Hi all,

We all learn from others don't we - our whole lives. If you wanted to learn how to put a flat pack table together you could conceivably eschew teh instructions and teach yourself without any reference to the knowledge or experiences of others, but you'd be putting yourself at a massive disadvantage. So I don't think it's wrong to use the ideas of others. You can't avoid it in fact. Indeed when I come to think about it, most of what I know has come from other people in one way or another. Of course I've taken their methods and made them my own. I've applied them to fresh situations and blended them with yet more techniques and inspirations. Perhaps somewhere along the line something original is created. But I'd be just as happy with something meaningful or beautiful or perhaps just plain useful.

So, what i'm trying to say in an extremely long winded way is that you'll learn a great deal from looking at the work of others. Things that on your own you may never perceive. After all, how many times have you opened up your copy of AP to gaze upon some awesome image and wanted nothing more than to be able to create work of that standard? Envy and immitation in this sense can be the fuel for massive positive change.

Scott