No inspiration?
Of course, we all hate when we are extremely bored; and we want to make something, but we're clueless on what to make. That feeling leaves you agigated for ages, and we always end up doing something crazy, pointless and often dangerous; like copying the 'don't do this at home' adverts. Oh yeahhh.
I thought I should help you guys out, when you have no inspiration, and you seriously are in need of some, as we all hate it. What a good person I am... no? ;)
-Listen to some music, that you like, and even some you don't like. Especially when you concentrate on the lyrics, or the beat, it sparks up ideas in your head, and boosts your imagination. I always like to listen to foreign songs (well I do anyway), to try and work out what they're saying, as this boosts my brain activity, making me more open to new, upcoming ideas etc.
-Lots of my graphics tend to look different depending on my mood. I'm usually a jolly person, I often use bright colours. Get some paper, and write down some random words that reflect your mood, all around the sheet of paper, spaced out. Then for each word, turn it into a spider diagram and then different keywords will come of those words, you could even write down colours. So if you're depressed, you could write around it, grey, black, or even fire-y, and fuming. You could then have an element of 'heat' and fire, and warm colours in your graphic? This is interesting, turning from depressed to colourful. It's a good way to get some ideas :)
-For me, ideas tend to flow more, when I try to sketch what I'm planning to make. I make a hell lot of layouts, and there are tons of papers around the house with designs on. You're always more eager when your design looks good in the first place, so I always use a ruler and a sharp pencil, with a clipboard so I could lie down on my bed and do it, instead of on my desk (I'm very lazy if you don't know already). I think carefully about the size of the layout, and what I'm aiming at. Often, my first idea is totally different to my complete design, as during the whole process I get many new ideas.
-If you're seriously still stuck, browse some sites, different portfolios, people's graphics, for different ideas. Jot down things you like about each thing, and move on to another graphic. By this, I don't mean totally rip off someone's idea and claim it's yours because of inpiration, and argue. That's totally wrong, immature and stupid; make sure you only use their graphic as a spark on your inspiration, and if you get 'too much' inpiration from them, remember, you MUST CREDIT THEM, OKAY? Good :D
-If you're near a window, watch the passers by. Most of us live in a multi-ethnic, multi-faith society, so most of the people near you are different. Looking at the different people will spark ideas. Someone might go past with an 'interesting' hair-do, and that might cause you to think about things. Just looking at the outside scenery and the design of the area, might give you some ideas.
-Even if you think you can't do anything, and your brain juice is as dry as.. a desert (wtf); then just open your program and at least, put the background in a different colour.. and eventually ideas will flow, even if veryyy slowly. You could also fill the background, and draw out a little pallette with colours that match.
I hope I helped you out with this. Even during the making of this tutorial, many ideas sparked as I wrote more. I love helping people, so if you need any help from us, nataly and shoug, then just email us and we'll write up a tutorial right away, if it's suitable. And also, if you have any ideas, I could put them up, and link you for your brilliant idea. Thanks for reading! =D