How artists develop ideas

Ian Judd (sculptor) - Reading the description of what is wanted by the company/person offering work. After thinking of some initial ideas, He looks at ways he could put them together or expand them - if making a sculpture of a train - for example - he will look at train books and visit railway stations (especially if a steam train). He has his own style - which generally is obvious in much of his work, but he is not afraid to work in a different style or exactly to employer specifications. He works mostly in metal concrete and stone - often making maquettes out of polystyrene and wax, any gates are a bit more difficult to make a maquette for and hundreds of diagrams will be drawn up before settling on a final piece. he does much of his casting himself, so he can also advise contractors/employers on what sorts of materials would be best to use and how - for example a gate he's working on at the moment he has been asked about making the gate by casting it with cast iron - which he says is too weak and would cost much more than the methods he would like to use.

For his own work, he makes a figure relating to an idea he has had using wax or clay and continually reworks it till he feels that it suits his personal brief. Once made his maquette, he will either make another version, using again, clay or wax, but also carved polystyrene to make a mould from - and make a mould and statue from that using plaster, cement, or a metal - or he will carve the figure into stone.
Artist is a family member
http://studiosculpture.eu/stone.htm

Nate Williams (illustrator) - He starts with some "spontaneous" ideas and then brain storms them. Believing that the best material for  ideas some from experience of real life situations, recording moments where he finds inspiration. He then refines his ideas so that the final piece is able to define the meaning behind the idea for veiwers.

http://www.n8w.com/wp/3242


William H. Hays (printer) - In one example of his work he takes 2 photographs and manipulates them using photoshop to make them appear as one, and more interesting. He then sketched the image, making it less confusing and more like one picture. Cutting and sticking more detailed parts of the images so that he didn't have to draw them accurately but still had the detail. Then he carved the lino for the print.

http://williamhhays.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/coming-up-with-a-new-idea/