Form's conundrum of limited potential and mutual exclusivity!! Petent pending...

[Form]

Hello everybunny.

I have an issue which I am beginning to realise is a big part of my 'art mind' and definately a part of what makes me 'me'.

I have been turning this thing over in my mind for about two years I guess, and I am fed up with the way it niggles at me and stops me from freeing up my creativity.

Im sure there are professionals here who are or have encountered this, and I'm sure many who have overcome it. Of course, everybody's minds work differently, I am open to any thoughts or discussion as long as its on topic. Im not a noob, so dont flame me ;)

Let me try to sum up the issue at hand:

Basically I find myself inspired by a broad range of art and artists. However I am not one of those people who loved spiderman from the age of six and has been drawing ever since. I guess I am very fickle... my whole life has been a total mishmash of extremes - things usually begin and end very quickly for me. I move around a lot and find it hard to settle into routine.

The problem has come about in my wanting to do too many things. As a result, i am spread too thin and my progress slows. I try to learn too many things at once, because I am being pulled in so many directions by my inspiration. As a result, I tire myself out, lose sleep, and dont use my time efficiently because im always switching mindframes.

My question then, is how the hell to choose?

I love doing environments, i love drawing people and things from life, I love portraiture, i love digi painting, i love oil painting, i looove pencil rendering, I want to exhibit paintings, i want to do illustration, i want to do fine art, i want to do concept art.

All along I guess i figured i could just keep increasing the time and energy i put into it and somehow do it all, or at least do a couple of things i find very inspiring (knowing that things like say robots, or car design or things like that dont interest me so much). But people keep telling me i need to choose one thing and stick to it, even if its just for a year or two. But that idea rips all the joy out of it for me. I dont want to give any part of it up!! I love it all too much... but my progress is stagnant because of this, and I need to find a balance that works.

Others, like my roommate find it easy to decide on something and pursue it. He wants to do character designs in pencil, and so he sets about his anatomy studies and so on daily. I find im doing studies of different things every day, working in multiple mediums, not to mention the mishmash of commercial stuff i do which covers all sorts of different subject matter.

How to choose?

Should I choose?

Or should I just keep pushing myself to do everything i love, and do it more.

TIA
Adam

[Hyver]

i don't think you need to choose as much as plan.

how's that for a short reply to a long post :)
interesting topic though.. this might spur some interesting views

[Brendan N]

Odd that you bring this up since I'm in the same situation.

Luckily it's not a big issue for me, since I'm still a student. So basically I get 5 assignments to tackle at once, of which two would typically be illustration, 2 3d related and 1 design-focussed (lately incorporating more illustration here). Once I get an assignment I try to decide quickly what type of visual I'm going to employ, whether it be illustration, painting etc. I also try my best to innovate a little in whatever I'm doing.

Now I progress a lot slower than anyone else in one specific area, such as anatomy or colour or whatever, but I feel I'm always getting the best out of it since I'm constantly working at a different angle. I'm constantly trying to 'innovate,' get something that looks different or try a new approach. The cool thing about it is that you can apply whatever you learn in one area to all the others.

Frankly, I've tried to dedicate months to a specific study - just can't do it. Grow bored and disinterested. I learn a lot more a lot quicker when I'm psyched up about it.

So personally, I really don't think it's a big deal if you don't focus on one specific area, but then this is coming from a carefree student. Let's put it this way: if I were you, and I was sure I could have some financial stability without needing to specialize, I'd do what I want when I want. Again, probably best to take that with a decent helping of salt. :)

hope that made sense and that it might help.
Good luck!

[Magic Man]

Here's how you do it, you number them from 1-whatever number you wish, and place thing you want to do most at the top, that thing you want to do least at the bottom.

Then you tackle one at a time, this is called prioritizing, and without it, you will achieve nothing that you want to do.

People get too caught up in philosophizing and pandering over things that at the end of the day, really aren't that complicated - thats my experience.

I was in a very similar boat not long ago, you wish you could do everything at once you can't, and if your try you'll either get to where you want to a LOT slower than someone who is focused on one thing at a time, or you will fail completely.

To excel in anything, you must give it no less than your complete attention.

m

[Hyskoa]

Quit for a month. See what plagues your mind the most.

[dose]

Whatever you do just keep going!

[Form]

thanks all of you.

magic man that is a very helpful way to look at it - a simple way of turning the problem into a solution.

So I thought and thought about it last night, and essentially I am split between two things as my top priority if i lump the things i like together.

1. Environments - complex detailed enviros such as you see in prerendered backgrounds for rpgs, or isometric plans such as you see with vance kovacs' work... studying the built environment, laying out level plans for games, detailed renderings. This for me brings back childhood memories of designing mazes and map building for games, etc. It seems to be somewhat of a niche strength for me, and i think has potential to work for me fiscally. Mostly digital.

2. The 'puddnhead' approach - the study of human nature, emotion, anatomy, expression, etc. I am fascinated by the workings of humans, their minds, and the world they live in. I have been through some big stuff and have a lot to 'say' from a legitimate, non-angsty place, and would love to be able to produce sophisticated portraiture, studies from life, and interract with people/do live painting etc. Kevin's multivalency (along with coro) is a huge inspiration to me. Mostly traditional.

Thats what i narrowed it down to i guess, do you guys think i could split my time 50/50 between these two 'goals' and get away with it? Or choose just one?

Thanks heaps for processing this decision with me. It will be good to get it off my mind!

A

[Hyver]

now that you've done the math, i do think it's good to have the two... my previous post still applies though ;)

[kev ferrara]

After a while you get sick of not having any money and you change.

I've got you beat by the way, everything you said, plus writing screenplays, and I have my own music studio where I write and record.

At some point one of my friends recommended just pushing one project all the way through to market.

I chose my comic book. And the first issue comes out this month from Dark Horse.

And I know from personal experience what you are going through... You fear being bored more than death.

kev

[Matsign]

I came looking for advice and I found this thread. Hurray. This .org is my fav. Form, I feel almost similar to your #2. But I have a feeling ultra-realism isn't in my feature.

[Seedling]

I love doing environments, i love drawing people and things from life, I love portraiture, i love digi painting, i love oil painting, i looove pencil rendering, I want to exhibit paintings, i want to do illustration, i want to do fine art, i want to do concept art.

These are not contradictory goals. These are the ingredients for images of people in environments.

[Form]

hyver - yes yes, planning, for sure :p thanks buddy.

kev- haha, ok you win! ;) I guess money isnt really a problem for me... id be happy to continue making as much as i am now, i just dont want to make any LESS! hehe ;P thanks for your words.

matsign - best of luck

seedling - yeah, thats definately the end-goal. I definately prefer full illustrations (like foster, for instance), but its more about the path to get there - do i start with the focus on the humans, the focus on the enviro, or do i just study 'picture making', with composition, colour theory, etc, and forget about distinguishing between subject matter?

thanks for this guys

[smellykitty]

just do them all. when you're at that time of the day when you're ready to work on art, ask yourself what you really want to work on RIGHT NOW. if you're anything like me, it can change from day to day. don't get upset if you never pick up 'yesturday's work - just let go and move on. put the pencil down and pick up a brush, or put the brush down and pick up a pencil. Listen to your gut instincts *not laziness*

work in the moment, rather than what you feel you should be 'logically' doing. as time passes by you will become more focused and passionate over this and that, and at the same time you might become less focused or less passionate over this and that. but only time will tell. and by doing what you 'feel' you need to do today you will finally know what you will be doing 'tomorrow'.

and I made the same mistake as you, I felt I was progressing slowly. You've decided in your own head a time limit of where you need to be a for a specific skill, rather than looking at the whole picture. Artists are harsh on themselves and give themselves these crazy time limits. Really, time limits only work when you have ALREADY mastered a skill and the job is demanding it. Don't put a time limit on your learning, only concern yourself with how much time you invest into something - as that will directly out picture the result. INVEST time, not create time limits.

You're learning lots of different things that all feed into each other and gaining a broader understanding that will benefit you in the long run than had you focused on just one thing. And a one trick pony, can only take their art so far. So, you're not spreading yourself thin. I used to think I was and for months I stressed out over it.

And then one day I sat down and realized I learned so much in spreading myself thin. And that when I focus in one thing for months, it becomes so strained, I become so stressed and lose all passion for what ever it was I was trying to do, and I learn very little, in fact I start to forget what I've learned. The difference is though, that when you spread yourself 'thin', it appears to others that you are doing less because maybe you have less amazing things to show. Where as the person who invests all their time into one thing has more amazing things to show thus appearing more accomplished. Appearances are deceiving.

As for choosing to do something as a career choice, remember you are you. You are not a career. Let's say as a career choice you choose to become a character concept artist. Well what does this mean? Does this mean you are a character concept artist and nothing else, no. It means you can still as bloody hell do other passions if you feel like it. You wanna make a sculpture, then make a sculpture. Wanna make a comic book, then make a comic book. Just don't confuse passion with career choice. The balance here is understanding that for the most part you can only hold ONE career at a time, but as many passions as you like.

Career meaning how you feed yourself, passion how you keep yourself sane and happy.

I would however advice not to prioritize unless you know without a doubt this is more important. Otherwise, don't necessarily prioritize with your art - or you can end up postponing something that is important.

[Red_Rook]

you make it sound like these things are mutually exclusive, they reallly arent, and probably go hand in hand more then anything else. On top of that in the end, get a job wherever you can, because i somehow doubt that starting off you will have such a huge choice of exactly what you want to do, do whats fun.

[Idiot Apathy]

Adam you cow. Do what makes you happy, that's all thats important :P cow.

[Farvus]

I have very similar problem. I'm mostly interested in environment design but to do this stuff I need to focus a lot. When I don't have much time I just doodle some characters. As a result I treat those two subjects almost equally. Later I realised that I can always do populated environments just like Syd Mead but there need to be some right balance for learning these things. I guess I think about it too much :P.

[Seedling]

do i start with the focus on the humans, the focus on the enviro, or do i just study 'picture making', with composition, colour theory, etc, and forget about distinguishing between subject matter?


Like Smellykitty suggests, try flip-flopping between different subjects as your whim shifts. That should keep the experience exciting for you.

[Form]

hehe its funny, i have kind of come full circle now. I spent a whole day going through decisions and ideas in my head (in a really relaxed way mind you) and came up with this really solid plan that sort of covered everything i wanted to do... and now i read all this... and i kind of feel like a douche for thinking about it so much!! haha!

I have a pretty good choice of who i want to work with at the moment... not so much of a need to do grunt work. I should spend more time appreciating that, and being grateful, than second guessing myself :)

Funnily though, yesterday when i wrote out my overview of what i wanted to do, I met 3 people within 2 hours who gave me exactly what i needed. I connected with an urban planner at a design forum who is going to school me on some enviro stuff, i got a job doing live portraits in a popular city lounge bar on friday nights (the portraits then go on the wall for sale) and my concept job got renewed, on the condition that i start doing more enviro stuff... (well, you're the boss!)

I think though, im kind of happy with the 'plan'. Im by no means obsessive over sticking to it, but i definately needed a direction to pull me out of such aimless wandering. Its really just choosing what to START doing, not what to end up doing.

God damn, this whole thread made me sound like a fucking nooby lounge crawling post !

Thanks again everyone.
Back to work!

[Form]

oh yeah, and for you guys who were giving advice to 'keep the experience interesting/exciting', i dont think it has ever not been. Art is the most amazing path to take through life, and im so glad we share that common gift. Im going to go listen to celine dion now.

xo xo

[Nutter]

I wouldn't stress on it too much if I were you. Most of the things you mentioned are interconnected and getting good at one will help with the others. Also I don't think it's something you can force anyway, I think that it's part of who you are.

As the years pass it will become much clearer anyway.

[wickeddiana]

I am like you at times. I love making fantasy illustration, but I also want to paint extremely large fine art paintings that have nothing to do with fantasy art at all. Sometimes I just want to go abstract, and other times I just want to draw creatures and characters in pen and ink. I also design images for my t-shirts that I sell online that are very different from all my other art. On ocassion I write fantasy stories.
I have many interests and it can get overwhelming.
To keep things simple, I just decide what I like most. Fantasy illustration and my t-shirt designs. I consider all my other interests as just additional creative outlets that I go to when I need to take a break from my main projects.
I write out a plan, with a set of goals in mind. It helps to be organized.

I really don't think you need to choose right away. When I first started out, I was fascinated with anything that involved art and tried many things. Actually I still do.
Play around with everything. get it out of your system. I have a feeling that eventually you will find your niche. You will find yourself doing certain things more often than all the rest. Just let it happen naturally.