Photos and Drawings
Look at photos in magazines. What’s the story there? Tell a tale. Why are the men huddled
on the park bench? What are they discussing? Those boxes stacked in the warehouse...
where are they going from here? Who’s going to pick them up? Where were they previ-
ously? Why are they so important? What happened just before that photograph was taken?
What will happen afterward? Why does that little girl look so sad? Who just left and why?
If you’re an artist, you might want to start the ideas flowing by drawing or doodling. It
could be easier for you to think visually. You may prefer to draw funny characters or funny
situations and gags. Don’t be afraid to combine unrelated things from different drawings.
Mix and match.
Research
Save articles from newspapers and magazines that stimulate ideas. What are the current
trends? Make a list. What’s popular with kids now? Save design styles from photos, draw-
ings, or advertisements. Classified ads provide stories of their own. Why did the previous
employee lose this job? Why is that diamond ring for sale? Why is someone moving? Make
up alternate endings to news stories. How does it affect others? Place your own characters
in those stories, or place yourself there. What if nothing had happened?
Surf the Internet. Let one interesting site lead you to something else of interest. Where’s
the story here? What kinds of characters would be in this environment? What would they
be doing? Research any facts that you might need about something that’s new to you. Do
you get e-mail jokes? Maybe there’s a story to be developed there! Visit artists’ websites for
styles.
Do you have a library of books at home? Maybe there are ideas there. The Bible is great
for plots. Update or put a twist in Bible stories. Insert new characters. Mythology and fairy
tales provide some great plots as well.
Go to a local or university library, and find something that interests you. Research a dif-
ferent time period or culture. Make a list of quotations that can be used as themes, idea
starters, or gags. Skim through the design and art magazines. Browse the medical or legal
libraries.
Haunt the bookstores. Buy a joke book and update or rewrite some of the jokes, using
different characters, a different location, or a different theme. Find old magazine cartoons
and give them a new twist (the dog in the window becomes a duck on a computer website).
Play in toy stores. Go to museums. Read comic books, science fiction, fantasy, and chil-
dren’s stories. Let those inform you and stimulate your imagination.
Subscribe to magazines about technology and the future. What’s new? What do the sci-
entists, planners, and politicians predict? What are the social implications of each new tech-
nology and the scientific discoveries of today? How might they be used? How could they
be misused? Can you take that technology one step further? Let your imagination go wild.
What does government planning predict? Attend expositions and lectures that feature
respected scientists and planners. New developments stimulate science fiction and
high-conceptideas.
40 Animation Writing and Development