#43 - What inspires your ideas?

10 July 2020

Openmindedness for competitions

Thank you to everyone who took part this week!

Our first winner is generous_seagull of Lyons Hall School, who used clear examples to support their points and gave a very interesting insight into their creative process - well done!

Our second winner is involved_grapefruit of Birchwood Primary School, who wrote a thoughtful description of how important inspiration is to them, and gave specific evidence of where they find it. Well done to you too!


This week, Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, was asked by loyal_peach about where she gets her ideas for her dances.

Tamara said that "ideas come from many different places...literally everything can be an inspiration". She wrote about conversations, visits, and studying history, to name a few forms of inspiration. You can read Tamara's full response here.

So this week, we're asking you:

What inspires your ideas for art?

This is your chance to share advice with the rest of the BNC about what helps you come up with new ideas for art. Share your practical tips for getting inspired, and tell us how and why they inspire you.

We'll be looking for helpful and well-explained advice!


The deadline for entries is Friday July 10th at 10.30am. Good luck!

Example: "I find inspiration for art by/through.... this helps me because...."

Comments (15)

You must be logged in with Student Hub access to post a comment. Sign up now!

  • I find inspiration for art through what I enjoy. If I love manga, I'm inspired to create my own. If I love the BNC, I'm inspired to make my own. (This is abstract art and is explained in a post).

    This helps me because life is short. And people want to accomplish their goals before they die. It also helps me because it's a passion.


    I agree, everything and anything can be inspirational, just in different ways.

  • I find inspiration for art through many things. I see myself as a real bookworm, so reading and learning new words assists my ideas. Many artists inspire me as I love drawing or painting, and that makes me want to achieve my dreams of becoming an architectural engineer. My friends and family inspire me because they give me crazy yet amazing ideas for when my mind is sometimes blank. I find solace in art.

    This helps me because it makes me, well... feel like me!

  • If I have inspiration for art , it would be to enjoy it. I love going to new places and take pictures for memories and I also draw a mini picture of them . Art can he expressed in many ways of your own. It doesn’t have to be specific. Let your imagination flow and never stop ! If it’s your dream then do it! Dancers also do artistic dances which takes time and strength .Art can be anything ! Not just drawing and painting . It can be also drama, dancing and singing! So follow your dreams and never give up!

  • I find inspiration for art through book illustrations and looking at nature. For example, 2 months ago i was inspired by a local forest, this gave me inspiration to draw a vision looking though some leaves at a fox. Recently, i also got inspired by the book 'the girl of ink and stars' and this time i tried something different, when the girl described someone, i would draw them in my own style.

    This helps me because its my passion to draw and inspiration is key to me, because i need the boost to get me going and to create something beautiful out of it.

    I find that the best art comes from your heart.
    -Involved_grapefruit

  • I find inspiration through soooo many things. E.g I might get inspired to paint a picture of an animal if I go to the zoo.
    I read a LOT, which gives me lots of inspiration.
    So, I get my inspiration from lots of places.

  • I get my inspiration for my art from my day-to-day lifestyle to the books that I read. Sometimes i may even look at other artists art to get inspiration! I love to do art so therefore I do have quite a bit of inspiration but sometimes you do run out so it is good to check out other people art instead!

  • I’m inspired by books like hopeful city since I read a lot! The image just floats into my head. And mostly by some other pieces of art.The thing that inspires me most is music I just love how it can be different in so many ways depending on who makes that piece. Music it is like its own type of magic it just blows me somehow it’s amazing in its own way like everything and everyone.

    Thanks for reading,
    loved_wildcat 🤗

  • I get inspired by books because if I read a book about a girl that lives in a farm for example, and something exciting happens I think it’s a great idea so I want to make my own book. I also get inspired by paintings because when I see them I think about how talented people are to do this and also know that if I try hard enough then I will be able to be that talented. I also think that paintings can give me ideas to make stories, for example a painting of a bunny, my story could include a bunny, then I see gold background in the picture, the bunny could be rare, then I get ideas to write a story and make it up as I go.

  • My ideas are inspired by my current mood and the things around me - this includes objects, people, my atmosphere, and previous knowledge. It is sometimes inspired by things that have happened in the past and other times based on other inspirational pieces of work, like music, artwork, dance, acting, literature, and more. Sometimes, the idea just randomly pops into my head.

    Art eases my problems and pulls me into an imaginary world where everything is peaceful. Whatever it is, I always try to look at the emotion and story behind it. I like art; I'm glad it exists.

  • My inspiration for my posts!!
    I honestly don’t really know! Everyday I go on Burnet news and read all the new posts and I guess that my inspiration comes to me and then I am like that could be interesting I better start making a post about it otherwise I am going to forget about it! And I try to do my best to describe it so it is not just e.g. Let’s make a movement about art! And then I wait for it to get approved and likely it won’t so what I do is make it more interesting rather then it being boring and I read it back to make sure my post will make a good discussion and then when I feel it would be good for posting I will post it!
    My inspiration for comments!!
    Well when I read the posts I don’t always comment on it but this is my inspiration for them anyways so I read the post and I think to myself what Questions do I have for the person who made this post? What I make sure my comments have in them!
    -they are on the same topic as the post is!
    -they aren’t like cool post dude or something because that comment probably won’t be posted!
    -not to make them so long and boring!
    After I wrote down as much as I can I read it to make sure it has everything in the list and then when I feel that is it ok to post I post it!
    Sorry if this post doesn’t make a lot of sense and good luck!! Also thank you for reading this comment!
    By loyal_lobster❤️

  • My inspiration for the arts is others. When you truly enjoy art, and when you can feel as though the thing you are doing suits you, then you are making art. When you see a painting, someone else might see a scribble, but don’t follow what they say, follow yourself. When someone draws a picture, you find inspiration through them to create your own. People can vary, those who look at something, but stand at bay well away from harm, or those who look at something, and feel a sudden urge to touch it; to examine it. Others may inspire you, but what you create is truly your own. Inspiration is found by inspiration itself, and the arts itself can inspire you. You can look at others, and think: “Oh, I really want to be like them!” This may be true, but you are most like yourself. You design your own art, (maybe entwined by bits of others’, but still your art) and let it inspire you. The foundation for the arts lies in all of us, but when we see it through others, then only we realise what it is. The atmosphere across the world may be moody, but don’t let it dampen your hope, or spirits. You don’t have to feel like the people around you, because you’re, you. Don’t live in how other people think, live in how you want to be. The world is not defined to fit for every single one of us, we were designed to fit in for the world.
    Inspirations usually can come from you, others, your hobbies, or your emotions.
    We are all linked, but are different. We may like different things, but we all have the humane emotions. We might feel sad; neglected; happy; vengeful; lonely; cheerful; pitying or trust. Or maybe it switches between them, to unprecedented to stay on one thing.
    You might enjoy reading, so you might want to write your own novel, you may enjoy cooking, so therefore you might be inspired to make your own meal. The truth is that we all have different passions, but they all lead up to the same thing– Inspiration. Whether it is through others or yourself, everyone will find their own, and it might have mild changes, but will always be yours.

  • I find inspiration for art by looking at other pieces of art, this helps me because I use that piece of art and make another piece of art. (I also make lots of changes from it like changing the art style or change the characters in it -like replacing a marshmallow for a pancake.)

    I also do find inspiration by walking around my back garden or by taking walks because there are many things to see and you can draw lots of things by walking around multiple places as you could see nature around you when you walk.

  • What inspires my ideas for art? Well something I find helps is looking at objects from a different angle. This is because you can analyse objects features and make them into something else entirely. For example you could look at a tripod. A tripod in it's self may not seem to be inspirational but you could look at it's features and get inspired. The legs of a tripod could look like robot legs could inspire you to draw a robot. I think this is a good way to find inspiration for art. You take an object and look closely at it, noting key features and using them in your art. Another thing that inspires me to create art is looking at the sky. This is because the clouds can make interesting shapes. One might look like a dog. This could inspire you to make a an animal themed artwork.

  • I find inspiration for art through other peoples art. This helps me because there had to be the first person to make a piece of art and then people based their art off of the original. Art can be interpreted in different ways and the art that you create is different and unique from the art work anyone else has done. The art that people make helps me make a masterpiece because I can look at their idea, take inspiration from it, and adapt it to suit my ideas. Art can help people use their imagination, to put their words into art and to inspire people to create something that will be shown all around the world. I also think that art is something that everyone can do and the art that you create is you. You should create art that feels like you.

  • Art inspires me. How? Well, I think it is society. Society is a behemoth of different cultures, people and different things. For example, 'My politician poem' was simply manufactured from Donald Trump's tweets, and then it can evaluate from there. Another reason why society inspires art is that it can tell a story. For example, this current Black Lives Matter movement has inspired artists to look at this ordeal in their own perspectives, there is even an artwork called 'The problem we all live with', which is based on how society used to recoil due to people of another ethnicity. Additionally, society inspires my desire for art because one meagre fence could turn into a serious global warming topic if. the artist looks at it in the correct speculation. Therefore, this is what supports my inspiration for art. However, there is another thing that makes my yearn for art enhance with its support. Buildings. Since there are 150 million innocent lives at risk with a virus going around, I would like to build thousands of houses for people without homes because it simultaneously solves most world crisis, like child trafficking and kidnapping and much more humans would have a smile on their face after an ordeal of horror. In conclusion, everything inspires me to make art but these two helps me most.

    Thank you for reading.
    Memorable_orchard.