Since I asked I might as well be the first to share
I generally get my inspiration from random sources, today for example I instantly knew what I am making for the Ancient Civilization contest, all from seeing the thumbnail on a youtube video.
Upon seeing the thumbnail I froze and stared at the screen as the entire scene unfolded in my mind, all from that thumbnail which only loosely relates to my scene.
Other times I just randomly get an idea and make it, most of the time just to get it out of my head.
āInspiration is highly over-rated.ā Instead of āinstantlyā deciding what I was going to do for a contest, and then pursuing it with the dogged insistence that my terrier dog (quite unsuccessfully ā¦) exhibits in pursuit of my cat, I would choose three or four good ideas and start ācircling aroundā each one of them. Iād drag all those ideas that came floating to the top of my mind, out of āmy mindā and onto a piece of paper.
Itās one thing to come up with āan idea forā a contest or what-have-you ā¦ quite another to come up with a plan by which to do it.
Sometimes, the most important thing is to have a way to figure out, as soon as possible and as painlessly as possible, that āyour ideaā is ā¦ garbage. That you either canāt do it, or canāt do it in time. Or to realize, āagain, ASAP,ā that your first idea is not your best one.
As I heard it once said: āFlush them out, first. Flush them all out: every pigeon, every duck. Then, choose which one to shoot.ā
The best thing to do is to have what in technical studies is called an engineer log/dairy.
If something hits your mind, an idea, something you want to find out, read about whatever.
Write it down.
You always think: āIāll remember it for sureā.
Two hours laterā¦: āWhat the freck was that grand idea I had?ā.
A small book in your pocket and a pen does it. And personally I prefer it over my smartphone.
I usually get inspiration by mixing random things which I see around me or from websites,afterwords I start to do some research on the elements which I took from and I note down where and why did I choose the object which I have used as an idea.
But most important thing is to be sure to write every idea which you have because as @arexma@ said is very easy to forget the ideas which you had.
I think that inspiration is something which people get get very easily but the problem is when you have too many ideas and you end up confused on which idea is the best one,and even when you choose one of the ideas you might have hard time not to change the idea which you chose.
I drink coffee, and think about what kind of game I would want to play,
Rinse and repeatā¦
I have also been attempting to invent things for 15+ yearsā¦
that is a good practiceā¦
Thing A + Thing B = New thing ā works
I need to do X - > works
what is causing this unexpected X - >sometimes helps
How can I exploit weakness X to do thing y?
(example - Hypersonic objects make plasma and turn into vapor) solution - extend āsacrificial rodā ahead of hypersonic object , create plasma from it, repel plasma, insulate craft from incoming hyper sonic air (see supercavity) now you add in a helical antenna arrayā¦ and you can exploit that plasma as a propellant by accelerating it, this same system could brake and steerā¦ )
sundialsvc4, I actually have a workflow like that, the general themes of the idea are the same but the composition is different, and it is bound to change as it isnāt exactly carved in stone. (my workflow isā¦ sketchy at best, I donāt stick to one idea because the idea morphs when I get other ideas or just spontaneously.)
arexma, I do keep one of those, actually (I am always on the computer and got a notetaking application running at any given time for this purpose, it starts with the computer and auto-saves everything and keeps a backup on a cloud drive)
I may have a slightly different process since I write fiction more than I use Blender. I come up with a new idea for a story every other day or so, and usually trash it within an hour. The ideas usually circulate around whatever I happen to be interested in at the time. Maybe politics, or time travel. Sometimes, itāll stay for a week, and then Iāll write down notes. Anything I canāt remember for a week isnāt worth writing about.
If Iām still enthusiastic a month later, Iāll begin writing, which means creating characters, themes, settings and stlyes. My initial inspiration is usually tiny, like āWhat if books could become real?ā (The idea behind one of my short films, in fact). And then itās a matter of nurturing the idea and exploring it fully.
I would make an ancient alien (a very old guy with many wrinkles) and two little alien girls with only one eye and one pink and the other green playing jumping on a rope.
It would be called āAncient aliens, but new generations ready tooā
While I often come up with some cool ideas at work, Iām often way too tired to expand, so weekends are usually my blending days. I often keep a memo pad at work to write down random blender stuff.
When Iām rested though, and feel good, I think of the possibilities and I feel like I can make anything. When tired, like I usually am from work, or a late night, then trying to use Blender feels like trying to tackle a brick wall. And with my current work schedule, Iām more tired than not.
