How do ideas turn into something?

It helps that I started writing them down

I am fascinated by how an idea becomes a thing. It starts out as a passing thought, a trail in my head as I’m dozing off that I tell myself I’ll surely remember the next day. (I never do.) But if I write it down, the idea doesn’t disappear. It’s usually half intelligible and heavy on the typos, but the idea is there when I’m ready for it.

It works the same with drawings. Sometimes I draw a quick sketch of something random with no intent to turn it into something else. It’s ugly, unfinished, nothing. I don’t like it.

But then I come back later and edit. And then, there it is, I did it!

Sometimes I need extra help to make an idea happen. I need constraints.

A few weeks ago, I drew about the debacle of getting antibiotics into baby. The idea was in my head for months. At three different times I tried to draw or write it, but I wasn’t satisfied. And I couldn’t figure out how to tell the story. It was ugly. I kept putting it away.

But I kept thinking about it. It was such a ridiculous set of moments. I wanted to draw them, even though I didn’t know how.

I finally forced myself to try. I set two constraints:

1. use Procreate (my ipad drawing app)

2. in a rectangular canvas.

Then I started drawing, and with the constraints as guardrails, the story found its form. A third constraint appeared as I fell asleep with only half of the story drawn. It was decided, “This story will be in two parts.” And so it was.

I’m amazed at how all this works. It feels a little bit like magic.

It’s magic that I have to remind myself of when I’m starting a new project. It’s magic, but it’s also repeatable. That finished project over there that I’m so proud of? It started out as a terrible idea and a scraggly sketch. I edited it, imposed constraints, and kept chipping away until it was done. It amazes me that this works!

So how can you turn ideas into finished products?

1. Record your ideas, even if you think they’re kind of bad.

2. Let your ideas rest for a little while. Forget about them, stew over them, let your brain figure them out as you sleep.

3. Once you have ideas/sketches/shitty first drafts, come back to them and edit.

4. Impose constraints!

5. Finish the project.

6. Admire your work and look back at where it started.

Do you have a similar process with the things that you like to make? How do you keep track of your ideas? Do you ever look back at where they started?

Below the paywall, I’m sharing the Procreate process for the antibiotics comic. Enjoy!