daspetey

I like finding new, streamlined workflows for my creative projects.  In fact, if I think of each creative endeavor that I embark on, there is a different workflow for each, although there are certainly common principles and elements.  Things usually start with some sort of sketching process. shooting wide. casting a big net. catching as many ideas as possible. whether this is physically drawing them, or photographing, or even song-writing.  Next comes the curating phase. selecting the best candidates to move on. It’s my own little American Idol. My inner Simon Cowell gets a chance to critique everything.

From there I can rank or sort the ideas. group them. shuffle them around.  Then I start refining them.  For sketches, that usually means inking them, either digitally in flash or traditionally with a pen.  For photos it might mean bringing them into photoshop for some touch-up (although I haven’t really done that since i got my canon rebel. I love the way pictures look coming straight out of that thing!)  For songs, it might mean fleshing out a structure and plugging my rough ideas into it. 

The refining process has its own set of mini-processes that happen. or cycles.  And obviously this is the longest part of the whole deal.  This is the work part.  Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes not.  Any time I get stuck, I can look for outside inspiration.  I can look for ideas from my older sketches. or I can use any number of random prompts, or brainstorming techniques to push past the block.

Finally I get to publish the idea in some form.  Usually for paintings and photographs, that merely means they end up here, on tumblr.