Nuk's Creative Process
Art is subjective, that’s what I love about it. There is no right or wrong way. This applies to the process of creating art as well. Is there a more efficient, universal process to help people create art? Sure, most likely. But that way isn’t the only way, nor the right way. If you’re looking for some holy grail to help you unlock the secrets of creating art, this is not it. To save you some time here is some advice, you won’t find it. You won’t find some holy grail that will teach you how to create art because there isn’t any. There are only the processes of other artists. Analyze their approach and find what works for you or figure it all out on your own. Here is my process to making art. Take what you need and leave what you don’t. Judge my process or empathize with my process. Whatever you do, know it yield results for me.
1.) Concept/Idea
Concept. That is the easiest part of the creative process. This is my what stage. What am I making? Make whatever your heart desires. The concept can come from anywhere. Maybe you had a random thought, maybe you had an encounter, or maybe you had an accident. Ideas come from everywhere if you look hard enough and are open. There’s two ways to conceptualization: You find it, or it finds you.
You finding the idea is you sitting down and searching for your next project. This is a good skill to hone as it helps with accountability, but it requires you to always be judgement free. Once ounce of judgement can cause you to spiral into thinking you and your ideas aren’t good enough. It’s also boring to sit staring at a blank canvas, word doc, or paper waiting for the light bulb above your head to turn on. Which is why I prefer the latter.
There’s a different energy when the idea finds you. There’s a spark that lights the bulb above your head brighter. Anything can cause this spark: a sight, a smell, a taste, a dream, a person. Anything. For a series, I’m creating the concept came to me via a painting.
I saw the painting online and immediately knew the story that needed to be told. It feels more natural than forcing yourself to create something. Whichever path you choose, let this stage of the process be strictly for me. It’s important to let this be for you because majority of the process is not for you, especially once you release your art. Having this step be for me allows me to have fun. There is no judgement. There is no right or wrong. There are only ideas.
2.) Purpose/Impact
The art can’t stay in the conceptualization phase. If it did, the art will never be made. Once I have my idea, I decide what I want to do with it. This stage is my why. Why am I making this? Why does this need to be made? Why now? These questions don’t need to be answered now. The answer will likely evolve through the whole process. However, making your why, a concise reasoning for why you are making this art, will help the how stage later. This phase is a logistical one that helps determine the medium in which I would like the art to be. It’s like an equation. Concept + Impact = Medium. It’s important to note this is not say all, be all. What I decide early on doesn’t have to stay the same, it is allowed to change as more ideas come. Setting your goal for your art is when the process begins to be for your audience and not for you.
“When I am performing, I am nothing but free. The goal for this tour was to create a place where everyone is free. And no one is judged. UNIQUE. It start over, it start fresh. Create the new. That’s what the renaissance is about. At any point, they can close their eyes and be right back there and take it with them” -Beyoncé
This is Beyoncé why for creating her seventh solo studio album “RENAISSANCE”. Her reasoning led to artistic choices and thinking that had nothing to do with her, such as her uplifting, carefree lyrics in her hit songs “ALIEN SUPERSTAR” and “BREAK MY SOUL” to ensure no one feels judged.
3.) Rough Outline
Once I have my what and why, I need my how. How will I accomplish my what and why? I create a rough outline of the full project. When I say rough outline, I mean rough. If it’s art, the outline is stick figures, lines, and shapes. If it’s a show, the outline are the episode titles and what should happen per episode. To an outsider, my rough outlines look like the scratchings of a madman. My goal for a rough outline is to have my brain on paper, mainly because I’m a visual learner. There are many reasons for creating outlines besides have an order to your work. It allows you to see what you have versus what you do not have. Seeing what is there and what is not makes it easier to know what to add, delete, and edit. Outlines make your art more tangible. Our line of work as artists are seen as impractical which diminishes our confidence, so by having something tangible it combats that.
4.) Break #1
Congrats, it’s time for a break. You’ve put in some decent work, so reward yourself with a break. I love taking breaks in my work. I didn’t always like taking breaks because I thought I was being lazy or giving up. Breaks aid your work. I have numerous breaks in my work, and they can last from minutes to years. My first break is short lived, ranging from one to three days, but typically one day. I take my first break after my rough outline because it feels like a reasonable place to stop and not lose any ideas. Also, because you wrote down all your ideas in the rough outline. Breaks allow you to rest. Rest your instrument.
“Rome wasn't built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour” - John Heywood
So, what makes you think your work will be?
5.) Solidify Outline
The light bulb above my head is still lit. I still have my spark despite taking a break. I feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle this project. Back from my break, I check on my foundation, my rough outline. I get to work on it, polish it, and solidify it. I make sure it’s what I want, and it sets up my future steps. This is where your visuals and tangible items comes in handy. You can see the bigger picture and adjust as needed. This step involves a lot of retracing steps to make sure everything is cohesive and executing your plans.
6.) Break #2
Now that you set up the future for your work, it’s time for another break. Recharge yourself before you get into the thick of your work. The work so far has been the easiest part of it because it’s mostly creating and less fine tuning. The following steps are more connecting the dots and retracing steps to make sure you’re staying on track. The more breaks, the less burnout, but taking multiple breaks requires discipline to keep you coming back to finish what you’ve started. If you know you won’t come back to finish, I do not recommend breaks especially numerous breaks.
7.) Attempt to Finish
Everything is planned out; how hard could it be to finish? Extremely hard. This is a short-lived period where I don’t get far into completing the work, I laid out so beautifully for myself. This is where I can get destructive. I question everything, especially myself. The spark is gone. The light bulb above my head went out. I’m in a dark place…literally. I truly believe I’m not cut out for this work. I tell myself “Get practical. You can’t make a living doing this”. I am my worst enemy at this stage. I take the easy way and abandon my work.
8.) Break #3
Here's to another break. Is this a break? Didn’t I quit? Yes, and yes. It’s both. This is the longest break I’ll have, ranging from weeks to years. This break is different, I’m upset with myself. If I truly love this, why does it seem so hard? Why can’t I be like the successful people I look up to? How can I return after feeling so defeated? Simple. I don’t plan on coming back. Once I pack up, that’s it. I’m done. Something I love so much should not feel like this. Until…BOOM!
9.) Inspiring Reminder
What got me into it in the first place is what brings me back. Art. Someone else’s work inspired me to create. I feel the impact of their work and I am instantly reminded why I do this work. Scrolling on TikTok, I came across a spoken words by two women that helped me get back to finishing my series.
This isn’t planned. I don’t look for inspiration. The spark finds me again like it did in the beginning. Turns out the light bulb above my head just needed to be replaced. Who would have thought you have to replace imaginary light bulbs floating above your head as well? The spark is sparkier, and the bulb is brighter than ever. I needed to be defeated to remind myself of my purpose. I focus so much on the purpose of my work, but what about me? Without me, my art is nothing. As creatives, we are our art.
10.) Finish, Polish, Enjoy
I’m back better than ever and ready to finish what I started. It feels like I have discovered the holy grail to creation. Once I completed my work, I polish it. Go through everything. Make sure it’s what I want. Make sure everything connects. Once done editing, I’m officially done. I publish my work and enjoy it and myself.
Then my creative process starts again when the next project comes along. Results are what you’re looking for when it comes to the creative process. Not all my results are positive ones. I have negative results that cause setbacks and lack of confidence, but it never stops me completely. I’ve accepted my process. What yields results for you? Maybe my process is perfect for you, maybe my process is awful for you. There’s no right or wrong process. Only the processes of creators.