Anyway, I've been thinking about my future. Really. I don't have one planned; it's as simple as that. I've wondered, "What is the best way that I can prepare now for whatever lies ahead? How can I choose what I want to do in life, for I know that one's life works out best when one has a goal in mind. What do I want to do?"
I know that I'm interested in the arts, and (some say) I'm okay at it... but I know I can and should be better. I'd like to get into music in some way -- but I don't really know how well that would pay off as a mainstream job. I'd rather do that on the side. So I'm stuck in the mindset that I should develop my artistic skills... somehow.
What is available out there in the artistic field? Illustration looks like so much fun, but I don't know much about it. Graphic designing, for a firm or whatnot... I don't know much about it. Same with architectural rendering. And interior design. And animation. And and and and and and.
Yeah. So there are quite a few options, which I need to know about. That's what I'll be doing for the next while: researching, talking to professionals, also to students training to be professionals, perhaps visiting a few companies... just to see.
Then. Am I up to the challenge of being a full-time artist? How can I develop my skills? For the past lots and lots of years, I've mostly been drawing from others' work... How do I develop a process and style of my own? How can I interpret the world through my eyes on paper, with my own hand?
I found this quote in a book I got from the library, called Architectural Illustration: The Value Delineation Process by Paul Stevenson Oles, AIA. It sounds really boring, right? Wrong. It's actually a treasure trove full of observations, techniques, basics, important tips, and over-all intelligence. Wow. I especially found one quote that I really liked that applies specifically to this topic (of developing skillz) (originally it was intended for those wishing to draw structures, so I've taken a few words out that don't apply here):
"Examples may inspire, but one's own ... techniques for illustrating ... can usually best be developed individually through observation of the ... environment via nature and photography and through drawing experimentation. It is generally preferable to be guided directly by the way one observes the visual world, and photographs of it, rather than simply to imitate someone else's style, no matter how effective it may seem."
So I need to experiment on my own, and find some set of skills that I already lean toward, and base my career choice on that. So that's what I'll do first. I just want to explore. I just need to explore. Explore, explore, I'll be the next Columbus!
That is all I can say right now. More on this later.
2 comments:
That's what I've done with writing--I've been to author blogs and read all of their "On Writing" sections and figured out that it is incredibly difficult to get published. Sigh.
Oh, so NOW I'm going to enter a short story contest. I won't win, but that's okay.
I don't know if this'll make sense to you right now. . . But I've been in the same boat (I don't even have a general feild that I know I want to go into!). The thing I would say is that it is always good to be exploring; but if you still feel like you haven't gotten anywhere, don't worry! You have so much more of a plan than people who have no plan, so just have some fun!
I hope that made some sense. . .
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