Finding your design "voice"

Whenever I baked a cake as a donation, I had a general theme but no specific details.  I came up with ideas that were then worked out on the cakes.  For example,  a baby shower cake?  made a teddy bear wearing a diaper. Built it as a buttercream bas-relief from a pencil outline, kept adding layers until it looked right.

In your case, making dummies for your business is how you find your design sense. If you don't mind the look of your own scribbles, start there with blank paper and some pencils.

Then take a dummy and a couple bags of icing and start piping.  Or some fondant and start rolling and cutting. No imported patterns or pictures on the table allowed--just what comes out of your own head for a given theme.

Edit this work with a scalpel at your leisure until you find yourself saying OK that's it.  Take pictures.  Make another one next week or next month.  Pick seasonal holidays and see what your hands come up with.

I had no training whatsoever from art teachers, I had looked at many pictures of cakes.  When it came to design, I had to have a clear blank slate and a general theme.

What do you enjoy doing smooth fondant, 3D, theme..

What do you like working with Buttercream, fondant ,royal, etc.. My main is Cheesecakes I only dabble in cake with flours.I have been getting more into it but I love doing something fun... That might change down the road for me but I do not have a classy hand yet only when it comes to cheesecakes...I am like you I am still trying to find my niche when it comes to cake deco

I think you need to find what you excel at and incorporate that into your designs, whether it be realistic sugar flowers, or detailed piped designs, bas relief. Funky modern geometrics. 

For me I take inspiration from everywhere , but usually my use of colour and my flowerwork makes my cakes recognisable as mine.  

It takes a while to find your voice as it may be , don't force or rush it let it evolve . 

i could not recommend margaret braun's book Cakewalk more highly

she gives you a peak into how she creates--it's amazing/stunning

also

in the book The Artist's Way by julia cameron, a spiritual path to higher creativity

she says that we should 'write' three pages of anything every morning

just get a notebook and pen and write three pages

and when you do this for a while you can see how it like clears cobwebs and srsly primes the pump

for endeavors in any field

gets things rolling--the book is invaluable/incredible i highly recommend it also

Quote:

Originally Posted by -K8memphis 

 

 

in the book The Artist's Way by julia cameron, a spiritual path to higher creativity

 

she says that we should 'write' three pages of anything every morning

 

just get a notebook and pen and write three pages

 

and when you do this for a while you can see how it like clears cobwebs and srsly primes the pump

 

for endeavors in any field

 

gets things rolling--the book is invaluable/incredible i highly recommend it also

If I did this I would never have enough time for caking 

i'll be the first to admit i had a hard time getting a full three pages out

and she lived out in the dessert or something remote

hey~~

get a small notebook!

yeah i mean maybe not on thurs fri & sat mornings when you're slammed but it doesn't take long

and it's an amazing thing that does increase your awarness of where your particular natural resources are

kind of helps you network/map over to where you can mine the gold srsly

it's a discipline that does yield nice results --for me anyhow

there's all kinds of stuff in this book-- "it's a course in discovering and recovering your creative self" 

it works and she's got other titles too

oh dear--she calls them 'morning pages' she says they are non-negotiable

oh it's all coming back to me

i think she busts you for using a small notebook

i don't wanna look again 'cause i'm getting convicted but

while i was perusing i saw she said that this helps get rid of the 'negative voice',

 the dummy self, the unproductive self-talk, the nanny voice--we all have it

the morning pages are instrumental in getting to your creative self she says

great stuff!

K8 what  a crack-up , Thank you for giving me a giggle. ( I am sitting in the middle of a cyclone at the moment watching to see if we will get flooded)

My problem is never getting the creative juices flowing , it is stopping them . I have to listen to that inner voice that says "step away from the cake "

oh man, chelle, if it's not one thing it's the dang weather! hope all stays nicely watered but no floods!!!

take care

Should be fine , high tide was about an hour ago and the rain miraculously let up for a while so I am hoping that the threat has passed for the moment, it is too damp to make flowers though and that is what I would like to be doing.  

I am really regretting throwing out my bread maker too , although I have pumpkin that needs using and I might make some pumpkin scones . 

whew~~~

baking is the best therapy

well a close second to eating anyhow

Ella , I find once I find inspiration, Style follows.