My Go To Inspiration Sources

Last weekend I finally made time for my sketch pad and charcoal. Up until a few years ago, I use to paint, draw, get crafty and make things quite a lot. Somewhere along the way, life had different ideas and I miss not being to get creative as I often as I’d like. I’m little rusty with the charcoal but it felt good to be sketching again. As with my photos, a lot of my drawings are of animals. Somethings don’t change! What has changed is where I get my inspiration from. Previously I’d copy photos from magazines tear outs or animal coffee table books. As I was flicking through some of those books for inspiration at the weekend, I was surprised at the photo quality, why I don’t use my own for inspiration and why I don’t read books as much. This got me thinking where I get my inspiration and motivation from now and how much the internet and social media has impacted my life. I grew up without the internet and now I can’t imagine life without it. It’s kinda scary how much we’ve technologically advanced since the industrial revolution to now, compared with the whole of human history. It’s even more scarier with how much technology we have to 5 years ago! My go sources of inspiration in no particular order: Google Search: It’s like asking your Mum when you were little, except it does know everything. Instagram: Instagram is a huge, vast source of inspiration for me. I get fitness, fashion, make up and lifestyle tips, food ideas, get taken to different parts of the world everyday and admire different landscapes. A photo or something in a photo can trigger inspiration. It’s also a surprising source of knowledge. I follow National Geographic , a bee keeper in Los Angeles and learn something everyday. And, yes, I follow cute cats and dogs accounts, a hedgehog and have a phone filled with screen shots. Blogs: Another huge source of inspiration. Fitness and workout ideas: Tone It Up, TRX, Google search. Fashion and Lifestyle: Chriselle Lim, Tone It Up, Michelle Phan,  Song of Style, Feline Creatures, LifeAnnStyle, PB Fingers. Yoga, running tips, recipes, nature, travel, life, photography, reviews, recommendations, the list is endless. A lot of blogs I follow on WordPress, like Instagram take me to different parts of the world everyday which can spark ideas or thoughts. I love reading how people see the world! Or maybe I’m just nosey. YouTube: Google Search and the blogs mentioned above take me to YouTube. So much inspiration and ideas to be found! Magazines: Magazines have always been one of my favourite sources of inspiration, mostly, fashion, skincare, fitness, lifestyle and of course National Geographic. Thanks to Zinio, Instyle (US) is now the only paper magazine I buy. I used to have folders filled with magazine tear outs, but recently recycled 99% of them. I hardly looked at them and if I wanted to refer or look for something, I turned to the internet. I did keep 2 A4 folders filled with Shape Magazine workouts which I still refer too along with the endless Zinio Shape Magazine screen shots! Zinio gets extra bonus inspiration points, as if I delete a magazine, I can reload it at a later, saving trees and storage space.  TV: What little TV I watch sets off; I like what she’s wearing, Where’s that location, I didn’t know that, I didn’t think of it like that, Where’s my iPad, google….. Nature, Outdoors, Out and About: I can’t seem to go a day without taking a photo of something when I’m outside! I always say nature is the best colour wheel and I guess you could say that I’ve been using photography and blogging to get creative instead of drawing. Photography is an awesome way of noting, recording ideas, memories and any random number of things that can trigger inspiration and motivation. My phone camera roll is filled with Zara Home decorations, posters, door knockers (Barcelona has some fantastic door knockers!), buildings and the odd shop display. At the gym I ‘steal’ ideas if I see someone doing something I’d like to try (no photo, I write it down!) and of course like so many people, people watching. A huge source of inspiration! Where do you draw your inspiration from? How much do you rely on the internet? What would you like to make more time for? I’d like to make more time to read actually paper books and get creative and crafty!