This topic was covered extensively in my first semester of college. It is a very important skill, and one that, in my experience, does not get talked about enough.
Now, the best way to start is with a very broad topic (ex. The Ancient World). In my experience, if the first thing in your mind is extremely narrow (ex. Zeus) your project is likely to be less creative and perhaps more expected. My method is not the only one, but it is the best way that works for me.
Step One
Google your broad topic. Look at the images that pop up and the articles. If your topic is historical, scientific, ect. you might want to use Google Scholar to find online articles that are more relevant to your topic. You also may want to search for books in your local library or if you belong to an organization (high school, college, ect.) that subscribes to online databases, use those too!
Collect the pictures and blurbs from what you read that are interesting or inspiring. You could use a notebook, a binder, a powerpoint, or even a Pinterest board (remember these can be made secret if you don't want people to know what you're working on) for this. Whatever you choose, make sure to collect all your research in the same place.
After doing preliminary research, you should have a few vague ideas in your head. Write them down! Keep them in the same place you're keeping your research. Even if you choose to only follow one idea, these can serve as inspiration for later projects.
Step Two
The next step is to put your ideas on paper and narrow down on what you want to do. What does this mean? Sketch! I prefer paper because I seldom use digital as a medium (something I am trying to change this year) but if you prefer to use a digital medium for your sketches, go for it!
Ask yourself, "What am I most excited about creating?", "Is my idea plausible?", "How would I implement this?", "What medium will best convey my idea?", "Can I reasonably obtain this medium?", "Do I have enough time to create my piece?"
After asking yourself these questions, you should have some idea of what idea(s) you really want to do and what idea(s) that are plausible to do. If these two categories line up, you're golden! If not, you may want to reevaluate how you want to execute your project. Maybe do a few more sketches or consider another medium.
Step Three
This is another research step. Now that you have a specific idea in mind, find artist who explore the same topic or whose style you may want to incorporate into your piece. If you feel you need more textual research, feel free to find more.
It's time to create your piece (or more likely, a draft). Draw, paint, sculpt however you want to create your piece.
This was a piece that I created for a class based off the prompt Wilderness/Wild. I followed my original plan, do it in pastels and on smallish paper (10x12). However by the end, I didn't like the final product. It looked overworked and didn't have the style that I was aiming for.
This leads us to the final and optional step.
Step Four (Optional)
If you've created a piece you're happy with, congrats! You don't need to do this step. However if you were like me and was disappointed with what you created this step is for you. Reworking a piece. Step away from it for an hour, a day, maybe even a week, however long it takes for you to look at it with fresh eyes.
When you can look at your piece like someone else did it, you're ready to assess what went wrong. If you think it looks boring, maybe it could be that the composition is off or perhaps you used a very familiar size of paper. If it looks overworked, maybe you used the wrong medium to create the effect you wanted.
In my revision of Wilderness/Wild, instead of pastels I used oil paint and (gessoed) 18x20 sized bristol board. I did use pastels in the background to give it more atmospheric perspective. It gave me more of the illustration/ Brother's Grimm fairytale book look.
For this project, I only had to do one revision to obtain my desired effect. You may have to do even more. However, during this process, you are strengthening your skills and also creating different pieces with different strengths. In the end, you'll be able to see your progress and a cool collection of artwork.
