What is your creative process?

My creative process is what some might call chaos. I create either when I have an upcoming deadline, or when my brain has decided to find a new hyperfixation. Whatever the reason for sitting down at my desk, aside from the sometimes stressful struggles with time management or the odd feeling that I've "forgotten" how to do art in my own style, I find the ability to play and switch up my process freeing. I'm often reminded that the more I allow myself to simply create without overthinking, that is when my best work happens. My ideas often start from dreams, Korean culture, a good horror story, or the many wonders of nature (something my dad really helped foster within me from a young age). Once an idea hits my brain, I start by thumbnailing and conceptualizing, gathering basic tools and paper/clay/material, and then attempting to create whatever was simply a concept into something tangible and real. It doesn't always go smoothly, but it's always an adventure! I think it's a common experience of artists, and creators in general, to go through many steps during the creation process, one that entails going from excitement to dread, back to excitement, until you end up with something no one else could have created in exactly the same way. That probably sounds a little cheesy, but it's true—plenty of us can make similar concepts or ideas happen, but only you can make what you do, and it's this that helps me keep going even when I'm feeling discouraged. If I'm feeling burnt out, my creative process looks more like reading books, getting out in nature, playing games, or anything that helps me reconnect to that source of creativity and inspiration. Sometimes all we need is a break to be able to come back to our creativity again.