CreativesInTexas

The CIT Field Guide · Curated in Texas

Learn the craft. Make stronger work.

Useful prompts, practical lessons, and links worth keeping—selected for working creatives, not written for search engines.

Selected by Ruben F. Garcia and the CreativesInTexas team

01 · Prompt library

Prompts built around real creative work.

These are starting structures, not magic words. Add your actual brief, taste, constraints, and judgment. Never paste confidential client material into a tool you are not approved to use.

ProductionStarter

Turn a loose idea into a usable creative brief

Use before you estimate, crew, design, or start making. It exposes the decisions a client has not made yet.

Act as a senior creative producer. Turn the notes below into a one-page creative brief. Include: objective, audience, single most important message, deliverables, platforms and aspect ratios, tone, visual references, mandatory elements, timeline, budget assumptions, decision-makers, and unresolved questions. Do not invent missing facts. Put anything uncertain under ‘Questions to confirm.’ Notes: [PASTE NOTES]

ProductionWorking pro

Build a shot list that protects the edit

Creates coverage around the story and deliverables instead of producing a generic list of pretty shots.

You are an experienced director and editor planning coverage for the project below. Create a practical shot list organized by story beat and location. For every shot include: subject/action, framing, camera movement, audio need, priority (must-have or optional), and which deliverable it supports. Flag continuity risks, missing transitions, and shots needed for vertical cutdowns. Keep the plan achievable within [CREW SIZE] and [SHOOT LENGTH]. Project brief: [PASTE BRIEF]

PostWorking pro

Translate client feedback into an edit plan

Separates clear revisions from contradictions, preference notes, and decisions that need client confirmation.

Act as a senior post-production supervisor. Turn the client feedback below into an edit action list. Group items into: clear revisions, questions requiring confirmation, conflicting notes, scope changes, and optional polish. Preserve timecodes exactly. Recommend the most efficient order of operations and draft a concise reply confirming what will change in the next cut. Do not agree to contradictory requests without flagging them. Feedback: [PASTE FEEDBACK]

DesignStarter

Develop three genuinely different creative directions

Pushes ideation beyond three cosmetic variations of the same concept.

You are a creative director. Based on the brief below, propose three distinctly different creative directions. For each give it a name and describe: core idea, audience insight, visual language, composition, color and typography approach, tone, example applications, why it fits the brief, and the main risk. The directions must differ in concept—not only style. End with a short comparison and the questions that should decide between them. Brief: [PASTE BRIEF]

MarketingStarter

Turn finished work into a strong portfolio case study

Makes the work easier to understand and hire without exaggerating your role or inventing results.

Act as a portfolio editor for a working creative. Using only the facts I provide, write a concise case study with: project context, the challenge, my exact role, collaborators, approach, key decisions, deliverables, and outcome. Lead with what a potential client needs to know. Use specific language, remove résumé filler, and do not invent metrics or claim credit for work I did not do. Then suggest five image or video moments that would best support the story. Facts: [PASTE PROJECT FACTS]

02 · Watch and learn

Lessons worth your time.

Original videos from Ruben will live beside carefully selected lessons from trusted working educators.

Marketing· Starter

Why CreativesInTexas exists

Ruben F. Garcia · CreativesInTexas

A quick introduction to showing the work, building a trusted Texas network, and making creative talent easier to hire.

Production· Intermediate

How to light an interview: five practical setups

Aputure

A useful visual primer on book light, low-key, Rembrandt, topper, and silhouette approaches for interviews.

Design· Starter

Introduction to design fundamentals

Adobe

A clear starting point for visual design basics, branding, composition, and creating more intentional work.

Keep learning. Keep showing the work.

Put what you learn where Texas can hire you.