craving chocolate and other things...

Okay, that didn't quite sound the way I wanted it to, but it's all good. I'll post the usual tomorrow (or if I'm too tired, Wed. morning), but I haven't been slacking off. On the contrary, I've been doing figure drawing Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday and this Sat I have another workshop that is all day...eight hours non-stop of drawing. I had a BLAST last time. Yay for drawing. Not to mention the B@rgue drawings I've been doing during the day..I try to do at least six copies per plate...currently on pl@te 31, using the Derw*nt Sk*tching pencils (love 'em!). Pr0gress0 wasn't working for me for the plates, but the Derw*nts were perfect (the 4B wash ones). I saw a student who had to do ONE plate ONCE and was frustrated...he was so ADD about it and thought it was 'boring', but I actually think it's pretty fun and it is very low-key to do at work...doesn't look too much like I'm jerking around with PS or anything, I can do it WHILE working, and it is very much like working a puzzle (anyone who knows me knows I like numbers :)). I did, however, get more than four hours of sleep on Saturday and Sunday, but by Sunday afternoon I was so anxious to keep working that I got all depressed haha. I agree with Kev!n, who said that the B@rgue is good. I know that some people think that concept is just creating things, but often you get a plate or a design that's already been finalized in a way (like the outside of a building's shape/ plan/ section) and you have to work within that for design. Wow, those pr0ducti0n d*sign*rs can DRAW! Dy@s, Ch@mbl!ss, D@nte Ferret!...look 'em up. So a lot of them can sketch out their ideas with the director..it's not like they're presenting stick men. But they also have a knowledge of lenses (how wide is a 25mm lens versus an 85mm in terms of how much of the set we would see, construction, painting..) A lot of people think it is always designing crazy stuff from scratch but I actually like its practical nature. So I think that the copying part is actually pretty helpful when I"m learning because I may have to copy a visual style that has already been established (maybe part of the team left halfway through the project...I know that in PS some teams share brushes so they inherently share the same 'visual style'). You're not an island on any sort of design team or anything at all. And you DO work for someone (unless it's your personal project). Also, not understanding what other people do can hurt you. A friend of mine (who is a pr0duction designer) said many of these concept people don't understand enough of what the team does but they make the director fall in love with their sketch or painting but it's absolutely UNUSABLE for production. "We can't make this"=not good. I wish in schools they had more of that kind of group training, because a lot of people can be very good but SINK when it comes to working together, working with someone above them or troubleshooting. The worst is becoming frustrated with a client because you're not used to following orders. NOT GOOD. Also, NOT speaking up is not good either but it's all so political and you have to be so tactful while knowing your place (suggest, don't demand). I've worked with or met people who work on everything and they are the coolest but firmest (in terms of why they choose to do something/ make choices) people, and noticed that the confrontational, arrogant, boorish ones who have no respect for the people above them (or working with them) don't last very long. The best designers (whether DPs, art directors, product designers) are really good at doing that balancing act of having great, strong ideas/opinions and performing but being super chill. Plus, isn't it nice when everything is falling apart that you have that member or your team who is level headed enough to just say "we'll make it work". I don't know about you, but I'd like to work with THAT guy/gal rather than the persons screaming running around with their heads cut off like chickens. I think that some of the best ideas for artists come with limitations. If we didn't have creative restraints maybe we'd all be drawing zombies and dragons or hot chicks for a bad remake of He@vy Met@l Haha. That wouldn't be too bad, I guess. I really liked that movie :) Oh well, what do I know.... I'm going back to drawing Haha. Until l8tr...