What I dont really get is people having "fear of sucking", "art depression" and/or other similar issues, even tho one thing that is posted, re-posted and repeated all over art communities like PC or CA is : don't work without research, planning and references.
But still, I feel like people look at skilled speedpainters and sculptors cranking things out fast and easily (because of years of hard work, experience, and dedication) and don't understand why they cannot be as good as them. Yet it's all very simple : It takes time !
There is a certain pleasure and fulfillment into doing a crap piece, but two weeks later, doing something that's about 3 times better because of a fresh understanding of a previously overlooked facet of art theory. It's not easy, it's not a fast process, but I don't think any artist ever said it was supposed to be easy or fast. Contrary to popular belief no one is born being "good" at certain things... Everybody sucks at everything, at first.
I feel like digital art exposure (finished artwork posted on forums, Facebook pages and the likes) is making people forget that anything art related requires hard work. It's as if we are still stuck in the days when people thought that "if it's made on the computer, then it's got to be easy"...
In short : How to win ? By taking the time to break down problems into their components and understnding how things work, instead of going head first into Photoshop, Max or Zbrush and aimlessly dicking around...
(sorry if I sound a bit bitter ... I just think it's a bit frustrating to see the same solid pieces of advice being posted over and over again but mostly ignored...)
BTW OrgChaos : amazing TED bit, I couldn't agree more, thanks for posting!!
Facebookesque laziness is at work everywhere - people posting "self-motivational" goals about art, fitness or anything else on social networks just to be patted on the back, but never sticking to it ... meh.
What I dont really get is people having "fear of sucking" and similar things, even tho one thing that is posted, re-posted and repeated all over art communities like PC or CA : don't work without research, planning and references.
But still, people look at skilled speedpainters and sculptors cranking things out fast and easily (because of years of hard work, experience, and dedication) and don't understand why they cannot be as good as them. Yet it's all very simple : It takes time !
I feel like digital art exposure (finished artwork posted on forums, Facebook pages and the likes) is making people forget that anything art related requires hard work. It's as if we are still stuck in the days when people thought that "if it's on the computers, then it's got to be easy"...
In short : How to win ? By taking the time to break down problems into their components and understnding how things work, instead of going head first into Photoshop, Max or Zbrush...
That's just it, you don't often see all the time and effort that went in to that fantastic piece of art, you just see the result and it feels like it's a simple matter of input idea and output art. Obviously this isn't the case, but for those of us who are still trying to master the craft, it seems easy for the pro's and it's hard to understand how they got there in the first place. It imposes an unspoken and unintended expectation/pressure to perform at the same level regardless of the invested effort and skill. It's rare to see the pro's "suck" and grow into masters of the craft. How many pro artists hold on to their early, inferior works? Furthermore, it's not often seen by what perspiration they achieve their mastery. It's difficult to allow yourself to suck when there is so much demand for "perfection".
So, rational or not, there is an ethereal standard new artists measure themselves by because they don't know the value the intermediary steps and how to be patient with their progress. We don't want to be pro's a year down the road, we want to be pro's today because the industry is only hiring pro's. It's like working without a safety net. If you fail, you fail hard. Or so it seems that way. So it's a combination of misinformation, misconception, and lack of guidance. Even with that, there's no message out there that says "It's okay to suck as long as you keep trying and keep getting better."
I see how things can be perceived that way, but digging just a tiny bit further under the surface reveals alot.
Of course, browsing CGhub or any online forum frontpage "makes things look easy" - and that's exactly why even tho many people recommend looking at such things to get "motivated", I personally don't find it interesting at all. It ends up looking like a kaleidoscope of "cool stuff" without much context.
On the contrary, if one develops a strong interest in a particular artist - say, Picasso, Frazetta, Ashley Wood, David Bowie, anyone really - and starts looking at interviews, biographies, or any other form of documented material there is always the same theme coming back : hours of hard work, sleepless nights and passion.
It's out there! And no CG artist posting a cool Zbrush picture saying "made in 2hours, no reference" is going to change that!
Anyways, nice thread Dreamer. I been through it last month and realized it, when a friend of mine lactured me because I deleted the project I was working on and restarted it, and repeated these two steps several times.
I find it much easier to roughly sketch your concept, or write it down, so you would know what would you want do and how you'll go about finishing it.
Should you get stuck, it is best to take a break from the project and do something else. You will find a fix to your problem during that break.
Planning out how your project is going to progress, helps out alot.
Replies
+1
But still, I feel like people look at skilled speedpainters and sculptors cranking things out fast and easily (because of years of hard work, experience, and dedication) and don't understand why they cannot be as good as them. Yet it's all very simple : It takes time !
There is a certain pleasure and fulfillment into doing a crap piece, but two weeks later, doing something that's about 3 times better because of a fresh understanding of a previously overlooked facet of art theory. It's not easy, it's not a fast process, but I don't think any artist ever said it was supposed to be easy or fast. Contrary to popular belief no one is born being "good" at certain things... Everybody sucks at everything, at first.
I feel like digital art exposure (finished artwork posted on forums, Facebook pages and the likes) is making people forget that anything art related requires hard work. It's as if we are still stuck in the days when people thought that "if it's made on the computer, then it's got to be easy"...
In short : How to win ? By taking the time to break down problems into their components and understnding how things work, instead of going head first into Photoshop, Max or Zbrush and aimlessly dicking around...
(sorry if I sound a bit bitter ... I just think it's a bit frustrating to see the same solid pieces of advice being posted over and over again but mostly ignored...)
BTW OrgChaos : amazing TED bit, I couldn't agree more, thanks for posting!!
Facebookesque laziness is at work everywhere - people posting "self-motivational" goals about art, fitness or anything else on social networks just to be patted on the back, but never sticking to it ... meh.
That's just it, you don't often see all the time and effort that went in to that fantastic piece of art, you just see the result and it feels like it's a simple matter of input idea and output art. Obviously this isn't the case, but for those of us who are still trying to master the craft, it seems easy for the pro's and it's hard to understand how they got there in the first place. It imposes an unspoken and unintended expectation/pressure to perform at the same level regardless of the invested effort and skill. It's rare to see the pro's "suck" and grow into masters of the craft. How many pro artists hold on to their early, inferior works? Furthermore, it's not often seen by what perspiration they achieve their mastery. It's difficult to allow yourself to suck when there is so much demand for "perfection".
So, rational or not, there is an ethereal standard new artists measure themselves by because they don't know the value the intermediary steps and how to be patient with their progress. We don't want to be pro's a year down the road, we want to be pro's today because the industry is only hiring pro's. It's like working without a safety net. If you fail, you fail hard. Or so it seems that way. So it's a combination of misinformation, misconception, and lack of guidance. Even with that, there's no message out there that says "It's okay to suck as long as you keep trying and keep getting better."
Of course, browsing CGhub or any online forum frontpage "makes things look easy" - and that's exactly why even tho many people recommend looking at such things to get "motivated", I personally don't find it interesting at all. It ends up looking like a kaleidoscope of "cool stuff" without much context.
On the contrary, if one develops a strong interest in a particular artist - say, Picasso, Frazetta, Ashley Wood, David Bowie, anyone really - and starts looking at interviews, biographies, or any other form of documented material there is always the same theme coming back : hours of hard work, sleepless nights and passion.
It's out there! And no CG artist posting a cool Zbrush picture saying "made in 2hours, no reference" is going to change that!
Anyways, nice thread Dreamer. I been through it last month and realized it, when a friend of mine lactured me because I deleted the project I was working on and restarted it, and repeated these two steps several times.
I find it much easier to roughly sketch your concept, or write it down, so you would know what would you want do and how you'll go about finishing it.
Should you get stuck, it is best to take a break from the project and do something else. You will find a fix to your problem during that break.
Planning out how your project is going to progress, helps out alot.
Well if Dreamer, Pior, and Jake from Adventure Time all say it. Then I for one take it as FACT!