Creativity Magazine

Bricks, Magic Lamps, And Getting The Most Out Of An Illustration

By Mrstrongest @mrstrongarm

Recently I came across a quote from the late David Brinkley that made me laugh. Mr. Brinkley was an American journalist and television newscaster.

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A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.

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There are many great quotes and inspirational sayings, of course. I think they all benefit from a spot drawing which grabs readers’ attention, makes the quote more memorable, and also makes readers more apt to share it.

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I decided to draw up a spot for the Brinkley quote. Michelle Schwantes, who runs the marketing communications firm Catura Creative, had tweeted the quote originally. I wanted to acknowledge that when I tweeted it myself.

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Successful man lays firm foundation with bricks thrown at him by others David Brinkley guy on brick wall with cement trowel brick hit head I.V. bag plasma blood transfusion

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The quote is both funny and wise. I liked the premise that we should try to learn from setbacks, failures, criticism, rejection. Such “bricks” are a normal part of life. Resenting them is a waste of time. I decided to write a LinkedIn post on the subject. LI posts require a header image with specific dimensions, so I revised my graphic.

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Successful man lays firm foundation with bricks thrown at him by others David Brinkley guy on brick wall with cement trowel brick hit head I.V. bag plasma blood transfusion LinkedIn post bricks of the trade

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As I’ve mentioned before, an illustrator learns to ask himself if he can get any further use from a drawing. I thought the image and idea would make a great motivational poster that I could sell in my online store.

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When life throws you bricks build a foundation guy on brick wall with cement trowel brick hit head I.V. bag plasma blood transfusion

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Here’s a detail image.

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When life throws you bricks build a foundation guy on brick wall with cement trowel brick hit head I.V. bag plasma blood transfusion detail image

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Back in December, I did my first-ever guest post. The subject: how freelancers need to be proactive if they want to attract clients. Part of the appeal was getting to create the header image. I had some fun with the famous Middle Eastern folk tale about Aladdin and the magic lamp.

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Aladdin magic lamp guy looking at silent lamp second guy by pile of lamps rubbing lamp emitting genie money cloud Freelance 101 how proactive are you 10 point checklist

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I realized I had the makings of another motivational poster. All I needed was a tagline
to go with “Be Proactive.”

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Aladdin magic lamp guy looking at silent lamp second guy by pile of lamps rubbing lamp emitting genie cloud be proactive not every lamp has a genie

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Here’s a detail image.

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Aladdin magic lamp guy looking at silent lamp second guy by pile of lamps rubbing lamp emitting genie cloud be proactive not every lamp has a genie detail image

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Are you someone who likes quotes? Care to share a favorite?

Do you include images with your posts to help grab people’s attention?

Run into any genies lately? OK, spill it– what did you wish for??

Hope you’ll leave a comment.

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