Locked in Tiny Boxes, Imagination is Set Free
Grid Drawing exercise, fun art, and other things...
Folks, before we get to the fun stuff, I have some quick news to share. I quit X and Facebook/Meta and soon will be sacking Instagram as well.
There are several reasons why I’ve left Musk’s and Zuckerberg’s platforms, but let me just say that as a creative professional, I no longer find value in posting my work in places where very little control is given to the individual content creator.
I find it especially loathsome that these corporations are using artists’ work without consent or compensation to train AI in order to take our creative jobs away. This is callous and unethical and I refuse to post more of my work on these platforms. If you want to license my work to train a robot, let’s talk. Otherwise, screw you.
Just to be clear, I have nothing against AI as a tool to help humanity in the areas where we most need it. AI will most likely accomplish many great things in medicine and science — this post is not about that. My beef is more about the bullshit business practises of these mega giants, and how they’ve somehow convinced a generation of artists to bow down and say yes to gradually losing control of how their work gets distributed, used, and yes, abused. I’m done with that.
Oh, and the algorithm hell most creative professionals have to contend with? I’m not having that either. Bye bye algorithms!
Okay, that’s my rant for today, thanks for lending an ear. Now on to something more fun… creativity!
Locked in Tiny Boxes, Imagination is Set Free
A big blank page can be daunting… What will you draw, what will you write? Do you suffer from “too many ideas” all at once? Will you start drawing or writing something and then feel like you’ve made a bad choice and want to move on to another subject? Are you a creative commitment-phobe?
Grids to the rescue!
If you’ve ever felt creative gridlock, a grid might be the thing you need to set yourself free.
Here’s how it works:
Make tiny boxes, or a grid.
Now fill the tiny boxes with whatever you want: lines, shapes, drawings, colour, words.
Make the boxes tiny, or make them big.
If you fear beginnings, start at the end.
If you fear endings, begin at the beginning.
My guiding principle? Begin in the middle.
Grids offer bite-sized frames that make few demands… feeling non-committal? A small frame can be filled in a fraction of the time it takes to fill a big one. Tiny frames are virtually commitment-free. In a mini box, there are only so many words you can write; there are only so many lines you can draw. Begin in one frame and before you know it you’re on to the next. Have too many ideas, or no ideas at all? Cut up that big blank page into tiny bite-sized bits that are easier to “mentally digest”.
Grids like these can be used to write poetry or short journal entries. You can cut the grid’s tiny frames and move them around, see how things “read” when combined in a different order.
Your grid is not limited to four corners. Try circles. Triangles. Blobs. Anything goes!
It really helps to remind ourselves that if you fill twenty tiny boxes you will have filled a large one. It’s that simple! And as with all art journaling activities, this exercise has no rules… have fun, go crazy, be deliberate. I think you’ll be surprised at how well this exercise nurtures kernels of ideas for bigger projects like a comic, a story, a painting or illustration.
Want more of this kind of thing? Check out “Four Ways Art Journaling Will Change You.”
I love getting feedback. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Speaking of grids… I’m a crossword clue!
My brother Joe and I are avid crossword puzzle freaks, so imagine how flipped out I was when he sent me this:
Announcement!
Are you a cartoonist or aspiring caricature artist living in the Toronto area? My friend and colleague Tom Richmond at Mad Magazine is coming to town in May to teach a workshop. This is your chance to learn from one of the world’s top caricature artists! Tom keeps his classes small so sign up soon if you want to guarantee a spot. You can get more info at his website: Tom Richmond's Caricature Workshop
Thank you all for reading, I really do appreciate it. There’s so much going on in the world these days and plenty of it can be stressful. Take a break from the news and draw something, write something, play an instrument, paint! Whatever feeds your soul!
This post was Made in Canada, eh?
I share your sentiments and would be keen to hear why you personally think Substack is a cut above. The grid exercise looks like great fun.
Thanks for these fun ideas, Rina, and your positive, light-hearted attitude! And for the rant against algorithms!