I can't count the number of times I've seen something I liked and thought "I would love to do something like that but I don't want to copy their idea." Or "It's been done already."
Well... so what?? You don't know how the project started, you're only seeing the end result. They might have started by being inspired with something they saw, and only over time did it evolve into its own thing.
If you see something you like, make something like it. Not for money, obviously, but as an exercise. Accept that it will be inspired-by, or a knockoff, or a copy. That's fine. But then keep working on it, because even if it starts as a knockoff it will end up as something else. As long as you keep working on it, letting it evolve from your experiences.
Some people take it farther, copying works directly as an exercise. Hunter S. Thompson hand-typed Hemingway. An animator friend of mine hand-copied frames of The Lion King. There's something to be said for muscle memory.
I'm starting this blog because I like what my coworker Mike is doing with his blog. He writes a brief post every day, and they're great. His blog is full of gems, so go read it! I'm excited to take this idea and see how it becomes something different in my hands.
