Where did you get your vivid imagination? Do you ever get creative block? What inspires you?

The truth is there are times when I do get stumped, where I do not feel inspired or very imaginative. Often I return to the place that sparks my mind—the great outdoors.

Being in nature both stimulates my brain and helps me process. From hikes in the woods to walks on the beach, the endless textures, patterns, and colors in our outdoor world is the most amazing, overwhelming inspiration one could hope for.

I also find motivation from reading stories and copying art from masters. Whether I’m reading Beatrix Potter’s Jeremy Fisher or rendering an alien from The Art of Star Wars there are many things in books that rouse my imagination.

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Never Abandon Imagination Tony DiTerlizzi: Never abandon imagination.

Imagination is a world of possibility that exists within each of us. It is what makes us uniquely human. It is our creative fingerprint that touches and influences the world around us. Imagination is essential to art and science; to innovation and prosperity. It gives us hope, calls us to action and leads to change.

Whether it’s fairies, dragons, robots or aliens, all of my children’s book characters are siblings born of my imagination – an imagination strengthened through years of encouragement from family, teachers and friends. While so many others abandoned it during their transition from childhood to adulthood, I fiercely held onto mine, hoping for a day when I could share it to inspire the next generation of dreamers. Innovators. World changers.

Imagination empowers us to envision and create a reality of what could be. We must hold it dear, foster it and never abandon it.