Artist or writer's block? Here's some tips.

Welcome to another blogpost! Today we'll be focusing on some tips:

Feeling stumped? Read on~

Feeling stumped? Read on~

Creating a character and storyline can be a taxing task on the mind, especially if creativity doesn't come to your fingertips. The creation of a story alone, not even mentioning writing a story is even harder.

To help you in the creation of your story, characters and what context they are set in- here are some suggestions and tricks I think that might be helpful in your process.

Before anything, get inspired! Look around you, notice and take in your surroundings. Keep an open mind and listen to what happens in your nearby environment.

Anything can inspire you, from a sentence to a plant- just keep a look-out!

Besides that, do keep 'what if's' in mind. If you're an over-thinker like me, that's a pretty easy task. Contemplate over scenarios. Come up with plots. Write multiple endings. For example, a story about a girl planting a tree. You can always say, hey- what if the tree suddenly comes alive? Or what if she got arrested for planting that tree? What if she were to swap places with the tree when it was a full grown plant? Or what if someone gave her fake seeds and the tree turned out to be a metal pole instead?

Ridiculous ideas can help you generate content. Just go for it.

After opening up your mind, think of what genre you would like your photo or animation to be.

Romance? Mystery? Film Noir? Fantasy? Comedy?

Second, what is the main focal point of your story?

For example, if it's based on mystery, is it about a peculiar man in the shadows?

Or could it be about the case of an unsolved murder?

Do ponder on the thought of how you'd like the main character to be as well.

Would they give off a 'stay-away' from me vibe?

Do they have red-coloured eyes as deep as the colour of blood?

Are they welcoming or frightening?

Do they have skin as pale as snow?

What's their personality like?

Are they quirky, adorable, clumsy, scary, intimidating, friendly?

Concentrating on each character's personality and characteristics can help with the creation of the character and help the flow of the story- and possibly create an ending.

*Tip: Try to create a variety of characters, with different faces and types of clothings...etc.

This will prevent your stories from having similar characters. If not, they will all look very similar and might become boring or it could maybe not have enough impact to say eg. oh this is a villain- because they might look too similar to the other characters.

Prevent the 'same face syndrome' that some artists have.

Another tip is to find a way to have tension in your story. Try to keep it to one main idea, and branch out from there. Craft up a suspenseful atmosphere or a drama in the story.

This is an essential and crucial part of any good story. To be able to create some form of thrill or tension, allows your audience to crave for your content- thus capturing their attention.

For example, what's gonna happen next? Will the main character be exposed? Questions like these boost their excitement to see the end result.

Be sure to not over-share! Oversharing could leave the audience underwhelmed. Release the information slowly- make sure that it flows along with the storyline.

Up next, dialogue!

Dialogue is not mandatory, but having good dialogue can increase the fascination of the story. It also adds to the characters.

But you might ask, what is a good dialogue?

A quality dialogue makes your character comes to life!

Do check-in once in awhile and think, "Does this sound like my character?"

Next, plan or draw out a storyboard!

A storyboard is always good and comes in handy (though not everyone does it all the time, myself included..) It provides you with clear cut information on what each scene is supposed to be. You can always change what is in a particular scene and you don't have to necessarily stick to what you've placed there. Also, remember to not stress about the blank scenes, the imagination and creativity for it will eventually come once the clockwork starts.

Before focusing on the tiny details, try picturing everything in a bigger picture.

Look at it from a larger perspective, and if possible- multiple views. If you're stuck, try asking some people around you for opinions or ideas on how you can improve what you have.

Brainstorming with them, or by yourself can provide extra room for idea development too.

Don't forget, you can use your experiences! Experiences not only teaches an individual to grow, it can help you craft up characters and stories. Some writers or animators use their life stories to come up with stories that people find entertaining. Of course, make sure it's entertaining in some sort of way. You can also add some twists or turns if you fancy that.

If you're still stuck, then just sit down and produce! Give yourself a time limit, let's say an hour and try to purge out whatever you have, no matter how good or bad. You can always edit and make multiple drafts.

Stories take time to come up with and perfect. You will get there eventually!

Remember, when making an animation or creating a story, whatever that you might have planned might not be written in stone in the end. Whatever you've set out to do or portray might not be what you've created eventually.

Keep an open mind and remember that this is a continuous process. With perseverance and hard work, a good animation or composition can be made.

Good luck, and all the best! ♡

Do share your thoughts & tips with me on my tumblr~

https://sleighbeiie.tumblr.com/