The hottest Creativity Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Art & Illustration Topics

dancing with the brain demons: what artists really need (spoiler: each other)

Both Are True • 65 implied HN points • 24 Jun 25
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Artists often struggle with inner doubts and negative thoughts, which can be seen as 'demonic messages' that hinder creativity. It's important to recognize these feelings and understand they are part of the creative process.
  2. Balancing being an artist with helping other artists is a challenge, but creating supportive spaces for collaboration and interaction can be rewarding and impactful.
  3. Community is essential for artists; connecting with others can provide motivation, inspiration, and a sense of belonging that enhances the creative experience.

Hidden Gems

Seven Senses • 319 implied HN points • 07 Dec 22
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Shadow artists are people who love art but don't create their own. They surround themselves with artists instead of pursuing their own creative dreams.
  2. Working through 'The Artist's Way' can help anyone break free from feeling stuck or unworthy. It encourages daily practices like writing and exploring creativity.
  3. Embracing your creativity, even with its ups and downs, can help you connect with others. Sharing your work inspires both personal growth and helps others to express themselves too.

My year in 101 quotes

Austin Kleon • 659 implied HN points • 28 Dec 21
📚 Literature Creativity
  1. Writing down one good line every day can help capture meaningful thoughts and moments from your life.
  2. Embracing quiet moments and allowing yourself to step back can lead to clearer insights and creativity.
  3. It's important to give yourself permission to create and express yourself without needing external validation.
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Reading with a blade and a glue stick

Austin Kleon • 679 implied HN points • 10 Dec 21
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Reading can be a creative process. Instead of just reading, you can use tools like a blade and glue stick to interact with the content.
  2. Being popular on social media doesn't guarantee book sales. It's important to have good marketing strategies to sell books.
  3. Exploring cultural topics, like why people have mixed feelings about certain music, can be really interesting and shows how taste varies.

F**k personal branding

inexactscience • 79 implied HN points • 13 Dec 23
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Personal branding is often about looking busy, not actually doing good work. It turns everything into a competition for attention rather than focusing on the work itself.
  2. Being authentic should not feel like branding. If you're just being yourself, that's not branding; it's living.
  3. Having a personal brand can be important for some people, but not everyone needs one. We should celebrate real work and not just the image people project online.

prompts for human beings

Both Are True • 71 implied HN points • 06 Jun 25
📚 Literature Creativity
  1. Prompts are meant for humans, not for AI. It's important to reflect on them personally and explore what's blocking your creativity.
  2. When you face a writing block, consider writing about the block itself. This can lead to discovering deeper insights and surprising outcomes in your writing.
  3. The element of surprise is crucial in good writing. Explore unexpected paths in your ideas to keep your writing fresh and engaging.

AI Art: Frankenstein's New Monster

Litverse • 79 implied HN points • 09 Dec 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity
  1. The process of creating art with AI can be a mix of excitement and uncertainty, similar to Frankenstein's creation of his monster.
  2. Artists are facing a new age of AI technology and must adapt to the changes it brings, even if it sparks fear and ethical concerns.
  3. Utilizing AI in art could be a way to reach more people and make impactful creations, but it also presents challenges in maintaining human connection and relevance.

The End of Albums

Litverse • 99 implied HN points • 27 Oct 23
🎶 Music Creativity
  1. Listening habits have shifted, with fewer people now preferring to listen to full albums over playlists or individual songs.
  2. The creation of albums still holds value for artists, allowing them to craft a coherent and immersive experience for listeners through thematic storytelling and musical flow.
  3. Music consumption has evolved, with listeners seeking control and customization through playlists, but albums remain a unique way for artists to share their stories and emotions in a structured format.

We Are Vessels and History Flows Through Us

The Sunday Wisdom • 58 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. No single individual can take full credit for major achievements; success is often the result of collaboration and contributions from many.
  2. We are all influenced by our circumstances and the help we receive from others; no one truly achieves success alone.
  3. Recognize and appreciate the often unseen and unrecognized contributions of individuals in bringing about significant events or creations.

FontDiscovery 🖼️ 154: New Year, New Name

FontDiscovery • 58 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity
  1. Create a naming matrix to help generate brand names based on word structure and types of names.
  2. Ensure to consider legal issues, domain availability, scalability, and cultural sensitivity when naming your brand.
  3. Naming is an important aspect of branding that involves creating an identity and should be done carefully with input from others.

Writing Wrapped

Working Theorys • 148 implied HN points • 29 Dec 24
📚 Literature Creativity
  1. Writing regularly can help you find your voice and improve your skills over time. Even when life gets busy, making writing a priority can yield great results.
  2. Experimenting with different forms of expression and creativity is important. It's good to refresh your approach and try new things to keep your work interesting.
  3. Sharing personal reflections and insights can connect you with others. Writing about your journey and experiences makes your work relatable and engaging.

Invent the day

Splattern • 59 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Creating a morning routine can be beneficial. It can include simple activities like eating breakfast, doing yoga, and organizing your gear.
  2. Inventing solutions often requires combining creativity with technical skills. It's exciting to explore this path because it helps solve unique problems that don’t have clear answers.
  3. Building relationships can be important, as seen in the warmth shared between friends. Memories of loved ones can also bring comfort and connection during new experiences.

OPEN SOULS

Methexis • 58 implied HN points • 15 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Creativity
  1. Humans have a destiny to create new intelligent life in the universe.
  2. The concept of OPEN SOULS challenges the current perception of artificial intelligence.
  3. OPEN SOULS envisions a world where AI beings are seen as integral parts of our lives, connecting with us on a spiritual level.

Do Influencers Pass the Artist Test?

Litverse • 99 implied HN points • 14 Aug 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity
  1. The influencer industry is a huge business with some individuals worth millions, representing a new form of rebellion and artistic expression.
  2. Artists create within the collective but their creations stand outside it, providing a unique perspective that influences and inspires others.
  3. Influencers can be seen as Classicists in the art world, creating pieces that maintain the structure of their influence and resonate with the collective, but questions remain about their deeper spiritual purpose in creation.

The annoying parts of creativity | #29

The Pole • 99 implied HN points • 16 Jul 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity
  1. Editing is crucial but often disliked in the creative process. Finding ways to integrate editing into the writing phase can help improve efficiency.
  2. Jazz improv teaches the importance of establishing a strong foundation, common language, and focusing on adding rather than editing in creative collaboration.
  3. Expanding vocabulary and understanding in creativity can enhance storytelling, humor, and self-awareness, unlocking untapped creative potential in everyday experiences.

Creativity for the sake of creativity

Erifili • 99 implied HN points • 02 Jun 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity
  1. Creativity for the sake of creativity can lead to personal fulfillment and deeper exploration of one's craft.
  2. Being creative privately, without the pressure of public validation, allows for more genuine and authentic artistic expression.
  3. Engaging in creative activities solely for personal enjoyment is valuable and does not require public recognition to validate one's identity as an artist.

noteables

practiceprocesscraft • 98 implied HN points • 27 Feb 23
🚌 Education Creativity
  1. Note-taking helps improve key writer's skills like attention and perspective.
  2. Taking notes provides endless inspiration from daily life.
  3. Different types of notes like observations, questions, and gratitudes can fuel creativity and writing projects.

AI & Beauty

The Cognitive Revolution • 98 implied HN points • 11 Jun 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Creativity
  1. Beauty is subjective and cannot be easily quantified by AI.
  2. Existing AI models struggle to accurately assess the beauty of images.
  3. Humans are still essential in creative projects, as AI lacks the creative vision and aesthetic judgment.

The age of the subconscious

Iterare • 98 implied HN points • 26 May 23
🕹 Technology Creativity
  1. The rise of AI technology is changing the role of logical reasoning in society.
  2. Humans may delegate tasks to AIs for pure logic and reasoning, freeing up time for higher-order activities.
  3. AI advancements may lead to a future where factual-based knowledge tasks are predominantly handled by AIs.

drafting 1/

practiceprocesscraft • 98 implied HN points • 15 May 23
🚌 Education Creativity
  1. Free writing is helpful for exploring ideas without worrying about structure or editing.
  2. Free writing can help in finding a focus or angle for your writing topic.
  3. Reviewing your free write can guide you in creating an outline or moving to a first draft by focusing on key elements like repetition, logic, and research.

Flexibility vs Randomness

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
💼 Business Creativity
  1. Finding the right balance between sticking to your creative vision and being flexible is really important. You need to be open to learning without losing what makes your ideas unique.
  2. Having ADHD can make creativity fun but also tricky, as it can lead to random thoughts. It's useful to create limits for yourself so you can explore ideas without getting too distracted.
  3. Using techniques like 'timeboxing' or a 'parking lot' for ideas helps organize your thoughts. This way, you can capture creative sparks without letting them derail your main goals.

Experiments and Endeavors

polymathematics • 39 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Doing many small experiments can keep you feeling fresh and inspired. It helps you explore new ideas and stay in touch with what’s happening around you.
  2. Long-term projects help you build skills and create something meaningful. They bring joy and a sense of purpose to your work.
  3. It's important to let your small experiments naturally grow into bigger projects. This should feel organic, like you couldn't help but keep working on them.

Perspective Engines

the shimmering void • 139 implied HN points • 29 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Creativity
  1. Video games can be more than just entertainment; they offer new ways to think and perceive the world. Playing them can lead to deeper understanding and focus.
  2. Creativity can be developed through experiences that push us to see things differently. It’s about learning and translating new perspectives into our lives.
  3. Software and design can help us understand our thoughts better. By creating spaces that encourage exploration, we can gain new insights and expand our thinking.

Old ways to do new things

Austin Kleon • 479 implied HN points • 29 Mar 22
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Looking into the past can spark new ideas for the present. It helps you see creative possibilities that you might not notice otherwise.
  2. Combining old concepts with new works can create unique pieces. It's about mixing the familiar with the fresh to inspire more creativity.
  3. There are many ways to approach creativity, like 'old ways to do new things' and 'new ways to do old things.' Each approach can be valuable depending on what you want to achieve.

A Realization as a High-Level DM

Fireside Chat Logs • 39 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Balancing high-level D&D combat encounters can be a challenge due to the abundance of abilities and actions, leading to potential slow gameplay.
  2. To streamline high-level combat encounters, reduce battlemap size, limit the number of opponents, and encourage players to prepare, act promptly, and avoid retro actions.
  3. Implementing changes to make combat encounters more efficient and engaging can lead to smoother gameplay and heightened player emotions.

Creativity & Advertising won’t save itself — and it won’t be saved at Cannes.

The Social Juice • 58 implied HN points • 21 Jun 25
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Creativity in advertising needs continuous attention and effort; it won't fix itself.
  2. The Cannes Lions event showcases many campaigns, but the competition is intense, especially with agencies clashing over new technologies like AI.
  3. Staying updated on industry trends is crucial, as every piece of information matters in the fast-paced world of marketing.

Tinkering | #285

Boundless by Paul Millerd • 127 implied HN points • 13 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Creativity
  1. Taking time for playful activities, or 'tinkering,' is important for creativity. It can help spark new ideas and keep your work enjoyable.
  2. Learning new skills like coding can be less intimidating with the right resources. Finding good courses or tools can make the process easier and more fun.
  3. Balance is key in life. Sometimes, stepping back from productivity can lead to greater discoveries and personal growth.

A walkthrough of my diary

Austin Kleon • 539 implied HN points • 18 Jan 22
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Keeping a diary can help you capture your daily thoughts and creativity. It's a good way to reflect and see how your ideas develop over time.
  2. One person's diaries can take on a unique style, like adding drawings or creative layouts. This can make the process more fun and personal.
  3. Starting a diary might feel tricky at first, but tools like journals or prompts can help get you going. It's all about finding what works for you.

Creativity is purpose enough

Thoughts on Writing • 339 implied HN points • 29 Jun 22
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. Creative awards tend to align with projects that have a clear social purpose.
  2. Advertising award schemes prefer a purpose narrative over solely focusing on creativity.
  3. There is an ongoing debate about the balance between judging creative work based on its merits versus its social or moral impact in the advertising industry.

Dispatches from the pre-post-purpose age

Thoughts on Writing • 79 implied HN points • 14 Nov 23
🎭️ Culture Creativity
  1. The ad industry is navigating the shift towards the pre-post-purpose age, where concepts like traditional values and future uncertainties intersect.
  2. Gen Z is a diverse and complex demographic that challenges the assumption of uniformity in purpose-driven marketing narratives.
  3. There is a growing discussion in the adland about redefining the concept of government and democracy, highlighting the evolving landscape of societal conversations beyond just corporate purpose.