One month later...
So much of art is how you approach it. So much of anything, really, is how you approach it. I tried skateboarding a while back, because although I didn't really have the requisite physical coordination, everyone else sure did look awesome skating around and stuff. I approached it carefully, overanalyzing and going really really slow on the skateboard, because I didn't want to fall off or look like a dork... nevermind that's what I did.
I went down to CalArts to visit and crash the job fair in May, and I talked to my friend Roongrit, who had been there for the two years after I'd dropped out. He said it was really interesting and frustrating seeing everyones' work at the job fair, because the artists whose work was the best, whose work was attracting prospective employers like fangirls to Johnny Depp, most of those were the people who didn't need to support themselves, and didn't agonize over everything. They just sat down and drew and drew and drew, drew whatever they felt like and if they got something interesting they went and drew that, not worrying over whether it would ever sell or not. On the other hand, in the portfolios of the people who were really broke, who were work-studying or working other places, who had to work to eat, their work was targeted towards the employers and so it just all looked the same.
It was interesting, and kind of sad. The people with the surplus of time get the options, and the people who are pulling themselves along by their teeth (on asphalt), they budget their time so that when they sit down to draw, they absolutely MUST TURN OUT A PORTFOLIO PIECE or their portfolio will be EMPTY and they will never get a job.
Figuring out how to keep it interesting, keep it fun, and not kill myself over whether it's a portfolio piece or not has made me a lot more relaxed this past year... mostly.
Here's a quick coloring job. I saw Guy Davis's drawings in the BPRD books, and the way Dave Stewart colored it makes me want to learn my stuff and start coloring.
Anyone going to San Diego Comicon? I'll be down there, hopefully if everything works out, with some sketchbooks (not the kind that I draw in, the kind that already HAVE my drawings IN them).
I went down to CalArts to visit and crash the job fair in May, and I talked to my friend Roongrit, who had been there for the two years after I'd dropped out. He said it was really interesting and frustrating seeing everyones' work at the job fair, because the artists whose work was the best, whose work was attracting prospective employers like fangirls to Johnny Depp, most of those were the people who didn't need to support themselves, and didn't agonize over everything. They just sat down and drew and drew and drew, drew whatever they felt like and if they got something interesting they went and drew that, not worrying over whether it would ever sell or not. On the other hand, in the portfolios of the people who were really broke, who were work-studying or working other places, who had to work to eat, their work was targeted towards the employers and so it just all looked the same.
It was interesting, and kind of sad. The people with the surplus of time get the options, and the people who are pulling themselves along by their teeth (on asphalt), they budget their time so that when they sit down to draw, they absolutely MUST TURN OUT A PORTFOLIO PIECE or their portfolio will be EMPTY and they will never get a job.
Figuring out how to keep it interesting, keep it fun, and not kill myself over whether it's a portfolio piece or not has made me a lot more relaxed this past year... mostly.
Here's a quick coloring job. I saw Guy Davis's drawings in the BPRD books, and the way Dave Stewart colored it makes me want to learn my stuff and start coloring.
Anyone going to San Diego Comicon? I'll be down there, hopefully if everything works out, with some sketchbooks (not the kind that I draw in, the kind that already HAVE my drawings IN them).
posted by Emma at
11:52 AM
