Where do you guys get your ideas?

[alanphabetology]

I'm always curious about how different creative individuals 'come up with and develop that initial kernel of an idea - y'know, that spark - the 'lightning bolt jolts you awake in the middle of the night and must write it down immediately' kind of idea.
I'm drawn to comics (sorry for the pun) because of the freedom of ideas it affords, and a simple browse on tapas displays the wealth of creative, inventive ideas you guys all come up with.

I normally find a broad topic i'm interested in (eg space, electricity, technology, Ai, witch-hunts etc) and try to figure out exactly what inspires me about it, for example I love the topic of space for the exploration aspects, the loneliness, and the 'unknown' , and then potentially combine it with something opposing and opposite to produce some weird combinations and mash-ups!

I was wondering if you guys have similar techniques, or if you have some cool methods of your own I could try!

[GamerPrincessXI]

I get my ideas from co-workers and my fiancee. Sometimes, ppl on the internet.

[alanphabetology]

Nice! I guess it's true inspiration can strike anywhere!

[GamerPrincessXI]

Yup. Sometimes I get my inspiration from the music, I listen too.

[jensrichard77]

I’m just...? IDK?
I just go with the flow and brainstorm. Then it just happens and I work with it and something is just there after the storm.

[Shanny8]

My ideas never hit me like a jolt- mine expand from concepts that I'm already thinking about and I'll be like "that sounds like a great idea- I'll put a pin in that,"

[Cavechan]

When I first started out at about 13-14, I think I was basically just copying stories I had already read. My first comic is basically Sailor Moon, my second was sorta like Card Captor Sakura. I slowly but surely started making content that was more original.

The idea for my first full length comic, True Power, came to me in a dream. I was flying around on a flashlight. When I woke up I thought that would be a good idea for a comic. I built the story around that.

For my newest comic, Celestial Chronicle Shion, I wanted to do a more serious, darker comic and I wanted to do something with the occult in it. When I thought of a setting for it, I thought that occult in space would be fun. And then since it was in space there would also need to be aliens so now I have two comics in a row that feature aliens!

I now have a third comic idea in my head, but it's just still a spark in my head. I haven't done anything for it since I already have two comics going on and need to focus on them.

[alanphabetology]

I can identify with this! Sometimes I let things brew a little then they seem to develop on their own until they feel formed enoughto start scribbling!

[skicoak]

A very special Magic 8 Ball, given to me by a gypsy princess, I saved her... a lot on her insurance by convincing her to switch to Progressive.

[alanphabetology]

That is an awesome story! You could almost make a comic out of the story of you making a comic! I certainly also seemed to almost 'copy' what I'd already seen, I guess when you are young it's so easy to get swept away with things that you are into!
I love the idea of occult in space though! And you can never have too many aliens of course

[Kura]

Life mostly, then combine that with hobbies I like enough to research into and the will to want to create something. I duno.

[Kittosaurus]

My brain just kind of vomits ideas at me - often at the worst times... for instance I'll be driving and one word in a song will send me into a chain of thoughts that will eventually end up as a plot point, but I couldn't tell you how I got there... or when I'm about to fall asleep - suddenly my brain is full of ideas!

[AllynCrowe]

Every single waking moment not spent actively focusing on something else I think about my stories. It's practically a constant stream of refining ideas, I don't even really know where they come from, it just sort of... is?

[thomassayle]

Everywhere! From tv,history,friends,other comics,things I see,dreams and everywhere else! Sometimes things just click into a story, other times I try and think about how I would do a story around a broad topic (like you mentioned) so "time travel" "magic" "space" etc

[Azifri]

Roughly half of my ideas come from daydreaming moments; for example, I look at something and my mind just invents a story around it. A quarter comes from throwing around ideas/bs with friends, and the rest comes from (this is odd) dreams. I actually keep a notebook next to my bed, so I can write down ideas quickly, before I forget the dream.

[A-weird-girler]

Some come from songs, some come from everyday life, some come from other works in the media, but mostly.....when im in the shower

[gh0stcr33p]

I just build on old ideas I've had, or sometimes ideas come to me in the shower. (don't ask me why, because I don't know)

[Penni]

a lot of my ideas come when I'm just starting to fall asleep. It's incredibly inconvenient but I keep a notebook next to my bed....and well pretty much with me at all times

To answer the question though, everywhere sometimes I'll just see something and think "what if it was like this?"

[MrSpuds]

Admittedly I don't have any work on tapas yet but I design from the top down starting with the core themes and points. Something I'm trying to induce in the audience based on what I think people will like. Or just what I want to see because I haven't yet, or haven't for awhile. Usually starts out pretty amorphous at first with just a logline and then gets more specific as I fill it all in. Most of the spontaneous ideas happen when it starts looking like an actual novel and not just bullet points. Things that'll fit or tie certain things together well or would "make sense" for the world I've created, etc.

[Maps]

I feel like I just get ideas in my head because I daydream so much. I've been publishing "Vows of the Sentinel" on Tapas and it's a story I've been writing for about 4 years. At first I just had the idea of the start of the plot line, and then I sort of figured out how their story might end, and in between ideas just come along as I write. Sometimes you just have to take an idea and begin working on it. It will develop as you go. I've literally had chapters that I'd planned out accordingly, and ended up with new chapters filled in because my own writing gave me new ideas. I've also had to research a lot for my story so that what I'm dealing with is accurate (I've got military themes and no military experience. But I've learned a lot about the army LOL).
I've also found it easy to work with dreams. If you ever have a dream where you think "That was really interesting, I wonder how it would have ended." you can start running with things like that. But usually my ideas start and are very unfinished until I begin writing, and my imagination begins to take over.
Or even conversations or things that happen in life. I've added things I've experienced to my own stories.
(I do reach writers block occasionally, but sometimes taking a few days away allows for you to regroup and feel ready to dive back in again).
And as mentioned above, I get influenced by music. I literally have songs that I feel relate to my story and lyrics within those have brought out new thoughts.