Introduction
So the important part of this course is finding a way to create something that is original and imaginative. Interestingly enough, artists, scientist, authors, entrepreneurs, etc. follow somekind of process that is similar in the steps that they take to come up with an original idea. Below is a poster I made describing that process.
1. THE PROBLEM - This is the moment of inspiration where a creative person will first encounter something that troubles him or her. It is the moment where the artist says "Hmmm...isn't that interesting?" or will say "I wonder what would it be like..." Usually, there is an external stimulus that "troubles" the artist. Perhaps this is a particular beautiful landscape that makes him or her wonder or maybe it is a difficult situation the creative person experiences.
2. IDEAS - These are possible solutions that the creative person thinks of for the PROBLEM. These IDEAS are daydreams and thoughts. They are concepts or nagging notions but they are vague and unformed.
3. THUMBNAILS - This is the articulation of those IDEAS. Creative people create quick sketches or notes on napkins. They take their notions are try to give them form.
4. VISUAL RESEARCH - This is the step where a creative person looks at what other people have done to solve a similar problem. Or it might be pictures or images that complete sections of your thumbnails.
5. MAQUETTE - This is the rough copy. It is concept art. It is the attempt to solve the problem but it is small and not full size. It is a model of what the MASTERPIECE might look like.
6. MASTERPIECE - This is the final copy. It is the final solution. It is the art work that most satisfy your PROBLEM. Creative people may not be totally satisfied with their final solution, but they often feel that their MASTERPIECE is as close as possible. Leonardo Da Vinci once said, "Art is never completed. It is only ever abandoned".
Activity #1
Watch the following video of Adam Savage (from Mythbusters) and his creative process, which he calls problem solving. Start the video at 6:00 min and discuss the following questions afterwards.
Activity #2
Take one of the Art work titles from the Lesson C) Concepts and Creativity and do some visual research on it.
