5 Of The Best Apps To Help Spark Your Creative Mindset And Artistic Skills
Creativity is like a muscle. The more you allow yourself to experience and experiment with it, the easier it can be to access it whenever you need it. However, as any creative will tell you, it can be challenging to stay in the zone forever, especially when it's your job and you must do it every day.
Aside from chugging caffeine, playing video games, or simply taking time away from their work, artists have different ways to beat creative burnout and regain their sense of joy in creating again. Whether you're a painter, performing artist, or craftsperson, the creative process can take time because it often includes periods of rest and rumination.
Naturally, it may take a little push for artists to get their engines running after a long break. Thankfully, there are endless apps for our mobile phones and tablets that can help. Here are some of the best ones you can download to keep that creative spark alive.
Since its launch in 2010, Pinterest has remained one of the best discovery platforms online. Compared to search engines like Google, Pinterest is a mostly visual search engine that displays results in "pins." As a user, you can either upload your own pins or save pins made by other users, as well as collages, into boards.
When you make a pin, you can include an image, title, description, and link. Afterward, you can select what boards you would like to include it in and add tags so other users can find it. Under advanced settings, you can also opt to enable comments or show similar products in its shopping recommendations feature. Although, shopping recommendations aren't available for pins with tagged products or partnership labels.
As an artist, you can use Pinterest to save everything from pegs, recipes, and procedures. Additionally, you can also use it to display your work, link followers to your website or other social media platforms, or connect with potential partners.
You can have up to 200,000 pins and 2,000 boards for personal accounts, which for the average person is more than enough to store secret curations of inspirations and work you'd like to share with the public. Additionally, you can follow up to 50,000 users, with no limit for people who can follow you.
Pinterest is available for free on iOS, Android, and the web.
While there's a lot of debate on the impact of social media, the reality is that it's likely here to stay in some shape or form. Thankfully, millions of people are creating and sharing content every day, which means you're bound to find ones that can help spark your creative energy, especially on Instagram.
Because Instagram is a very visual platform, it's the perfect place to follow artists of every kind. From sharing their creative process, works in progress, art for sale, or tools they used to create their unique style, it's a treasure trove of information and inspiration.
Whether it's to find up-and-coming performers, graphic designers, or dancers, you can use Instagram to both consume and create content. You can even build your community and connect with other artists in your particular niche. Who knows, being active on the artist side of Instagram may be useful if you ever decide to pursue art professionally or monetize your work.
These days, Instagram has introduced many features that artists can use to create a better social media experience. For example, you can add notifications for posts made by your favorite artists, use the collection feature to curate content, and even sell products.
Instagram is available to download on iOS, Android, and the web. While Instagram is 100% free to use, there's no way to remove ads on Instagram, so you'll have to manage seeing an endless number of them when viewing your feed.
GoodNotes
Being a creative person can be overwhelming, especially with mountains of unfinished drafts, art supplies, and techniques that you don't want to forget. For professional artists, staying organized is crucial to managing your resources, especially when working on complex projects with multiple clients at a time.
Although this can mean investing in mountains of notebooks, folders, and file cabinets, it doesn't have to be true for you. These days, you can use tons of apps to give your documents related to your creative life home on your mobile phone or tablet, such as GoodNotes.
GoodNotes lets you record audio, jot down notes, save photos of works in progress, and even display your portfolio in an easy-to-organize notebook format. It even has features like image scanning, annotation, and drawing, which lets you make quick updates on the go.
GoodNotes is available on iPhone, Android, and desktop for free. However, its free tier only includes a maximum of three notebooks and has several file management limitations, such as maximum file imports and audio recording lengths. Alternatively, you can avail of its annual multi-platform access fee for only $9.99, an Android and Windows-specific yearly plan for $6.99, or a one-time payment of $29.99 for Apple products.
YouTube
Have an idea but don't know how to start? YouTube can help you figure it out. While many people use YouTube for entertainment, an entire segment of content is designed specifically for learning skills.
Additionally, many types of content creators cater to everything from basic learners to more advanced, highly specialized skills. Although it can be better to learn some creative skills in person, YouTube is a great halfway solution for people who have limited budgets or live in remote areas far from workshops.
For example, you've fallen in love with the idea of creating a resin driftwood table. By searching for YouTube videos on how to make it, you can follow the creation process step-by-step. Not only does this give you a practical idea of what materials to purchase, but it also shows you the amount of space you'll need and how much time it will take.
If you have additional questions, you can leave a comment on the video or even find someone asking the same thing in the comment section. Aside from this, there are several things most people don't realize they can do on the YouTube app.
YouTube is available on iOS, Android, smart devices, and the web. While there is a free version of the app that is more than enough for the needs of the average person, you may want to try YouTube Premium so you can download videos and watch them without ads.
Spotify
Jean-Michel Basquiat once said, "Art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time." With this, it's no wonder that audio listening apps like Spotify can be your partner in boosting your focus and creativity. One of the more obvious ways sound can help you get into the zone is by acting as background noise while working. While it's easy to assume all noise is bad, it's not necessarily true.
For example, a Scientific Reports study notes that white noise, which uses varying frequencies to create static-like sounds, can slightly boost attention and creativity for neurotypical adults. According to the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), a mix of sound frequencies, such as soft playing music, can help someone with ADHD think better and stay on task longer.
Alternatively, a Journal of Consumer Research study claims that moderate ambient background noise levels can induce processing disfluency, which helps lead to abstraction cognition and, in turn, enhanced creativity.
On Spotify, there are entire playlists for things like coffee shop backgrounds, ocean wave sounds, forest sounds, and other soundscapes. Unlike real life, you can adjust the loudness of your ambient or white noises playlists to be at a comfortable level.
Spotify is available on iOS, Android, and desktop. Although there is an ad-supported tier, it can be distracting and defeat the purpose of using sound to focus. Alternatively, there are plenty of subscription tiers you can choose from.
Keep your creativity flowing
These days, technology has enabled us to create in ways previously unimaginable. By having these apps installed, you can get inspired to bring things to life, whether using your hands, a brush, or a screen. From learning about other artists and their work to creating an environment conducive to work, there are various ways to stay in a creative flow.
With so many ways to be an artist, you have endless options for expressing yourself regardless of skill level. You can even slowly build your repertoire of creative skills using a variety of free resources online, so there are fewer barriers for you to explore other art forms.
Although, in reality, even the most creative people will experience some sort of rut in their lives. Because creativity comes in waves, it's best to make sure your tools are ready to go when it hits. Whether it's a note-taking, drawing, or music-recording app, having these apps on your phone helps ensure your creative ideas don't just disappear into thin air.