An on-going list of things I’ve learned that make art-making easier:

• START WITH REFERENCES: Start by looking at existing references. Take the best parts of one thing, avoid the worst parts of another. Use other people’s work to guide and inform your own. Your work can be complimentary or exist in opposition.

• RIDE MOMENTUM: Excitement and motivation for a project will decay over time. Invest the most amount of time and energy when you and your collaborators are excited about something. Race to the end.

• RACE TO THE FIRST DRAFT: Dirty the page. Make the skeleton of the skeleton. Shoot crappy pilots, sketch bad diagrams—bring the abstract idea into the real world as fast as possible.

• DON’T WORK ALONE: Involve other people in your work. Almost all things are harder to do alone.

• BALANCE CONSUMING AND CREATING: Make a lot of work but also experience a lot of work. The work you consume and experience greatly influences the work you will make. Add weird, unconventional, and obscure items to your art and media diet.