Category: Brainstorming

Brainstorming TRACK: Lesson 6, Beginning to End Artwork

Prompt stages Examples Bowsers Subject matter Other prompts Art Media Paint Media Visit these pages for supply lists: watercolor, gouache, acryl gouache, oils, water mixable oils, acrylics. Drawing Media ballpoint pen/gel pens, dip pen, brush pen markers, Caran d’Ache crayons, graphite powder, colored pencil, soft pastel, oil pastel, pencil, charcoal, ink wash, scratchboard, wet charcoal, oil sticks DIGITAL SOFTWARE OPTIONS Procreate, Krita, Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Paint Tool SAI, Adobe Fresco, MediBang Paint, Gimp How to Avoid Art Clichés This […]

Brainstorming TRACK: Lesson 3, Mood Boards

Prompt Inspiration Art history & contemporary art sites Historical image archives Museum collection sites Tips Examples Ashley, Arielle, Triplegem Digital platforms go old school How to Brainstorm with Mood Boards Creating mood boards is a fun, exciting way to gather visual inspiration for your projects. This video explores Jordan’s mood boards, created for the character designs in […]

Brainstorming & Sketching a Character Design in Photoshop

See a demo of sketching an original character design. It starts with pencil sketches to brainstorm, the inking process with a dip pen with India ink, and Photoshop to add color. Topics include discussing the importance of writing your own original stories in order to inspire original character designs. See how the personality and narrative […]

Brainstorming TRACK: Lesson 2, Mind Maps

Prompt article search: key words list Choose your key words Image Search Mind map Examples Clar Angkasa, Casey Roonan, Annabeth Tao, Ashley, Arielle, Trent Hear from an Art Prof Student “My main takeaway is how much non-linear exploration can really enrich the end result. By exploring different ways of making patterns in reference photos, looking […]

Brainstorming TRACK: Lesson 1, Rapid Fire Charts

Prompt Time yourself Inspiration Prof Lieu’s kid drew these when she was in the first grade! Examples Prof Lieu’s kid in when they were in 1st grade, Ross Hines, Borany Wicks, Hyeji Kim, July Ha, Merlin SK Tips drawing on the charts art media We recommend any drawing media that allows you to draw thin […]

Brainstorming Track

The Brainstorming Track provides guidance and direction for developing ideas and themes in your artistic practice. Lessons and prompts will stimulate your thinking process to unlock your creative potential. Lesson 1 • Lesson 2 • Lesson 3Lesson 4 • Lesson 5 • Lesson 6 This track will allow you to gain skills that are applicable in any art field, from fine art painting, character design, illustration, comics, […]

Step by Step Brainstorming Demo

This video is a demo which shows approaches to brainstorming as an artist. How do you start with an idea and develop it into a viable piece of artwork? Several brainstorming exercises are shown, including drawing mind maps, how to research topics, search for reference photos, draw thumbnail sketches, and more. Demo led by Art […]

Brainstorming Do’s and Don’ts

While every student has their weaknesses they’re working on, the one skill that none of my students seem to have experience with across the board is brainstorming. Even strong students who have exceptional drawing skills struggle tremendously with brainstorming. In fact, many of these students have an even tougher time because they’ve been using their drawing […]

Brainstorming & Sketching Ideas for Comics

See a demo of how to quickly sketch ideas for comics in Procreate. Tips for starting include how to start designing a character for the comic, what style to use for that character, and discussing elements of comics like point of view, comic panels, timing, storytelling, and more. Drawing demo led by Art Prof Clara […]

Does My Art Need to Have Meaning?

Many artists wonder whether their art has to have “deep meaning” to be valid. Does art have to have a meaningful message in order to be art, or can art be a purely visual experience for the artist and viewer? Who determines what art needs to have, the artist, the audience, both? Discussion led by […]

Art School Portfolio: Brainstorming

Table of Contents Identify the clichés Take the initiative to create artworks that demonstrate your thinking process, that pushes beyond the most literal art cliché. In fact, the best way to combat the danger of a cliché is to eliminate that option immediately. When Prof Lieu does brainstorming exercises with her studio art classes, she asks the […]

Brainstorming for Artists

Brainstorming is an essential process that artists can use to develop their ideas to create their artwork. Exercises such as word association, mind maps, thumbnail sketches, and sketchbook doodles are all discussed as a means towards stimulating the development of ideas for future artworks. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artists Eloise […]

How to Brainstorm with Mood Boards

Creating mood boards is a fun, exciting way to gather visual inspiration for your projects. This video explores Jordan’s mood boards, created for the character designs in the series Shadow Boxers. Jordan explains his process for finding visual inspiration, using Pinterest to organize the images, developing the stories behind the characters, and ultimately to the […]