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Heather Zhou

How do I generate themes for my artwork?

Updated: May 23



As an illustrator for several years, I will share my process of finding inspiration in this article. My drawing style has always been free-spirited. However, I continuously learn from experiences to enhance productivity. I draw inspiration from two main sources.


The first source is social media themes, such as art challenges on Instagram or activities hosted by the platform and exhibition invitations on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform.

The benefits of making from these themes are: 1, It’s possible to attract attention and improve engagement for my account; 2, Having a deadline reduces the chance of procrastination; 3, I don’t have to think about the theme myself, as the event organizer has already provided the themes based on holidays and trending topics.


The second source is personal themes. Every artist has a comfort zone of themes and techniques. I identify mine, like fashion portraits and reimagined famous paintings, and use them when I don’t have a given topic. This saves me brainstorming time, allows sporadic pieces to form part of an expanding series, and through repetition, helps me see my progress and refine my unique style.


Where do you draw inspiration for your artwork? Feel free to comment!

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