Quotes #1

For a few months now, I've been writing down all sorts of quotes and snippets of wisdom. I was thinking about what to do with them and decided it might be fun to pick my favourite quote of the week (and perhaps some honorable mentions), and maybe write a little bit about the quote.

You need to start to develop a habit of coming up with ideas, it doesn't necessarily mean good ideas, you just need to have a habit of regularly being creative.
~ Danny Gregory

I've been working on a small project of daily(ish) comic strips for almost a month now and when I set out doing so, just before Christmas, I didn't really know why. I'd heard artist Michelle Meeker talking about it (incidentally, on Danny's podcast) and it just felt like something fun to try. Short bursts of creativity which will slowly build up to a body of work over time.

I heard this quote and it hit me. This is why I'm doing the daily comics. It's not necessarily about producing a great visual piece of work. Of course, I try to make good art but it's not essential for this project.

What matters is building up the habit of creative thinking. Trying to come up with an idea for a 4-panel comic every day, a punchline to a gag, figuring out timing, being efficient with the number of words.

It's mental gymnastics.

Pushing my brain into answering the question "What comic shall I draw today?".

Honourable mention

If you want more good ideas, have more bad ideas
~ Seth Godin

By pure coincidence, this quote came along right after I wrote down the Danny Gregory quote and I feel it's entirely relevant to what I'm doing with my daily(ish) comic project. Accepting that bad ideas are inevitable but having faith that good ideas will also come.