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Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative Paperback – February 28, 2012
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An inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Steal Like an Artist presents ten transformative principles that will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life.
Nothing is original, so embrace influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to discover your own path. Follow interests wherever they take you—what feels like a hobby may turn into you life’s work. Forget the old cliché about writing what you know: Instead, write the book you want to read, make the movie you want to watch.
And finally, stay Smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring in the everyday world so that you have the space to be wild and daring in your imagination and your work.
“Brilliant and real and true.”—Rosanne Cash
- Print length160 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWorkman Publishing Company
- Publication dateFebruary 28, 2012
- Dimensions6.06 x 0.56 x 6 inches
- ISBN-109780761169253
- ISBN-13978-0761169253
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- Your job is to collect good ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by.Highlighted by 9,940 Kindle readers
- If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.Highlighted by 9,308 Kindle readers
- Establishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time.Highlighted by 9,003 Kindle readers
Editorial Reviews
Review
-Rosanne Cash
"Austin Kleon is positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet... Kleon makes an articulate and compelling case for combinatorial creativity and the role of remix in the idea economy."
-The Atlantic
"Breezy and fun and yes, scary. Scary because it calls your bluff."
-Seth Godin
"A quick, easily digestible read that is particularly relevant in today's digital world."-School Library Journal
"Filled with well-formed advice that applies to nearly any kind of work."-Lifehacker.com
From the Back Cover
- 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.
- The secret: do good work and share it with people.
- Geography is no longer our master.
- Be nice. (The world is a small town.)
- Be boring. (It’s the only way to get work done.)
- Creativity is subtraction.
About the Author
Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of a trilogy of illustrated books about creativity in the digital age: Steal Like An Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going. He’s also the author of Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poems made by redacting the newspaper with a permanent marker. His books have been translated into dozens of languages and have sold over a million copies worldwide. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and sons. Visit him online at www.austinkleon.com.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Every artist gets asked the question,
“Where do you get your ideas?”
The honest artist answers,
“I steal them.”
How does an artist look at the world?
First, you figure out what’s worth stealing, then you move on to the next thing.
That’s about all there is to it.
When you look at the world this way, you stop worrying about what’s “good” and what’s “bad”—there’s only stuff worth stealing, and stuff that’s not worth stealing.
Everything is up for grabs. If you don’t find something worth stealing today, you might find it worth stealing tomorrow or a month or a year from now.
“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.”
—David Bowie
NOTHING IS ORIGINAL
The writer Jonathan Lethem has said that when people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved.
What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.
It’s right there in the Bible: “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
Some people find this idea depressing, but it fills me with hope. As the French writer André Gide put it, “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”
If we’re free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to make something out of nothing, and we can embrace influence instead of running away from it.
“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.”
—William Ralph Inge
Product details
- ASIN : 0761169253
- Publisher : Workman Publishing Company; 1st edition (February 28, 2012)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 160 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780761169253
- ISBN-13 : 978-0761169253
- Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.06 x 0.56 x 6 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Arts & Photography Study & Teaching
- #11 in Creativity (Books)
- #21 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Great gift for artists. Creative easy motivational read.
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About the author

Austin Kleon is a writer and artist living in Austin, Texas. He's the author of two bestselling books: Steal Like an Artist, a manifesto for creativity in the digital age, and Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. He speaks about creativity for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. Visit him online at www.austinkleon.com.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2023
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 9, 2023

The world is our canvas and fortunately not a blank one. You can create from what’s already created and at the same time acknowledging it - it’s a way to show respect and appreciation to those who came before us because FYI, your work will be stolen too at some point in time. It’s the cycle of creation. The complexities you find are worth learning and from any knowledge that you receive exists an opportunity. An opportunity to create your own. You may be asking, but how do I know that I’m capable of creating that which I have discovered? By starting! Just do. The path is never rosy. That’s only seen on the static representations shared on social media. What’s not shown is the sweat and tears involved. There will be silent and unconscious moments that create uncertainities. At times you’ll feel like a mediocre but it’s all in your mind.
But seriously, start! Move from point A to point B. It doesn’t matter how short or long the distance is. Just move. And to find satisfaction in the journey, create that which you would like to see, have, taste, smell, hear or feel. It’s hard for the world to disconnect from the financial attachments we have in every single thing that we do. Money and the mind are cousins now. And so you may convince me that you would rather create that which will make you money rather than something that you like or love. We become unconscious on the main reason we desired to create; inner purpose. Money is an external goal that will come and go but does not assure the joy of being. So find that which you love to create and stop pacing with the madness of the world.
The workspace is ready and we have our brushes on hand because we are the boss of our own space. But you have to remember an important factor before you start. As you begin, don’t forget to find time to do nothing. I know you’ll get carried away and convince yourself it’s now or never and the competition is high. But please, take time to stop and smell the roses, literally. I won’t talk about working hard or smart because it’s an illusion that’s created to compare ourselves. Simply take your time to express your art. And take time to do nothing. Better yet find boring things to do.
Most of all, however much we want to acquire more and more in the journey, it’s important to know what to keep and what to discard. Make it simple. As Lao Tzu states, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Happy reading friends.
The idea behind stealing like an artist is that “nothing is completely original… All creative work builds on what came before... If we’re free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to make something out of nothing, and we can embrace influence instead of running away from it.”
“We learn by copying. We’re talking about practice here, not plagiarism—plagiarism is trying to pass someone else’s work off as your own. Copying is about reverse engineering… Remember: Even The Beatles started as a cover band.”
“You are the sum of your influences… Your job is to collect good ideas. The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by… Seeing yourself as part of a creative lineage will help you feel less alone as you start making your own stuff… You don’t want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes… That’s what you really want—to internalize their way of looking at the world… It is the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are.”
“You have to be curious about the world in which you live… Always be reading…. Don’t worry about doing research. Just search.”
“You’re only going to be as good as the people you surround yourself with… If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.”
“The manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use—do the work you want to see done.”
The author urges readers to “step away from the screen… You need to find a way to bring your body into your work… If we strum a guitar, or shuffle sticky notes around a conference table, or start kneading clay, the motion kickstarts our brain into thinking… The computer is really good for editing your ideas… but it’s not really good for generating ideas. There are too many opportunities to hit the delete key.”
Kleon points out the value of side projects and hobbies in sparking creativity. “By side projects I mean the stuff that you thought was just messing around. Stuff that’s just play. That’s actually the good stuff. That’s when the magic happens… I think it’s good to have a lot of projects going on at once so you can bounce between them. When you get sick of one project, move over to another… Practice productive procrastination.” The author quotes playwright Steven Tomlinson about having diverse interests: “Let them talk to each other. Something will begin to happen.”
“Creativity is subtraction.” The answer to information overload is to “figure out what to leave out” so you can focus on what’s most important to you. “It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom… Establishing and keeping a routine can be even more important than having a lot of time.”
Kleon touches on the theme of his second book, Show Your Work. “If there was a secret formula for becoming known, I would give it to you. But there’s only one not-so-secret formula that I know: Do good work and share it with people. It’s a two-step process… Not everyone will get it… So get comfortable with being misunderstood, disparaged, or ignored—the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care.” That said, the author says to, “enjoy your obscurity while it lasts… There’s no pressure when you’re unknown. You can do what you want. Experiment. Do things just for the fun of it. When you’re unknown, there’s nothing to distract your form getting better.”
On a final note, Kleon writes, “Your mileage may vary… Feel free to take what you can use and leave the rest.”
Top reviews from other countries

I needed this book, but didn't know about it until it was recommended.
I'd reached out to the group about the fact that as an illustrator I felt a bit lost in the creative world, like I hadn't found my place, because I didn't have a 'style' by which people could recognise my work, and no particular style that I favoured illustrating over others, I just felt like I wasn't a real illustrator if I didn't produce consistent work that was clearly 'me', like everyone else seems to do. I would (and still do really) trawl through the art by others I admired, and be able to say oh that's by so and so, they're so good!
No one could do that with me, as my illustrations are so random, there's no cohesion. Should I stop putting my art out there until I know who I am as an artist?
So this book was one of two recommended to me to read (find your artistic voice by Lisa Congdon is the other).
And I'm so glad I did buy this. It all made sense, it all seemed so relatable, in particular section 2 - Don't wait until you know who you are to get started.
If you're an artist just starting out, or one who already creates a lot of art (any kind of creation really) and are unsure you belong in the creative world yet because you're not good enough, or you're not original enough, or you don't know your style yet - get this book.


Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 5, 2020
I needed this book, but didn't know about it until it was recommended.
I'd reached out to the group about the fact that as an illustrator I felt a bit lost in the creative world, like I hadn't found my place, because I didn't have a 'style' by which people could recognise my work, and no particular style that I favoured illustrating over others, I just felt like I wasn't a real illustrator if I didn't produce consistent work that was clearly 'me', like everyone else seems to do. I would (and still do really) trawl through the art by others I admired, and be able to say oh that's by so and so, they're so good!
No one could do that with me, as my illustrations are so random, there's no cohesion. Should I stop putting my art out there until I know who I am as an artist?
So this book was one of two recommended to me to read (find your artistic voice by Lisa Congdon is the other).
And I'm so glad I did buy this. It all made sense, it all seemed so relatable, in particular section 2 - Don't wait until you know who you are to get started.
If you're an artist just starting out, or one who already creates a lot of art (any kind of creation really) and are unsure you belong in the creative world yet because you're not good enough, or you're not original enough, or you don't know your style yet - get this book.









The book feels delightful to hold in our hands. And it is delightful to look at. And stare at. And open a random page and read a couple of lines.
BUT
It is not a 'book'. It is a coffee-table book. The quality is good, but the quantity of content is that of a tiny coffee-table book. It is a very small book, you can read it in less than an hour even if you read very very slowly like I do. And most of the content is borrowed (or stolen) from other artists! The only interesting or creative part of the book are the doodles and sketches, which the author has drawn himself.
Why I was slightly disappointed with this book?
Because it was repeating of the content I have read over and over in other art and creativity books. Though it may be a good place to begin if you are new to the art and creativity arenas.
If you are a seasoned artist, having spent much time studying the 'creative' processes, you may consider giving this book a pass.
Also, this book is highly priced, given the imported version. I bought it for Rs.490, and have seen it at lower prices around Rs.400 (Just to give an idea of the price variations). The cover price is 12.95 USD.
[I bought a paperback version, and the cover, print, layout and paper quality are beyond excellent. The binding is weak and seems to have already started coming off]

Every aspiring, yet insecure and fearful artist should read this book.