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ShinyAeon — Clay Trace
Published: 2010-09-20 01:58:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 320; Favourites: 0; Downloads: 6
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Description
When I was a kid, and well into young adulthood, I could only make the crudest of animals out of clay. In art class, I was hopeless with clay, beeswax, or sandstone. I finally concluded that, while I could draw passably well, I couldn't work in three dimensions -- at least not with anything more demanding than a box of Legos.But, in recent weeks, I've found myself wanting some modeling clay. I had no idea where this desire came from...my hands just seemed to want to squish and mold something clay-like. Well, yesterday I found a little keychain-sized sculpture kit that one of my roommates gave me as a stocking stuffer a couple of Christmases ago, complete with a little modeling clay and a few teeny-tiny plastic tools. So I broke it open and started fiddling about with things.
Half an hour later, this is what I had.
Apparently, my wanting to play with clay was my right brain trying to tell me that my problem with three-dimensional art was over now (if it really was a problem, and not just a mental block I gave myself for unknown reasons--my friends are convinced it's the latter).
I still can't quite believe I actually did that - made a shape that actually looks more or less like Tracey, however crudely. Of course, it's just modeling clay, so I can't fire it or anything, but I'm going to try it again with some polymer clay soon, I think.
I'm still kind of in shock about this. The good kind, of course, but it's still a little...disconcerting. I mean, I was so sure I couldn't do this, and then I just went ahead and did it...and it wasn't even all that hard. That's just so weird. (And I feel almost guilty about it, too.)
And even weirder, now I'm wondering what other complete baloney have I convinced myself of over the years. Can I do whole bunches of things I always thought were beyond me? And--is everyone like this? Are most of us only limited by what we THINK our limits are?
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Comments: 5
I think... anyone can do anything, if they really want to.
That sounds pretty unrealistic and overly optimistic, initially, and it kind of is... but if you're not good at something at first, you just need to realize that you have to work extra hard to improve on it. (Then you have it down to a science.)
I try to stay diverse. I think everyone should. I worked on characters and colors this passed year. Now I'm thinking more about environment and visual narrative, because I lack as an illustrator. D; And I also made my first plush, when I only recently started sewing, which kind of blew my mind. : |
I think working in 3D helps a lot, with everything, just generally. 
Anyway, you did an awesome job! Excited to see what you do with polymer clay. (Iv been wanting to make a little Tracey for my cellphone strap, but I have yet to succeed there..)
: D;;;;
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Thanks, G.G.! (Did you purposely pick a nickname where the initials were pronounced the same as "Gigi," btw? 'Cause that's kind of brilliant... 
I actually do believe anyone can do (almost) anything, but I'm lazy - I don't want to spend time learning something if I'm never going to be more than just mediocre at it. 
(Actually, in retrospect, the fact that I could look at anything on the cover of the Legos box and recreate it should have let me know I could, indeed, "think in three dimensions;" but I thought of that as just an extension of my ability to "copy well." It probably also didn't help that my brother was always a better artist than me (and was always willing to make fun of my efforts if they looked goofy 
It's true that drawing in 2D gets easier if you think of the characters/objects as 3D, and I guess that doing that helped develop my "3D mind" over the years. My guess now is that I probably could have been doing 3D stuff for a while - at least for the last 15 years - but my preconceived notions scared me off of it - until my right brain got tired of listening to me whine, and prompted me to try again!
Now I just have to get over my cheapness enough to go buy some Sculpey and do some more...
Btw, I find it hard to believe you "lack as an illustrator;" what is it you think you lack? It's certainly not charm, expression, humor, composition, variety, imagination, or visual interest...
(And, out of curiosity, what do you mean by "environment?" (I'm guessing it's more than just scenery/backgrounds). As for visual narrative, do you mean, like, the grammar of comics storytelling, or something else? 'Cause I'm interested in those things as well...)
Anyway, thanks for commenting! I hope all is going well...gotta go again, but I AM going to get a new computer soonish, so maybe this sporadic-ness won't have to last much longer.
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XD I can understand not wanting to start off as mediocre at something. That's the same as me with playing guitar and every other instrument (besides percussion, which I DID practice forever) Iv wanted to randomly pick up. I'm too preoccupied with practicing other things and just want to SUDDENLY BE AWESOME to actually sit down and learn to play better. D; (Although, more and more, it's becoming another necessity for my ambitions. It seems all the animation professors at my school compose and perform their own music for their films. Uhhh...)
And having siblings who are better than you can be tough. I totally know how that goes. : D;
Actually, my whole immediate family seemed to always outdo me. D: Almost all of them have art degrees. I usually got response like, "You need to do that better." or "That doesn't appeal to me.". It's helpful, although kind of upsetting, too. XD;;; They're bluntly honest, and don't seem to like most of my films, but I guess I need criticism like that.
I wouldn't call not wanting to buy Sculpey cheapness. : D;;; Polymer clay adds up, especially when you're buying it in colors or using tons of it (When I use to sell cell phone charms at conventions, Id spend like $200 at least in supplies..). Hobby Lobby puts it on sale a lot, though.
What I mean by visual narrative is how you speak through a drawing without aid of text. Like, the story you tell with the expressions, posing, background, etc. When you illustrate for a children's book, for example, you have the text, but you can more or less skim the illustrations and know the story. Although it's kind of the basis for book illustration, the same can be said for a lot of things. After all, people hate going through the trouble of reading walls of text in this day in age. Unfortunate as it is. D: (Just see how so many people have "please read my description!" stamps on their DA pages...)
And yey for a new computer!
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As regards visual narrative - there's two kinds I'm aware of: the narrative told in a sequence of pictures, and the one told in a single image.
For "sequential art," there's (though you probably know about it already!) Scott McCloud's first book, Understanding Comics; in it, he highly recommends Will Eisner's "how to" books (but I have no idea how hard they are to find). I suspect there's more information on his website (again, assuming aren't already familiar with it): [link]
For the telling a story in a single image, in my (admittedly humble) opinion, the "great master" will always be...Norman Rockwell. Whatever one's opinion of his subject matter, the man could convey a great deal in one picture. Absolutely everything in one of his paintings - setting, props, facial expression, body position, "camera" angle - all went to conveying the single impression he wanted with simplicity, clarity, and grace. I'm fascinated by his stuff because every time I look at a picture of his, I notice things I didn't before.
...and that's all I have time to say. Talk at you later!
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Norman Rockwell is actually a lot closer to what I'm talking about. I mean, sequential art is illustration, too, and you can tell a story without dialogue through comics, but yeah, you get the idea.
: D
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