Steal Like an Artist summary

Steal Like an Artist

Austin Kleon

Good value given

Nothing is completely original. Good work remixes what came before, so collect influences on purpose.
Copy your heroes to learn, and steal the thinking behind their style. Copy one person and it's plagiarism; copy many and it's research.
Don't wait until you know who you are to start making things. You figure that out by making them.
Write the book you want to read: make the thing you wish existed.
Do good work and share it. Keep side projects, use your hands, and be boring in your routine so you have energy left for the work.

What does nobody tell you about being creative?

Every creator steals. Collect what you love, copy many people until your own style shows up, make the thing you wish existed, and share it.

Worth reading?Good value given. A short, visual pep talk for anyone who feels nothing they make is original. You can read it in an hour, and it's as useful for a YouTube channel or a side project as for painting.

ActionableWhat readers say

Actionable

Start a swipe file today: a folder for anything you see that you wish you'd made.
Pick one hero and trace who influenced them, then study one of those people.
Post one small piece of work-in-progress this week.

What readers say

Beginners say it took the pressure off having to invent something new, and one beginner creator's review used 'write the book you want to read' to start a project.
A common complaint: it's thin, and a few readers felt it could have been a blog post.
Per one sketchnoting blogger, the 'connect the dots' chapter clashes with focus books like The One Thing, and both can be right at different stages of life.
Many readers say it's the kind of book you keep on the desk and flip open when you feel stuck.

Quick answer

Our summary of Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, in our own words.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

Open 125x

Who it's for

Beginners in any creative work, people stuck waiting for a perfectly original idea, and anyone who wants permission to start.

Tips from readers, plus one of ours

Keep a folder of kind messages. one sketchnoting blogger keeps every nice email in a special folder for days when a bad comment gets to her, which comes straight from the book.
Let yourself get bored. The same blogger gets her best ideas staring out a tram window.
Carry a notebook. Readers copy favorite lines, overheard bits of conversation and ideas into it, then raid it when they sit down to make something.
Agree or disagree: one reader rated it 6 out of 10 and said it's too light for anyone who wants depth. We partly agree. It's a starter book, and that's the point. Pair it with doing the work the same day you read it.
Our unusual tip: make a swipe file of YouTube moments. When a video's opening, edit or explanation makes you think 'I wish I'd done that', save the timestamp and one line about why. Ten of those tell you more about your own taste than any style guide, and a 125x summary helps you find which videos are worth opening for the craft.

About this summary

This summary follows the same shape as a 125x summary: a verdict, 5 takeaways, and an Actionable section. 125x is a web app that does this for the latest videos from the YouTube channels you follow, with a verdict, 5 takeaways, the spoiler, and Actionable and Lessons tabs. The spoiler is the answer to the title, the same thing 125x gives you for clickbait video titles. More in book summaries.

FAQ: questions people ask

What is Steal Like an Artist about?

Nothing is completely original. Good work remixes what came before, so collect influences on purpose.

Copy your heroes to learn, and steal the thinking behind their style. Copy one person and it's plagiarism; copy many and it's research.

Is Steal Like an Artist worth reading?

Our verdict is good value given. A short, visual pep talk for anyone who feels nothing they make is original. You can read it in an hour, and it's as useful for a YouTube channel or a side project as for painting.

Who should read Steal Like an Artist?

Beginners in any creative work, people stuck waiting for a perfectly original idea, and anyone who wants permission to start.

What's the main idea of Steal Like an Artist?

Every creator steals. Collect what you love, copy many people until your own style shows up, make the thing you wish existed, and share it.

Open 125x

125x is a web app at 125x.app that turns your YouTube subscriptions into a feed with a summary on every video, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips, so you can see what's worth opening before you spend the time.

125x is made by Blake Labs Inc. 125x is not made by YouTube or Google.

Steal Like an Artist summary