December 2, 2015

IWSG - Do What You Love

This is supposed to be where I put my catchy intro about my 19-year-old son Joshua and his CG art and how I interviewed him about his art for IWSG day so he could encourage us... but I didn't sleep last night and my brain is in a fog, and since the time for posting is drawing near, I'm using this as my intro. Not catchy, but to the point. 

MG: Why did you decide to learn how to make computer generated art? 

JG: It’s kind of always fascinated me, you know, just from watching Avengers and Lord of the Rings. I like making stuff that doesn’t exist, bringing it over to the computer, and making it look as if it could exist. 

MG: How long have you been at it? 

JG: About two years. 

MG: What has the process of learning been like? 

JG: It’s been really hard. 

MG: Why?

JG: I think it started off with my mistake of not learning the basics at first – I kind of skipped the basics and went from intermediate to advanced. I compared my work to other people’s work and I thought “There’s no way I’m gonna make something as good as that.” 

MG: What did you do to overcome the difficulties?

JG: I just kept at it, time and time again, making stuff that looked “eh” and just pushed myself to be a better artist. 

MG: What’s your favorite part of the process? 

JG: Getting an idea and then looking up reference images and just finding what I’m looking for. 

MG: What’s the hardest part of the process? 

JG: That’s an easy one – taking the reference images and trying to build the 3-D models (CGI artists call them assets). That’s also the most satisfying part when it’s over because I like the challenge. 

MG: Have you ever felt like giving up? 

JG: Oh yeah. It’s just, you don’t feel like you’re improving and it can be very discouraging when you try to post that stuff online for people to see and they’re like, “Wow, why would you post that on the internet?” 

MG: Why have you kept going? 

JG: Something in the back of my head says, “Who cares what these people say or think?” And I love what I do. I can’t imagine myself not doing it. It would kill me to not do CGI. 

MG: What would you tell other creative types who are just starting, or who feel like they should quit?

JG: It’s going to be tough in the beginning. You’re going to feel like you’re not getting anywhere or there’s no point in doing what you’re doing, but if you love doing it, like I love doing the CGI art and all that, don’t give up, no matter what anyone says. If I’d stopped at the first crappy comment on my first piece I showed to the public for a contest , I wouldn’t be giving you this advice right now and I wouldn’t have started my own blog. 

You can find Josh at C G Alchemy. To read other IWSG posts, click on the IWSG image under the Snoopy cartoon.  

3 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

When it comes to art, it takes time to perfect. Or rather evolve, since we can't hit perfection.
What programs do you use, Josh?

Diane Burton said...

I read 2 things that writers should listen to. Learn the basics and not giving up. Good interview.

dolorah said...

Sounds like writer issues :) I think all creative people expect too much of themselves at first, and compare their first works to masters that have been through the rough spots already. Keep at it, you'll get better, and then have a whole new set of insecurities :)