What Inspired Me Today?

My good friend and colleague, Cynthia Sheppard, (her artwork above) inspired me to experiment on my drawing techniques and to dabble in a variety of drawing styles and subjects for good practice. Cynthia is a remarkable Fantasy Illustrator and am a big fan of her work. We briefly talked about art and drawing today at work and from that brief moment I learned that I should not limit myself to only one style or subject and I should probably use a combination of different techniques, focus on a different subject matter, and basically just try something new and out of the ordinary. This is probably a great idea to loosen up those drawing muscles a bit, right?

As an artist, you've always got to keep your artwork as fresh as the day it was created. Here are some examples of the things I've done to keep myself motivated:

1. Finding Inspiration - exposing yourself to many different drawing styles or taking art classes or even just walking outside and looking at nature.

2. Setting Your Own Goals - set yourself up with a personal project and a designated due date and recreate something that you see everyday. Maybe it's redesigning an existing children's book cover, your favorite magazine, or even your favorite commercial product to get those ideas rolling...

3. Learn Different Things - try using a different medium for a change, try drawing a different subject matter and get out of that comfort zone. If you're the one who loves to draw cute and fuzzy characters, maybe try drawing something gorey and scary for a change!

4. Work Those Drawing Muscles - very important! Practice, practice, and practice... Draw something at least once a day even if it's just a rough sketch on a piece of napkin.

So, what do you guys do for motivation and how do you keep your artwork fresh? Would love to hear your thoughts!