Just thinking...

From where do I draw inspiration?

It is a question I have been asked a few times throughout school, but it is worth pondering again as I decide in what direction my future lies. 

I suppose my inspiration comes from three main sources:

People, Places, and Images

The people that inspire me specifically, are my family and friends. My parents and siblings inspire me more than anyone else, because if I am making a humorous piece, I am writing the jokes that make my family laugh, or if I am making a more thoughtful piece, they are the people that I really want to 'get it'. My love for my family has sparked my favorite animations. Childhood perhaps the most of all. I also create for my extended family. Because I am currently living 3-4 hours away from my closest relatives, I miss a lot of family events. I want to create things that make the time apart worthwhile. I include things my family says, or the likenesses of relatives in my work to remind me of them always.

My friends inspire my work, because they are constantly pushing me to try new things. My friends within the animation and design community are a wealth of help in workshopping new ideas, or suggesting different ways of doing things than I would have considered. Their fantastic art makes me strive to improve at all times, and makes me feel like creating. My friends outside the animation and design community say funny things, or discuss ideas with me. They tell me that they like or don't like my animation without knowing how it was made and looking at it from behind the scenes. They encourage me to finish difficult scenes, and don't hate me when I have to pass on plans to work on a particularly time-consuming project. My friends bring such joy to my days, and they keep my ideas feeling fresh.

I am also inspired by innovators and people pushing for their goals. I am inspired by filmmakers. animators, illustrators, web content creators, inventors, engineers, and more. I am inspired by the fantastic educators I have encountered in my life who believed in my crazy dreams and ideas, and always nudged me forward. 

There are many places that inspire my work, both places I have visited in person, and some that I have only seen in photographs. My hometown plays a big role in my work, because it is where I developed the caring common to small town living, and the idea that everyone has a story. The city of Chicago is important, because I am constantly surrounded by new things, beautiful architecture, different cultures, world class art/museums, and a storied history.  Lake Michigan inspires me, because when I am feeling homesick, claustrophobic in the city, or generally overwhelmed, the vast blue helps me clear my mind. I am inspired when I visit a new church, or worship regularly in a church where I feel community. I am inspired by the places I hope to visit, like the Grand Canyon, Alaska, Rome, Prague, Melbourne, Cape Town, Toronto, London, rural Central America, and more.

I am also inspired by images, whether it be a beautiful portrait, a digital painting, beer labels, drone footage of a place I have never been, or even a quick snapshot sent to me by a friend. Certain images are seared on my mind, and certain images have only a fleeting impact, but I love the opportunity to soak up what someone else wanted me to see, and imagine why. I then like to figure out why something inspires me and try to recreate the feeling by creating something of my own.

I am continually inspired by things all around me. Where do you draw your inspiration from?