Inspirational Warm-Up Exercises

Tap Into Your Misunderstood Teen Years to Develop a Character

Did you keep a diary as a teenager? Leaf through it to remember what it was like to be different and to remember how you coped with those feelings. Wondering how to dress your character for this scene? Break out your high school yearbook. If you were an outsider, how did you dress? Did you dye your hair? Did you listen to alternative music? Pierce your eyebrows? Or did you sing in the choir when everyone else was cutting class and listening to heavy metal? There are many ways to feel misunderstood. Open up that old box in the garage with the faded mementos of a younger you for inspiration.

Reference: Photograph a Local School

In addition to summoning nostalgia for your misunderstood teen self, in this project you’ll also want some concrete reference materials. You’ll need a black-and-white photo of a school. There are schools in almost every neighborhood that would make great subjects. The school I photographed—Asheville High School—is architecturally beautiful. Though it’s a public school, it almost looks like a clichéd vision of the kind of fancy boarding school where a free spirit might be misunderstood. The school near you might be a 1970s throwback or a 2016 innovation grant winner. Most schools will work because almost all of them have an institutional feeling that will contrast nicely with your nonconformist main character.

Reference: Find Models

When painting made-up stories, it’s often necessary to think outside of the box. While a picture of a local high school is easy enough to obtain, finding a photo of a girl riding a unicorn presents a significantly greater challenge! Don’t worry, though; with a little ingenuity, you can find reference materials for these subjects. I used a toy pony as my unicorn model, but you might also use a vintage horse photo or a carousel pony. A real horse, of course, would be wonderful, too. Make it a habit to visit garage sales in search of reference treasures! For the young girl actually riding the unicorn, I asked my daughter to pose on a low tree branch as if she were hugging a horse. If you don’t have a willing model, you can always use your artist mannequin for the same purpose.