Comic Con and Creativity

Earlier this month, I was fortunate enough to take some time off to attend the New York Comic Con. While I considered my trip a mini-vacation, it taught me a few important lessons in creativity. Initially, Comic Con helped me reconnect with my younger self through the comic books I grew up with. But as the convention went on, it exposed me to others' experiences as I spoke to artists and learned about their creative processes and passions. Those two things together reminded me that it's important to remember that there are other creative disciplines that we can learn from outside our own.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time reading comic books. While comic books are at the core of the convention, it has now assimilated video games, TV shows and movies, transforming it into a conglomeration of creative professionals who are sharing their own experiences and promoting their own stories. So, at it's core, the conference is all about storytelling through visual language. Looking back, I realize that comic books and video games were a large influence on my creative profession. I drew the characters I related to, looked up to, and wanted to be like. While my Comic Con trip was recreational, the way it reconnected me to my earliest source of inspiration made it as inspirational as (if not more than) some of the obviously professional industry conferences I've attended in the past.

Comic Con also allowed me to reflect on others' experiences as I spoke to artists in the Artist Alley. In doing so, I had a chance to learn about their creative processes, passions (and spend a lot of money on artwork). David Mack was one of my favorites. As a writer and artist, his reputation for painted collage-like work for Kabuki and Daredevil precedes him.

Art from Daredevil / Kabuki by David Mack

Speaking to the artists and seeing the work first-hand reiterated the importance of the process of creating the stories that became building blocks of my youth. The connections I made with these stories were what really inspired me to be creative and enjoy storytelling.

Street Fighter II - Good Vs. Evil Cover by Alvin Lee

Zelda Propaganda Posters by Josh Clarke

Everyone has a unique story of their own, from which they draw to inform their intuition. We have our own unique passions and interests that lead us to our creative fields, whether you geek out about video games or comic books. However, we often separate what we do recreationally from our work. Once we connect those things and apply the things we love most to our creative outlet, we can learn and grow in unprecedented ways.