How does a ‘Creative’ Mind work?

I make this very clear in the beginning that I do not claim to be a ‘Guru’ or have earned the ‘Nirvana’; have understood the final truth and all. I would just like to share my thoughts, settled now, by the work I have been doing over the years.

Honestly, to call it ‘work’ would be a little injustice – because It has been a passion for me through out. I am one of those lucky chaps, who are fortunate enough to get in to a profession they love.

I do not hold any art school degree. Of course it would have made me better, or more importantly it would have made my abilities ‘official’ while looking for a job. I chose not to attend any art school and instead went to learn engineering. I got fed up soon and leaving it incomplete, I jumped on to the digital animation band wagon, a trend which was starting in India around 1990.

After completing the animation course, what I realized was, all the big dreams and big plans me and my friends had, after getting the diploma in animation, were so away from the real world. Real world of digital art scene out there in India. We were appreciating the great work done in western movies like ‘Terminator’ ‘Jurassic Park’ but in India, learning animation was kind of ‘Avant-garde’. Before its time.

So, meeting the harsh realities, I started working as a desk–top publication operator. A job which is equivalent to a web designer of 2007-8. Being a D.T.P. operator, you should learn the finest detail of the print media. Fortunately, I was put in the right path and started growing as a visualizer and graphic artist. Now looking back, if I try and analyze things. I think we can discuss “How does a creative mind work?”


Dreaming:

I don’t really have all this science of conscious and sub-conscious mind to tell you. But what I know for sure is a lot of creative minds have ‘dreams’ as a paradox or rough work pad or concept generator park. It is a very good practice to remember and note down the dreams, and on a relaxed weekend just think about that. It will some day really stir your mind and make you understand more about yourself. For me, dreams always have worked as a great help if there is a mind block on ideas. In dreams, there are so many creative ideas – on the verge of madness, are tried out, where you really do not have a direct control. Of course for this you have to have a great sleep, but unfortunately lot of ‘creative minds’ also suffer from ‘insomnia.’.

Reading:

I find a visualizer has to be an avid reader, or every avid reader is a visualizer, whether he/she wishes to be or not. Any literature only makes place in you mind, when it is creating images imp your mind. Every mind is capable of creating images known or unknown. The more you read – the more your mind exercises of creating images. Reading also helps in understanding the fine unexplained nuances of an assignment from a difficult client sometimes, because it makes our mind efficient to read between the lines. In my opinion, likes and dislikes or genre based reading habits harms the system of reading and obviously keeps the reader limited. Not always reading should be a path to entertainment. It should be a rule for a visualizer to read a specific literature in a given time.


Roaming alone and Talking to your self:

Who doesn’t like to travel and explore different places? Of course there are people who like to be shut in their houses on weekends (like me). But leaving the ‘lazy’ part, I really like to wander aimlessly rather than ‘traveling’. When you have no agenda or appointments, it’s fun to stroll and take out some time to talk to yourself. The feeling that no phone calls, no meetings, no bill date memos and no one bothering you makes you so relaxed that you suddenly meet your best friend of life and that is you of course. This is kind of de-toxication. Or you may call it short and cheap ‘Vipashyana’.

Watching Movies:

Unfortunately most of the movie goers, especially in India, treat it like some use and throw entertainment tablet. And so the movie makers also give them what they like. But still movies and T.V. is a great medium where you meet the ideas in a visual format rather a complete form which includes sound. Similarly like reading stories, a particular scene may evoke your creativity quotient and make you think how would have been your take on it. To me, movies are a wonderful medium to do the magic show, where you mesmerize the viewers with your creative skills.


Writing:

Not everybody is good with words, but a lot of people really are better at writing rather than speaking, for examples writing emails or letters. While writing we are so comfortable and not at all worried of fumbling, diction, recalling right words in time, etc. We can always keep a check on the text piece we have written. Exactly, that’s why writing makes the real you come out and express fearlessly. The more and more you keep on writing, you get better at it. Slowly you will realize that writing is no less than flying, because it takes you to a different world.


Ultimately, what I have experienced is ‘Creative Minds’ are like gifted fertile soil, which need to be nourished and taken care of, for blossoming ideas,

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