Fan Expression Frustration

[Caveat Lector]

Have you ever had an experience where you fall in love with a particular work of fiction to the point where you want to contribute to the fandom through your particular area of talent or interest (fanfiction, fanart, maybe the occasional fanmade game, etc.) but then felt frustrated because you couldn't quite come up with the right "idea" or "image"? How do you deal with that?

[Biomass]

Doodle. Start small.

The "right" idea will practically never come, and when it does, you won't have the time/money/skills to make it happen. This is not an insult to you personally, I am merely pointing out that if you won't settle for just any old idea, then the ideas you do consider good enough will obvious require some quality workmanship.

Better to do something at all than be paralyzed by indecision. Occasionally you'll get lucky and inspiration will strike while you are already working.

[Kari-Chan]

Take what you love from the work and put it into one thing, for example,get your favourite character and draw a picture of them. You could associate the character's personality with the drawing, for example I have a girl who acts really girly and cute. I would draw a picture of her posing in a cute dress or something like that. Or you could take your favourite part from the series and recreate it or something.
Hopefully that made sense :3

[Ferdokki]

Start with a simple image/character.

1. Doodle it.
2. Roughly sketch it. And when I say "roughly", I mean really roughly. Use this rough sketch to add on details. For me, I also write little notes next to certain parts, such as "make eyes wider" or "make fingers more realistic" (I suck at drawing fingers). Don't be afraid to critique your own work.
3. Draw the image. This time, since you've gotten a mindset of what the picture needs to look like as well as pointers and criticism, your image will be a LOT better than your original drawing.

Just take it slow (unless you have a veryclose deadline). If you get frustrated when drawing the image, roughly sketch what you want to draw and then refine it. Don't be afraid to use your eraser.

Now, as for coming up with the right "ideas", I'd say review the work of fiction again. Pay attention to the details, the style, and take note of what kind of stuff it avoids. For example, if I'm writing a fan-fic about...(trying to think of some series that most people know)..."Harry Potter", I would notice that the writing is EXTREMELY detailed. So, when writing my fan-fic (I'd never write a fan-fic over Harry Potter), I'd make my writing style similar to the original. I'd include tons of details. I'd try to develop characters the way the author/creator does it.

When you're doing fan-made things, you gotta pay attention to the style. It helps create an outline/guideline for what your fanmade thing should be like.

[SimonLayton]

Bring your favorite fandom/character to your area of interest, to your intrigue. You like drama? Draw something that will give the fandom-goers THE FEELS, or write a tragedy about your character that will give the readers THE FEELS. You like comedy and horror? Smack those two genres together, and play around. You like Harry Potter, but you also like sci-fi? Space AU, because why the heck not! Like another series? Do a crossover because you think it'll be WOW!

This is fandom; the number one rule of fandom is to have fun! (And no fighting, but that's another matter.) Let yourself go. Express what you love in a different way, in the way you see it, and don't worry, no one will hold you back.

I write fanfiction for a long time now (and probably for the rest of my life OTL), and I've toyed with simple ideas. When I think it's not enough, I merge some ideas together, and let it chill in the cellar/fridge for a while before I decide to cook and serve it. There is no "right" idea or image. There is only a "good idea", and it will come to you, eventually.