I'm a 3D Artist and Sometimes I Make Bad Art!!!
I'm a 3D Artist and Sometimes I Make Bad Art!!!
Why you should never be afraid to utter that phrase...
Creating bad art is crucial to your growth and progress as a professional artist.
Logically, we all know this. We know bad art happens when we try something new or unfamiliar to us. Bad art happens when we push limits and test ourselves in new ways with new techniques we’ve never tried before. And, theoretically, it’s easy. We are all digital artists. Nothing we create, no matter how bad, is permanent (unlike this wayward restoration project at a church near Zaragoza, Spain.) We all can control-z our way out of anything that goes awry!
So why do we feel so awful when we create something that isn’t working out?
Why is it so hard for me to proclaim “Welp…this image is awful. Guess I just try something different tomorrow.”
Why do so many of us struggle to push ourselves to the point where we make something ugly and be ok with it?
The Social Media Effect
I have a theory that social media companies have completely warped our sense of artistic growth. Twitter, Instagram, Artstation, Behance, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn all churn out an endless feed of mind-blowing imagery.
So what do we see? Artists continuously produce beautiful work without skipping a beat. Countless amazing artists pumping out mesmerizing image after mesmerizing image like some unreal factory of whaaaaaaa!?!?!
So naturally, we feel the need to keep up at the same pace. Great work. Day after day. No breaks. No hiccups. No bad art.
But art is like anything else on social media. No one ever posts pictures from their day that went horribly wrong. No one posts updates after they’ve had an awful fight with a family member. People only share their successes and we see this highly curated, filtered version of their life that comes off as perfection to an outsider.
So don’t compare yourself to their best-of, hall of fame gallery. Know that they are only able to create this incredible work because they swung and missed a bunch of times before.
And when you are on social media, be honest with yourself. What is your goal? Are you posting just to get likes and positive feedback? Are you the type of person that creates things to receive praise? I’m only saying this because I needed to come to the realization that I had a little bit of this in me. I can definitively say that getting praise and seeing people’s positive reactions to my artwork is a huge motivator.
Just know that you must be careful with this mindset because it’s an endless loop. I can easily get in this terrible cycle of thinking there is some magic number that will make me feel like you I have finally made it as an artist.
“If I get a post that reaches 1000 likes, it will feel real.”
”If I just get to 10,000 followers, I’ll know I’m making a difference.”
”If this YouTube videos hits 100,000 views, I know I am successful.”
It’s a death loop. The milestones aren’t big enough and will always leave you feeling empty. And, it gives a false quantitative evaluation of what is good. “Are you kidding me? My post only got 200 likes and THAT got 25,000!!!”
Worse, it could affect the work we make. “Hmmmm…that character piece actually got more impressions than that environment. I guess I should start doing some more character work.”
This can also quickly pigeonhole your style too. You can go from your amazing, dynamic self with a wide array of interests into that artist that does that one specific thing over and over again to establish your brand. You end up just churning out alien character designs or pixel art or making tiny characters in massive environments. (This last one is real. I somehow triggered something in Instagram so every time I hop on, I get suggested images that look just like this.)
Basically, I’ve had to fight the urge to latch onto the first image that gets a reaction on social media and just continue to create work that looks like that. Because I know it will stop me from innovating. It will stop pushing myself. It will stop me from making bad art because I will be too busy feeding the algorithm chasing the likes.
So how do you shake this?
Whenever I find myself slipping into that trap, I always think about this Louis CK quote from one of his comedy shows…and I probably butchering this but it’s something like…“Just because you get a lot of likes, doesn’t mean you’ve done something good.”
Getting off social media would probably be huge for your psyche. But for many of us, that’s just not an option. We get freelance work from our social media accounts. We stay connected to friends through our social media. We remain in touch with the community and potential collaborations through social media.
So you can’t just check out. Ok…the next best thing is just to learn to ignore the numbers and especially the alogorithm. Because that algorithm will get you. If you don’t post at the right time or with the right hashtag, it will bury you and no one will ever even see your work.
I know it’s hard. It’s this big number just sitting there attached to your account and your image that you want to associate with the value of your work. But don’t fall for it. Instead focus on the people that you are truly connected with. The people who support your work and you share an open dialog with them. The few people online you truly feel connected to.
Why this is necessary?
But here’s the thing…honest truth in our artwork only comes out of individuals who are in touch with what themselves. And the only way to become in touch with ourselves is through vulnerability. And the only path to vulnerability is through an openness in your work that leaves you susceptible to making something bad.
Think of how little kids draw. They just start. They don’t hesitate before they begin doubting their ability to draw that dragon. They just figure it out along the way without caring how many of the other kids at the daycare are going to like it. They just attack it with a wreckless abandonment in the world. And you know what…their work is unique. It’s individual. It’s special. And that only happens when they just don’t care what others think.
Also, and I’m not sure if you notice this, but it is our job to be weird. Our job as artists in this culture to think about things in unusual ways and push the boundaries of what is imaginable.
Still Not Convinced…Fine…Being Bad Can Also Have Productivity Benefits
Even if we make something bad, elements of that project are still valuable. Imagine for the sake of argument that the movie Moana was bad. I’m not saying it was…but for the sake of this argument, the story of the film didn’t work, didn’t connect with audiences, and the film was not regarded as a success.
Well guess what…even though they didn’t have a great film, guess what they did have. A pretty incredible water simulation system. And you know what, they are about working on Frozen 2 with a ton of water simulation effects. Now they have this amazing water simulation system that just drops right in and now they can spend their time and attention improving the other aspects of the film.
Again…not an argument for these actual movies. Just making a point :)
So go make bad art. Make awful art. Make so much bad, awful art that it actually becomes your superpower. Because this can become your magical infinity shield. This shield can protect you from all the nonsense of social media and the feeling of needing to be productive. This superpower will leave you free to be genuinely vulnerable to create what you are capable of.
3D News of the Week
A roundup of interesting 3D related news you may have missed this week.
Watch Gorillaz play augmented reality shows in London and New York - nme.com
Polycam 3.0 released - cgchannel.com
INTRODUCING CLEO The all-new 3D creative app for Ipad - cleo3d.com
Katana 6.0 released - cgchannel.com
I just watched Biggie Smalls perform ‘live’ in the metaverse - technologyreview.com
3D Artist of the Week
Silvia Casali (Puffy Puff Puff)
I’m a sucker for over-the-top cuteness. There’s something fun, whimsical, and just altogether outrageous about trying to jam-pack every single pixel in an image with the maximum level of squishiness. No one does it better than Silvia Casali (also known as Puffy Puff Puff on IG and Artstation).
3D Tutorials
William Faucher is the gold standard for 3D tutorials. His tutorials are professional, polished, and the end results are fantastic! If you are an active or aspiring Unreal user, I recommend checking out this tutorial and following his social channels to up your game!
3D Job Spreadsheet
Link to Google Doc With A TON of Jobs in Animation (not operated by me)
Michael Tanzillo has been a Senior Artist on animated films at Blue Sky Studios/Disney with credits including three Ice Age movies, two Rios, Peanuts, Ferdinand, Spies in Disguise, and Epic. Currently, Michael is a Head of Technical Artists with the Substance 3D team at Adobe.
In addition to his work as an artist, Michael is the Co-Author of the book Lighting for Animation: The Visual Art of Storytelling and the Co-Founder of The Academy of Animated Art, an online school that has helped hundreds of artists around the world begin careers in Animation, Visual Effects, and Digital Imaging.
www.michaeltanzillo.com
Free 3D Tutorials on the Michael Tanzillo YouTube Channel
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