Epilogue to "Steal Like an Artist" ~ Austin Kleon

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It had a lot of variety to it which helped to keep my interest up. Kleon did a great job in getting quotes from people from all walks of the art world. These quotes then led to a curiosity about the person and my diving into finding out more about them. Kudos to you Austin Kleon for making me learn!

At the end of his book, he has a list of "Recommended Reading." I haven't had much time to spend on this, but, I did purchase one of the books on his list — "Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity" by Hugh MacLeod.

So far this book is also a good read. Parts of it read a lot like Kleon's book.

His big thing is that he started out doodling on the back of his business cards, to pass the time, while in New York at the beginning of his career. Needless to say, those very doodles became his trade mark and that's what he does now. He's been asked "Your business card format is very simple. Aren't you worried about somebody ripping it off?" I love his "Standard Answer: Only if they can draw more of them than me, better than me."

Along with Kleon, he says "don't quit your day job" which I find interesting. I guess they both must have had some bad experiences. Another thing I found interesting is that MacLeod is a blogger. I have to admit, when I first started blogging I wasn't a fan, but, I have really grown to enjoy it.

I found some of his chapter titles to be quite humorous.
"If your business plan depends on suddenly being 'discovered' by some big shot, your plan will probably fail."
 "Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten." — for this one he says something that I don't want to forget "I'd like my crayons back, please." I'm going to include an image of his Table of Contents so that you can see all of the chapter names for yourself.

 
Like I said before, I'm not finished with the book, but, I wanted to share some of it with you. I'll leave you with some of his business card cartoons. Enjoy!

"Creativity is Subtraction" ~ Austin Kleon

In the final chapter of Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon, we are talking about there being so much "stuff" out there. With everything you see out there, it can be creatively overwhelming. So, you should set limits on your designs. Limit the number of images, colors, words, etc. and in doing so your designs will come more easily.

I know it sounds crazy thinking that you'll get more ideas with less "stuff", but, it's true. Without limits you are looking at everything and trying to see how you can just include so much of this "stuff" in a design. But, by limiting yourself, you're able to focus on those one or two perfect things to include; I'm sure you'll make a much better choice. Plus, there's nothing wrong with white space. Some people think that if they have the space, they just have to fill it with something. Wrong!

Since we are talking about putting constraints on our designs, I thought I would limit myself with a quick little project. I limited myself to one image and some typography. It's not much, but I think it might give you a chuckle. Abracadabra, here's my Easter Card!

It's really supposed to be peeps wearing tactical gear, but, I thought of the opportunity of a "dude" talking to his homeys.

I hope you get my sense of humor!










As you know, this book has been full of quotes, and this chapter was no exception. There was a quote by Jack White that was pretty fitting for the chapter.

He gives some good advice here, so I thought I would check out and see just exactly who he was. Boy was I surprised!

Here is some of his bio: "Jack played guitar and sang in the band The White Stripes. They released six albums before breaking up in 2011." He has been in two other bands, too, and won multiple awards for his music. Not only is he in a band, he also writes music for movie soundtracks (62 credits), plus he's an actor (7 credits) and a composer (2 credits). I'd say that he's a pretty creative guy, wouldn't you? I'm including a video of a song that most of you should know, it's from the James Bond move Quantum of Solace - "Another Way to Die."

Be Boring. (It's the only way to get work done.) ~ Austin Kleon

I'm up to Chapter 9 in my review of Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. This chapter is called Be Boring. (It's the only way to get work done.) and I will be covering the main points that it is trying to make.

I believe that Austin is basically telling us to take care—take care of yourself, take care of your money (stay out of debt) and take care of your life (through routine, calendaring and scheduling). These are all really good advice and can help with all walks of life.

As most people learn, you have to have a routine when working on a project. I was taught a really good way to start out projects and how to keep track of them, use a process page. I'm including an image of part of my process page as an example of the steps I take when working on a project. This shows that the steps taken for each one can be different depending on what all is involved in the project.

Just remember, even if you have a 9-5 job that doesn't have anything to do with design, make time to be creative and add that time to your routine. 

Austin is adamant about "Get yourself a calendar." I couldn't agree more. I have a calendar and a special app that helps me keep track of when everything is due. The app I use is called iHomework and it can be used not only for homework, but for scheduling projects, in general. It allows you to put in custom "Assignment" types (i.e. proof, brief, blog, sketches, key frames, story board, etc.) along with reminder alarms, who it's for, even partner names with contact information. You are then able to click on them when you have them completed and they go into the "completed" category. I LOVE this app! I'm including a screenshot of it so you can an idea of what it's like. 

 

 

Be Nice. (The world is a small town.) ~ Austin Kleon

Each week I've discussing the book Steal Like An Artist, by Austin Kleon. This week I'll be pointing out some of the more important points from Chapter 8 Be Nice. (The world is a small town.)  

A couple of old phrases popped into my head the minute I read the title - "The world is getting smaller all the time," which in essence means that as electronics get more sophisticated and humanity keeps expanding, there aren't many places that we (people) can't explore. Then the other, "Don't burn your bridges" - which pretty much means that if you're leaving a job (because you're going elsewhere, not being fired), leave on good terms because you may need to go back there to work in the future. Also, you may be working with them at some point on a project and you don't want to ruin that possible opportunity. Each of these do a good job of describing most of the chapter, but it also discusses making sure to keep smart people around you so that you can always be learning and creating.

I saw this quote in the chapter and just had to include it. I just laughed when I read this, because how many times have you been working online and ran across something that just really made you angry! I know I've seen things posted places that make think "How in the world can someone really believe that?" or something similar. So, I can imagine someone touching me on the arm and telling me "Quit picking fights" (as I struggle to keep myself from commenting on a horrible post I read) "and go make something." Anger, as with other emotions, can stir up the creative juices, so use it to your advantage and create a masterpiece!

Austin also suggests for us to surround ourselves with people who are smarter than we are. I also think that this could mean to be around people who are different than you are. We (people) can learn so much from our differences and in this learning we can become so much more creative. Just imagine how creative we could be if we surrounding ourselves by these smarter, different, people. I just knew that being "different" would come in handy some time!

For your enjoyment, I'm including a Far Side cartoon that I remembered when reading this section. Surround yourself with those smart people, please!