Imitate. We are imperfect mirrors

This is an insight shared by many artists. My favourite, and perhaps the most blunt, take on it is by Picasso:

"What does it mean for a painter to paint in the manner of So-and-So or to actually imitate someone else? What's wrong with that? On the contrary, it's a good idea. You should constantly try to paint like someone else. But the thing is, you can't! You would like to. You try. But it turns out to be a botch… And at the very moment you make a botch of it that you're yourself."

I've been learning music production. Do you know how? By creating copies of tracks that inspire me, from scratch.

I learnt how to program websites when I was 14. Do you know how? I copied a site a loved and made it my own, from scratch.

This is simply my favourite way of learning. Whenever I lack inspiration for something, I go copy, recreate, adjust. Because hey, at the end of the day, everything is a remix!

Most of my best ideas come from misunderstanding other ideas.

One thing I'd add to this: Replicate work that you respect and appreciate, not work that seems to be successful. To me, that's the difference between copying and stealing in the often-quoted "Great artists steal..." line.

This reminds me an amazing quote by Jim Jarmush:

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.

I love this! When learning to program, I wrote a clone of a basic java game by Notch:

Mine: http://codelucas.com/pages/island-overlord.html His: https://mojang.com/notch/ld12/breaking/

The code: Mine: https://github.com/codelucas/islandoverlord His: https://mojang.com/notch/ld12/breaking/BreakingTheTower.zip

I also "cloned" a well known python article extraction library (goose) on Github with my own api & new functionality and my repo ended up doing super well (even better than the original).

https://github.com/codelucas/newspaper vs. https://github.com/grangier/python-goose

I recommend reading Austin Kleon's 'Steal Like an Artist' for a more thorough discussion: http://amzn.com/B0074QGGK6

I stole an idea for a game which has yet to be implemented by the person who briefly mentioned it a couple years ago. It inspired me, and because the idea was not some highly detailed plan, I know my conception of it will be completely different from that of the original idea-haver.

People talk about idea vs. implementation, but the missing component is the vision that drives and expands that initial idea. That's obviously true in anything related to creative work, but I think it holds true almost everywhere, except in utterly trivial cases.

Not realizing this has hamstrung my thought process quite a bit. I've killed a lot of ideas because I felt they were too similar to others, but really, looking back, they weren't. Everything we do is derivative, even the things we consider original, as they're all built on a common scattershot mass of knowledge. If we all went to make something as simple as a shampoo bottle, we'd get a lot of different, completely unique concepts. This is worth remembering.

The obligatory Everything is a remix series:

http://everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/

Reminds me of a quote from one of the XXIst Century's great art intellectuals:

"All art is either plagiarism or revolution." --Shia LaBeouf

Seriously, though, when it comes to art and code I've always found a useful policy to be "find somebody good and do what they're doing". For example, ever since I first dug into NetBSD code I've found it written in an exemplary style of C, which I strive to imitate myself when I work in C. I may never get it just right, but it's made me a better C programmer than I was, or at least one with a clearer style.

I've seen this work in a limited scale in my own venture. I started an lsat prep website, http://lsathacks.com

Almost everything about the site was inspired by reference examples within the industry. And yet the site is unique, because I have my own take on things. I saw the principles underlying various sites, and redid them in my own style.

It's still early days, but initial results are positive. I'd have gotten nowhere if I stubbornly insisted on only original ideas.

I agree. This is why all my personal source code is open, and why I think all the copyrights and what not potentially do the human race more of a disservice than they help.

When stuck in a design rut, try copying something else. Where you end up will generally look nothing like the original. Sometimes you just need the push.

Yep.

Several of my most successful films have come from explicitly attempting to imitate someone else's style.

And I've never once had anyone accuse me of copying - indeed, I'm not sure anyone has ever realised that I was riffing on another filmmaker without me explaining it beforehand.

I fear most of you will take this advice the wrong way.

We all know that nothing's completely original. You shouldn't be reinventing the wheel with every program you write. But follow this advice too closely and you'll end up with a clone. A program with all the good qualities of its predecessor, and all the flaws too.

Your clone will be competing with other clones for control of the market. And so long as you're competing on the same turf, you'll be at a disadvantage. Big established companies rule the market for time tested software. Their program came out before your clone, and they've had lots of time to grow their business. They have a bigger research budget than you, and a bigger marketing department.

Besides, everybody already uses their product. You ever hear of network effects?

Start with something that's been done before. But take it somewhere new. Find an emerging market for an established technology. One the big players ignore. Historically, that's where startups have had the advantage.

I think author should stop reading "The Chronicles of Amber" for a while :)

Zynga lives by this advice :)

For example see Michael Bublé.