa Roach song, sang it themselves, and was like, “Oh hey, I wrote this song. Isn’t it great?” and you’re like, “Dude, I listened to that song when I was in 5th grade, you didn’t write that...” Although that person sang it in their voice, the actual song is not theirs.
This has become a common thing that I have seen on the internet now, and it’s horrible. When your work is mirrored and your credit is taken away, it makes you feel so uncomfortable, I can’t even describe it. You see your vision and interpretation stolen, and it hurts.
When you see a recreation of your work, and credit is given, whether its your name, your page name, anything to represent that it is your idea and their execution, it warms your heart. It is a wonderful feeling to see that people like it enough to execute it, and especially when it’s executed well! It’s AWESOME. (but, once again, as long as that person is not claiming it as their own idea). Credit is not REQUIRED, its just a good feeling to know that someone else has learned from you, and in turn, wants others to learn as well.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone denies that they flat out stole your work, when you can see that the original was posted before theirs, and you know its an original, because you thought of it. It isn't about ownership, or getting your name out there, its just the fact that its your art baby.
By no means is this an angry post, or anything of that sort, but I did want to put my opinion out there, and I am sure I speak for a lot of artists, when I say that our work is like our children. All of our imagination, hard work, and ideas are turned to nothing when others claim our ideas as theirs. At the same time, that also does not mean that you should burn a fire under someone who may have made a mistake. MISTAKES HAPPEN! We all learn from them, and if you ever run into a situation in which you feel you are being wronged, talk directly to that person, and kindly explain your view on things. There is no reason two individuals cannot have a civil conversation. If it ends up not being civil, it is still no reason to branch out and spill your emotions online. We all go through tough times, and its how you handle them that either improve you, or hurt you. To end this explanation, I wanted to provide a quote that I found on the interweb while surfing around. Now maybe this never had an author, or maybe their credit got lost somewhere through the complicated strings of our interweb, but it is worded in such a way that is easy to understand.
“You know... saying, ‘Your character looks like, or reminds me of...’ any given published design, is the absolute worst thing you could ever say to an artist. Ever. Even if it was meant as a compliment, the artist‘s brain will interpret that comment as, ‘You are not original or creative; this has been done before.‘ An artist’s original character is often deeply personal to them. Even if you had good intentions, you have trivialized their hard work.” - Unknown
- Lex
This has become a common thing that I have seen on the internet now, and it’s horrible. When your work is mirrored and your credit is taken away, it makes you feel so uncomfortable, I can’t even describe it. You see your vision and interpretation stolen, and it hurts.
When you see a recreation of your work, and credit is given, whether its your name, your page name, anything to represent that it is your idea and their execution, it warms your heart. It is a wonderful feeling to see that people like it enough to execute it, and especially when it’s executed well! It’s AWESOME. (but, once again, as long as that person is not claiming it as their own idea). Credit is not REQUIRED, its just a good feeling to know that someone else has learned from you, and in turn, wants others to learn as well.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone denies that they flat out stole your work, when you can see that the original was posted before theirs, and you know its an original, because you thought of it. It isn't about ownership, or getting your name out there, its just the fact that its your art baby.
By no means is this an angry post, or anything of that sort, but I did want to put my opinion out there, and I am sure I speak for a lot of artists, when I say that our work is like our children. All of our imagination, hard work, and ideas are turned to nothing when others claim our ideas as theirs. At the same time, that also does not mean that you should burn a fire under someone who may have made a mistake. MISTAKES HAPPEN! We all learn from them, and if you ever run into a situation in which you feel you are being wronged, talk directly to that person, and kindly explain your view on things. There is no reason two individuals cannot have a civil conversation. If it ends up not being civil, it is still no reason to branch out and spill your emotions online. We all go through tough times, and its how you handle them that either improve you, or hurt you. To end this explanation, I wanted to provide a quote that I found on the interweb while surfing around. Now maybe this never had an author, or maybe their credit got lost somewhere through the complicated strings of our interweb, but it is worded in such a way that is easy to understand.
“You know... saying, ‘Your character looks like, or reminds me of...’ any given published design, is the absolute worst thing you could ever say to an artist. Ever. Even if it was meant as a compliment, the artist‘s brain will interpret that comment as, ‘You are not original or creative; this has been done before.‘ An artist’s original character is often deeply personal to them. Even if you had good intentions, you have trivialized their hard work.” - Unknown
- Lex
Comments
Post a Comment