RINSE | REPEAT: Perseverance Will Get You There
And If Not, Take Notes Along the Way
Perseverance is how we get better at something. It teaches us failure and success and that we stay humble in our practice. We're never truly done with our endeavors. As writers and artists have quipped:
Work is never done, it's abandoned.
And that may be true for some people, and it may be true some of the time. But I would add that we sometimes arrive at a point of satisfaction that suggests we cannot feel any better about a piece, in that moment. I'd also add that our abilities, insight and what we want to say will reach a stopping point and we just don't know how to make a piece work.
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I've run into this latter thing with OIL PAINTING.
For me, I liken it to running into a brick wall over and over again. I get to a point where after weeks and months of painting from life, I'll attempt painting something out of my imagination, with loads of reference and I generally hate the result. Going back to life painting I start questioning: "Why am I painting my stuff? Who's going to want to buy a painting of my dishes." Or "Here's a random nude person, but why would anyone want this thing?"
Now granted there may be more at play here. I really do enjoy oil painting and the challenges that come with it. But let's face it: the voices in our head can be a little too powerful. And that causes me to take MASSIVE BREAKS from oil painting. Like months...to a year or more. It's the only medium I run into like this. And you may be saying, "Maybe you don't like oil painting?"
Maybe...and maybe not. Remember, a lot about creating work is about SHRINKING THAT GAP BETWEEN WHAT'S IN OUR HEAD AND HOW WE GET IT OUT INTO THE WORLD. <why is he shouting?>
Let's talk BATMAN.
The finished piece above is a compromise. I fought hard, had the energy to fight hard and still, it's not quite right. Here's the thumbnail:
As you can see there's not much of a concept. Deadman helps direct Batman by inhabiting his body and then departs. But I wanted more story and not just a cool pose that, to be honest, I'm not very good at hanging my hat on. So, I decided to depart from this thumbnail.
And that's where I get into trouble. Here's what I came up with and why it fails hard.
Overall, I could have done better at focusing on solidifying the shadows more and not being so fussy with pulling out detail. Sure, the piece could be smoothed over with color, but I don't necessarily like relying on that to save my bacon.
Discouraged and dissatisfied I set the piece aside and worked on other pieces so I could get a better idea of what I really wanted to achieve. Enter the header image and we're about 80% closer. I have more story; I have some of the original spirit (no pun intended) of the thumbnail while adding a third element of Robin. The color red book-ending the very gray of Batman I thought was a nice happy accident.
Not terribly happy with the execution of a few elements but, you know...I can always try again.
Funny thing is, I spent a helluva lot of time on the Victorian mansion in the background, only to bury it in color. It behooves you to print out color work and have a second monitor with everything color calibrated.
Lessons learn:
Don't give up on the excitement of the original idea
Take a break from it and come at again with a fresh perspective
If you can do it once, you can certainly do it twice
Hope this helps in your own illustration pursuits. What are some gotchas that have sprung up time and again for you and how have you worked around them? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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