Are you a go-getter or do you wait for things to happen to you?
I've been a bit of both at different times in my life. Over time I see myself functioning more in the former category. I can be very type A and perform with an explosive and enduring amount of energy when I put my mind and heart into something, but then I can be bad at procrastinating in other moments and find it difficult to get started in executing an objective...for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons are ones that I've talked about in previous journal entries.
I truly do not believe in waiting for things to happen. Sometimes, one does get lucky and certain opportunities just fall into place, but even with that being a factor, some preparation must be present. If luck does occur, it would suck big time to NOT be ready to take on a given opportunity because you waited around and didn't invest in any planning. It would pretty much be a case of "being caught off guard".
I was talking to my fiance Andrew last night about ideas and concepts...as well as being in the habit of being overwhelmed by the desire to carry out many ideas and passions. This is common among a lot of creative types, so it's something many can understand and relate to. He also he expressed his experience with this and talked about the long-standing desire of turning his novel into a graphic novel series at some point. We were looking at a lot of sites online for inspiration and this is what originally led to this discussion tangent.
I am seeing that many illustrators are taking their ideas and expressing them three dimensionally. I've always been fascinated with this process and wish to do this myself. I mentioned this to Andrew, and he expressed his desire for taking the characters of his novel into the three dimensional realm, drawing-wise, to create detailed characterization. Afterwards, I asked him if he ever had the desire to work with 3D Studio Max. He said that he briefly used Lightwave in the past, but that was about as much as he experienced with using 3D graphics software. He emphasized that writing is his main focus and he is overwhelmed with how much he'd ideally like to do overall. This is understandable, as he is swamped with work in his master’s program, will soon be gearing up for his internship in Montreal and spends any spare time working on the book drafts for the rest of his novel series for Eden's Heel (and of course talking to me).
I told him that working in 3D Studio Max does not mean he has to focus on becoming a 3D modeler or animator. It would mean that he'd find his skills expanding in a way that might be surprising to him because I've seen this happen with myself in various circumstances. Regardless of where an artist is at, all artists have visions and when the gap between an artist's vision(s) and the artist's abilities is great, it creates more frustration and disenchantment. One of the most satisfying things to do, as an artist, is to be able establish visionary goals by decreasing that chasm...but I believe that in order to do this, we must sometimes seek to find and acknowledge connections in unfamiliar ways.
For example, I remember taking a 2D Design class several years ago as an art/art history major and the first projects in that class were several exercises working with pen and ink. Many of the assignments dealt with stripping down full-color photographs and images into basic shapes composed of values (black and white). All areas of light were displayed initially as white gouache (paint) and all areas of shadow were displayed as areas of black gouache and eventually we started creating a scale between those two values through shades of gray from a 10 step gradation scale. We worked so extensively with these exercises, that I can remember one day looking at my instructor during lecture and suddenly, I saw him completely composed in black and white values...almost to the point of being down right disturbing. My perception switched into a different area and I saw him as a foundation of basic elements.
We see chiaroscuro (shadow and light) everyday, but the average person takes these details in their environment for granted. Shadow and light are seen, but as elements they aren't truly acknowledged by what I call the third eye. Artists with great execution have third eyes that are sharper and more refined. The third eye for everyone is composed of many different segments; often segments that remain undeveloped and as untapped potential. I started to see not only my instructor in values but everything around me. That segment of my third eye had come into further development since I had transitioned into a different visualization process through a series of pen and ink works and conditions.
The average person, in varying degrees, is relatively good at pattern recognition, which leads to clearer and sharper identification and associative cognition, and if a common object is asked to be described, most people can describe it in words and/or draw a very basic sketch of it on a piece of paper. Moreover, they can point it out if they see it in a lineup among other objects.
How well they can draw and describe the object is affected by the strength of their third eye. Some people visualize details of something naturally better than others and will be able to translate this in a number of ways whether it is with sketchbook, words or some other channel and that is often described as talent. However, even people with that advantage need further third eye sharpening. It takes practice, time and creative thinking. I liken this to being able to add up numbers in the mind's eye. When we try to do this, we struggle more or less than others to keep the numbers present within a mental viewpoint. The numbers seem to want to disappear or move around and mess up the process of calculation while we imagine. People who are good (or get to be good) with mathematical calculations can keep a stronger focus of numbers, and their relations with one another, in the mind longer so that it is as functional to get a result as it would be in utilizing paper which provides static reference.
Another striking incidence of visualization shift took place when I started using 3D Studio Max. I became completely fascinated with the program and after class was over, I stayed up many nights experimenting with the program and doing various online tutorials until 5-7am in the morning. I wanted to learn as much as I could because it was a completely new process and there was so much potential to express my creative ideas in a different way than before. I noticed that, again, I started to see everyday objects in a completely different way. I began seeing everything in basic shapes or shape complexes the way I did when I worked in 3D Studio Max. I paid attention to texture and lighting the way I did when working in the program and I eventually noticed that when I went back to creating illustrations in Illustrator and Photoshop, I developed a stronger eye for creating depth through texture, lighting and shape. My technique became better just through using 3ds Max. I didn't have this expectation when I first started using the program but the epiphany was a delicious encounter.
A lot of people would see working in this program and developing better skills, in other facets of illustration, as unrelated...but as a person who loves symbolism, analogy and seeing and making connections, I feel this is no different in gaining the benefits of taking, for example, an acting class and using that to further strengthen the ability to express yourself in other ways, unrelated to a career and pursuit in acting. Taking acting classes is a great tool for a lot of people who are shy, want to be speakers/lecturers, wish to sing and desire a better understanding of themselves and others kinesthetically, especially since this comprises a large segment of communication and relative interpretation. Again, the skills sets developed in this manner aren't advantageous to just actors. There are a multitude of priceless skill development connections here waiting to be unsheathed and seized.
So, as mentioned before, decreasing the chasm between vision and ability can be achieved by seeking, finding and building connections between seemingly unrelated functions and areas.
When Andrew mentioned that he had no time for developing his drawing skills in the realm of character design by utilizing 3D Studio Max, and that it was unrelated to what he wanted to do with his focus in writing, I then disagreed due to the aforementioned thoughts. He might not have time to truly devote himself to character design right now in this manner, but he might find dabbling in a program such as that to be surprisingly beneficial. It might be the missing link in developing stronger skills spatially for the establishment of projects related to sequential art (comics). This isn't the only way he can develop stronger character design skills. He could find other unconventional ways to do this, but it's one of many ideas that could offer some results and progress. It's good to experiment to see what can develop.
Build a ship, grab a pair of binoculars, pack necessities in preparation of your journey...and set out to explore...
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