sure, be inspired by what you see - but the most rewarding work I have done has come from an initial inspiration developing into experimentation, which has often led to results that I couldn't have predicted but were better than I could have imagined.
Other times I'll have an idea of some crazy style and in the process of trying to get there I'll again be surprised and come up with all kinds of new ideas. I keep these experiments and use them to give my clients examples of what I'd like to do for them.
In short, AE has so many features and unlimited combinations of effects that you could spend a lifetime just playing around and coming up with new ways of using what already exists. So, my ADVICE, and it was only advice nothing more, was to play around and I’d like to encourage people to be innovators rather than imitators. It's only my advice. I'd personally rather be original.
Apologetically,
John