Inspiration

Created 2011 Brad Chin. Rights Reserved… don’t steal art!

Inspiration… where does it come from?

I have been asking myself that quite a bit over the past few days. Last week, I quite literally dreamt up an idea for a fictional story, something that I may turn into a novel or a screenplay, or a series — I don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve never felt anything like that before, and I feel like I must share this story.

It doesn’t feel optional. I feel like if I even make an attempt to hold it back, it’ll tear through my brain, gush out my face and rip apart the remaining seams that hold my sanity together. No one wants that to happen. That would be amusing for some, but probably quite the mess for crime scene cleanup. 

The necessary tools.

Fortunately, I feel like I’m finally properly equipped. I feel like I have the tools to create the world; the brush, the paint, the canvas and the spirit. Reality has this mean reputation for shattering dreams; it takes some willpower to overcome boot camp, hell week — the rigorous tests that separate greatness from mediocrity — and the stigma against “creating art” for a living (instead of getting a “real” job). 

Recently, I sent an inquiry to the fine folks over at Literature & Latte. Long story short, I’m now using Scrivener to organize my writing projects, and I’m thrilled — because Scrivener is incredible. Bradtastic Approved. In my (excellent) opinion, Apple makes the finest computing equipment for creatives and has engineered a wonderful backbone for some of the most amazing software designed by the friendliest, most sincere, dedicated, and down-to-earth programmers in the world. If you have Mac OS X, check out Scrivener — also available in the Mac App Store.

Another crucial asset is ThinkBook by bitolithic. It’s just incredible; well-built, incredibly usable, powerful, intuitive… if you like to plan anything, you can benefit from ThinkBook. 

I’m still doing what I’m doing, trying to recover and heal, deal with my pain and reduce it as much as possible. I was thinking about how to go about sharing my recent eureka moment, and I created the image above in Sketchbook. I wasn’t going for anything in particular; I just let my muse guide me, and the colors, shapes and strokes above is the result.

What, or whom, inspires you?