Top Fifteen Sources of Inspiration

Trying to constantly stay productive and inspired can sometimes seem harder that it sounds. We all have these moments. We unplug the TV, clear our calender and sit down to get productive but guess what? No inspiration can be found no matter how hard you try.

It’s a good thing that we live in the age of information where creative stimulation can always be on hand to blow away the cobwebs of inertia.

One of the best things that I can do to get me out of a creative funk is to acknowledge a lot of the things that inspired me in the first place. I’ve compiled a list below of the fifteen sources of inspiration that I’ve found important over the years. This is an idea I got from the amazing freelance illustrator Yuko Shimizu.

1. Ralph Steadman
I already wrote loads about Ralph in an earlier artist profile here so I won’t go on too much. I love his energy when creating. He is dedicated to catching the moment in an illustration which is something that I sometimes forget to do when I fall into the trap with trying to pursue the perfect illustration which is a futile endeavor. Steadman is an inspiration for anybody aspiring to be a freelance illustrator.

2. Hunter S. Thompson
A long time collaborator with the aforementioned Ralph Steadman, Thompson was a writer who’s talents have sadly been overshadowed by his caricature like persona, his contribution to 20th century journalism is often undervalued.

The stories of his escapades due to his prolonged periods of substance abuse are entertaining enough and indeed what drew me to his writing in the first place but strip all that away and you are left with a highly gifted and important writer who’s insights into that crazy period of the sixties seem oddly enough, to be amongst the most sane of those observations.

3. Jamie Hewlett
Just amazing at drawing. He’s every guy that ever sat beside you in art class and drew effortlessly while you struggled to draw a straight line.

Two of my favorite illustration books that I own are “The Cream of Tank Girl” a book focusing on the artwork of the comic where he first made his name and “Gorillaz: Rise Of The Ogre”. In many of his drawings he has these flashes of genius where you wonder “Why didn’t I think of that?”. The reason very often is is that I’m simply not Jamie Hewlett.

4. Star Wars
Like many of my generation, I was hooked on Star Wars from the start. I was lucky enough to first see it as a child where stormtroopers, Jedi knights, cantina bars, spaceships and lightsabers seemed as common place as anything else you might find in the world. With adulthood comes the inevitable thawing of the idealistic way in which you look at the world but everytime I see or even think of Star Wars I can get a fleeting glimpse of what it felt like to view the world with constant wonder.

5. Akira
Everything was settled after I saw the opening ten minutes of this animated classic. I knew the truth. I was going to university to study animation! Wasn’t sure how. My art teacher despised me, my drawings were very often ridiculed by teachers and students alike. That was not important anymore though. I had seen Akira and I was going to be an artist. I never seen animation do anything so impressive. It wasn’t just the animation though, it was the sound, the tension in the scene. Completely exhilarating.

I watched this for the first time one day when I got home from school and as the soundtrack to this scene gently rose, so did my expectations for life.

Here is the aformentioned scene below:

6. Pixar
What I admire most about these folks is how in love they seem to be with everything they do. Since their first major release that was Toy Story(and indeed all their short films leading up to that), they have arguably raised the bar with every release since.

It’s not just their full length features that are memorable either. Their animated shorts are also a joy to behold. See “La Luna” below.

If you too are a junky for all things Pixar, you may also be interested in a book review I wrote for “The Art of Brave”.

And for all those keen to be reminded of the importance of following your instincts and dreams, did you know that the Chief Creative Officer of Pixar was originally fired from Disney as they were of the opinion that the art of computer animation was merely a waste of time and money?

7. Doctor Who

OK. So some of these entries have been slightly nerdy and this one could be classed as super nerdy!  However, Doctor Who matters to me. I was a small child when I first discovered the show. My first memory of it is being terrified as the Tardis began to shrink with the Doctor inside. I now realise that that must have been the final Tom Baker episode when he made way for the introduction of Peter Davison, “my Doctor”. I clearly remember jumping up and down with complete excitement and utter abandonment whenever the opening credits came on, signalling the beginning of another adventure. Indeed, whenever I watch these same credits from that era I can catch an ever so brief glimpse of what it was like to feel that excitement.

The reason that I include Doctor Who on this list is that whenever I’m sat drawing and I’m not sure about the piece I’m working on I ask myself, “does this illustration inspire a similar sense of excitement and wonder as when I used to watch Doctor Who coming on television?” If the answer is often no and I know that I need to dig a little deeper within myself.

There is a memorable scene from the 50th anniversary TV special where the 11th Doctor comes face to face with a familiar face from his past.
Spoiler warning: don’t watch if you’ve not seen the special yet.

8. J K Rowling
I’ve been an admittedly late arrival to the word of Harry Potter but in recent years I’ve became pretty hooked. My one wish is that I could have experienced the stories as a child myself. Then again, I’m pretty much still an overgrown kid anyway so I don’t suppose it matters much.

I’m just amazed and completely in awe that anybody could create a fantasy world as full and enriched as the world that Harry Potter resides in.

All the great illustrators can do that also. You don’t feel that you’re merely looking at a collection of drawings but stepping into an actual world. Likewise, with JK Rowling, it’s much more than words.

9. John Rattray
Like his skating. That is all.

10. Damon Albarn
This guy is relevant for loads of reasons. I’ve been following him as an artist since about 1994. The key to his longevity has been his ability to adapt and  go in different directions in a heartbeat.

Here’s a question, in all honesty, when his first band Blur released Country House in 1995 did you really envisage him performing with Snoop Dogg at Glastonbury fifteen years later? What other artist of that era can you think of that could pull that off?
Here is a video of that very collaboration…

11. Comics
No need to get deep with this one. I love stories, I love illustrating and looking at other illustrations. So, yeah, I love comics!!

12. Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli is most useful for me in the way that every time I think I’m gutting good and making progress with illustration or animation, I’m divert my focus to Studio Ghibli and shortly afterwards say to myself, “OK, you’re got work to do amateur, get back to it!”.

I’ve recently started making framed pictures of all the background art from their movies so that I can be constantly reminded that I need to keep raising the bar.

13. New York City
I think I’ve probably drawn this place more times than anywhere else. It just never gets boring. I can’t even begin to describe my reasons for being so fascinated with all the architecture but anybody who has been there will no doubt understand what I mean when I say that it just seems to teem with this unique energy. It’s a truly remarkable place to visit, especially if you’re a freelance illustrator(or any sort of creative) trying to be inspired.

Unfortunately these days, it appears that unless you’re due a fat inheritance from your billionaire grandparent, you’re not going to want to live there permanently. Maybe that will change though.

Surely it has to.

It would be a crime if the creative element that has informed the city so much over the years is priced out from living there.

14. Highlands of Scotland
Now that I”m currently living in New Jersey I find myself pining for this environment more and more. This is one of those situations where it takes me being completely removed from a place to truly see the value of it. And to think that for all those years it was simply a train ride away.

15. Diego Maradona
Maradona was awarded the title “Master Inspirer of Dreams” by Cambridge University. That to me sums up the little genius. His exploits with a football go well beyond the banality of everyday existence and just watching footage of him playing can take you somewhere else. We all need that from time to time.

So that’s my fifteen. What are yours?