That's a Wrap!

I highly enjoyed reading Kleon's "Steal Like an Artist", it certainly wasn't your typical "textbook". It was very informative and gave suggestions that people won't normally tell you. I will definitely read it again at some point and plan on keeping it on my bookshelf.

While I was reading Kleon's book, I was also reading one of his reading suggestions he listed in the back. The one that I chose was "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Hansson. The writing style and the addition of hand illustrations is comparable to Kleon's book, but it goes more in depth about what it really takes to run a company successfully rather than your own self discovery. While it provides many tips, suggestions, and "inside knowledge", in short chapters, the advice that was the most memorable for me was allowing your customers to outgrow you. I have always thought that a company's product should be constantly updated to keep up with the times and customers, the book says that if you cater towards your existing market and change your product according to their demands, then if they leave you anyways, you are stuck with something only catered to a specific group of people. If you have something that is basic, then you will always have new people coming to you. As they put it, "Small, simple, basic needs are constant. There's an endless supply of customers who need exactly that."

Check out the awesome cover and back. I love the crumpled up paper used for imagery. 

Here are some of the illustrations of topics discussed in the book. 

With Limitations There Is Freedom

The last chapter of Kleon's "Steal Like an Artist" is short, but it gave me assurance in how I felt about doing anything design or art related in that I need limitations in order to come up with something decent. If you sit me down and tell me to draw something, anything, I would probably spend most of the time sitting there thinking about what to draw. However, if you tell me to draw a flower using glitter glue and confetti, I could probably whip something up in a couple hours. By being constrained, not only are you narrowing down the possibilities, but you are also challenging your mind in how to create and interpret the assignment. When you do something with limitations in place, there is also a greater possibility of creating something truly unique and innovative because it's not expected. If you tell two people to paint a rainbow, and give one person all the colors and the other person just one, surely the person restricted to just one color would come up with something far more creative than the other person because they have to think more about how to execute it.

That being said, I should assign myself a project to do with restrictions. It would be great practice and who knows, it might become my greatest piece yet! lol. As much as I would like to create a flower out of glitter glue and confetti, I don't have either of those. So I would need to think for a bit on what I would like to do.

Be Boring

Yes, be boring. One would think that people of the art world would be anything but boring due to constantly needing to be creative, but that is the first piece of advice Kleon gives in chapter 9 of "Steal Like An Artist". His reasoning is that it takes a lot of energy to truly be creative, and it's just not possible to mentally be on that level 24/7 without going insane. Therefore, it's necessary to have "down time" and just do things that are boring (but you don't hate) and have a routine. My current routine consists of quite a few things, but it's more or less the same thing every week, which is nice because I don't have to think about what is going to happen because I already know. In fact, when something is different, I find myself constantly thinking about it to make sure I don't forget it. That energy and time I could have used to do something more constructive or perhaps even come up with something more creative at my internship.

The next thing Kleon suggests is to stay out of debt, which is good advice for anyone. Save money where you can, like brewing coffee at home instead of going to a coffee shop every morning, bring your own lunch, and not buying the latest technology when the old one works fine. Not only will this save you money, but you are also saying no to the consumer culture.

Keep your day job. Yes, it sounds....boring, and not exactly one would consider a life achievement, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to get the bills paid, until you can support yourself doing what you truly love. There is a benefit to keeping a day job, and that is human interaction and just learning new things. You can also get inspiration where you work just because it's a different environment.

Kleon also suggests keeping a calendar and a log book. The closest thing I have to keeping a calendar is my planner for school. Multiple times throughout my life, I have attempted to keep track of my life with a calendar, but most of the time my life is a routine (as stated before). If there is any change, I will mark it in my planner, but I don't find it worth it to make a note of it in google calendars because of the time it takes to open up the webpage, type in the event, and mark the times, when I can just scrawl it down on a piece of paper. I'll try doing the log book. That might be interesting to see what I did the past week or the past two weeks and remember any fun or strange events that I would have otherwise forgotten. I will start with today since today was a fun day (not sure if you can read my handwriting).

Keep Calm and Be Kind

In chapter 8 of "Steal like an Artist", Kleon touches upon a few points, one of them being the importance of being kind to others. Not only will it reflect positively on your character, but also allows you to make friends and thus expand your network. I have always said that I would rather have more friends than enemies because you never know when you need help on something or if there will be a great opportunity for collaboration in the future. 

With the internet being a great resource to get your name out and to get information, it's hard not to get caught up with all the trolls online. But that's just what they are, trolls who strive to cause drama over the internet. Kleon talks about how he would get caught up in some argument over twitter, but his wife told him to spend his energy on making something rather than getting worked up about it. His wife is absolutely right. So much energy, time, and effort is wasted on combating trolls that could have been used for something productive that matters in the end. 

Another point Kleon talks about is surrounding yourself with those who are better at you in what you do or want to do. Really that is the only way you will force yourself to improve your work. When you are constantly surrounded by good work, eventually you abilities will grow to reflect that. That is what I am hoping I get out of my internship this semester. The other designers not only produce great pieces of work almost every time, but they also come up with really creative and logical solutions and also are able to work in a timely manner. Those are qualities I would ultimately like to have and even though sometimes I feel my work isn't good enough, I know I am learning and that my work will improve, even if it's only a little. I also like how Kleon mentions that if you are the best in a room, then you need to go find another room where you are not the best. 

There are a few designers that I admire and am currently following through facebook, but one stand out in particular to me and that is Sakimichan ( I think I talked about her before). I really enjoy and am envious of the works that she is capable of doing. They are fun to look and also quite beautiful as well. I like how she takes requests from her fans and is open to share any weaknesses in her pieces. Her latest hurtle is incorporating perspective into her characters and on a few of her latest works, she mentions she is still trying to improve that aspect of her illustrations. She also shares her techniques with the public if you decide to support her, which is reasonable considering her abilities. This touches upon what Kleon mentions in an earlier chapter of the book to share your abilities. If you have a loyal fan base (which you probably have to be kind to), then no one will steal any of your ideas because they respect your work. Kleon mentions that one should write fan letters to those they admire. While I was never much of a writer, I guess if I were to write one to Sakimichan it would go something like this:

Dear Sakimichan, 

I just wanted to write to you to say how much I enjoy your work and the fact you are willing to share it with others. I don't remember how I exactly came about your work, but I always get excited when you post something new. I also find it admirable that you have made tutorials on how to illustrate the way you do. Most people would think one of your abilities would keep it a secret, but you willingness to share makes you that much more respectable in my book. If you don't mind, I would love to know about how you came to where you are now. When did you start drawing and how long did it take you to find your style and be comfortable with posting it online for the world to see? Were you ever have to face discouragement from others? Knowing a little back story would be very inspirational and encouraging for rising artists. Anyways, thank you for the work that you do and I look forward to many more that will come. 

Your fan, 
Catherine