foundation (definition of):
- the lowest load-bearing part of a building, typically below ground level.
- an underlying basis or principle.
As they say, the foundations are everything. The core fundamentals of any craft start with the foundational bedrock of principles and skills that everything else is built upon. Unfortunately, most people, in almost every craft, want to skip over the long hours and dedicated hard work to truly be strong at the base.
Today, I’ll explain why this happens. Beyond just our ordinary rejection of doing extra work and our obsessive rush to get to the next step, the failure is so predominant because the general mindset about growth and learning is flawed. Most of us, and especially those who live in western cultures, tend to believe in the axiom “the more the better.” In other words, if we accumulate as much information, data or knowledge as possible, we’ll inevitably succeed. We see this in martial artists who “collect” multiple fighting styles, spiritual seekers who follow one guru to another, and even animators who hop from school to school, mentor to mentor. As noted in this blog before, knowledge alone is useless without understanding and actual prolonged application. Let’s look at the following diagrams:
In this first diagram, we can see how most people (including large swaths of schools and educators) think and approach learning. As we learn the first levels of principles and techniques, we subsequently add on more principles and techniques. This is done gradually, but none the less step by step. This seemingly logical and practical approach makes the assumption that once we’ve received the lesson and have gone through its basic exercises that we’ve learned all we need to know and done all there’s to do at such stage. And so, we proceed towards more difficult tasks almost immediately like an assembly line, with one new challenge followed by another. Looking like a high-rise building, we think we’re making great progress, building one level after another constantly adding and “learning” new skills. Without any questioning, a general assumption is accepted as truth — that we’ve “passed” those levels and will never forgot or lose those acquired skills (or that we’ll somehow naturally improve on them as we go.) The animator, for example, does one walk cycle, thinks it’s ok (and it often gets “okayed” by the respected authorities) and believes he knows walk cycles. He goes on in this manner from two-legged ball characters to human walks, then towards fully fledged characters doing all kinds of physical actions and then eventually onwards to acting shots, multiple characters and moving cameras/multiple shot sequences. It seems both ideal and efficient.
Here, in this second diagram, is the reality of taking on such an approach. As we can see — and it should be clear to any student who begins to massively struggle as the next levels of the craft are taught — that the expected learning rate of the original methodology has been misleading. Soon, the artist struggles not only with the new techniques but also with sustaining the proper and solid applications of the lower level techniques to his work. It turns out that his recently acquired skills are far from sufficient and that the new skills amplify the need of mastery of the lower levels. Eventually, the failures mount and the whole structure of his learning begins to topple as the top weight overwhelms the underlying foundation. No architect would ever design a building in such a manner but this construction approach is common in the arts. The reality is this: the foundations have to be stronger and more solid than everything else above it because each next step up is significantly more difficult in size, scope and depth than what has come before. A ready-level competence is necessary in order to learn and practice new techniques. When the lower skills are too weak, difficulty and frustration become too great and any learning stops completely. In major league sports like Hockey or Baseball, pro teams are careful not to rush top young talents into the pro leagues too early for fear of ruining their development when neither their bodies or minds are ready. Boxing coaches, who know that boxers often get only one shot at a title (if at all), take an even more cautious approach making sure their fighters have zero core deficiencies. The reason being is that without a very strong foundation below new techniques have no place to set. For example, the animator who’s barely passed his 2-legged ballie character walk cycle, is completely unprepared for taking on a 4-limbed fully-built rig, never mind any acting shot with all the bells and whistles like moving cameras and props. More often than not, the necessary foundational knowledge and skills, although they may have been shown to him, have not been grasped or understood with any proficiency to handle any added challenges. When an artist continues in this way, a terrible toll weighs on his psyche; the advancing difficulty and size of the challenges become so overwhelming that he loses all confidence, he stagnates and often gives up. This is why it’s so common as a teacher to witness animators — even those working in the industry — reveal remarkable flaws even when doing the most basic mechanics shots when tested. They know this instinctively and it’s one of the reasons they seek my counsel but it’s unfortunate that this happens. The truth is that at all levels of the craft, from basic mechanics to acting and camera work; each level of learning can feel daunting and exponentially difficult when the approach to learning is wrong.
In this third chart, we can see the approach that I encourage for all young artists. The mindset of a true and honest learner is one that continues to build on the foundations that support his craft. As he learns and practices each new set of principles and techniques, he continues to strengthen the previous skills he’s acquired knowing full well that he HAS NOT yet mastered them. So, as time progresses, he becomes more and more skilled at the levels beneath and leverages them to meet the challenges of the next level. He knows and does this consciously, maintaining a humble mindset until his core foundations get significantly stronger, so strong in fact, that they become second nature. Approaching one’s learning in this manner not only stabilizes one’s growth in a sustainable way but also boosts confidence. In due time, the underlying foundations become so solid that it culminates into a pyramid of tremendous creative power where one can reach seemingly endless heights. It’s why genius is often stated as being 10% talent and 90% hard work. Consistency, passion and persistence are key ingredients to excellence and creativity. Top animation professionals don’t have to remember to apply weight, or achieve good arcs or spacing because they’re aware of these fundamentals constantly as part of the background of their work. When I spent many years studying fighters (due to my deep devotion to my other love, martial arts), I found the best ones were the ones with the strongest foundations. The great martial artists, regardless of style, had rock solid stances/balance and the strongest yet most supple bodies. And their minds paralleled that strength and flexibility. The same was true when I looked deeply into the work of the great animators. They could all draw well, demonstrate strong weight, present beautiful arcs and express confident camera/staging in all their work. The physical and emotional performances of their characters reflected a well thought-out vision — and all of it made possible by their deep knowledge and grasp of the fundamentals achieved thru an authentic practice.
Summary:
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we wait till we’ve mastered everything before we take on a new job or challenge — we can and sometimes have to learn on the job — but it’s much harder. In industry, one is judged daily on results, not promises or potential. Failures aren’t often overlooked and there’s alss a “what have you done for us lately” mindset in nearly every corporate environment. Add to it the stress of delivering under pressure, personal expectations and tight deadlines, it can overwhelm even the coolest individuals. Therefore, I suggest always to keep things simple and to maintain a humble spirit. I know, everyone’s in a hurry to get good, rich and successful. Don’t rush your learning. This suggestion may seem too much “wax on, wax off” for some but it’s truly the only way to learning something well and be truly good. And being good is the best kind of security we can possibly have.
“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”
— Michael Jordan, Basketball Player