Complexity

[talktooloose]

I spent a bit of time at The Toronot Comic Arts Festival explaining to people who had seen the beginnings of my graphic novel why I was no longer drawing it. My speech went something like this:

"I had drawn 51 pages of approximately 250 when I suddenly realized I didn't want to draw page 52. I had spent a wonderful year learning to drawn better. I had been disciplined and methodical. I had proven to myself that I knew comics well and could tell stories in that medium. But I realized that I was never going to be a good enough visual artist to satisfy my high standards."

This declaration met with the predictable artist's pep-talk (we're never satisfied, there's always someone we think better) but I went on to explain that I can, when writing music or fiction, get the sense of mastery that I cannot when I draw. Furthermore, I'm already at a level in both these disciplines that I can effectively tell the tales I need to tell. I want to improve and improve, but I have the faith in these media that such improvement will be acheiveable.

Now, that being said, I have been thinking that I will draw again at some point in the future and I will acheive my aims through simplicity. If I don't want to figure out the three point perspective of a room, I will ignore it and use a flat plane. If I'm bored with a background, I'll forego it. I'll draw what moves me and nothing more.

I love complexity. I admire artists who juggle variables like burning chainsaws. As a lyricist, I insist on the puzzle of true rhymes. As a novelist, I relish writing scenes where the comic and tragic must dance a tango on a tightrope. As a comic book artist, I picked a style that demanded more than I could give. I will try not to make that mistake in the future.

Comments

[lux-apollo.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it is good to recognize one's limitations. There is this strange culture nowadays of celebrating less than stellar talent... Or maybe it has always been around. I don't know. I applaud you for going that far in developing your drawing skills. I would never have even had the courage to try and be my own artist from the start, as much as I did enjoy drawing and painting in the past.