I'm having a creative dry spell lately, which started me wondering what inspires the work of the other artists in this community. Usually, when people ask me where I get my ideas, I tell them "Wal-Mart". But inspiration usually comes to me in the following ways: 1. An idea will pop into my head full-blown, with no discernable source. I usually sketch these out on paper before going to Bryce. 2. Acquisition of a new object or texture will sometimes lead to an artwork, by starting the gears turning with "What can I do with this.?" 3. Playing around with objects or textures in Bryce until an idea comes to me. There are other paths of inspiration for me, but these are my most common. I would love to hear where YOUR inspiration comes from. :^)

usually I take inspiration from things or events that surround me, a movie, an image a building, a scene. Catullo (a roman poet) said "nulla creanda at videnda" nothing is created all is copied

I get inspiration from seeing what other artists do and from the world around me. A poster, movie, person or room can inspire me to create something. Sometimes it's just shear dumb luck as I experiement in Bryce. :)

Usually my inspirations come from sources similar to vasquez', but on occasion a particular piece of music will inspire an image.

I'd love to say that inspiration comes to me in dreams and I sketch
it out in a workbook before I start - but I'd be lying. Almost all
my pieces have been the result of experimentation and test renders,
mostly completed in one sitting (excluding the rendering). I think
the longest took about 10 hours to create. I keep telling myself
that one of these days I'll sit down and do a PROPER JOB - planning
and intricate modelling and everything - but then I get impatient
and just mess about and post whatever comes out. I have millions of
ideas but rarely have the patience (or the time!) to do them
justice. I need to discipline myself more!!!!! :))) My grandfather
used to say "if you do a job, do it well, or don't do it at all!".
I think I need to take his advice! :

I go through the same things, not only in art, but in life as well. Its a natural cycle like working and sleeping. The way I approach it is to work on techniques and just play with buttons during the dry spells to see what happens with the program (or go back to school when the job is boring and I want a change) and use that time to learn. Rarely do I come up with art when in the learning phase, but always I come out of it and am better off for it. My last dry spell ended when I got Poser which brough a new dimension to Brycing. Certainly the monthly challenges help with dry spells too because the question of "what to do next" is answered by the challenger.

I know about the "dry periods". Having those as well. Since im a scifi-fanatic, i get much inspiration from movies. A certain building, a landscape or a great angle can boost my creativity. Playing around with bryce, can also give me new ideas. Ideas just popping up happens... And of course, to be a part of this commuity also helps :)

Taking about inspirations... yesterday I saw Metropolis (te movie from the manga of Osamu Tezuka). IT IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! everyone who appreciate good art and good CGI must see it!!!! And off course my atlantis will be inspired from that movie. (sigh)

I do have some things that inspire me. Books, or stories, for instance. The same genre as Rochr, although I'm leaning more to the fantasy side. I read a sentence, a description and the whole scene comes to my mind. OTOH, titles and verses of rock songs are also a source of inspiration. I have at least five, like "Sit Down (Next to Me)" or "The Planet Earth is Blue". But what I've finished up to now sprang up unprovoked. ("When the Music's Over" got the title after I finished it.) It's interesting that all the things I picked up from books are still waiting to be finished. Some because I still don't have the skill, and some because I've lost the drive to finish them.

I'm still learning Bryce, so I just try things out to see what I can do. I'm not up to great inspiration yet ;) One thing I was thinking of doing was trying to copy some of the old masters using Bryce just to see if I could make something similar. The downside to this is that it might drive me insane.

I get my inspirations from: 1. Art tutorial magazines. 2. Art magazines. 3. Airbrush magazines. 4. Movies and cartoons. 5. Walking around and looking at stuff. 6. Books. 7. Art pictures. Copying someone like Van Gogh would be cool if you are trying to learn technique. How does he handle color and composition? Imagine doing "Starry night" or "Sunflowers" in Bryce. Just don't do anything to your ears.

I'll be sure to wear earmuffs!