Introduction
Hello and welcome to digital hoarders self-help group!
Do you ever find yourself hoarding digital content such as images, quotes, and story ideas? Do you have trouble keeping track of all the things you save online? In this article, we will introduce you to 4 great tools that will help you manage your digital hoard and how you can use them in new ways to make your creativity flow.
Table of Contents
Introduction PinterestWebMobileNotion Twitter to Notion Google Photos >> iCloudPureRefConclusion Resources
Pinterest is more than just a place to find cool reference pictures of the same 3/4 facing girl in sunlight… I highly recommend the Pinterest browser extension and the Pinterest mobile app to save your inspiration from around the internet (namely Twitter and Instagram) into neat little packages.
Web
I recommend changing the default setting on the Pinterest browser extension under Pinterest Save Button > … > This Can Read and Change Site Data > When You Click on the Extension ONLY. So that the buttons (and Pinterest) only access your image data when you need it to. It will look like the below image…
Mobile
If you are on mobile and find an image you like, tap the share icon and share the image with Pinterest. A screen just like the one you see above will appear on your mobile device and Pinterest will not only save your image but also save the original link that you found the image for you to come back and browse later.
Notion
Notion can:
- Store your ideas
- Organize your links
- Make copies of articles
I highly, highly recommend writing down your ideas, including your OC’s illustration ideas, comic shorts, MV’s, etc. Your mind is good for creating ideas, not for storing them. Give your creative engine more room to breath inside your mind by frequently brain dumping your ideas into words for later reference. Here’s a quote that I think summarizes the idea well:
Holding on to thoughts is like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands: They easily slip from your grasp and disappear back into the muddy depths of your mind. Writing things down allows us to capture our thoughts and examine them in the light of day. By externalizing our thoughts, we begin to declutter our minds. — Ryder Caroll
Here’s my free Notion template for storing your ideas.
Twitter to Notion
This is a bit more of a niche one…
Save twitter threads to Notion for easy reference so you don’t have to dig through your rabbit hole of liked/bookmarked tweets or saved links.
Google Photos >> iCloud
Why Google Photos is better for storing your reference photos than other cloud storage apps (ex. iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc…)
The main benefit of Google Photos is that the search is amazing. They use machine learning to categorize all of your photos so that you can later search them. For example, without any work I can find all my selfies by just searching for the word me. And I often pull up pictures of my dogs by searching for dog. I have even had someone pull up photos of a specific handcrafted greenland kayak paddle.
Not to mention, when you bulk upload art images that are sitting in your downloads or in your camera roll, Google photos will automatically arrange them by color and size for a pleasing look.
This is my Google Photos inspiration photo dump from my camera roll I made in 2019…
PureRef
For when you actually need to grab some images and throw them into an inspiration board, PureRef allows an artist to gather imagery from either existing work or online resources. This means that users can easily drag in imagery from the web as well as their own work or references from previous projects. PureRef works by allowing an artist to reveal a crop of a PureRef workspace.
Conclusion
First, we will discuss how Pinterest is more than just a place to find cool reference pictures. Next, we will explore how Notion can help you organize your thoughts, ideas, and stories. Finally, we will explain why Google Photos is the best cloud storage app for storing reference photos. Lastly, we will introduce you to PureRef, an excellent tool that allows you to gather imagery from different sources and create inspiration boards. So, let's dive into the world of digital hoarding and discover how these tools can make your life easier!