I was having a DM conversation with a younger artist and…

I was having a DM conversation with a younger artist and they had a really cool idea and they wanted to check in with me to make sure they weren’t stealing from me. My advice?

Steal it. Especially the good parts! Steeeeeeeaaaaaal it all! Steal everything!

I’m not saying to take my work, erase my tag and claim it as your own. What I am saying is everything is an edit. Everything is a remix. There is nothing new under the sun except for you!

I stole the name the name of sketchy sermons from Kerby Rosanes (@kerbyrosanes ) over at Sketchy Stories. I also stole his monochromatic style and the mixing of cute fun characters and objects with more realistic objects. I use moleskines like him. Straight thievery.

I stole my sketch note ideas from Mike Rohde (@rohdesign ). In fact I’m pretty sure I saw him sketch note a sermon and I was like “I could do that too!” I didn’t even ask I just took it.

My character designs? Stolen from Spider-man artist and spawn creator Todd McFarlane. I steal techniques from @pepelarraz constantly. I’m a burglar.

Take ideas from a lot of different people and smash them together. The secret ingredient is *you.* Everything you’ve been through, the pain, the torment, the smiles, the laughter, the triumphs and the mistakes all of it has culminated in this totally unique person that is you. There is no one like you and there never will be. As long as you are part of your art, it belongs to you.

Art is not a zero sum equation. There is no limit to how much we can make. Steal what you need to make your own art. Then share it so others can steal from you.