The PicMix Technique mirrors the Link-Ups text-based technique, but uses linked or forced combinations of pictures to create new creative starting points that can be developed into creative work.
How does PicMix work?
The aim of the PicMix Creative Technique is to produce a visual creative break of stasis. It is the equivalent of the chemical reaction in the illustration at the head of this page.
Two (or more) stable pictures are reacted together – in the vessel of the mind – leading to an unstable visual compound that gives off creative possibilities.
- Identify two (or more) pictures that encompass the specific ideas (or starting point) you are working from.
- Combine these images in the mind’s eye.
- Then imagine possible developments that could occur as a result of the combination of these pictures.
- Imagine how this newly unstable pastiche could develop into a creative visual outcome.
What are the individual steps that lead to your creative outcome?
What creative steps occured before this outcome - and what creeative steps lead away from this outcome?
Supplement: PicMix
The pictures used in PicMix can be obtained from online libraries such as Getty Images or Shutter Stock or the online presence of museums or art galleries.