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On Creativity
17 years ago
General
What's this? I've only drawn two submissions in the past month, that weren't based off of webcomic characters? Dang, I suck at originality. I once heard there were two types of creative people, originators and innovators. Origniators, as the name might suggest, create ideas that are very unique or original. Innovators create new or improved ways of implementing ideas that already exist. My creativity more likely resembles the innovator type.
While I can't say that I've really improved upon ideas that already exist, with my art. Rather, I've just studied them and tried to reproduce a facsimile of a style or quality. I have frequently used my innovative powers in other media, such as RPGs(Role-Playing Games). The files I have written on RPG rules and stats, and ideas with which existing RPGs might be improved, are legion. I cannot say whether these ideas actually WOULD improve RPGs, because I have rarely had the resources to implement them.
However, I don't believe anyone is exclusively innovator or originator, just that they often express one more frequently then the other. In fact, I believe true originators are very rare, as most ideas, after a fashion, have already existed at some point in time.
For instance, take the first person who created a webcomic. Comics already existed. The web already existed. They just put the two together to make something interesting. Also, amalgamating different species, to make new creatures, stretches back centuries, millenia even. Think of the Sphinx, the Chimera, the Cockatrice.
My point being, people shouldn't get so worked up over whether or not ideas are original. If you're ideas aren't original, then just focus on trying to be more skillful or more erudite with your areas of interest. Hopefully, somewhere along the way, you may think of something truly unique, or find an originator with which to collaborate. While originators should receive credit, where credit is due, innovators should be recognized for their abilities, as well. Both originality and innovation are required for progress.
While I can't say that I've really improved upon ideas that already exist, with my art. Rather, I've just studied them and tried to reproduce a facsimile of a style or quality. I have frequently used my innovative powers in other media, such as RPGs(Role-Playing Games). The files I have written on RPG rules and stats, and ideas with which existing RPGs might be improved, are legion. I cannot say whether these ideas actually WOULD improve RPGs, because I have rarely had the resources to implement them.
However, I don't believe anyone is exclusively innovator or originator, just that they often express one more frequently then the other. In fact, I believe true originators are very rare, as most ideas, after a fashion, have already existed at some point in time.
For instance, take the first person who created a webcomic. Comics already existed. The web already existed. They just put the two together to make something interesting. Also, amalgamating different species, to make new creatures, stretches back centuries, millenia even. Think of the Sphinx, the Chimera, the Cockatrice.
My point being, people shouldn't get so worked up over whether or not ideas are original. If you're ideas aren't original, then just focus on trying to be more skillful or more erudite with your areas of interest. Hopefully, somewhere along the way, you may think of something truly unique, or find an originator with which to collaborate. While originators should receive credit, where credit is due, innovators should be recognized for their abilities, as well. Both originality and innovation are required for progress.
