Time as Currency for Skill
polycounter lvl 11
Hello everyone. I've been thinking about the age old question "what do I need to do to become a better artist." For those of you who are experienced, the answer should be pretty clear. Keep doing it. The more time you put into it, the better you get. I'm not going to say it is possible to avoid hard work. Art will always be very expensive and it's currency is time. But can we get a discount?
When started, I asked the very same question. When I was first told this, I keeped thinking of Einstein. He said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." However this is what everyone is required to do. And like I mentioned. It's unavoidable. So how do you know if you are doing things the correct way?
The creators of the hit TV show Rick and Morty did a panel at Comicon answering the question a different way. To paraphrase they said
"There is this notion that we just have to create, create, create, but there is actually more to it. The more you finish, the better you become."
This makes a lot of sense to me. When I see people starting 3D for the first time (myself included) I notice they wrestle with 2 demons. The technical demon (tools, xnormal errors, file management, polycount etc) and the artistic (proportions, volume, surface smoothing, etc). How many of you first starting tried to fix something that was visually inaccurate but that change conjured up a sea of other unexpected technical problems you had to google? How many times have you uttered the phrase "are you kidding me, this has to happen now!?" I suggest that it would be quicker to finish a model and learn faster if only one of these demons is tackled at a time. The reason I suggest tackling the technical demon is because it is possible to solve technical problem's without good art, but it is not possible to make things look artistically accurate in the final model without wrestling with the technical demon.
95% of everything I learned personally comes from Google. If I follow instructions and the instructions work, I would assume I was dong everything correctly. When I noticed that doing stuff over and over again wasn't improving my work, I became suspicious. I started to visit the hangout sessions very frequently to see what everyone else was doing differently. I would notice little things like selecting edge rings and collapsing geometry or a certain script for hardening edge normal's. I even had a few individuals on this community personally teach me faster ways of doing things and I became better than I was because I could finish more stuff in a smaller amount of time.
What if beginners are taught to make simple models that don't necessarily look artistically accurate, but have them practice the technical aspects over and over again. For example, Have them keep making oversimplified pillars and trash cans until they can get a perfect xNormal bake on their first try with no errors. Have them make certain layer structures in Photoshop or graphs in Substance Designer until it becomes second nature. Once they are capable of making bad looking assets with the full pipeline in their sleep, then and only then should we advocate everything looking artistically accurate. That way the side of their mind attempting to make everything look accurate doesn't clash with the side of the mind that's hastily trying to solve unexpected errors.
Like I said, I am NOT trying to suggest we don't work hard. I am NOT suggesting that doing thing's over and over isn't the answer. All I'm saying is that it's not the only mindset that is helpful. Newcomers will be able to finish more things in a shorter amount of time. Art will still be expensive, but at least it won't be as painful or unbearable for starters.
What do you guys think? Does anyone have a similar experience?
When started, I asked the very same question. When I was first told this, I keeped thinking of Einstein. He said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." However this is what everyone is required to do. And like I mentioned. It's unavoidable. So how do you know if you are doing things the correct way?
The creators of the hit TV show Rick and Morty did a panel at Comicon answering the question a different way. To paraphrase they said
"There is this notion that we just have to create, create, create, but there is actually more to it. The more you finish, the better you become."
This makes a lot of sense to me. When I see people starting 3D for the first time (myself included) I notice they wrestle with 2 demons. The technical demon (tools, xnormal errors, file management, polycount etc) and the artistic (proportions, volume, surface smoothing, etc). How many of you first starting tried to fix something that was visually inaccurate but that change conjured up a sea of other unexpected technical problems you had to google? How many times have you uttered the phrase "are you kidding me, this has to happen now!?" I suggest that it would be quicker to finish a model and learn faster if only one of these demons is tackled at a time. The reason I suggest tackling the technical demon is because it is possible to solve technical problem's without good art, but it is not possible to make things look artistically accurate in the final model without wrestling with the technical demon.
95% of everything I learned personally comes from Google. If I follow instructions and the instructions work, I would assume I was dong everything correctly. When I noticed that doing stuff over and over again wasn't improving my work, I became suspicious. I started to visit the hangout sessions very frequently to see what everyone else was doing differently. I would notice little things like selecting edge rings and collapsing geometry or a certain script for hardening edge normal's. I even had a few individuals on this community personally teach me faster ways of doing things and I became better than I was because I could finish more stuff in a smaller amount of time.
What if beginners are taught to make simple models that don't necessarily look artistically accurate, but have them practice the technical aspects over and over again. For example, Have them keep making oversimplified pillars and trash cans until they can get a perfect xNormal bake on their first try with no errors. Have them make certain layer structures in Photoshop or graphs in Substance Designer until it becomes second nature. Once they are capable of making bad looking assets with the full pipeline in their sleep, then and only then should we advocate everything looking artistically accurate. That way the side of their mind attempting to make everything look accurate doesn't clash with the side of the mind that's hastily trying to solve unexpected errors.
Like I said, I am NOT trying to suggest we don't work hard. I am NOT suggesting that doing thing's over and over isn't the answer. All I'm saying is that it's not the only mindset that is helpful. Newcomers will be able to finish more things in a shorter amount of time. Art will still be expensive, but at least it won't be as painful or unbearable for starters.
What do you guys think? Does anyone have a similar experience?
Replies
I think artists need to strive for good looking results, from the start. It gives purpose, and a sense of accomplishment, if at the end of the process (and even in the middle) you can say "I did that!"
It's a continual process too, there's no plateau, except for being able to make a living at it. That doesn't mean I'm a great artist though. I've been making game art for more than 20 years (yes, I'm a geezer!) and I'm still yearning to improve.
I think the two things go hand in hand. And in fact they certainly have, since ancient times. Just different hardware and technology (brushes, canvas, pigments, etc.).
There are very few open positions for master WIP zbrush bust sculptors who never finish assets, and similarly few positions open for artists who have mastered the art of creating an asset from start to finish but can't put together appealing work.
I do think finishing art is super important, and even failing/making bad art is an important part in the process, but I wouldn't recommend anyone focus on creating finished art at the expense of any other part of the process.
Focus on one thing at a time. Like you mentionned, I agree 100%
Take golf for example,
Remember trying to hit a perfect swing for the 1st time, you maybe had a parent or teacher tell you : " Bend your knees, have your arms straights, feel relaxed, tighten up your shoulders etc..." all at the same time
It is very easy to get frustrated and just lose concentration, especially the added pressure for good results early, that really makes learning hard.
In my experience, it is way easier learning in a following manner : " don't care where the ball ends up, don't care about the knee position, just focus on straight arms and maybe hit the ball."
ok it might be a weird analogy but it works for me, might to other polycounters who play golf : )
Do consider this: Tools, techniques, workflows change constantly. Its important to nail down the fundamentals so you can display your work, but don't get hung up on the technical aspects. (unless thats your thing, and you really enjoy it!)
Unlike tech, Artistry is constant. A good eye is a good eye, and it can take some people a really long time to develop. In many situations, artistic ability is valued higher than technical skill by employers. You can teach somebody how to use a tool relatively easily, but you can't easily teach the ability to make badass art.
I see a problem with this, everything you're saying is super subjective and will vary from person to person. How do you pin-point the moment that you're "technical enough" to be able to focus on artistic accuracy? What does artistic accuracy even mean? To me, there is a huge amount of overlap in what I would loosely describe as artistic and technical skills, so it's very difficult to restrict the learning process to these artificial boxes or categories, and even if you could, the benefit of such seems dubious at best, as summed up by the post above mine.
If a young artist were to ask me for advice on how to improve, "forget artistic progress and focus on the correct buttons to press in your 3D app" would be the absolute last thing I would tell them.
+1
My advice (to anyone) would be to explore your software. Don't wait for a tutorial to tell you to use a tool with no explanation. Go down every menu item and see what it does. Figure out if it has any use to you, and try to remember that those things exist as you continue to push your work forward.
When I was at Uni, we compared our work based on face visual value, meaning myself and others spent far longer trying to achieve an appearance which could only be met through constant practice. This then made us neglect the rest of the pipeline, i.e. retopologising and baking a character, fixing errors etc.
This was something I've had to deal with for such a long time in that I would constantly re-do work to try and achieve that "look" without ever finishing something. I think what new artists need to be reminded of more then anything is that its ok for your visuals to suck. Improvement comes in tenfold by completing and finishing something.
It may become fodder for the next piece that comes along but that's always been the case with skill and experience.