Warning: The Tool May Try And
Dictate The Design By Neil Blevins Created On: Jan 6th 2013
Updated On: Dec 5th 2024
Software: Any
I'm always excited when I discover strong connections between music and
visual art, it just proves that it's all the same challenge.
Check out this great video if you have 15min, it's a guitar masterclass
with Devin Townsend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw-9oGUXg6c
Now even if you're not a guitar player, and even if you don't like
Devin's music, I can recommend the video because he touches on some
really great things about being a musician that resonant equally with
visual artists. One of them is his tuning. He tunes his guitar in a
rather unique way. And that means that there are certain sequences of
notes (scales) that are far easier to play with his special tuning,
sequences that are much harder to play on a standard tuning guitar.
After watching the video, it's now obvious to me that at least some of
the uniqueness that his music has is specifically because his choice of
tuning suggests certain note sequences and chord progressions,
sequences that standard tuning does not suggest. And so, he sounds very
different and unique from a lot of other musicians.
The same thing happens in the visual arts. When I first started, there
were no computers, and so you drew with a pencil. When 3d started to
happen, I started designing my creatures and robots on the computer.
But that had a major disadvantage. Since certain shapes are easy to
make in 3d software, like spheres and cubes, etc, all of my designs
started looking like spheres and cubes. It was my inherent laziness
that let my tool dictate the design (and lets not kid ourselves, we ALL
have a little laziness to us). Once I realized that, I went back to
drawing a design first, then using the computer to execute it, and
flush out the details. Even if my drawing skills weren't as good as my
3d skills, just the act of drawing lent itself to more interesting
designs, because a pencil is so basic, it does not suggest certain
shapes and forms as readily as something like a 3d package. It's a bit
like that old saying, "when all you have is a hammer, all problems
start looking like nails".
With each new popular piece of software, I see the same problem again
and again. Whether it's SketchUp, Zbrush, whatever. Each piece of
software has it's own things its good at, and easiest to create.
That's not to say of course you shouldn't design in 3d, but if you do,
you need to be mindful that the tool will try and pull you in a
specific direction, and if you're using the same tool configured the
same way as everyone else, you risk producing work that looks like
everyone else. Knowing this will not only help you avoid this pitfall,
but you can also use this knowledge to your advantage.
If the tool is going to suggest certain forms, then accept that
reality, but spend the time customizing the tool in an interesting way,
so at least the designs it suggests are more unique. Of course it's
only one piece of the puzzle, and two people using the same tools can
certainly produce very different work due to zillions of other factors,
but why not make it a little easier on yourself and find a way to
re-tune your software with a non standard tuning, it may help you
produce something that is uniquely you.
