#matt diffee

YOUR CREATIVE MINDSET

“To be creative, you have to value creativity.” – Matthew Diffee

Matt stressed that the first step of generating creative ideas is to get yourself in a creative mindset. It sounds obvious, but you have to value creativity to be creative. This means starting with an open mind. Focus on building upon ideas instead of shooting them down. He referenced the improv idea “Yes, and” – in which you respond to all ideas by validating them and continuing to build on them to keep the conversation moving forward. This is as important in a group setting as it is when evaluating your own ideas.

Matt also discussed the emotional state required for creativity. Put simply, “stress is bad for creativity.” When it comes to generating creative ideas, have fun with it and enjoy the process. He described the emotional feeling of anticipation that comes as you feel an idea bubbling up inside of you. His advice: Embrace that anticipation!

TIPS FOR A CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT

Be so focused, you’re drooling. – Matthew Diffee

Your creative environment should be the right place and right time for your needs. Different people have different ideal environments. Whatever that means for you, set aside a time and place to let your creativity flow. The ideal is when you are in “the zone” where you’re not distracted by anything.

CREATIVE PROCESS TIPS

“Here’s a stat I just made up: 95% of people don’t try.” – Matthew Diffee

Matt’s creative process includes a daily morning ritual where he takes a full pot of coffee and an empty sheet of paper. He fills the paper with ideas until the paper is full and the coffee pot is empty. He then takes the 10 best ideas each week and presents them to his editor. An example is below:

Here are our favorite creativity tips from Matt’s process:

1. Make it easy for you to start working.

Before Matt even begins his brainstorming, he starts his morning by doing the dishes – something he does not enjoy. That way, when it comes time for his morning brainstorm, it is extremely easy for him to stop the dishes and start working.

2. Set yourself a scheduled time to write.

Set aside a time and place to be creative. This helps your brain focus on the task at hand.

3. Flip the funnel.

If ideas sputter out, do something Matt calls “flipping the funnel.” At the top of a funnel ideas flow easily, and then you filter down to fewer and fewer. If you are having trouble with ideas flowing, add something new to the equation to bring in new ideas to your thinking. Matt recommends something as simple as reading an article related to the topic to jog some fresh ideas, or add a related topic to the mix.

4. Add, subtract, switch, invert, and mash up.

One way to bring new ideas in your funnel is to shift your thinking. Think about how you can do the following to your ideas: add, subtract, switch, invert, and mash up. For instance, mash up two unrelated ideas to create something new, like in this Diffee cartoon:

5. Maintain creative momentum.

Generating ideas takes time and work. Keep going and flow through as many ideas as you can. Don’t shoot down “bad” ideas. Build on them to keep your creative momentum moving forward. Don’t give up!

6. Focus on quantity over quality.

One of the biggest takeaways from Matt is to focus on generating as many ideas as possible. In your initial thinking, don’t even worry about quality. Come up with more ideas than you need, and then keep what works. If you start to make judgments about those ideas before they are fully developed, you may stifle a great idea that just needs more time to grow.

7. Give yourself time

“The good news and the bad news is the same: Inspiration doesn’t necessarily come because you work harder.” – Matthew Diffee

I like Matt Diffee’s cartoons for The New Yorker because he’s both funny and a lovely figure-artist. Most cartoonists are great at picture-making, but few take the time to make beautiful little illustrations like Diffee does.

Bio: Matt Diffee has been published in The New Yorker, Believer Magazine, Time Magazine, and Texas Monthly. His new book, Hand Drawn Jokes for Smart Attractive People, is out now. Matt was also the editor for The Rejection Collection: Cartoons Your Never Saw, and Never Will See, in The New Yorker, The Rejection Collection Vol. 2: The Cream of the Crap, and The Best of The Rejection Collection

Find this print and more here.

Tools of choice: Pencils for my New Yorker cartoons. I use cheapo Paper Mate mechanical pencils to sketch on regular ol’ printer paper. Once the sketch is set I put it on a light box and tape a sheet of hot press (very smooth finish) bristol paper over it. I then switch to darker pencils. Usually a combination of dark 6B art pencils and a Palomino Blackwing which might just be the best pencil in the world. I sharpen those with a utility knife to get more of a chisel tip so I can get a thin or thick line by giving the pencil a little twist. On the sketch I work lightly. On the finished art I bear down. The sketch takes most of my time, working very deliberately until I get everything looking right, then I try to do the finished art fairly quickly so it has some life to it.


Tool I wish I could use better: The computer. Illustrator in particular, especially the pen tool. That thing baffles me.


Tool I wish existed: A drawbot. And an Ideabot.

Tricks: I have a handheld mechanical eraser that I don’t use very often, but when I do it's a lifesaver. I can use it to lighten a very tiny spot in a drawing (since I use really dark pencils, I can only lighten things. I can't fully erase). I had a great one of these for a while that looked and felt like a prewar relic. I don’t even remember how or where I got it, but it was amazing. I’d sharpen the small eraser to a point and I could get it whirling then just touch it to the paper and erase a tiny white dot for even a thin line through a shaded area. But that eraser conked out a few years ago. I've bought several since then and none of them have had enough torque to get the job done. I finally got a Japanese one in an art supply store in Germany (weird, right?). It comes closest to the old one. The brand name is Denkeshi. It’s about 80% of what the old one was.

I have an old Mayline drawing board that has an electric motor so that the surface can be raised and lowered with the touch of a button. It makes a big difference when you work at your board for hours at a time. Being able to make tiny adjustments as I go keeps me from having back and neck and shoulder pain. I can even work standing up. When I first got it, I cut a hole in the table top and mounted a light box in it, then covered the whole thing with plexiglass so it’s a smooth drawing surface.

And of course, being from Texas, I can't really do any decent cartooning work without my Stetson hat and Lucchese boots.

Misc: I have learned that for me it takes time and a relaxed state of mind to come up with the ten ideas I need each week. Last minute pressure can work sometimes, but nothing beats starting early and taking all the time you can for the idea part which is ten times more important than the drawing part.

Website, etc. 

www.matthewdiffee.com

twitter: @matthewdiffee.com

Instagram: mattdiffee

"All your great ideas will be accidents."

It seems like the folks over at the State Fair didn't take Matt Diffee's advice on how Big Tex should be rebuilt. There's always next year right?

Episode 18: Matt Diffee & Alex Gregory

NOW GET CRISPY:

You Made It Weird: Episode 18 - Matt Diffee & Alex Gregory