Imagination, Creation, Originality & Copy Cats Imitators

I’ve always had this problem since I’ve been a kid, being copied. If I wasn’t falling asleep in class or playing games with pen and pencils parts then I was awake drawing and doodling.

I remember in one instance where an idea was taken too far. In 5^th grade in the rotated class elective in class we had to draw as an exercise not sure if it was a real or hypothetical assignment, but we were assigned to draw a mural with the school mascot with a tiger in it.

Drawings from Thursday's night sketch group.

These text blocks look lonely without pictures.

Also the color sketches are from my new box of Yarka Pastels.

So I imagined the tiger walking all proud and since it was a American School in another country I thought to be a little patriotic with the American flag and some grass. I was so focused in what I was doing I didn’t realize that people were walking back and forth frequently past me. I didn’t know they were peeking over to see what I was doing.

I sat in the corner of the room so…. It was obvious what they doing but I was so focused and at that time so socially awkward I wouldn’t speak when I drew. When I got up to go to the pencil sharpener that was across the room, practically everyone in the class had an imitation of what I was doing. Even to the degree of which the tiger faced, the grass and the flag. Even the sky and cloud positions in my piece. This was the first time it happened and it continued to happen with other assignments.

So throughout my life if I have a great idea for a piece the idea is copied and the imitator would pass it off as their own original idea.
Imitations are imitations. Watered-down versions of the real thing. I'm not concerned. Even the Grand Masters of Art have been copied and still are imitated. It is something to do a study and give credit to where it is due, but to claim it as your own style you defined and such is just plain wrong and quite low. Some people know no shame.

And at times one cannot be afraid to create because of the fear someone is going to steal their idea, aspect or whatever. Someone may find the imitation but I like to believe in good prevails. Your work will eventually come back to you. I've seen professional websites try to pass off the artwork featured as their own with some tweaks they added. But its the same quality.
When I mean it comes back to you say people know when someone is doing a Frank Frazetta, Android Jones, Rembrandt, Hiroaki Samura, Van Gogh imitation. People just know.

Honestly insecure artists that put watermarks on their images...It is quite easy for a photo manipulator to remove the mark without breaking a sweat. So why bother with it? It obstructs the view. Get a copyright they are not difficult to obtain.

Another story and random fact from 5th grade and everyone remembers me as this. I was quiet but...
One time in the main classroom we were supposed to design a food pyramid. The class was quiet everyone was drawing and writing the assignment. Silence was interrupted by a tap tap tatatatachchata. For some reason I didn't care I was making all that noise. So the teacher walked over and asked what in the world are you doing. And I told him I was drawing strawberries and needed to place the dots.
After that for the remainder of the year people were "drawing strawberries" at random moments to break up the lecture. Since the classes in the same grade were small about under 40 people everyone knew each other.
Then after that year the movie Drumline came out and everyone was having "drum battles" and dropping pencils at random quiet moments.

Onward
Everyone pulls sources from different places. Whether it is imaginative real or based off of something else.

While I was talking about originality. I'll have to admit that I do pull from ideas from other sources like music like I've mentioned in a previous post in my visual influence map . Thing is I don't become my reference or another person's ideas. In an art history class one cannot simply say So and So artist was influenced by....One cannot say that. Instead one appropriated Such and Such's idea or whatever. Appropriate.

There are artists who can come up with their own ideas and have an imagination, while there are some professional and amateur artists who cannot create their own ideas and have to either copy form other people intently or un-intentionally, or some can only draw literally what is only in front of them. I can't bash that. If you cannot come up with your own ideas,which is ok and fine, just don’t copy my ideas. Credit is where credit is due.

But then again there is a starting point to any art career, when you are learning you do copy stroke from stroke another artist you like. That is a phase that with continued improvement one should get out of at some point. Or you can dwell at the point forever.

So original ideas are gifts, talents, blessings. Not everyone can think of something original. I have an active imagination and can be distracted easily. One idea brings on another idea quite rapidly and then another. I try to keep a sketchbook with me at all times and draw diagrams and notes of something. If I see something that triggers my imagination, dream it, or think of it. Like imagine a bear fighting a squid in a brawl? Well that’s an idea and now I’d thinking of what that actually would look like on paper? Bear fight squid. Underwater? Dilapidated buildings? Forest? Fire or bright lights? What do I want to see, portray? and show to others?

Or like another time I was talking to some artist peeps and somehow I mentioned I didn't draw anything today but I'll draw you a beaver. A type of beaver that is a at the end of the level boss monster beaver overlord ....Speaking of beavers it reminds me of cheese danishes. I saw this years after I drew a beaver for my friend (& I can't find my beaver drawings in my archives!) So imagine a large size beaver pillaging towns.

Back on point....
Speaking of squids it reminds me of a Dog in a Wheelchair! Which was a scraped idea from the game Bioshock. Thank goodness it was along with the frog. Honesty I probably would not have played Bioshock if they had these type characters. Sorry dogs in a wheelchair.

This excerpt is from the Irrational Podcast. Very motivating podcast too bad they haven't made any new episodes in the past few years.

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Someone asked me what I was listening to the other day and I told them Stevie Wonder. They looked at me with disdain and listed why they did not really like his music or jazz music. That's the reason I have headphones so I don't disturb others.
Who can hate Stevie Wonder? or even Golden Lady. I like that song. Well instead of bashing them with hate and letting the hate cycle continue I'll just spread love and sublimate the idea.