Though it always disappoints me when these inspirational videos are just about sports. There should be artists and scientists and doctors in this. Being great at anything requires the same traits this video talks about, not just sports.
O yeah, that's true, but I guess it is how it is because most of people want to be a sportsman :]
Martial arts is about practice and repetition to build strength and muscle memory.
Art is about focusing, being creative, enjoying the process, working quickly, and learning how to collaborate with others efficiently.
Comparing "trying hard" for a sports guy and "trying hard" for an artist doesn't even feel relevant. If I try hard at lifting weights I don't even need to think. I just work as hard as I can. As an artist that's not an option. I can't just hold the pen harder and squeeze out better art. I have to study. I have to think. I have to imagine.
Comparing "trying hard" for a sports guy and "trying hard" for an artist doesn't even feel relevant. If I try hard at lifting weights I don't even need to think. I just work as hard as I can. As an artist that's not an option. I can't just hold the pen harder and squeeze out better art. I have to study. I have to think. I have to imagine.
But it goes back to what most people have been advising on this thread. Dedication. You may not be getting up at 4:30 in the am, but you still have a time that you've set aside for work and practice and it's not all dreaming up fantastic places and things. Sometimes it's the dull grind of learning and honing a skill: doing 50 thumbnail sketches, a speed painting every day before work, not going to the bar in favor of UV mapping, or hammering out some weird glitch in your lighting till 3 am and you just want to scrap the whole thing.
Most of these videos are just saying "Dedication pays off and always keep striving, no matter what. Don't get discouraged and don't get distracted, cus your goal is worth it. Understand that greatness only comes from dedication and time."
Trying hard doesn't mean squeezing the pencil, its about committing to your goal. It means studying. It means imagining something new when rehashing something old and popular would be so much easier. It means not settling for good enough and trying again when a project fails.
Sure there's a "winnah", but we're the ones handing out our own medals, holding the stopwatch. We set up our own finish lines, but that doesn't make them less valid or easier. In fact, it makes it even harder not to quit when there's zero outside force to propel you. No screaming crowd or cheerleaders, no consequence except the knowledge that you were capable of more, but didn't do it.
So I say, we need these videos about getting up early, about doing one more push up, about not taking it easy, and not accepting "good enough". Cus we don't get the cheers and it's a lot harder to find validation from without as an artist, and these videos are all about getting that from yourself. Whether it's for boxing, or dancing, or painting, or anything. Dedication is dedication.
Art may not be sports, but it's all the same. One more rep? One more gesture drawing. One more animation. One more prop. 20 more minutes. Whatever it is you do. Go out drinking, or get your daily workout in? Or, you your daily practice.
Everything in those videos you can spin into work hard at what you want to be good at, and you can be great. But you have to put in the work to get there. As Keir said, dedication is dedication.
Art may not be sports, but it's all the same. One more rep? One more gesture drawing. One more animation. One more prop. 20 more minutes. Whatever it is you do. Go out drinking, or get your daily workout in? Or, you your daily practice.
I actually kind of disagree with that to an extent. While I do agree that daily practice *is* necessary, I also think that brute-forcing it doesn't really help. That one last figure drawing will not help much if there is no paradigm shift in its approach compared to the previous ones ...
That's also why I don't see much value in "speedpaints" created from random chaos. Finding unexpected shapes and reacting to happy accident is fun, but it doesn't help one bit at becoming a better designer (and as a matter of fact, the requisite for doing successful paintings from random strokes is to be a good designer to begin with ...)
But then again, I don't really get motivated by motivational sports videos even when they are applied to sports. Just the feeling of working out, in itself, is a good enough motivator - no need to listen to Arnie trying to say deep things. However I could listen to JCVD all day ...
That's also why I don't see much value in "speedpaints" created from random chaos. Finding unexpected shapes and reacting to happy accident is fun, but it doesn't help one bit at becoming a better designer (and as a matter of fact, the requisite for doing successful paintings from random strokes is to be a good designer to begin with ...)
I think you're defining speed painting differently that I am. I've never heard anyone speed paint by making random strokes; in my experience speed painting is quickly jotting down an image in limited time. They're rough, focusing on the over all feel rather than the details. http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/2013/07/the-4-virtues-of-speed-painting/
I'm not sure what pictures from random strokes would be called. I've done it for fun, but I've never heard a word for it.
And that one last figure drawing could be the one that prompts a shift. I don't know about you, but I never know when the next picture will bring something new to the party. I've been just plodding along with my figure drawing, when suddenly I liked an angle or a stroke or thought, "I wonder what this would look like if I used highlighters." Every piece brings you one step closer to an improvement.
Replies
O yeah, that's true, but I guess it is how it is because most of people want to be a sportsman :]
http://www.gamedev.net/topic/557522-i-want-to-be-a-game-composer/#entry4581665
Martial arts is about practice and repetition to build strength and muscle memory.
Art is about focusing, being creative, enjoying the process, working quickly, and learning how to collaborate with others efficiently.
Comparing "trying hard" for a sports guy and "trying hard" for an artist doesn't even feel relevant. If I try hard at lifting weights I don't even need to think. I just work as hard as I can. As an artist that's not an option. I can't just hold the pen harder and squeeze out better art. I have to study. I have to think. I have to imagine.
But it goes back to what most people have been advising on this thread. Dedication. You may not be getting up at 4:30 in the am, but you still have a time that you've set aside for work and practice and it's not all dreaming up fantastic places and things. Sometimes it's the dull grind of learning and honing a skill: doing 50 thumbnail sketches, a speed painting every day before work, not going to the bar in favor of UV mapping, or hammering out some weird glitch in your lighting till 3 am and you just want to scrap the whole thing.
Most of these videos are just saying "Dedication pays off and always keep striving, no matter what. Don't get discouraged and don't get distracted, cus your goal is worth it. Understand that greatness only comes from dedication and time."
Trying hard doesn't mean squeezing the pencil, its about committing to your goal. It means studying. It means imagining something new when rehashing something old and popular would be so much easier. It means not settling for good enough and trying again when a project fails.
Sure there's a "winnah", but we're the ones handing out our own medals, holding the stopwatch. We set up our own finish lines, but that doesn't make them less valid or easier. In fact, it makes it even harder not to quit when there's zero outside force to propel you. No screaming crowd or cheerleaders, no consequence except the knowledge that you were capable of more, but didn't do it.
So I say, we need these videos about getting up early, about doing one more push up, about not taking it easy, and not accepting "good enough". Cus we don't get the cheers and it's a lot harder to find validation from without as an artist, and these videos are all about getting that from yourself. Whether it's for boxing, or dancing, or painting, or anything. Dedication is dedication.
Everything in those videos you can spin into work hard at what you want to be good at, and you can be great. But you have to put in the work to get there. As Keir said, dedication is dedication.
I actually kind of disagree with that to an extent. While I do agree that daily practice *is* necessary, I also think that brute-forcing it doesn't really help. That one last figure drawing will not help much if there is no paradigm shift in its approach compared to the previous ones ...
That's also why I don't see much value in "speedpaints" created from random chaos. Finding unexpected shapes and reacting to happy accident is fun, but it doesn't help one bit at becoming a better designer (and as a matter of fact, the requisite for doing successful paintings from random strokes is to be a good designer to begin with ...)
But then again, I don't really get motivated by motivational sports videos even when they are applied to sports. Just the feeling of working out, in itself, is a good enough motivator - no need to listen to Arnie trying to say deep things. However I could listen to JCVD all day ...
I think you're defining speed painting differently that I am. I've never heard anyone speed paint by making random strokes; in my experience speed painting is quickly jotting down an image in limited time. They're rough, focusing on the over all feel rather than the details. http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/2013/07/the-4-virtues-of-speed-painting/
I'm not sure what pictures from random strokes would be called. I've done it for fun, but I've never heard a word for it.
And that one last figure drawing could be the one that prompts a shift. I don't know about you, but I never know when the next picture will bring something new to the party. I've been just plodding along with my figure drawing, when suddenly I liked an angle or a stroke or thought, "I wonder what this would look like if I used highlighters." Every piece brings you one step closer to an improvement.
"Speed paint, do it! Do it nooow, YAAARGH "