Javier Pérez sees things differently. His creative mind is full of the imagination that many adults tucked in a drawer a long time ago. And he likes to play.

Pérez works as a graphic designer and audiovisual producer in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

But for his own amusement, each week he collects ideas, does sketches, and selects his best. Every Saturday, he works up 3 or 5 images that he then publishes over the next week.

Adult play and adult discipline. That’s a good process for creative success. As Pérez says:

Why? Just Because It’s Fun

When Pérez looks in a drawer, it’s not to find his imagination. Instead he pulls out everyday objects—pliers, screws, old scissors—and he turns them into art.

The combination of 3D objects and simple lines is a pleasing graphic effect, but it’s the inventiveness of the idea that puts the smile on your face. How clever to see bow legs and overalls in a pair of pliers!

Or a dancer’s legs in the blades of scissors. All she needs are slippers—some simple lines do the trick.

Pérez says he most often starts with the object. He must first see it differently, not for what it is but for what it can be. Then, in about 30 minutes, he adds the illustration—and that’s the fun of it!

“I began to create these drawings because they were fun to do. When I had barely 1000 followers on Instagram, I don’t think any of us understood the potential of this technique. But I started seeing their appeal once they were published on Buzzfeed.”

Hungry for Simplicity

The popular appeal of the drawings derives from their simplicity, not only the clean, minimal lines but their reliance on the objects of everyday life.

Anyone Can Play

Pérez started drawing as a boy and never quit, but for many adults the responsibilities of life have stifled imagination. Creative play is a way for adults to recapture it.

The play can take many forms—drawing, cooking, journaling, storytelling, imagining new worlds in video games, music-making, and more. In fact, you can get started right now with this Imagination app from Paul Neave, a web designer in London.

Pérez sees value in the creative process, and he believes that everyone is creative:

“It’s important to create everyday so the mind stays active. With creativity, we can solve problems—easy and hard—in our daily lives.”

Dr. Ben Michaelis, a psychologist writing in the Huffington Post, affirms the importance of imaginative play. His thesis? Play is the four-letter word that will change your life.

To kickstart your adult imagination, the essential ingredient in creative play, follow these words of wisdom from Pérez:

“My advice is that you take in a lot of art, movies, anything that opens up your mind to infinite possibilities.”

Just taking in these charming illustrations from the creative mind of Javier Pérez is a good place to start. Surely, they inspire people to see things differently. Over and over, they made me smile and say, “Oh, I see.” What about you?

Keep up-to-date with Pérez’ latest work at Instagram. Pérez set a personal challenge to create something every day in 2013. See the results at 364 Ideas on Tumbler.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

$\"Open$

Presto! And it’s the spiral smile of a crocodile (in profile)!
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n

A Simple Matter of Imagination<\/h2>\n
Javier P\u00e9rez<\/a>\u00a0sees things differently. His creative mind is full of the imagination that many adults tucked in a drawer a long time ago. And he likes to play.<\/p>\n
$\"Photo$
Javier P\u00e9rez says,
“I just want to create.”
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
P\u00e9rez\u00a0works as a graphic designer and audiovisual producer in Guayaquil, Ecuador.<\/p>\n
But for his own amusement, each week he collects ideas, does sketches, and selects his best. Every Saturday, he works up 3 or 5 images that he then publishes over the next week.<\/p>\n
Adult play and adult discipline. That’s a good process for creative success. \u00a0As P\u00e9rez says:<\/p>\n
“Create every day. No matter your skills.”<\/em><\/p>\n
Why? Just Because It’s Fun<\/h4>\n
When P\u00e9rez\u00a0looks in a drawer, it’s not to find his imagination. Instead he pulls out everyday objects—pliers, screws, old scissors—and he turns them into art.<\/p>\n
$\"Two$
A couple of cowboys click their spurs.
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
The combination of 3D objects and simple lines is a pleasing graphic effect, but it’s the inventiveness of the idea that puts the smile on your face. How clever to see bow legs and overalls in a pair of pliers!<\/p>\n
Or a dancer’s legs in the blades of scissors. All she needs are slippers—some simple lines do the trick.<\/p>\n
$\"Open$
Two legs ready to cut loose in dance
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
P\u00e9rez says he most often starts with the object. He must first see it differently, not for what it is but for what it can be. Then, in about 30 minutes, he adds the illustration—and\u00a0that’s the fun of it!<\/p>\n
$\"Drawing$
P\u00e9rez imagined a porcupine. What could you make
with a scatter of screws?
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
P\u00e9rez has fun, and he describes where that can lead:<\/p>\n
“I began to create these drawings because they were fun to do. When I had barely 1000 followers on Instagram, I don’t think any of us understood the potential of this technique. But I started seeing their appeal once they were published on Buzzfeed.”<\/em><\/p>\n
Hungry for Simplicity<\/h4>\n
The popular appeal of the drawings derives from their simplicity, not only the clean, minimal lines but their reliance on the objects of everyday life.<\/p>\n
$\"Drawings$
The brilliant simplicity of P\u00e9rez’ illustrations is a treat for the eyes and music to the ears.
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
Sometimes, just the hint of a line adds the charm.<\/p>\n
$\"Drawings$
There’s more than one way to play with Scrabble tiles.
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
And when P\u00e9rez\u00a0plays with food, he gets especially creative.<\/p>\n
$\"Drawing$
Burgers come alive with a ketchup transfusion.
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
$\"Drawing$
Can you find Ecuador, the sweet spot where Javier P\u00e9rez lives, on this globe?
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
Anyone Can Play<\/span><\/h4>\n
P\u00e9rez started drawing as a boy and never quit, but for many adults the responsibilities of life have stifled imagination. Creative play is a way for adults to recapture it.<\/p>\n
The play can take many forms—drawing, cooking, journaling, storytelling, imagining new worlds in video games, music-making, and more. In fact, you can get started right now with\u00a0this\u00a0Imagination<\/a>\u00a0app from\u00a0\u00a0 Paul Neave<\/a>, a web designer in London.<\/p>\n
P\u00e9rez\u00a0sees value in the creative process, and he believes that everyone is creative:<\/p>\n
“It’s important to create everyday so the mind stays active. With creativity, we can solve problems—easy and hard—in our daily lives.”<\/em><\/p>\n
$\"Drawing$
Creativity paints imaginative solutions.
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
Dr. Ben Michaelis, a psychologist writing in the\u00a0Huffington Post<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>affirms the importance of imaginative play.\u00a0His thesis?\u00a0Play<\/em>\u00a0is the four-letter word that will change your life.<\/p>\n
To kickstart your adult imagination, the essential ingredient in creative play, follow these words of wisdom from P\u00e9rez:<\/p>\n
“My advice is that you take in a lot of art, movies, anything that opens up your mind to infinite possibilities.”<\/em><\/p>\n
Just taking in these charming illustrations from the creative mind of Javier\u00a0P\u00e9rez is a good place to start. Surely, they inspire people to see things differently. Over and over, they made me smile and say,\u00a0“Oh, I see.”\u00a0<\/strong>What about you?<\/p>\n
$\"Drawing$
What was P\u00e9rez imagining here?
How long did it take you to say OIC?
\u00a9 Javier P\u00e9rez<\/p><\/div>\n
Keep up-to-date with\u00a0P\u00e9rez’ latest work at Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0P\u00e9rez set a personal challenge to create something every day in 2013. See the results at 364 Ideas <\/a>on Tumbler.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0Comment<\/a><\/i>\u00a0<\/em>on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ideas-creative","category-art-creative"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}