Staying Fresh

There is a common problem with anyone when learning and producing work. On one hand we can get "artists block", when we struggle to be creative. On the other hand we could be spewing out lots of work which really doesn't help to demonstrate progression… I'll call this over compensation. There's a fine balance between being creative and burning yourself out. Looking at the link you can see the first point is fear – people get too precious about their work and feel that it's not good enough, or that they are not good enough and struggle to reach their ideal vision.

This of course is very different for each person, and is more a reflection on their temperament then their work. One thing I do love about this course is that we are left to our own devices somewhat – If I want to do abstract paintings for digital backgrounds I can, If I want to learn how to use a 3D application and learn a bit, I can. Everyone has different experiences and works better differently, and the more you can draw from your own experience the stronger and more informed your work will be.

Personally I don't really love one thing, and like to try a bit of everything to keep it fresh. For the tripod project I concentrated on coming up with unique designs instead of a thousand similar designs. I then pushed one a unique design a little further and developed it. On one hand I have lost out on peer-points as I steered away from what everyone expects to see – Pointy limbs, illogical mechanical detail, organic and menacing forms… I did something like that on day one to get it out of the way.

It's worth noting that my day one picture got more Facebook "likes" than my main work. This doesn't surprise me, in a way I'm being selfish with my work. But that's what it takes to stay fresh for myself. I used the opportunity to try low-poly modelling; I learned lots in a small time about texturing and unwrapping, and have a lot more confidence in making quick/minimalist models quickly. See, this skill can help further enhance my 2D by incorporating this models and painting over them, and also reminds me of the good ol' days.

So to cap, I don't think is healthy to do the same exercise over and over when you gain little from it. For example I was drawing a load of 30 second figure sketches as an exercise. At the start it was great to help me work without thinking and gain speed, now when I do them it can be a challenge still but I don't feel that panic or split second decision making I originally experienced. For me this means it's time to move on, it would be beneficial to do them when I'm out of practice, and I now know somewhere to get excellent reference. Instead I may spend that time reading a guide or following tutorials or new programs like UDK and Zbrush.