Friday, December 28, 2012

A short note on finding the handle on a piece

Sometimes the hardest thing in creating a piece is in finding your love for it. Are you working on something that you couldn't care less about? Is it a personal project that you just can't seem to find the love for.

If you are, take a step back. What was it about this piece that made you start it in the first place? Was it an assignment from a client? If so, why did they ask you? Was it something about your ability that made them choose you? You need to remember why they asked you, why they felt you had that something the others didn't. If it was purely financial that they went with you, then move on to the next step...

What is it about drawing / writing that excites you? Is it the creation, the craft? Is it the final image that you get to show others and feel proud of? Is it the learning aspect, the chance to be exposed to new challenges that take you further up the ladder?

Take that excitement, that carrot, and PUT that BACK in your piece, because you have lost it for some reason. If you are drawing a car, and your favorite part is the craft, and you are using a method that abbreviates that part of the process, stop immediately and go back and start looking for the way to put that back in. Take note of what tools you are using, how you are using them. Are you bored? What extra flourish can you add to the task that would make it more exciting?

If you are drawing a portrait, try remembering who that person is. If you don't know anything about them, try adding a story to their life that is 100% fake but interesting enough to add some spice to your project. Make it exciting, or creepy, or raunchy, or just downright silly, but ADD a story and find that carrot again.

If you are writing an article about something boring, stop for a bit and ask questions from the standpoint of the reader; what would they really like to know about the subject? What kind of a person would be interested in this subject? Why? How can you make the article so completely shine in their eyes that their mind explodes? Dig a little deeper, and you might find a way out of the swamp.

None of these are for everyone; the point is to explore your motivations and your skill set for the right answer to boring assignments. You might have to change how you see the piece before you can find the way to love it again.

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