Tips On How To Be Creative
Here at Jolly Wild we love creativity! And sometimes it's important and invigorating to try something new and different. Being creative is the freedom to be experimental and artistic and random.
The great thing about creativity is, it doesn't have to be perfect! And for some of you, that may sound absolutely fantastic, others who are more perfectionists, not so much. I think coming to terms with things not being perfect is the most important part about being creative.
Here are some top ways to get more creative, and learning to accept that perfect isn't always possible.
1) Painting by numbers, this is so easy and therapeutic - you dont have to think about anything, you just paint the areas correctly according to which colour matches up with which number. You can get easy and hard ones of these but they are definitely a really easy way to start being more creative.
2) Butterfly paintings: Start with an A4 piece of paper, fold it in half to get a crease down the middle and un-fold it and make sure the paper is horizontal on the table. Next, using paint of your choice, (poster paints are easy for kids especially) use a paintbrush to dab different colours over one half of the paper only (make sure you stay to one side of the folded line) Once you feel like you've dabbed enough paint on the one side, fold the paper in half so the blank side touched the paint, apply a bit of pressure to ensure the paint transfers to the other side of the paper, and open the paper up, you should see a mirror image, slightly abstract, but very colourful. Leave to one side so dry. In the mean time you can create more by repeating the process and if you're really keen you can add glitter in places!. Once the paper is dry, fold it in half and make sure it is vertical with the fold on the left hand side, starting at the folded edge you need to draw half a butterfly body (and antenna if you wish) and also following on from the 'half butterfly body drawing', you need to draw a butterfly wing. Once you've completed this, keep the paper folded and cut round the edge of your butterfly outline, open it out and you should have a beautiful butterfly.
3)Draw or Paint something WITHOUT the normal paintbrush or drawing tools. I know what you're thinking - what the hell?! But hear me out... If you draw or paint with a paintbrush or pencil/pen then in your mind you're expecting it to look like something. It is actually easier to draw or paint with something different. And you never know - the outcome might actually be interesting! First thing to do, is scavenge round you garden at home, or a local park/ open countryside area nearest to you, pick up some interesting objects e.g. stones, sticks (small ones, big ones, thick ones , thin ones etc) flowers/leaves/plants/grasses (please make sure these are not from a display or protected plants), wire, wood, pinecones, bottles, lids, feathers. I would also suggest getting some black ink and use water to dilute the ink down so it spreads more. Or black paint if you do not have ink. Go straight ahead, dip your stone edge in ink and a bit of water and start drawing something (working from life or an image is always best) OR if you're a bit nervous to start, get a piece of paper to see how many different marks you can create from that particular drawing implement, think about dots, scratches, smudges, strikes, wiggles, lines, rolling, print, dab, fast, slow - consider these things when you mark make. Once you've made a selection of marks, you know how the implement works so you can start to draw with it.
Another good exercise to be creative is tying a drawing implement (pen/pencil/graphite etc) to a stick and try to draw using the stick, you'll find it abstracts your image slightly, you can't get accurate precise details doing exercises like these, so you have to pick which areas of the image are important to get down.
4) Timed drawing exercises. Pick something to draw and give yourself 10 times to work on drawing (e.g. 10 seconds, 30seconds, 45seconds, 1minute, 2minutes, 5minutes, 10minutes, 20minutes 30minutes, 45minutes etc, you can pick any length of time really, but challenge yourself with these times, note them down on the drawing so you remember and can compare with other drawings), look at the image or object and focus on what is important about that object or image, for example if you do a 30second drawing, it probably best not to be too detailed. Focus on the main lines and structure, maybe a few shadows if you have time. Also experimenting with scale is a good one to practice in these exercises.
5) Try some different products that you've never used before, go to an art shop or a shop which sells art supplies, and buy some products which look interesting to use, this will encourage your creativity e.g. acrylic paints, watercolours, lino cutting, pastel pencils, graphite, charcoal, coloured pencils/pens, pens and paintbrushes with different nibs and ends to create different effect. Use some paper to be experimental, test out different ways of mark making, smudges, dots, lines, dabs, gestures, be experimental. Then draw something with your new items.
6) You dont just have to be creative with art, there are many more ways you can get more creative. There are so many ways to show creativity in your home, for example organising books alphabetically OR are you crazy enough to organise them by colour? You can style up your home with candles, plants, fairy lights, cushions and throws, these features can really soften a room and make it more comfortable to be in. If you're feeling really bold - paint a feature wall in a room, go for something bold and brash, or neutral and clean, this is another easy way to be creative. You can also get creative with colour plates and crockery to give your dining at home an extra bit of warmth.
7) It is also possible to get creative with the outfits you wear too! The easiest possible one - turning your jeans into shorts, or any trousers that you have lost interest in, give them a new lease of life by cutting the two legs off - if you're scared to do this free hand, put the trousers on and draw a line where you feel like the appropriate length for the new shorts to be, cut across the line and try on your new shorts! Oversized shirt? - simply add a belt at the waist! OR cut into a crop top. You can also do this with hoodies, (that have seen better days), and jumpers too. Your hair is probably the easiest way to add a dash of colour to an outfit, so style up your hair with colourful scrunchies, hairclips and headbands - this is such an easy way to stand out, without dyeing your hair!
8) Another way to get more creative is in the kitchen from cooking to baking there are so many possible things to make and create, and usually YouTube is a pretty handy example of step by step recipes that are easy to follow and you can pause the video as you go along. Baking cakes is an easy way to please everyone! It is also a great way to learn baking techniques such as creaming and folding, which are great skills to have as a baker. But if you need a quick start recipe that misses out those bits then this simple, fool proof recipe will be sure to put smiles on everyone's faces.
You will need:
Mixing bowl, whisk (hand or electric), muffin tin (x2), muffin cake papers (12-20), weighing scales, a cup, a sieve, a wire rack
For The Muffins: 6oz Self-raising flour, 6oz caster sugar, 6oz butter (stork for cakes preferably, but spreadable butter also does the job!) 4 medium eggs, 1oz cocoa powder
For The Icing: 6oz icing sugar, 4 oz butter, 2oz cocoa powder
Recipe:
Adjust oven shelves so they sit in the middle of the oven. Preheat Oven to 180 degrees. Line muffin tin with the muffin cake papers. Weigh all the ingredients and add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl in the order above, break the eggs into a mug and add each one separately to avoid any shell getting into the mixture, then sieve the cocoa powder into the mixing bowl to remove any lumps. Whisk well until all the butter lumps have gone, try to aerate the mixture when you whisk by hand. Once the batter is smooth, divide equally between the muffin cases, how much you make will depend on how full you fill the cases, about a 1cm gap between the mixture and the top of the case is recommended, use two dessert spoons to help distribute your mixture, try to ensure each spoonful is the same size, so that the same amount of mixture is placed into the muffin cases. Now put the muffin tin/tins in the oven and shut the door. Set a timer for 12 mins. Your cakes should be a nice golden colour, and bounce back when you press them, that's how you'll know they're cooked, equally inserting a skewer or a knife into a few of the larger cupcakes is also acceptable, if it comes out clean, the muffins are ready. TOP TIP: When your cakes are in the oven, don't open the door, as this will affect the rise of the muffins. Once the muffins are ready, carefully place them onto a cooling rack, and allow them to cool. TOP TIP: If the muffins are not cool enough when you put the icing on, then the icing will melt and slide off. Once the muffins are cool, you can make the icing! Whisk up all the ingredients into a mixing bowl, if the icing is too thick - add a splash of milk or water to loosen the mixture, add more icing sugar to your desired consistency and use a teaspoon to spoon out even quantities onto the muffins! Allow icing to set before eating, or alternatively, eat straight away! These will be an absolute hit - your crowd will adore you! Enjoy and have fun getting creative in the kitchen. Once you learn the basics you can progress more and more by following different step by step guides to learn more skills and techniques, and things to wow your crowd!
I hope you enjoyed these great tips on how to be more creative! Enjoy!