Decisions

How many decisions can you count?

I wanted this video to make a point that may help artists who are early in their development to better understand their goals vs their frustrations.

There’s a saying, “Art is never done, you just stop working on it.”

There’s an estimate that the average person makes 33-35,000 decisions every day. Burn out or exhaustion can often occur when we are enduring an extended period of time where we are having to make decisions beyond these numbers.

Art is a VERY decision intensive practice.

Understanding that your goal shouldn’t be to make the most amazing piece of art, but rather to master the skills that eliminate the most decisions required from yourself when making your art.

Having a strong understanding of the fundamentals and principles is about knowing what decisions to make easily, so that you’re minimizing the time spent “deciding” what’s right or wrong during the process.

I didn’t have to “decide” how to draw the figures as much as I had to decide WHERE I was going to place them.

I didn’t have to “decide” whether the chains look right, I just had to go through the process I’m already skilled at to render the chains in the location I already had chosen.

I didn’t have to “decide” on every shadow, I just chose a light source and put the shadows where I know they would go based on that 1 choice.

So when you’re struggling with “making a cool piece”, it’s likely that you’ve burnt through your available choices because of a lack of knowledge and experience. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s just part of developing those skills.

Take your time and study the fundamentals so you have more room for more choices.

Also, be on the lookout for this badass FINAL BOSS variant I did for @tenfwdcomics @jamsfortresscomics and @tylerkirkhamart

I consider this one a big deal. And I’m stoked they CHOSE me. 😉