So after spending over 12 hours attending 6 different online illustration classes, Ive gained a tremendous amount of information on working in Photoshop and in enhancing my art knowledge and skills. In all my excitement I shared this bit of knowledge I gained with a high school senior today: the importance of spending time working on your sketches. I asked her where her thumbnails were (as I gazed upon a full sheet of drawing paper that she has laid out her idea.) We had discussed her concept last week and I had told her to work out the problems, details, values, layout etc. in thumbnail sketches. Had she done so? Of course not. According to her I dont like to do sketches, I just want to jump right in and work. She is not an anomaly. Shes pretty typical for the students I see in my art classes. The dream of being an artist and just having it come to you because you may be born with it. The desire to eat the frosting off the cake, when the cake ingredients are still in the cupboard...having yet to be measured out, mixed together and baked. Well then, do you think that home builders just jump right in and construct a house? Do athletes just jump right in and play the game without practicing? Do musicians just jump right in to a concert venue? Do lawyers just jump right in to a trial without laying out the groundwork for fighting the case? No? Well then what the heck makes you so special as an artist that you dont have to practice your craft first? Professional illustrators, fine artists, ALL practice their skills. Some draw in sketchbooks. Some draw every day. Some take 5-6 hours to nail a final sketch before moving onto the finished art. Some take even more time! Some do tremendous research into the subject matter. Some even scrap their ideas after lots of time and energy and start over. So my dear, you have a lot to learn. But maybe you said it best at the end of our conversation, Maybe I shouldnt go to art school. Well, then maybe you shouldnt. But if you want to take that gift inside of you and develop it even more, then maybe you should. However as with anything worth attaining in life, it is going to be hard work. Hard work that you never stop working at. At my tender age of 46 I earned my art degree at the age of 23...half of my life ago! But as my opening statement clearly indicates, I havent closed myself off from continuing to learn. In fact, Ive only just gotten started...
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:43:51 +0000
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