Resolution

My coworker/bff Phu once said something poignant to me about our profession. When complimented on a comp of alien plants -- 15 on a single page and all very good -- he replied "Everything looks good when there's a million of them." Quality vs. quantity. If you don't have one, you'd better have the other.

In concept art, you have to continually prove you can be a "quantity" guy. The job flat-out requires it. Here at the end of 2009, I'm going to state -- to myself -- that I can do that. I can thumbnail and strategize until no stone is unturned. I will not suddenly lose that ability if I don't continually make use of it. There will be plenty of opportunities to prove that in 2010, and for the rest of my career.

But, when it comes to my aim of producing more pieces and less sketches, I must resolve to put aside iteration and go for the throat, planning in the mind and, if necessary, with written words before placing the first stroke. Good work starts with a clear goal.

Where pieces are concerned, my thumbnails will be appropriately small and loose. Once past thumbnails, I will draw ONE composition per page. I will not overload it with distracting, ancillary doodles or alternate designs. If need be, I will switch back and forth with another illustation to keep things fresh, but they will be DIFFERENT illustrations. At no point will I have MORE THAN TWO GOING AT ONCE. Today I had five pages going, and it overwhelmed me.



When I post on this blog, each post (with the exception of lifedrawing posts, which I will keep to a once-a-month maximum) will be of a SINGLE image rather than many. I will stick with each stage of a piece until it's ready for the next. I WILL DO THIS. CALL ME ON IT IF I DON'T.

Sketchpages are fun, and I'll no doubt keep doing them, but it's clear I need to establish some ground rules going forward. There will still be pumpkins and nudes, but hopefully this method will help me put more love into them, and get more out of the process.