The Gleaners by Jean-Francois Millet. Millet painted what mattered to him, which was often the working people of the land — those who did most of the hard living and dying in our society. His work is filled with dignity, empathy and humanity.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff and it’s all small stuff” — Richard Carlson, Writer
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and died that distinguish one from another.” — Ernest Hemmingway, Writer
The value of big things and little things in life can often seem contradictory.
Most of the time we equate the big and urgent stuff as what’s important. And it’s obvious that things like health hazards and safety can’t be ignored. (If there’s one thing that’s benefited from modern civilization it’s higher medical and safety standards). But we also know that not all things that appear big/urgent are really that crucial and we give them too much credence and weight, like for example, things such as material wealth and long-term security.
Most little things don’t matter yet we obsess over them repeatedly: urgent calls/emails, tiny annoyances, trivia or trivial behavior. But other times, it’s precisely the little things that help make things great or give us the greatest satisfaction. In my humble opinion, neither size or urgency is what matters. but rather the level of importance. We’ve got to choose what matters and focus your attention (time and energy) accordingly.
Let’s recall Stephen Covey’s 4 Activity Quadrants which center around importance and urgency.
From Stephen Covey’s classic book on leadership and management, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
It’s obvious that we should spend most of our time on QI and QII activities. The more time spent on QII also means less time in QI (which include items that are the most stressful and taxing to deal with) because planning and prevention helps limit crises. Ignoring QII activities— the life story of most “busy” people today — lead to far too much time time spent in QI. QIII and QIV activities should be avoided altogether, for they are pure time wasters that serve no good whatsoever. But also remember this; a life undisciplined and poorly imagined will naturally default to one that’s spent doing unimportant (and oftentimes harmful) things — both urgent and not urgent — if only because we are human and need an offset to being under tremendous consistent stress.
Things that do matter:
Big Things: (Things we let slide too easily, or delay and postpone as they’re usually not urgent.)
- health (we think physical problems only happen to OTHER people)
- truth (respecting/living according to well thought-out principles)
- connections to family/friends/coworkers (Are you spending enuff time with people who care about you/vice versa, as opposed to “just” workmates out of convenience?)
- home/environment (respecting your home and planet keeps you mindful of things outside of yourself)
- discipline (it’s too important for any artist)
Little Things: (Because they take thoughtfulness but little time, we often forget about them completely.)
- maintenance (of the self, the workstation & home)
- sustenance (quality food, air and water)
- healthy reprieve from routines (fiction/fun/laughter)
- do nothing moments (peace and relaxation)
Things that don’t matter:
Time Magazine‘s controversial cover of the American presidency. Just because it’s big news (or just big noise) doesn’t mean we should be giving it so much time and attention.
Big Things: (Loud or urgent things tend to look much bigger than they really are.)
- politics (seriously, it’s important but it’ll suck your soul dry)
- money (it’s important too, but not as important as you think)
- status (An “image is everything” mindset is the epitome of narcissism)
- time (it’s what life is made up of but all time is relative)
Little Things: (Looks small, and IS small but easily invade our purview.)
- other people’s opinions/criticisms (toss and ignore!)
- mistakes & imperfection (don’t obsess over it, for it shall pass)
- unhealthy escapism (typical vices: uncontrollable use/abuse of drugs, sex, alcohol, media)
- expectations (having high standards is not the same thing, learn to be detached)
How can this apply to our (art)work specifically? For example, in our animations, what might be most important? What’s big and what’s small?
Things that do matter as an Animator/Artist:
Big Things: (Solid planning, exploration and vision)
Sketches by Bill Tytla, exploring forms and staging for Disney’s Fantasia.
- Composition (Overall layout)
- Choreography (Rhythm and flow)
- Staging (Key Poses)
- Clarity of Expression
- Decision (Appropriate Performance choices)
Little Things: (All the constructive parts that make up the whole)
In animation, no single frame is more important than another, but each one matters — every little detail. Progression of animation drawings by Milt Kahl done for Disney’s The Sword In The Stone.
- individual poses/timing
- LOA
- POA/Arcs
- Weight (Drag,Follow Thru & Overlap)
- Spacing
- Penetrations
- Depth & Volume
- Balance & Forward Momentum
- Twists, Turns, Torque
Single image artists, such illustrators or painters, can add other elements to the list such as:
- Color
- Form
- Line
- Texture (tactile)
Digital color concept for Pixar’s Monster’s University by former Art Director, Robert Kondo (Co-founder Tonko House).
Things that don’t matter as an Animator/Artist:
Big Things: (Usually highly emotional things that deter us from the work)
- obsessing over deadlines/overtime hours
- bad feelings/disagreements with superiors (remember, it’s not your show/project)
- concerns over competition, fairness and envy
Little Things: (Usually technical or numerical concerns that grab hold of our left-brain functions)
- obsessing over technical details, like the look of the graph editor instead of what’s on screen (i.e. camera view)
- copying/focusing on every detail in your reference instead of using your knowledge/creativity/instincts
- worrying about speed (meet your deadlines but know that rushing only hurts results)
Understanding how graphs/curves work in Maya is important for every CG animator, but we mustn’t obsess over it.
At the end, artists are constantly seeking plastic ways of making a statement. If we employ those plastic elements appropriately (i.e. make the right choices) we’ll succeed. If we don’t — regardless of any display of skill — we’ll fail. Having a vision matters. Focusing on that vision, and only that vision, is essential.
Summary:
I recently watched a very funny film about acting and the life of actors. It had in it (besides excellent acting) a rather profound quote which I’ll paraphrase here:
“We have to put up with all the rejection, humiliation, cruelty and injustice. We must so that we can keep doing our craft. Because we’re actors.” — from the film No Pay, No Nudity.
In other words, its paramount that we overcome difficulty because it’s unrealistic to believe that it ever completely goes away. So let’s build the strength to do and focus on the stuff that’s important — urgent or not — whether they be big or small.