International Inspiration

Most creators find inspiration outside themselves. There are a few, usually modern artists, who insist that their creations come completely from within but that seems hard to imagine. Is it even possible? Even Picasso was inspired by African masks in museums, though he denied the connection to his paintings.

Personally, I believe that all inspiration comes from outside forces; we are built from our world. Being in the modern world makes it easier to get inspiration from others, which I think is a good thing. With the internet, television, and other international modes of communication, we are sharing ideas from around the world. We can now take the best that everyone has to offer in order to improve our own designs. And in return, we’re expected to share our designs with others, either for critique or with the goal to make others think, to be the inspiration. Deviant Art, an on-line community of artists, is a great example of this. Artists of every kind, from writers to painters to sculptors, upload their work for the world to see. If something is good, if it’s popular, you see a lot of inspired works come after it. Deviant Art serves as a database for creators who want to see what their fellows are doing, and allows them to span countries and cultures in a way that few other communities can offer. It opens our eyes to perspectives or concepts which we would have never considered on our own.

Of course, other international websites offer the same sort of universal inspiration. YouTube, for example, has some promising videos. Given, there’s a lot of junk to sort through, but once and a while, you end up with something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw

It’s simple, smart, and offers a world of possibilities. Kind of makes you want to design, doesn’t it?