So how do you find that one idea, the one you know you can give everything to, be consistent with, and keep it going as long as possible(and hopefully build a decent fan base hehe)?
See my problem is finding "the one". I've got too many toon ideas. And the big problem is the fact that they're all just different enough that I couldn't possibly begin to try brining them together.
I've got Monster Kids, paranormal detectives, buddy toons with forest critters, super hero kids, beloved holiday icons, emoticons, inept explorers, would be conqurers.......
I can't possibly work with them all. Some have several comic strips i've done. Others do have at least 2 solid story ideas....
It kills me...I just want one toon that encopasses all things I enjoy. I try so hard to find it. I'll take time now and then and go over the works i've done of each and every toon trying to see which one really stands out....and nothin'. they've all got potential.
So what does one do?
There is no "one idea". Just like in life, there is no "one attempt" but instead there are MANY attempts to see what works.
Probably the reason you are not finding it is because the ideas themselves resist the nature of being all things in one thing. Why not let them live as their own thing, each individually, and create a body of work instead of a single entity?
"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)
Pick and Choose:
There is no way to can bring all of your ideas into one project with out risking a major oil spill. If you are looking for your "Penuts", or whatever, you are just going to have to put something out there and see what it does. The "Teenage Mutant Turtles" started out as a black and white rage and now it is a tv series.
If I had to choose between a load of ideas... and I'm not necessarily saying you have to choose between them all... then I would start by dismissing the ideas I felt less excited about. So then say I'd have 7 left. I'd then put them in a hat and pick one out...dismiss it. try again and so on. until finally I had one idea. OK maybe thats not really what you really want to do, but its an option. If you really feel that you need one idea? Of course say you picked one idea out of a hat and promised yourself you would stick to that one idea whatever it was...well you could then always incorporate something you really liked from another idea. So say you wanted to do something set in space but also really liked the idea of cavemen...just put them together. Makes a quirky idea.
I kind of know what trouble you're having. I was like that when I was trying to decide what to do for the 'ultimate' final year of my degree. I ended up spending so much time trying to decide on an idea that I ended up going with one that wasn't really what I wanted to do.
hehe it's funny you mention putting them in a hat. i've actually thought about making a dart board.
I just need to get to at least 1-3 ideas. My problem is i'll work on one and BOOM! new idea.....i never manage to really get into one before another comes along.
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Cartoon Syndicate project
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Oh the curse of those who have talent. :D
I understand that Gene Roddenberry had the same problem. From what I have read and heard, his wife has a small mountain of scripts that he wrote over the years.
I say write'm all down in a notebook, let them sit for a few weeks, and then come back to them. The really good ideas won't go stale.
And plus, you'll always have a store of all your ideas just in case you get stumped later on. (Believe me-- even if you decide not to animate an idea right away, it always pays to keep it around!)
Pooryorik
i have had something similar happen. my trick is i write down the concept, the world and then start working on episodic ideas. see how far i can take it without being trite.
the further you get, the more doable it seems.
within yourself.
you still haven't figured out what you want-- what you believe in.
you have many ideas, but no conviction.
this is a journey i'm afraid that has room for only one.
once you find it, however, there will be nothing else.
Don't worry. All shall be well.
I used to work without notebooks or sketchpads and there's no telling how many good ideas I lost over the years. This is the best way of deciding. Flipping quarters, drawing from a hat, or dart boards only help when deciding where to eat for lunch.
I am not sure what you are asking. If it's what to put up on a web site...start out with a portfolio site and put everything you think is good enough up there, in seperate sections. During your updating you'll discover where your true interests lie, and perhaps that will lead you towards a major production.
Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.