Finally understanding.
As Christmas fast approaches, I’ve been able to do some reflecting on my most recent work and recap of college now that I’m a semester away from completion. The start of school was rough as I navigated the fundamentals, strictly followed all the steps, and measured every centimeter. (I will never find a love for measuring I’m sure…) But because of those laborious beginnings, I’m now able to do the work I’ve always dreamed of.
Those beginnings—while they may feel as if you’re draining away—are the grounds for any good work. If I were to have skipped all those steps, I wouldn’t be at a place I am now. I couldn’t communicate the 3-dimensional qualities of a cube and importance it has to the believability of your piece. I couldn’t describe why some colors are complimentary or why when you mix those colors they become a muted combination. What determines if an edge needs to be soft or hard, why is knowing that crucial to creating realistic work? How important is value mapping and why should you understand how the lighting of a scene works? And most importantly—why should anyone learn how to draw if all they want to do is paint?
A firm grounding in the fundamentals can answer all those questions. I often heard it said that once an artist can master those simple things, he can be a master of all. (The hard part is almost no one ever seems to have mastered them—especially professionals!)
And so, as I reflect on the past years, I finally understand. I understand why I went through all those all-nighters, cried to my parents on the phone, prayed to the Lord for help, worked my tail off to get a higher grade, and sacrificed most of my free time to my craft. I understand why the different principles of design were repeated in every class and why we had to have them memorized like the back of our hand. Why edges were important and why drawing a box is crucial to illustration. I know why we must think through every composition, and most importantly, why it all matters.
And why does it matter? Because we are communicators. To be a good communicator, one must know the language. You can’t learn the language until you learn the beginning letters—the foundation.
