After yesterday's post, I decided to share a version of a post that originally appeared on my blog in July 2007 (almost ten years ago – wow!). I edited it a bit for clarity and relevance. Also, many of the websites I referenced in the original article are long gone. I think you might find it interesting thinking about how to ride that ripple from inspiration to finished project.
When I first started scrapbooking, I had a lot of trouble using sketches as the basis for layouts. I couldn’t understand why people were so hot to trot for them. Every time I tried to create a layout based on a sketch, it was awkward and not my own. But then, I started doing an “ad inspiration” challenge online. My first few attempts were fun and easy – just follow the photo placement in the very linear and square advertisement making things wider or narrower as needed.
I thought I was being super innovative turning those three photos into a long stretch of multiple photos.
Then, one day, we were given the following ad:
What?! I was freaked out because this ad didn't seem to have easy lines to follow! So instead of following the design exactly, I had to think about what appealed to me from the ad? What was sticking out and calling to me? Here’s the result:
From then on, I just felt so much more free. I can now look at a sketch or an ad and instead of counting how many photos there are, I look at the overall principle. For instance, in this Pencil Lines sketch from Ali Edwards:
The sketch simply indicates to me that the intention is to have a block of smaller items contrasted with a similarly sized block containing only one item. Immediately, I see the following variations for scrapbook pages in this design:
Armed with this new ability to look at the design concept, rather than the physical design, I felt excited when Anam contacted me about creating altered items from scrapbooking sketches. Nervous, but excited. Creating an altered item from a sketch is different than a scrapbooking layout. It’s one more level of disassociation. What does that mean? Once you’ve got the basic design principle, you’ve got to get out of the box (literally). Check out the sketch below. It’s Pencil Lines #33 by Jo-Ann te Raa.
What is the basic design concept? Three identical squares in a row attached to something larger with straight lines. Here’s a quick visual guide to how I get one level more abstracted:
Can you see how I got all those projects out of the original scrapbook page sketch? I took the idea of three things protruding from a larger thing and simply changed scale and style while adding a few embellishments.
Once you’ve got the idea down, you can even take a peek around your home and see all the things you own that follow the sketch! Here are a few from my home:
I hope that this has helped you to see one way in which you can use a scrapbooking sketch as inspiration for many other art forms. Here is a project I made using the sketch as inspiration:
The next time you're having trouble understanding how to get from inspiration to something new, I hope you'll give this simple method a try!
Thanks for stopping by!
Love the LO The Dress Julie! The yellow shapes coming down from the left side caught my eye and then I scrolled down and saw how it inspired you. Delightful.
Love the LO The Dress Julie! The yellow shapes coming down from the left side caught my eye and then I scrolled down and saw how it inspired you. Delightful.
Love the LO The Dress Julie! The yellow shapes coming down from the left side caught my eye and then I scrolled down and saw how it inspired you. Delightful.
Love the LO The Dress Julie! The yellow shapes coming down from the left side caught my eye and then I scrolled down and saw how it inspired you. Delightful.
Love the LO The Dress Julie! The yellow shapes coming down from the left side caught my eye and then I scrolled down and saw how it inspired you. Delightful.
Love the LO The Dress Julie! The yellow shapes coming down from the left side caught my eye and then I scrolled down and saw how it inspired you. Delightful.
You so clearly describe the process that’s going on in your head both visually and verbally that it makes it easy to follow your thinking. It gives me inspiration to look at things in a new light.
You so clearly describe the process that’s going on in your head both visually and verbally that it makes it easy to follow your thinking. It gives me inspiration to look at things in a new light.
You so clearly describe the process that’s going on in your head both visually and verbally that it makes it easy to follow your thinking. It gives me inspiration to look at things in a new light.
You so clearly describe the process that’s going on in your head both visually and verbally that it makes it easy to follow your thinking. It gives me inspiration to look at things in a new light.
You so clearly describe the process that’s going on in your head both visually and verbally that it makes it easy to follow your thinking. It gives me inspiration to look at things in a new light.
You so clearly describe the process that’s going on in your head both visually and verbally that it makes it easy to follow your thinking. It gives me inspiration to look at things in a new light.
OMG that dress! OMG! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful! I’ve always been quite non-traditional myself and I did not want a diamond for my engagement ring (crazy?) and opted for a ruby on white gold instead. To this day, many do not believe what I did, but that’s what I wanted and that’s what I got! As for the dress, I went for the totally white but … I had it made with a large diamond shape cut in the torso area and with a Mallorca pearled turban attached to veil as my head dress with 3 rubies in a diamond shape dangling in mid forehead (Arabian-style), but I sure would have loved some colorful design somewhere on the dress! What a super great choice you made! Way-to-go!!
OMG that dress! OMG! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful! I’ve always been quite non-traditional myself and I did not want a diamond for my engagement ring (crazy?) and opted for a ruby on white gold instead. To this day, many do not believe what I did, but that’s what I wanted and that’s what I got! As for the dress, I went for the totally white but … I had it made with a large diamond shape cut in the torso area and with a Mallorca pearled turban attached to veil as my head dress with 3 rubies in a diamond shape dangling in mid forehead (Arabian-style), but I sure would have loved some colorful design somewhere on the dress! What a super great choice you made! Way-to-go!!
OMG that dress! OMG! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful! I’ve always been quite non-traditional myself and I did not want a diamond for my engagement ring (crazy?) and opted for a ruby on white gold instead. To this day, many do not believe what I did, but that’s what I wanted and that’s what I got! As for the dress, I went for the totally white but … I had it made with a large diamond shape cut in the torso area and with a Mallorca pearled turban attached to veil as my head dress with 3 rubies in a diamond shape dangling in mid forehead (Arabian-style), but I sure would have loved some colorful design somewhere on the dress! What a super great choice you made! Way-to-go!!
OMG that dress! OMG! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful! I’ve always been quite non-traditional myself and I did not want a diamond for my engagement ring (crazy?) and opted for a ruby on white gold instead. To this day, many do not believe what I did, but that’s what I wanted and that’s what I got! As for the dress, I went for the totally white but … I had it made with a large diamond shape cut in the torso area and with a Mallorca pearled turban attached to veil as my head dress with 3 rubies in a diamond shape dangling in mid forehead (Arabian-style), but I sure would have loved some colorful design somewhere on the dress! What a super great choice you made! Way-to-go!!
OMG that dress! OMG! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful! I’ve always been quite non-traditional myself and I did not want a diamond for my engagement ring (crazy?) and opted for a ruby on white gold instead. To this day, many do not believe what I did, but that’s what I wanted and that’s what I got! As for the dress, I went for the totally white but … I had it made with a large diamond shape cut in the torso area and with a Mallorca pearled turban attached to veil as my head dress with 3 rubies in a diamond shape dangling in mid forehead (Arabian-style), but I sure would have loved some colorful design somewhere on the dress! What a super great choice you made! Way-to-go!!
OMG that dress! OMG! I’ve never seen anything more beautiful! I’ve always been quite non-traditional myself and I did not want a diamond for my engagement ring (crazy?) and opted for a ruby on white gold instead. To this day, many do not believe what I did, but that’s what I wanted and that’s what I got! As for the dress, I went for the totally white but … I had it made with a large diamond shape cut in the torso area and with a Mallorca pearled turban attached to veil as my head dress with 3 rubies in a diamond shape dangling in mid forehead (Arabian-style), but I sure would have loved some colorful design somewhere on the dress! What a super great choice you made! Way-to-go!!
Wow, this was so illuminating! I could see the thought process you followed. Amazing. I had no idea how you would take a sketch and make something altered based on that. By the time I finished reading this, I could totally see it. You’re a wonderful inspiration and teacher. Thank you for always sharing so generously. I love your blog for years now. Thank you, Julie.
Wow, this was so illuminating! I could see the thought process you followed. Amazing. I had no idea how you would take a sketch and make something altered based on that. By the time I finished reading this, I could totally see it. You’re a wonderful inspiration and teacher. Thank you for always sharing so generously. I love your blog for years now. Thank you, Julie.
Wow, this was so illuminating! I could see the thought process you followed. Amazing. I had no idea how you would take a sketch and make something altered based on that. By the time I finished reading this, I could totally see it. You’re a wonderful inspiration and teacher. Thank you for always sharing so generously. I love your blog for years now. Thank you, Julie.
Wow, this was so illuminating! I could see the thought process you followed. Amazing. I had no idea how you would take a sketch and make something altered based on that. By the time I finished reading this, I could totally see it. You’re a wonderful inspiration and teacher. Thank you for always sharing so generously. I love your blog for years now. Thank you, Julie.
Wow, this was so illuminating! I could see the thought process you followed. Amazing. I had no idea how you would take a sketch and make something altered based on that. By the time I finished reading this, I could totally see it. You’re a wonderful inspiration and teacher. Thank you for always sharing so generously. I love your blog for years now. Thank you, Julie.
Wow, this was so illuminating! I could see the thought process you followed. Amazing. I had no idea how you would take a sketch and make something altered based on that. By the time I finished reading this, I could totally see it. You’re a wonderful inspiration and teacher. Thank you for always sharing so generously. I love your blog for years now. Thank you, Julie.
Love this!!! Great way to look for spacing and layout of a project!!!!
Love this!!! Great way to look for spacing and layout of a project!!!!
Love this!!! Great way to look for spacing and layout of a project!!!!
Love this!!! Great way to look for spacing and layout of a project!!!!
Love this!!! Great way to look for spacing and layout of a project!!!!
Love this!!! Great way to look for spacing and layout of a project!!!!
What an insightful and instructive post. Thanks, Julie!
What an insightful and instructive post. Thanks, Julie!
What an insightful and instructive post. Thanks, Julie!
What an insightful and instructive post. Thanks, Julie!
What an insightful and instructive post. Thanks, Julie!
What an insightful and instructive post. Thanks, Julie!
Great idea, Julie! Thank You for this tutorial. Contemporary layout artists are incredibly creative. So happy they are out there sharing their creativity with us. I cut out lots of fashion magazine ads because I just like the look of the ads but never understand why I like them. Now I know what to do with them. Yes, will try to use your method in my next sketches of composition design. Grateful, thank you.
Great idea, Julie! Thank You for this tutorial. Contemporary layout artists are incredibly creative. So happy they are out there sharing their creativity with us. I cut out lots of fashion magazine ads because I just like the look of the ads but never understand why I like them. Now I know what to do with them. Yes, will try to use your method in my next sketches of composition design. Grateful, thank you.
Great idea, Julie! Thank You for this tutorial. Contemporary layout artists are incredibly creative. So happy they are out there sharing their creativity with us. I cut out lots of fashion magazine ads because I just like the look of the ads but never understand why I like them. Now I know what to do with them. Yes, will try to use your method in my next sketches of composition design. Grateful, thank you.
Great idea, Julie! Thank You for this tutorial. Contemporary layout artists are incredibly creative. So happy they are out there sharing their creativity with us. I cut out lots of fashion magazine ads because I just like the look of the ads but never understand why I like them. Now I know what to do with them. Yes, will try to use your method in my next sketches of composition design. Grateful, thank you.
Great idea, Julie! Thank You for this tutorial. Contemporary layout artists are incredibly creative. So happy they are out there sharing their creativity with us. I cut out lots of fashion magazine ads because I just like the look of the ads but never understand why I like them. Now I know what to do with them. Yes, will try to use your method in my next sketches of composition design. Grateful, thank you.
Great idea, Julie! Thank You for this tutorial. Contemporary layout artists are incredibly creative. So happy they are out there sharing their creativity with us. I cut out lots of fashion magazine ads because I just like the look of the ads but never understand why I like them. Now I know what to do with them. Yes, will try to use your method in my next sketches of composition design. Grateful, thank you.
awesome re-visit!
awesome re-visit!
awesome re-visit!
awesome re-visit!
awesome re-visit!
awesome re-visit!