Mistakes and Inspiration

Many times, inspiration for a piece of art comes from different sources. Sometimes I see a work that someone else has done and I want to try and create the same sort of effect in Photoshop. Occasionally I succeed, but most of the time I fail and in the process of failure I end up creating something completely different. This is not always a bad thing!

In Disney’s movie, Meet the Robinsons, the main character spends a majority of the movie wallowing in his own failures. The Robinson family that he meets shows him the truth about failure. When you fail, you can learn from your mistakes and try again. Much can be learned from a failure, from success…not so much. This is not to say that you cannot learn from a success, because you can. I just feel that you can learn much more from a failure. Patience and perseverance are in my opinion two of the most important things you can learn. As the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again”.

Embrace your mistakes and your failures. Take your weaknesses and turn them into your strengths. Some of my favorite pieces have been a result of a mistake and the unintended consequence of pushing a wrong button or using the wrong filter.

For today, here is a list of tutorials and art pieces that I have recently found to be inspiring.

Break Apart Effect
Digital Surrealist Art
Out of Bounds Illustration
Fantasy Photo-Manipulation
Force Bubble / Mental Wave

May 5, 2009 at 9:31 am | General |