Austin Kleon

Unlock your creativity. An inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Steal Like an Artist presents ten transformative principles that will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life. Nothing is original, so embrace influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to discover your own path. Follow interests wherever they take you—what feels like a hobby may turn into you life’s work. Forget the old cliché about writing what you know: Instead, write the book you want to read, make the movie you want to watch. And finally, stay Smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring in the everyday world so that you have the space to be wild and daring in your imagination and your work. “Brilliant and real and true.”—Rosanne Cash

10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Steal Like an Artist

You don’t need to be a genius, you just need to be yourself. That’s the message from Austin Kleon, a young writer and artist who knows that creativity is everywhere, creativity is for everyone. A manifesto for the digital age, Steal Like an Artist is a guide whose positive message, graphic look and illustrations, exercises, and examples will put readers directly in touch with their artistic side. When Mr. Kleon was asked to address college students in upstate New York, he shaped his speech around the ten things he wished someone had told him when he was starting out. The talk went viral, and its author dug deeper into his own ideas to create Steal Like an Artist, the book. The result is inspiring, hip, original, practical, and entertaining. And filled with new truths about creativity: Nothing is original, so embrace influence, collect ideas, and remix and re-imagine to discover your own path. Follow your interests wherever they take you. Stay smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring—the creative you will need to make room to be wild and daring in your imagination.

Indrashish Ghosh

Creativity isn't just the things we choose to put in, it's the things we choose to leave out.

 What makes people interesting isn't just what they have experienced, but also what they haven't experienced

Put constrains to get over creative block

The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom. Write a Song on your lunch break. Paint a painting with only one colour.

Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities. The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying.

Keep a chart of past events. In the old days, a logbook was a place for sailors to keep track of how far they'd traveled, and that's exactly what you're doing -keeping track of how far your ship has sailed.

Nobody's saying it's going to be fun. A lot of times it will feel as if you're living a double life. The poet Philip Larkin said the best thing to do is try to be utterly schizoid about it all-using each personality as a refuge from the other."

The art of holding on to money is all about saying no to consumer culture. Saying no to takeout, $4 lattes, and that shiny new computer when the old one still works fine.

A day job puts you in the path of other human beings. Learn from them, steal from them. I've tried to take jobs where I can learn things that I can use in my work later

Instead of keeping a rejection file, keep a praise file. Use it sparingly don't get lost in past glory but keep it around for when you need the lift.

You're only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with. In the digital space, that means following the best people online- the people who are way smarter and better than you, the people who are doing really interesting work.

Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land, among people that do things differently than you.

Travel makes the world look new. and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.

Show justa little bit of what vou're working on. Share a sketch or a doodle or a snippet. Share a little glimpse of your process. Think about what you have to share that could be of some value to people. Share a handy tip you've discovered while working. Or a link to an interesting article. Mention a good book you're reading.

The Internet can be more than just a resting place to publish your finished ideas- it can also be an incubator for ideas that aren't fully formed, a birthing center for developing work that you haven't started yet.

It’s a two-step process. Step one, "do good work," is incredibly hard. There are no shortcuts. Make stuff every day. Know you're going to suck for a while. Fail. Get better. Step two, "share it with people," was really hard up until about ten years ago or so. Now, it's very simple: "Put your stuf on the Internet.'"

It's so important to have a hobby. A hobby is something creative that's just for you. You don't try to make money or get famous off it, you just do it because it makes you happy. A hobby is something that gives but doesn't take.

Take time to be bored. One time I heard a coworker say, "When get busy, I get stupid." Ain't that the truth. Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing. I get some of my best ideas when I'm bored.

"The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life"

That's how I try to do all my work now. I have two desks in my office one is analog" and one is “digital." The analog desk has nothing but markers, pens, pencils, paper, index cards, and newspaper. Nothing electronic is allowed on that desk. This is where most of my work is born, and all over the desk are physical traces, scraps, and residue from my process. The digital desk has my laptop, my monitor, my scanner, and my drawing tablet. This is whereI edit and publish my work.

The cartoonist Tom Gauld says he stays away from the computer until he's done most of the thinking for his strips, because once the computer is involved, "things are on an inevitable path to being finished. Whereas in my sketchbook the possibilities are endless.

Write the kind of story you like best — write the story you want to read. The same principle applies to your life and your career: Whenever you're at a loss for what move to make next, just ask yourself, What would makea better story ?"

At some point, you'll have to move from imitating your heroes to emulating them. Imitation is about copying. Emulation is when imitation goes one step further, breaking through into your own thing.

Don't just steal the style. Steal the thinking behind the style. You don't want to look like your heroes you want to see like your heroes

We're talking about practice here, not plagiarism- plagiarism is trying to pass someone else's work off as your own. Copying is about reverse-engineering. It's like a mechanic taking apart a car to see how it works.

Bobbi Arbore

Natalia Cerrillo

anna

Such a fantastic book, really good advice. I highly recommend it. Also it's such an easy/light-read. I read it in less than 2h, on the train!!

Taha

Review
I went into this expecting to hate it, this feels like a book that is cited and recommended too much, to the point where recommending the book was more about what it said about the recommender rather than the recommendee.

However, I was pleasantly surprised - I loved the scrapbook, zine feel of the book. I found the lessons to be engaging and revitalising. There was nothing in there that I hadn't heard before or even knew already. However, hearing it from a third party - at a time where I needed to hear it was exactly what I needed.

This is a book I will be revisiting many times, I am sure of it.
Recommend to a friend? Yes
Read again? Yes
Inspired me to create? Yes
Filled me with the inescapable dread that I will never be able to make something as good as this? No

Ayesha 

Really easy read, a quick motivation -boost

erin

Bhanu Pratap

I absolutely love the way things are explained, the simplicity, the creativity, the hook, the art. While it's rare for me to 'feel' that a book deserves five stars, I didn't think twice before dropping one for this cute little book.

Ufuk Safak

One of the easy peasy book that every engineer or designer or as writer said everyone should read. As written in first page: All advice is autobiographical.

I had pretty high expectations for this book because of the hype surrounding it, but I was definitely disappointed. There were a couple standout ideas for me but I feel like overall it was too shallow and repetitive. Also, the form factor is not my style. I feel like the short chapters and subsections aren't condusive to depth and organization. I would've preferred more practical advice/tips. 

Julia

Lovely little book of creative advice, worth reading every few years.

Jack Harrison

rumbledethumps

Bought the 10th anniversary edition, after having read this book when it first came out. Enjoyed the re-read much more than the first time. Good, straightforward advice about starting a creative practice, good for anyone who wants to create anything. Added it to my permanent shelf, as I'm sure I'll enjoy another re-read at some point.

Update: read it again for a third time to make sure it was right as a gift, and enjoyed it even more.

Jacob Medure

Brandy

Do yourself a favor: if you're interested in this book, get it from the library or read Austin Kleon's tumblr. While this book wasn't all bad, I'm definitely glad that I didn't spend money on it. There is some good advice in this book, but not enough to warrant owning or rereading it. It's full of platitudes, some of which are conflicting. Anything useful said in this book is either just common sense or stuff I'd read/heard before. An ok book, but I would not recommend it unless you can read it for free.

Zia Nazaliah Ainisyifa

Beatrix Haase

Read this book for my English class in college - Ink to Ideas 123
I highly enjoyed this book, it's a really good book and I learned a lot from it. 

xoxo,
Bea

Elisa Benaggoune

Collette

Valuable advice for pretty much anyone who does anything that requires them to think out of the box

It is an amazingly beautiful book, although it is short, it created enough saturation for me with its catchy slogans and pictures. Like dopamine

Enes Kutlay

Erwin Lemuel Oliva

Steal Like An Artist are those books that will remind you of things you've known but not this organized. Similar to Paul Arden, Austin Kleon produces a book for those who often say TL;DR. Bottomline: this book reminds me of friends often willing to drop lines of wisdom and insights. It is up to you if you take it hook-line-and-sinker.

Aimee

genuinely one of the most helpful books i've read

I finished my first read for the year 2022 sometime in March and I thought to give a quick review.

This was such a phenomenal and much-needed read for me and I totally recommend it to all creatives. It is a quick read that you can finish in one sitting, but the ideas and advice it contains will stay with you long after you’ve put it down. Some of Austin’s suggestions will validate what you’re already doing, some will challenge you to fundamentally change a creative practice, and others will inspire you to grab a notebook and get to work immediately.

This book basically flips ‘fake it till you make it’ by reiterating the fact that we are a product of our influences and we need to embrace that who we steal from shapes our minds and work.

Austin says “every artist gets asked the question, “where do you get your ideas?”

Austin says…. “The honest artist’s answer is, I steal them”……

…………as in RIPS THEM OFF? Perhaps a more ‘kind’ way to answer the question is; that an artist draws inspiration from others.

This little book is filled with fun engaging anecdotes…..with a list of 10 things to do to unlock our creativity. #9 is BE BORING!!! I’ve got that one down!!! I’m a master of boring!!!……but creative? I have my doubts! LOL

Here are the 10 things he listed we must do: 

This is a great book to read ‘while’ being lazy — boring — sleepy — in your pj’s -when you need something ‘little & lightweight’ to hold in your hands!

So, go ahead — steal like a pro. Steal. Infuse your own idea or opinion and voila! Originality emerges.

I got this book as a gift and it’s one of the best gifts I received in 2022. It is a fantastic addition to your library and a wonderful gift for any creative person in your life.

Joyce Ndidi

I finished my first read for the year 2022 sometime in March and I thought to give a quick review.

This was such a phenomenal and much-needed read for me and I totally recommend it to all creatives. It is a quick read that you can finish in one sitting, but the ideas and advice it contains will stay with you long after you’ve put it down. Some of Austin’s suggestions will validate what you’re already doing, some will challenge you to fundamentally change a creative practice, and others will inspire you to grab a notebook and get to work immediately.

This book basically flips ‘fake it till you make it’ by reiterating the fact that we are a product of our influences and we need to embrace that who we steal from shapes our minds and work.

Austin says “every artist gets asked the question, “where do you get your ideas?”
Austin says…. “The honest artist’s answer is, I steal them”……
…………as in RIPS THEM OFF? Perhaps a more ‘kind’ way to answer the question is; that an artist draws inspiration from others.

This little book is filled with fun engaging anecdotes…..with a list of 10 things to do to unlock our creativity. #9 is BE BORING!!! I’ve got that one down!!! I’m a master of boring!!!……but creative? I have my doubts! LOL

Here are the 10 things he listed we must do: 
1. Take a walk 

2. Start your swipe file 

3. Go to the library 

4. Buy a notebook and use it 

5. Get yourself a Calendar 

6. Start your logbook 

7. Give a copy of this book away 

8. Start a blog

9. Be boring

10. Take a nap.

This is a great book to read ‘while’ being lazy — boring — sleepy — in your pj’s -when you need something ‘little & lightweight’ to hold in your hands!

So, go ahead — steal like a pro. Steal. Infuse your own idea or opinion and voila! Originality emerges.

I got this book as a gift and it’s one of the best gifts I received in 2022. It is a fantastic addition to your library and a wonderful gift for any creative person in your life.

Becky A

Aww, a nice little motivational pamphlet. I wish I'd gotten it in paper copy instead of library e-book (I'm sure I'm missing some artistry in the layouts). But either way, reading it made me want to go out and make art!! Which is great except I read it at 11 at night. Whoops. 

Anyway, a nice little pick-me-up.

Sierra Nguyen

3.5/5

This little book offers 10 tips that you, as a creative person, should remember in order to succeed as a creator, things like "Write the book you want to read," or "Do good work and share it to people." You can read this book in one sitting and revisit it multiple times whenever you need a reminder that you have what it takes to create great things and be known for what you create.

Because the book is so short but circles around 10 points, it struggles to dive deeply into any given point to really make an impact. After reading the book, it's hard for me to come up with a clear summary and biggest takeaways that I can then apply in my own work, besides the first point, which is the title, "Steal like an artist."

Andy Sporring

This small book was a bit of a game-changer for me. And I recommend every creative mind to read it!

Steal Like an Artist 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

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