Steal Like an Artist: Book Notes & Highlights
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
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Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon is a book that encourages embracing influences, stealing the thinking behind styles, and starting to create without waiting “to know who you are”. This book has been one of the most positively influential books on my mindset as an artist. It made me more comfortable to embrace my idols and inspirations, without being hung-up on being creative or original. Without further ado - please enjoy :).
The Book in 3 Sentences
The manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use—do the work you want to see done.
“Complain about the way other people make software by making software.” —Andre Torrez
Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.
How I Discovered It
After finishing Show Your Work by Austin Kleon - it was recommended in the book.
Who Should Read It?
Any and all artists and creatives, especially people hung up about feeling like they have to be “original”.
My Top 3 Quotes
“When people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved.“
“If you’re worried about giving your secrets away, you can share your dots without connecting them.“
“If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.“
Notes - Introduction
Since I love this book so much I’ve written a ton of notes for it. The first section is the “10 Key Pillars” which covers the chapters the book is divided by. The second section, further below, is my “Expanded Summary + Notes” which goes into much more depth the concepts the book covers. The second section isn’t broken up by chapter numbers, instead its more freeform based on the key topics that resonated with me.
10 Key Pillars
The 10 chapters/pillars from Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist.
Steal like an artist. Steal from many, not just one.
Don’t wait to know who you are to get started. It’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are. You’re ready. Start making stuff.
Write the book you want to read. Don’t feel like you have to stick to what you’re “good” at. Do the work you want to see done.
Use your hands. Using a pen and paper over using a computer is one way to keep yourself from self-editing before you even start.
Side projects and hobbies are important. Bounce between side projects and practice “productive procrastination”. A hobby is something creative that’s just for you; it gives but doesn’t take.
The secret: Do good work and share it with people. This is how to get known. Use the internet to your advantage to share the work you do.
Geography is no longer our master. Make friends online. Create an audience online. Travel and switch it up when you get too comfortable.
Be nice. (The world is a small town). You’re only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with.
Be boring. (Its the only way to get work done). Have a schedule. Track your work. Plan and space your projects. Projects take time and can feel slow as you’re doing them in the moment.
Creativity is subtraction. Limitations breed creativity. Creativity isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out. Choose wisely.
Expanded Summary + Notes
Embrace Influence
Stealing from one artist is plagiarism, stealing from many is research.
When we’re free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to make something out of nothing, and we can embrace influence instead of running away from it.
Find inspiration in many different sources. For example, if you are visual artist - don’t just limit yourself to be inspired by other visual artists. Look to your other interests as well. Cooking, astronomy, history, culture, anthropology, bugs, water, cliffs, rocks, computers, real friends, real people - whatever. Anything and everything can inspire you and the work you create.
You are a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences. Therefore select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.
You are ready
There will never come a time when you are “good enough” so don’t wait. It’s in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are. You’re ready. Start making stuff.
Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes. Re-write your hero’s catalogue. Transforming the work of your heroes into something of your own is how you flatter them. Add something to the world that only you can add.
It’s natural to be scared to start—to feel “impostor syndrome.” Every creative knows this feeling. They don’t know where the good stuff comes from. They just show up to do their thing. Every day.
Create what you like, not what you know
The manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use—do the work you want to see done.
Instead of writing what you know, the best advice is to write what you like.
Write the type of story that you enjoy the most, the story you would want to read. This principle also applies to your life and career.
When you're unsure of what move to make next, ask yourself, "What would create a better story?”
Return to analog (every once in a while)
The computer is really good for editing your ideas and publishing them into the world. But it’s not really good for generating ideas. There are too many opportunities to hit the delete key. The computer brings out the uptight perfectionist in us—we start editing ideas before we have them.
A solution for this might be to have two desks in your office—one for “analog” and one for “digital.”
Have fun! <3
Have a hobby outside of your work.
Having a hobby is incredibly important. A hobby is a creative outlet that is personal to you. It is not about making money or gaining fame; it is simply about finding joy in doing something you love. A hobby is something that brings fulfillment without demanding anything in return.
Once upon a time if your hobby was making art… and you decide to make it your job - you need to find a new hobby to replace it in your heart.
While my art is meant to be seen by the world, cooking is my personal sanctuary. It allows me to nourish my friends and appreciate their company.
Experiment. There’s no pressure when you’re unknown. You can do what you want. Experiment. Do things just for the fun of it. When you’re unknown, there’s nothing to distract you from getting better. No public image to manage. No huge paycheck on the line. No stockholders. No e-mails from your agent. No hangers-on.
Keep side projects
“The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.” —Jessica Hische
It’s the side projects—the stuff that you thought was just messing around— that really take off.
It’s good to have a lot of projects going at once so you can bounce between them. When you get sick of one project, move over to another, and when you’re sick of that one, move back to the project you left.
If you have two or three real passions, don’t feel like you have to pick and choose between them. Don’t discard. Keep all your passions in your life.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards.”—Steve Jobs
It’s important to have a hobby, something creative that’s just for you. You do it because it makes you happy. Something that gives but doesn’t take.
Don’t worry about unity—what unifies your work is the fact that you made it. One day, you’ll look back and it will all make sense.
Getting Traction
It's a two-step process.
Step one, "do good work," is incredibly challenging. There are no shortcuts. Create something every day. Acknowledge that you may not be great at first. Learn from failure and improve.
Step two, "share it with people," used to be difficult until about ten years ago. Now, it's very straightforward: "Put your work on the Internet."
Connect
If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.
Find people on the Internet who love the same things as you and connect with them. Share things with them
Go Outside. Get uncomfortable. Get fresh perspectives
Connect with people outside your field of work. Ex if you’re an artist in writer, try finding and connecting with people who are filmakers, software engineers, accountants, lawyers, etc.. in your area.
Travel. Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land, among people that do things differently than you. Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.
Feed yourself & your creativity . You have to find a place that feeds you—creatively, socially, spiritually, and literally.
Share what you do
Share a little bit of what you're working on. It could be a sketch, a doodle, or a snippet. Provide a glimpse of your process. Share a handy tip you've discovered while working or a link to an interesting article. Mention a good book you're reading.
If you’re worried about giving your secrets away, you can share your dots without connecting them.
Talk to your heroes
“Complain about the way other people make software by making software.” —Andre Torrez
Write public fan letters. The Internet is really good for this.
Write a blog post about someone’s work that you admire and link to their site.
Make something and dedicate it to your hero.
Answer a question they’ve asked, solve a problem for them, or improve on their work and share it online.
Maybe your hero will see your work, maybe he or she won’t. Maybe they’ll respond to you, maybe not. The important thing is that you show your appreciation without expecting anything in return, and that you get new work out of the appreciation.
Don’t expect to be understood
Validation is for parking. Don’t look for validation from external sources. Once you put your work into the world, you have no control over the way people will react to it. Ironically, really good work often appears to be effortless.
Ironically, really good work often appears to be effortless. People will say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” They won’t see the years of toil and sweat that went into it.
Not everybody will get it. People will misinterpret you and what you do. They might even call you names.
Get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored—the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.
The praise file. When someone says something nice about your work, put it in a special folder—a praise file. Use it when you need the lift. And then get back to work.
“Be boring (its the only way to get work done)”
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” —Gustave Flaubert
Momentum
Inertia is the death of creativity. You have to stay in the groove. When you get out of the groove, you start to dread the work, because you know it’s going to suck for a while—it’s going to suck until you get back into the flow.
Work everyday - even when it seems progress is slow
Amassing a body of work or building a career is a lot about the slow accumulation of little bits of effort over time.
Writing a page each day doesn’t seem like much, but do it for 365 days and you have enough to fill a novel. One successful client pitch is a small victory, but a few dozen of them can get you a promotion.
Don’t break the chain
To stick to your daily routine. Optionally, use Jerry Seinfeld’s calendar method:
Get a wall calendar that shows you the whole year
Break your work into daily chunks
Each day, when you’re finished with your work, make a big fat X in the day’s box
After a few days, you’ll have a chain. Keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain. Your only job next is to not break the chain.
You must embrace your limitations and keep moving. In the end, creativity isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out. Choose wisely. And have fun.
Carve out your space
Surround yourself with books and objects that you love. Tape things up on the wall. Create your own world.
All you need is a little space and time—a place to work, and some time to do it; a little self-imposed solitude and temporary captivity.
References
Kleon’s website/blog: Austin Kleon is a writer who draws.