Rambles #1: Knowing What's "Good" + Criticism

One of the toughest things about being an artist is that I find myself running into, in terms of animation and drawing, figuring out the little things that make a big difference in the overall quality of my work. What I mean by this is that sometimes as I get to the final stages of my work I take a step back and look at it. And more often than not, there are still things wrong with it.

Whether I notice these things or not is the issue. Sometimes I can see the flaws, sometimes I can see there's something off but I can't figure it out, and sometimes I just don't see it at all and it ends up taking another pair of eyes to point it out to me. And then sometimes, admittedly, even when someone points it out, I still don't see a problem with it. That's probably the most frustrating.

I'm realizing lately that the reason my work doesn't reach its fullest potential is because I'm calling it "done" when it's not quite finished.

Today in MOME class, we received a demo on the graph editor which is an extremely important step that I am not that great at, don't quite fully understand, and I end up neglecting often. Which, I know, is really BAD.

But that's when it occurred to me that this is my problem. I feel like an idiot for it not clicking a long time ago, but really. My work isn't finished because I don't take the time to do the extra cleaning up and sharpening of everything that is what is going to make it look great.

Ok, well, maybe I have noticed this before, but I always just shrugged it off as "good enough". But wake-up call for me: "good enough" doesn't fly in the industry.

Perhaps some of it was a lack of criticism for my work. Which is ironic considering I am the harshest on my own work. But that goes back to the thin aforementioned. Sometimes I just can't figure it out. However, the lack of criticism from others might be some of the problem in addition to my own selective hearing. Now this is a problem I think everyone has or has at least experienced at some point. Now, with the ability to share our work with friends, family, frenemies, acquaintances, and our neighbor's dog, social media is a quick and easy way to get compliments. Really, it's really only compliments. Because your friends and family aren't looking to give you a critique. And in most cases, your friends and family aren't artsy or from that same realm as you or just don't get it. They don't possess the critical eye that you need in order to get better. Even if this isn't the case, most people aren't going to take the time to knit-pick your work on social media because they don't want to look like an A-hole.

But anyway, my point is, that essentially, your friends and family are not art critics. Therefore, they will applaud anything you do because it's better than they can do or because they're being kind. Even though this back scratch feels nice, it's not helping you at all and even worse, it may be hurting you. Because sometimes if you get too much praise, you'll stop adjusting and trying to get better. You'll start to believe that you're already perfect and even worse you don't think that you need improvement. You stop listening to criticism because you don't believe it. I can honestly say that here at art school, I see a lot of kids with this problem. They either get knocked down a few pegs and quit, or they get a reality check and they work to better themselves. If you want to succeed, take the latter.

(and then there are those who never get knocked down and forever have their ego off the charts, but that's another story.)

I realize that there are exceptions to every rule, but this is all based on my observations of my self and other artists over the years.

This whole accepting criticism thing and going the extra mile to make your work the absolute best it can be is something I feel like I have come a long way on and continue to do so as well.

I still share my work with my friends and family and I appreciate their compliments, but I don't let that be my prime determiner of judging what's good. I look to professors and people whose opinions I trust. (because sometimes even my classmates are too kind). I've always acknowledged that I need to be able to accept criticism, but acting on it was easier said than done. Because even when I prepared myself to be criticized and seeing people that are better than me upon entering college, it still stung like a bee. Because let's face it, criticism hurts. No matter who you are, or how tough you may be, being criticized for anything never feels good. But how you choose to respond is what makes a difference. I see a lot of young artists do the defensive thing where they start trying to give excuses like "I meant to do this..." or "I wanted to do that, but..." or "I was trying, but the... was bad... and I didn't have time..." There's also the habit of jumping up and calling out flaws before anyone else can.

I'll be honest again, I had a nasty habit of doing the "defensive thing" and sometimes I still catch myself trying to be all explanatory. But this is a habit that I'm seriously trying to break. Unless the professor prompts me, I try to keep my mouth shut and ears open during my own critique.

Giving criticism can be just as difficult as receiving. It's hard to give it because you want to be kind to people and you want people to like you. But trust me, you're doing your artist friend a favor if you do. Of course, make sure you're being constructive and reasonable.

I see that I have a long way to go so I'm trying to soak it all up as much as I can. I look forward to critiques now. I know with each critique I'll get stronger and stronger in my abilities.

So note to self: really be harsh on your work. don't let things slide. If you see that something (even small) that can be tweaked, it will make a world of a difference and bring your work from being OK/good to great.