DOUBLE POSTS! NYOHMAGAWD!
I'm very aware I didn't hold true to my promise of posting more often now that I got the blogger app. I suppose it doesn't count that I thought about it from time to time? No?
Sigh..
I guess I'm just not the "regular blogger type". I only ever feel like blogging once in a blue moon and then I always have so much stuff to say and blurp about that I could make 5 posts out of all the things I want to discuss. And then I usually choose one. Because, you know, I don't want to annoy anyone, yes? (No. I lie. It just takes me forever to write shit and I get impatient and don't wanna sit there for 10 hours writing and rewriting and reformulating and... you know the drill)
Or I just kinda ramble on... and on... and on...... and oooon...... like now for instance...
Well, let me tell you: LOTS has happened since my last post. I mean the one before the "talent is an overrated word" one.
Here's a short summary (because it's 3:30 am and I should REALLY go to sleep):
Graduated from the 3D animation and Visual Effects program at VFS in November with Honours (With my Honours in classical that's a Double Honours whoop whoop! so happy)
Am struggling with nightmarish paperwork and insanities related to getting a Work Permit in Canada but am still hopeful.
Went to SIGGRAPH and Spark Animation Festival and CTN Animation Expo all of which blew my mind and spurned the fire within me to work even harder and become the most kick-ass animator I could possibly be.
Met shittons of amazing, inspiring, wonderful, brilliant, and supportive people this year and I am so, so, so, so grateful and amazed at my preposterous luck. And I'll stop there or this will turn into a shameless Name dropping session. (Just.. you know.. Andrew Lawson and.. and Lino DiSalvo... and, and Matthew Luhn.. and ... and... GLEN FRICKING KEANE - yes, you heard me folks, I got to shake Glen Keanes hand and, and he said my name *squeal* - And this is it. I will stop right there. Although there's more... <3 )
Basically I had a fantasmagorically amazeballs year and learned so much and I still can't believe my life. Work permit procuration horrors and all.
Back in Vienna right at this moment, enjoying the Freedom, the Fam, the Friends and the Lazyness. Yes, with a capital L.
Aaaaand here is my 3D student film, enjoy ;) (I hope)
Artist's Block from Jill Andersen on Vimeo.
This is it mes chéris. 3:58 am. Over and Out.
Until we meet again! With hopefully lots more awesomeness. <3
Piece and Love,
Your's truly.
PS:
Just scrolled through my old posts and realised I haven't even posted my classical short. SACRILEGE!
Here it is, my heart, my soul, my sweat and blood, my love:
Mocafurbs from Jill Andersen on Vimeo.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
The word "Talent" is overrated
I was told to copy paste a little rant/speech I made on Facebook about my annoyance at the misapplication of the word "talent" when it comes to artists.
Here goes:
it all started with me posting this fantastic video with these words:
"Very, very, very true. If you want to know why I don't like it when people tell me "oh you have so much talent" then listen to this. he explains it perfectly.
And also if you want to know how to become amazing at anything. not just art. but literally anything. haha"
which led to the following exchange between a very good friend and I:
My Friend:
I had a conversation about this about a week ago... And I do think that there is such a thing as talent. That doesn't mean that talented people do not have to work hard. But to me being talented means that someone has an inate ability in a certain field and when he and another person were to put in the same amount of work, the time needed to achieve a specific level of accomplishment would be noticably shorter for the talented person. But this doesn't mean that a person that isn't per say talented in a field isn't capable of achieving greater success than its "talented" counterpart by working their ass off.
Me:
that's exactly what the guy says darling but by now my skill is not mere talent anymore. I'm not 4 years old anymore. I worked my ass off to be where I am today. and although I usually say nothing, it is not a great compliment to me when someone says "you're so talented". unlesss it comes from an artist I look up to because then I know what he means.
My Friend:
I don't think he agrees with me a 100% cos saying that everyone can be mozart if they have the right environment is ridiculous in my opinion. And eventhough I am not an artist you look up to, I hope it's ok for me to call you talented
Me:
you are very very aware of the hard work I put into it so of course I take it as a total compliment from you hon!
It's just that sometimes when people say "you're so talented, I wish I was as talented as you" it irks me like crazy because its like they're saying I was born with it and didn't have to do anything particularly special to acquire my skills.
What they don't understand is that I have been drawing since I was very, very little and I kept at it, and I worked hard, and there's tons of people out there younger than me who are a million times better than me simply because they've worked even harder at it than me. It has nothing to do with innate talent and everything with a mixture of interest, luck and then lots and lots of hard work.
I was interested in drawing from an early age and I was lucky to have had parents who nurtured that interest to a point where it became more than just an interest and that's when I started to work hard, drawing all the time to get better, because I loved doing it.
Both my mom and my dad were pretty good at drawing and have that creativity but I surpassed both of them long ago because they didn't nurture it as I did.
Look at [Friend A from school] , look at [Friend B from school] I wasn't nearly as good as them when I was about 12 and I looked up to both of them as artists. But both of them gave up along the way, not because they got discouraged but because they lost interest and now I am far ahead in my skills when it comes to draftsmanship, because unlike them, I never stopped.
I think geniuses like Mozart.. sure there's a certain something that is the "talent", the "genius" that sets these kinds of people apart from the rest of the practitioners but it's a very, very small part of what made him so fucking good. And it's a very, VERY small percentage of people who have that extra something that makes them juuuuuust that little bit better and then pushes them into a whole other league. But still, you don't get there with pure talent.
The innate ability to do well at something is a minuscule part of what makes people great. The rest is passion and ridiculously hard work. And a dash of luck. Mozart was drilled by his father like crazy. Maybe not everyone can be a Mozart exactly but I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that anyone can do anything they dare to dream about if only they have enough passion, patience and perseverence to reach their goals. The 3 P's. I'm a big believer in that.
Because the thing is too, that people who make it to the top are people who keep on going when others would have given up. I see it all the time. What a lot of people forget when they look at their idols or at people they admire, is that these guys (and gals) have had to fail so, so, so many times and get back up again, not ever give up, while continuously honing their craft (whatever that may be) to get to where they are. Master draftsmen had to make thousands of crappy drawings, if not more, for every really good one they produce. I make tons and tons of shitty drawings that never see the light of day for every good one I show around. They didn't do it with talent. Mozart didn't become who he was by pure talent. Innate Talent is overrated and a word that is being misapplied constantly.
Milt Kahl himself (One of Disney's nine old men - he animated Merlin and Mowgli and is still revered among aspiring animators as one of the best who ever lived) said:
" I got accused over the years of being a fine draftsman. Actually, I don't really draw that well. It's just that I don't stop trying as quickly. I keep at it. I happen to have high standards and I try to meet them. I have to struggle like hell to make a drawing look good."
I can completely and utterly relate to that and this is a man that a lot of people would have said is "extremely talented". It would have probably insulted him just as much as it does me sometimes, if not more, because this little word completely negates all the struggle, blood and sweat that went into getting there. And most people don't understand that.
In this particular video I love the comparison to a professional sportsman because it is EXACTLY the same thing. Nobody doubts the hard work a sportsman puts into their craft, the hours and hours of training, yet this happens to artists all the time. The best out there are not the best because they are talented, they're the best because they work their asses off day and night, never give up and love what they do more than anything else in the world. That's how they leave everyone behind and elevate themselves to new levels of awesome (haha).
Sure "talent" exsists - as in something that someone is naturally good at or finds easier to accomplish/learn than others. But seriously, it's got NOTHING to do with whether or not you are truly successful at it.
I had a talent for singing and dancing too. And acting for that matter. Never did anything with it so I'm still at grade school level.
I had talent at a lot of sports. I was always good at sports but I never did anything with it becaus the passion just wasn't there and now I start panting after 2 flights of stairs because I don't even do enough exercise to keep myself in shape. (lol)
When I make it into feature animation (and I say WHEN and not IF because I know I will) then it will not have had anything to do with some innate talent for drawing I may have shown when I was 4 years old. But it will have everything to do with the passion, patience and perseverance with which I pursued this goal. The Love, sweat, blood, heart and soul I put into my work and the sacrifices I had to make to get there. The bruises and scars and lessons I carry from my failures and the pride and skill I will truly own through the persistence and the strength I had to come up with to get up again and continue on when I fell or times were tough.
THAT's what will make me stand out and be successful. And not talent.
And you of all people know this because you are the same as me never giving up even when people all around you are telling you to. Always keeping at it, because you love what you do so much, to the point where you don't want to do anything else in your life. It will pay off. I know it will. You just need that tiny bit of luck.
wow sorry, I guess I feel more strongly about this than I thought hahaha
I love you hon, I know you knew all of this without me having to go rambling on. kinda went off on a tangent there O_O but it feels good to remind myself from time to time too. I'm super pumped now thanks to that speech hahaha
I'mma go do some more drawing ;D
My Friend:
And of course you are going into feature animation!!! Like duuuuuuh!!! I already see you as head of animation department and when you have kids they will lend their voices to future iconic characters loved and adored by millions of people. And I say this because I know how commited, serious and passionate you are about your craft and you do stand out already
Me:
Aw Babe... I think I'm gonna cry... Haha.. I love you so much!
I feel so honoured somehow that... I don't know... My words touched you like that.. Haha *getting embarrassed*
Maybe I'll copy paste it onto my blog. Not that anyone ever reads that thing but more to be able to reread this conversation when I feel down and out. So this morsel of awesome doesn't disappear into the depths of Facebook oblivion hahaha
My Friend:
you should copy and paste it onto your blog so it doesn't "disappear into the depths of facebook"!! 😅
See u in a week sweetie. I love you too
Soooo, here we are ;)
Piece and love,
Jill
Here goes:
it all started with me posting this fantastic video with these words:
"Very, very, very true. If you want to know why I don't like it when people tell me "oh you have so much talent" then listen to this. he explains it perfectly.
And also if you want to know how to become amazing at anything. not just art. but literally anything. haha"
which led to the following exchange between a very good friend and I:
My Friend:
I had a conversation about this about a week ago... And I do think that there is such a thing as talent. That doesn't mean that talented people do not have to work hard. But to me being talented means that someone has an inate ability in a certain field and when he and another person were to put in the same amount of work, the time needed to achieve a specific level of accomplishment would be noticably shorter for the talented person. But this doesn't mean that a person that isn't per say talented in a field isn't capable of achieving greater success than its "talented" counterpart by working their ass off.
Me:
that's exactly what the guy says darling but by now my skill is not mere talent anymore. I'm not 4 years old anymore. I worked my ass off to be where I am today. and although I usually say nothing, it is not a great compliment to me when someone says "you're so talented". unlesss it comes from an artist I look up to because then I know what he means.
My Friend:
I don't think he agrees with me a 100% cos saying that everyone can be mozart if they have the right environment is ridiculous in my opinion. And eventhough I am not an artist you look up to, I hope it's ok for me to call you talented
Me:
you are very very aware of the hard work I put into it so of course I take it as a total compliment from you hon!
It's just that sometimes when people say "you're so talented, I wish I was as talented as you" it irks me like crazy because its like they're saying I was born with it and didn't have to do anything particularly special to acquire my skills.
What they don't understand is that I have been drawing since I was very, very little and I kept at it, and I worked hard, and there's tons of people out there younger than me who are a million times better than me simply because they've worked even harder at it than me. It has nothing to do with innate talent and everything with a mixture of interest, luck and then lots and lots of hard work.
I was interested in drawing from an early age and I was lucky to have had parents who nurtured that interest to a point where it became more than just an interest and that's when I started to work hard, drawing all the time to get better, because I loved doing it.
Both my mom and my dad were pretty good at drawing and have that creativity but I surpassed both of them long ago because they didn't nurture it as I did.
Look at [Friend A from school] , look at [Friend B from school] I wasn't nearly as good as them when I was about 12 and I looked up to both of them as artists. But both of them gave up along the way, not because they got discouraged but because they lost interest and now I am far ahead in my skills when it comes to draftsmanship, because unlike them, I never stopped.
I think geniuses like Mozart.. sure there's a certain something that is the "talent", the "genius" that sets these kinds of people apart from the rest of the practitioners but it's a very, very small part of what made him so fucking good. And it's a very, VERY small percentage of people who have that extra something that makes them juuuuuust that little bit better and then pushes them into a whole other league. But still, you don't get there with pure talent.
The innate ability to do well at something is a minuscule part of what makes people great. The rest is passion and ridiculously hard work. And a dash of luck. Mozart was drilled by his father like crazy. Maybe not everyone can be a Mozart exactly but I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that anyone can do anything they dare to dream about if only they have enough passion, patience and perseverence to reach their goals. The 3 P's. I'm a big believer in that.
Because the thing is too, that people who make it to the top are people who keep on going when others would have given up. I see it all the time. What a lot of people forget when they look at their idols or at people they admire, is that these guys (and gals) have had to fail so, so, so many times and get back up again, not ever give up, while continuously honing their craft (whatever that may be) to get to where they are. Master draftsmen had to make thousands of crappy drawings, if not more, for every really good one they produce. I make tons and tons of shitty drawings that never see the light of day for every good one I show around. They didn't do it with talent. Mozart didn't become who he was by pure talent. Innate Talent is overrated and a word that is being misapplied constantly.
Milt Kahl himself (One of Disney's nine old men - he animated Merlin and Mowgli and is still revered among aspiring animators as one of the best who ever lived) said:
" I got accused over the years of being a fine draftsman. Actually, I don't really draw that well. It's just that I don't stop trying as quickly. I keep at it. I happen to have high standards and I try to meet them. I have to struggle like hell to make a drawing look good."
I can completely and utterly relate to that and this is a man that a lot of people would have said is "extremely talented". It would have probably insulted him just as much as it does me sometimes, if not more, because this little word completely negates all the struggle, blood and sweat that went into getting there. And most people don't understand that.
In this particular video I love the comparison to a professional sportsman because it is EXACTLY the same thing. Nobody doubts the hard work a sportsman puts into their craft, the hours and hours of training, yet this happens to artists all the time. The best out there are not the best because they are talented, they're the best because they work their asses off day and night, never give up and love what they do more than anything else in the world. That's how they leave everyone behind and elevate themselves to new levels of awesome (haha).
Sure "talent" exsists - as in something that someone is naturally good at or finds easier to accomplish/learn than others. But seriously, it's got NOTHING to do with whether or not you are truly successful at it.
I had a talent for singing and dancing too. And acting for that matter. Never did anything with it so I'm still at grade school level.
I had talent at a lot of sports. I was always good at sports but I never did anything with it becaus the passion just wasn't there and now I start panting after 2 flights of stairs because I don't even do enough exercise to keep myself in shape. (lol)
When I make it into feature animation (and I say WHEN and not IF because I know I will) then it will not have had anything to do with some innate talent for drawing I may have shown when I was 4 years old. But it will have everything to do with the passion, patience and perseverance with which I pursued this goal. The Love, sweat, blood, heart and soul I put into my work and the sacrifices I had to make to get there. The bruises and scars and lessons I carry from my failures and the pride and skill I will truly own through the persistence and the strength I had to come up with to get up again and continue on when I fell or times were tough.
THAT's what will make me stand out and be successful. And not talent.
And you of all people know this because you are the same as me never giving up even when people all around you are telling you to. Always keeping at it, because you love what you do so much, to the point where you don't want to do anything else in your life. It will pay off. I know it will. You just need that tiny bit of luck.
wow sorry, I guess I feel more strongly about this than I thought hahaha
I love you hon, I know you knew all of this without me having to go rambling on. kinda went off on a tangent there O_O but it feels good to remind myself from time to time too. I'm super pumped now thanks to that speech hahaha
I'mma go do some more drawing ;D
My Friend:
Ahahahaaa LOVE how you really went for it!! This should be online for everyone to read online. What a wonderful speech and it's way way waaaaay better than the youtube clip. You did a really good job getting your point accross. I think because I genuinely think your are extremely talented and am very aware of all the hard work, blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights and personal sacrifices that you made, I had trouble understanding why you don't like it when somebody considers you a telented artist. But now I get it.. When someone just goes oh you're so talented, assuming it's some kind of magic you just happen to have, that's frustrating and annoying. And I agree, talent doesn't automatically result in success.. Although I'm sure that there are quite a few people that can make a living using a talent they invested little time and effort in. But when one is striving to be freaking awesome at something, talent ain't gonna cut it and that's what separates the merely talented from the truely great!!
I think I'm gonna go and print that speech of yours. Strong stuff!!
We'll talk more when you are home hon. Tons of love!! Still crossing my fingers
I think I'm gonna go and print that speech of yours. Strong stuff!!
We'll talk more when you are home hon. Tons of love!! Still crossing my fingers
And of course you are going into feature animation!!! Like duuuuuuh!!! I already see you as head of animation department and when you have kids they will lend their voices to future iconic characters loved and adored by millions of people. And I say this because I know how commited, serious and passionate you are about your craft and you do stand out already
Me:
Aw Babe... I think I'm gonna cry... Haha.. I love you so much!
I feel so honoured somehow that... I don't know... My words touched you like that.. Haha *getting embarrassed*
Maybe I'll copy paste it onto my blog. Not that anyone ever reads that thing but more to be able to reread this conversation when I feel down and out. So this morsel of awesome doesn't disappear into the depths of Facebook oblivion hahaha
My Friend:
you should copy and paste it onto your blog so it doesn't "disappear into the depths of facebook"!! 😅
See u in a week sweetie. I love you too
Soooo, here we are ;)
Piece and love,
Jill
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