Steal Like an Artist §

• An artist gets their ideas by stealing them from others.

• First, you figure out what’s worth stealing, then you move on to the next thing. There’s only stuff worth stealing, and stuff not worth stealing.

• Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas. The artist is the sum of their influences; We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.

• The artist is not a hoarder who mindlessly collects. The artist collects selectively; only the things that they love.

• Garbage In, Garbage Out You’re only going to be as good as the stuff you surround yourself with. Therefore, collect good ideas. The more you good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.

• Examine artists not art. Study everything there is to know about a chosen artist by studying their work. See yourself as part of an artistic lineage.

• You have to be learning about the world in which you live. Don’t worry about doing research. Just search.

• Maintain a swipe file Jot down your thoughts and observations wherever you’re going. Your swipe file is where you put ideas worth stealing

Don’t Wait Until You Know Who You Are To Get Started §

• You’re Ready. Start Making Stuff
• It’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.
• Fake it til you make it
  • Pretend to be doing something you’re not until you are.
  • Pretend to be making something until you actually make something.
• Start Copying. Reverse Engineer what you like to see how it works.
  • Copy from the artists you like.
  • Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. Don’t just look like the artists, see like them as well.
  • If you just mimic the surface of somebody’s work without understanding where they are coming from, your work will never be anything more than a knockoff
• Once you’re done imitating, emulate — add your own thing.
  • Our failure to copy our heroes is where we discover where our own thing lives.
  • Add something to the world that only you can add.

Write the Book You want To Read. §

• Make what you like. Do the work you want to see done.
• We make art because we like art. All fiction is in fact fan fiction.
• Channel the desire to see more of what you love to create something.

Use Your Hands §

• Work that only comes from the head isn’t any good.
• You need to find a way to bring your body into your work. The motion kickstarts our brain into thinking.
• Digital media tends to bring out the uptight perfectionist in us — we start to edit ideas before we have them.

Side Projects and Hobbies are Important §

• Practice Productive Procrastination. Have many projects and bounce between them.
• The stuff that’s play is where the magic happens.
• Take the time to be bored. It’s in these moments we mess around.
• You do not have to throw away all your passions.
  • In fact, combine them to create something new.
  • Don’t worry about unity from piece-to-piece. What unifies all your work is the fact you made it.
• Have a hobby - something creative that’s just for you.

Do Good work and Share it with People §

• The world doesn’t necessarily care about what you think.
• There is a benefit to obscurity. It lets you experiment and do things for fun because there’s no pressure.
• The only way to get famous is to do good work and share it with people.
• There is no penalty for revealing your secrets. Invite people to wonder at the same things you do.
  • People love it when you give your secrets away.
  • It also gives you many things to steal from.
• If you’re worried about giving away your secrets, share your dots without connecting them. After all, you have control over what you reveal.
• Putting your work out there gives you to incubate your unborn ideas.
• Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas.

Geography is No Longer Our Master. §

• The Internet has given creatives the avenue to inspire and be inspired.
• If you’re not into the world you live in, build your own world around you. Create your own world.
• Solitude - a little space and a little time, lets you get into your own world.
• Leave home. Explore beyond what is comfortable and familiar.
  • It helps to live around interesting people and not necessarily people who do what you do.
  • Even if you set up a new (figurative) home, leave it every now and them.

Be Nice §

• Make Friends. Ignore Enemies.

  • The best way to make friends is to say nice things.
  • The best way to vanquish your enemies enemies is to ignore them.

• You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with.

  • Follow the best people — people who are smarter and better than you.
  • Follow people who do interesting work. Pay attention to what they’re talking about, and what they’re doing.
  • If you ever find you’re the most talented person in the room, find another room.

• Channel anger creatively. Instead of fighting, make something.

• The best way to get approval is to not need it. If you truly love somebody’s work, you shouldn’t need a response from them. You get new work out of the appreciation.

• Don’t go looking for validation from external sources. You have no control over the way people react to it.

  • Good work appears effortless.
  • Get comfortable with being misunderstood. Become Misunderstood as long as you understand yourself.
  • If you care too much you aren’t busy enough.

• Keep a praise file for when you need a boost.

  • Use it sparingly — don’t get lost in past glory.

Be Boring §

• It takes a lot of energy to be creative. You don’t have that energy if you waste it on other stuff.

• Take it slow and take care of yourself.

  • Take care of yourself financially. Say no to consumer culture.
  • It will take a while for you to get to the point of living off doing what you love.
  • Choose who you associate with and form relationships with.

• Establishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time. Inertia is the death of creativity.

• Figure out what time you can carve out and stick to your routine no matter what.

• Get a calendar for the future and keep a logbook for the past.

Creativity is Subtraction §

• Those who get ahead are those who know what to leave out and concentrate on what’s really important.
• Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities
• Place constraints on yourself to get out of a creative block. Limitations give freedom in creativity
• Don’t make excuses, make things with the time, space and material you have right now.
• It’s often what an artist chooses to leave out that makes the art interesting. Creativity is not just what we put in but what we leave out.

Links §

• Steal Like An Artist by Kleon