Am I sketching enough?

I started my more official creative journey as a designer. At school, we were always motivated to go through a vast creative process before settling on any one concept whenever we would start a new project.
The very first step was to write down as many ideas as you could. Not one, not ten, but dozens, even a hundred if you could. After allowing your mind to reach out as far and wide as your powers of association could go, you'd start to narrow it down. Decide which concepts had mirth and which didn't. We were taught that this process is how you’d find your golden goose, conceptually. I still believe that it’s a great way to work out your biggest creative muscle; your brain. I think most every creative person would benefit from practising this at least a few times in their lives. As the best ideas are often not the first ideas that come to mind.

I believe in art school students are taught a similar thing, (although I can’t say from first-hand experience) and I’m sure it’s for a similar reason. To explore, stretch your creativity and go one step farther in your creative concepts than you otherwise would have.

These days though, I’d be lying if I said this is something I frequently practice. When I have an idea for a illustration or a product I sketch out two, three, maybe even four variants and if the idea isn’t coming to life within those, it isn’t meant to be. If it’s art that’s just meant for me, then I’ll just go straight through with sketch number one, if it’s something I like.  As a chronically ill creative I simply don’t have the energy to spend hours working out concepts. And sometimes, this makes me feel like a bit of a fraud. Like I’m not a proper creative.

After years of designing products, I can tell when I’m sketching out the concept if it’ll work out. Often times the illustrations that I worked on with the least stress end up turning out the best. And that makes sense to me. Because isn’t creativity meant to be enjoyed?

Not everything we create needs to be The Most Original Concept Anyone Has Ever Made. In fact, the idea of it in itself is kind of absurd. There are billions of people in this world and billions have come before us. Every concept is a variation on a theme. So why not release the pressure of that expectation?

If sketching for hours, trying to come up with unique concepts keeps you from creating at all, then I say, drop it!

Your time is precious, and I’d much rather see your imperfect art, than go without it due to some perfectionistic ideal.