Where do you find ideas and inspiration?
I apologize in advance if this is an inappropriate post, but I was wondering...
Where do you guys get ideas for your icons (or any other graphics for that matter)? How do you decide how to arrange your picture(s), or what textures/brushes/gradients you'd like to use? Do you just play around with different things until you find something you like, or do you go about icon making with an idea in mind from the start? Also, how do you come up with text for your icons?
It seems like I've been in a bit of a creative rut for a while now, and I'd like to know where people find their inspiration and ideas. At the very least, it might make for a nice discussion.
Edit: I'd just like to thank everyone that responded. Reading through all of your comments was very helpful, and I got a lot of great ideas out of it. ^^
Where do you guys get ideas for your icons (or any other graphics for that matter)? How do you decide how to arrange your picture(s), or what textures/brushes/gradients you'd like to use? Do you just play around with different things until you find something you like, or do you go about icon making with an idea in mind from the start? Also, how do you come up with text for your icons?
It seems like I've been in a bit of a creative rut for a while now, and I'd like to know where people find their inspiration and ideas. At the very least, it might make for a nice discussion.
Edit: I'd just like to thank everyone that responded. Reading through all of your comments was very helpful, and I got a lot of great ideas out of it. ^^