lindableck.com: Where does an idea come from, you ask?

The orginal illustration that sparked Santa's Hat

Every creative process is different and I can only speak to what I do

as an illustrator and author. Sometimes the inspiration will come

from a single image, as was the case of Santa’s Hat, where I had created

a single piece of art to build style samples for my portfolio. An editor

took a liking to the piece and asked if I would come up an idea.

Other ideas are driven by a character or several characters, like my

first books Pepper the Dog. Other ideas are driven by a concept where

no existing image or character comes to mind, but rather an event.

There is no formula. That’s the wonderful thing about the creative

process , it is evolving constantly. What ever I need to do to continue

forming ideas and stories is the creative process that I will use at the

moment.

So how does that initial thought pop into my head? When we see

movies depicting writers or illustrators they are usually sitting at

their desks looking out the window thinking great thoughts.

Maybe most do, but I found my best ideas come to me in an active

state. There is something that happens to me when I go for long

bike rides. Creative chemicals are released in my brain that allow

ideas to form and I am able to focus better at organizing those

thoughts. After I have this experience I quickly jot down the thoughts

into a sketchbook. I find my sketchbook to be my most valuable tool.

I carry it with me at all times when possible. I have been using

sketch books since my teens. My mother was an illustrator and that

was what she did. You can learn a lot just by observing what other

successful creatives do to achieve their art form. Lately I have not

been able to ride my bike, so I took up swimming and I find the same

benefits. I encourage all young creatives to get plenty of exercise and

keep their minds open occasionally for a long span of time without

interruptions from digital media. Other ways I form ideas may come

from simply listening to children talk about what interests them. I

recently sat with my young nieces and nephews at Thanksgiving. They

were having fun critiquing Santa’s Hat, but as usual the conversation

morphed into, "What other books can you write?". We went through a series

of ideas just put out there and no editing of the ideas either. That’s what

we call brainstorming. “No idea is a bad idea”, is what I say when kids

start spewing silly thoughts. Sometimes things just strike me funny and

I think oh that would be a good story. Yet again there is no formula

for the thought process.

I am often accused as being a perfectionist when it comes to my

illustrations. I go through many sketches of how I want the scene to

look. I may do the same scene several times, but change a few items here

and there. It’s all in the details. It is not so much that I am being a

perfectionist as I am making sure that the final illustration reaches that

targeted audience and you hope it excites their senses. Editors usually help you make these decisions. I will provide several sketches to the editor and they will

help me choose. I try to reach the little reader as well as the person reading to the little reader. As for the written part of the story, my text tends to be short and to the

point and I will admit my stories are mostly image driven.

I learn something new with every book and I feel grateful every time a book is

chosen to be published. It is an honor to think someone likes your ideas enough

to print them for others to enjoy. Being an illustrator is a humbling experience

and not every idea will be selected, but my approach to this career is to create

enough ideas that someday one will work. For every one idea that is chosen I

probably had five that didn’t go anywhere.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try” – Dr. Seuss

Sketches