Steal Like an Artist

Steal Like an Artist – Austin Kleon

You don’t need to be a genius to be creative. You just need to be yourself, and to be open to the world around you.

In Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, writer and artist Austin Kleon offers a manifesto for creativity in the digital age. Based on a talk he gave to college students, the book argues that nothing is completely original: all creative work builds on what came before. The key is to steal wisely, learning from the people you admire, remixing their influences and transforming them into something new.

Kleon’s ten principles include: steal like an artist; don’t wait until you know who you are to get started; write the book you want to read; use your hands; side projects and hobbies are important; do good work and share it with people; geography is no longer our master; be nice, because the world is a small town; be boring, because it is the only way to get work done; and creativity is subtraction.

Illustrated with Kleon’s own drawings, diagrams and quotes from artists and writers, the book is short, lively and easy to return to whenever inspiration runs low.

Encouraging and practical, Steal Like an Artist has become an international bestseller and a favorite gift for students, graduates, artists, writers, designers and anyone looking to unlock their creative potential.