(This was a post from late 2014 on the blog from my old website. It’s been slightly re-edited with new photos.)

Working regularly on genuinely creative thought can be very draining. After a few good bursts, many times my well dries up and I unconsciously fall into common thought patterns. Looking back on my work I’ll see compositions repeated, subject matter regularly used in similar manners, etc. This is all despite trying to create new things.

I’ve found that I have to trick my brain to do new things. A major way that I’ve done this is throughout incorporating randomness into my process.

There are countless ways to do this, but here’s one simple one.

Write down twenty different subjects- they can be things you specifically pick, or stuff you observe, or things you pick randomly from a magazine. You could also have someone else make the list for you. Assign each subject a number, 1-20.

Roll a twenty sided dice (available at comic and game stores) two or three or times. Draw something that incorporates those subjects together. This will force you into new problem solving and unique juxtapositions.

If you hate your roll, don’t dwell on it, just re-roll. If you love something you draw from this, work to make it a finished piece of art.

I hope this exercise helps to spawn some very cool work. I’d love to see what you create; feel free to share.

Thank you.