Alvin Toppler of New York really fancied taking a break from his job. As his work kept mounting up, his boss kept bringing him down. Then one day on June 21st 2013, Alvin took a break from his cubicle and popped out for a coffee. There might have been something in the caffeine that morning, as after the coffee perked him up, he decided to extend his break and take the rest of the morning off. Not only did he take a the day off work, but he also ended up by taking it off New York as well and caught an evening flight to Rome.
Alvin ended up staying in Italy for three months, before returning to New York to start his own business. He said that he’d never done anything particularly spontaneous before, but simply couldn’t resist the idea of seeing what would happen.
Intro
What do you do when the muse has a day off?
Give up?
Lament?
Sometimes she’s just not around.
She may not have gone as far away as Rome, but maybe she’ still taking a well-deserved break, or perhaps is simply catching up on the dishes
It’s great when the muse is there and the ideas just seem to flow naturally
But what if you could come up with ideas without her help.
You could have the best of both worlds - have here help when she’s around, and fall back on your own resources when she’s not.
So instead of sitting around for ages, let’s take some action now. And by take action, I mean try out some of these ideas as we go along rather than merely read about them.
What we’re going to cover
Look around you
The power of exagerration
Swap out the person
Point #1 Look around you
Instead of sitting around hoping and waiting for ideas to materialise out of thin air, how about looking around you for ideas in your immediate environment.
Here are a few points to ponder
Is there anything quirky about the people around you?
Is there any part of their appearance or character that you could exaggerate?
How does that work when I’m stuck in an office cubicle?
Point #2 The power of exaggeration
As mentioned above, with the people around you, there any part of their appearance or character that you could exaggerate?
You can apply the power of exaggeration to not just people, but objects, backgrounds, etc.
The beauty of cartooning is that it gives you the license to exaggerate as you wish.
Point #3 Swap out the person
Try imagining that a person is swapped out for a completely different person, or even a different creature entirely. How might the new character do in their new role?
I don’t recommend letting your Spaniel try helping out with the washing-up though…
Objection - How long will it take for me to regularly think up my own ideas?
It’s good to think of this as though you are building your idea muscle. Just as building physical muscles takes time, practice, and patience, it’s the same with your creative ones.
It’s possible to be able to come up with a regular stream of ideas, regardless of whether the muse wants to play ball or not.
Here’s what we covered:
Look around you
The power of exagerration
Swap out the person
Give one or more of them a go and see what comes up.
What’s next
I put out a Cartoon Newsletter with a whole host of characters, along with some occasional cartooning tips. Add your name and mail to the orange box blow and I’ll wing a pot your way.
What’s next
I put out a daily cartoon newsletter with a whole menagerie of characters and occasional cartooning tips. Fill in your name and mail address below, and I’ll wing a copy to you.