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How do you get started?

nrjanitz

nrjanitz

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Joined
Jul 23, 2015
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I'm just curious when you are creating a layout or an art journal page, what kinds of ways help you get started? How do you pick a subject matter? What about composition? Colors? Jump starters on journaling, etc?

I know we recently talked about places that we get inspiration from, but I'd love to hear more about your process...

<3
Nan
 
My process is dependent on the purpose or reason I'm creating. With Anne's color challenge, of course it's finding what color is appealing to me. If it's to get out feelings or think through something -- it's kind of looking through kits to find something that expresses part of those feelings. I journal quotes frequently; for me it's a way to really concentrate on the quote and express what stands out to me.
I love there is no rules and I don't have to think about composition. It's moving things around to my liking.
I rarely journal on art pages although I am starting to. That way when I go back to it I'll understand what it was saying to me at the time of creating.
With art journaling for me whatever gets the process started...
 
Oh yeah, totally depends!
I can either look through kits and make a layout based on what I find....
Or...
I can decide I need to express a specific feeling, and will look for specific things throughout my stash that will help me express that....
Or...
I can do neither of those things, and just slap things onto a page until I like it...
Or...
I can start with a process or technique in mind that I want to use....

The actual making of my page is largely the same: open all the items in Photoshop elements, then pile it all into one document, then move elements and change layer blending modes till my heart is happy.
 
My process begins with how I'm feeling at that moment.. then comes the colours to match my mood of that particular page.. Darker colours when I'm all gloomy and blue at that moment. It's challenging to create a mixed media layout based on my mood as most kits are all bright and happy kinda colours.. Hmm.. your question seems tough for me to answer. LOL!! As I am quite intuitive when I'm creating.. I don't plan, I don't have a process that I go to.. Give me a few elements and somehow I can create a mixed media or AJ page. I think I am also blessed that I have an eye for composition and colours, so I don't really plan that much. Somehow I can take a look at the elements and form a page in my head even before I open Photoshop. LOL!! I AM A WEIRDO!!
I can be a minimalist to messy kinda artist..


I wonder how you @nrjanitz Nancie get started?
 
I usually start with the photo and story I have to tell, oftentimes the most recent in my camera roll.
If it is for a creative team then the kit drives the photo choice, with playing with the product as secondary.
 
It depends on my mood. Sometimes I see the pics I want to use and immediately know which kit I want, or what kind of kit I want. If I don't have it, I go shopping. Then sometimes I see the kit first, and hunt for pics to go with it.
 
for traditionnal pages, I start with pictures and the story I want to tell. for an AJ page, I start with a quote about my feeling of the moment or with a great quote in a kit.
 
I love hearing how most of you begin your process with the STORY!! I think that's why we all do this right? We need to get down a certain emotion, a tale or event a moment in time. I also love how most of you don't really have a plan but rather go with your gut. I think in any creative endeavor (cooking, writing, decorating, etc) it becomes more important to listen to our instincts and just begin to create.

@misslovescraps unfortunately I do not really scrap that much anymore - I'm hoping to get back to it soon because I used to do it when my daughter was younger and I love looking back through them esp. now that she's grown. Since I am designing full time now, scrapping always seems to go to the back of the creative line so to speak. I do try and work in my sketchbook each day. For me I find that the longer I go without doing that, I hesitate and feel fearful (not sure why this is!) So I just begin with laying down some paint, I turn on music and just try and trust myself... not caring who I show. This is just for me...

I did just buy a Wacom tablet and downloaded some amazing Pshop brushes from http://alexdukal.com/store/ and I've been working on drawing right into Pshop. I LOVE IT! Have any of you used Alex's brushes? I bought the Aquarelle Watercolor set, the Cartoonist and Artbox (I guess Disney artists use these!) These are tool presets so they look very realistic. I created this little kitty using them...

14543713_10210465346291546_8394899964090703903_o.jpg


xo
N
 
lol!! thank you girls!! here you go! I put in a .png and .jpg for you...

LE CHAT ILLUSTRATION

I love drawing right into pshop but the learning curve for me is very steep.... I'll keep at it because it really does save processing time and I tend to work a bit looser because I can just hit CMD+Z haha!

xo
Nan
 
Thank you for the cat. Very cute. Like everyone else, I start with story and look for content that goes with it. Although, there have been times when I switched up what I was doing because either I could not find what I wanted or because I found some other cool stuff.

Oh, and yes, I have been known to take pictures specifically because I want to scrap a particular page or because of a specific kit. And yes, those usually have stories too, like the one where the cactus "bit" my butt. But hey, it was a great scrapbook story. p.s. don't pretend to sit on a cactus even if it is for a scrapbook photo.
 
nrjanitz said:
I love hearing how most of you begin your process with the STORY!! I think that's why we all do this right? We need to get down a certain emotion, a tale or event a moment in time. I also love how most of you don't really have a plan but rather go with your gut. I think in any creative endeavor (cooking, writing, decorating, etc) it becomes more important to listen to our instincts and just begin to create.

@misslovescraps unfortunately I do not really scrap that much anymore - I'm hoping to get back to it soon because I used to do it when my daughter was younger and I love looking back through them esp. now that she's grown. Since I am designing full time now, scrapping always seems to go to the back of the creative line so to speak. I do try and work in my sketchbook each day. For me I find that the longer I go without doing that, I hesitate and feel fearful (not sure why this is!) So I just begin with laying down some paint, I turn on music and just try and trust myself... not caring who I show. This is just for me...

I did just buy a Wacom tablet and downloaded some amazing Pshop brushes from http://alexdukal.com/store/ and I've been working on drawing right into Pshop. I LOVE IT! Have any of you used Alex's brushes? I bought the Aquarelle Watercolor set, the Cartoonist and Artbox (I guess Disney artists use these!) These are tool presets so they look very realistic. I created this little kitty using them...

View attachment 178396

xo
N
Click to expand...
ah!! I go through almost a similiar process. I need to do something everyday in my sketchbook too. Lately I have not drawn for a week. Funny that I can't seem to get my faces 'right'!!! lol!! LOVE YOUR KITTY!! WACOM IS AMAZING!!!
 
It can be something I've seen, felt or even heard. Sometimes it's just a color I really what to work with. Music is a key inspiration for me. Just now while I was finishing one piece I heard a line in a song that instantly just started something in me.

'Sometimes we make it just to break it'

I know that will be featured somehow in whatever I create next. And I guess that's really how I get started. Somewhere along my way I pick up a hint that my mind plays with until it comes out as an actual art journal page.
 
I love to learn new techniques...so I collect tutorials and different photo actions...and will play with them in art journaling to get a new technique with my button pushing self in my program to get things to look different.
and then sometimes
I see a kit, and ONE element just strikes me, and I MUST use it..everything else will center around that element until it feels done.
 
I use a system much like @sbpoet defined in a recent challenge. I just browse through my stash grabbing everything that I love or relate to. Once I get them in PS I start arranging and discarding or adding products as I go. I often don't even look at photos until close to the end. Thus I scrap the same photo sometimes but I don't care.
 
Good question!

It´s really different depending on what I´m scrapping about and for what purpose. But if I´m just scrapping "for me" it´s the story and the photos.
 
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