It's taken me my whole life up until now to realize that I'm not perfect. Not perfect like I'm
entitled and nothing I can do is wrong, but perfect as in I expect the art that I make to be a success
every time. Perfect colors, perfect line weights, perfect anatomy.. everything. I used to spend countless
amounts of stress and effort trying to get what I make to be exactly the way it should be. In the end, I
would wind up disliking whatever I could make because it was never exactly what I wanted. After a
break from the art-making process, and a change of scenery by attending University, I was able to wrap
my head around the idea that sometimes accuracy isn't everything.
One of the ways I was able to use imperfection successfully in my work was through animation.
After doing it the boring way to learn the basics, I could really stretch my wings and complete two
films I can really be proud of. By working on an animation without the pressure of it being completely
visually accurate or “perfect”, I could let the emotion and movement be the major strong point of the
film. If I had to bog myself down by making the animation completely technically animated,
comparable to Disney or Miyazaki, I would have been incredibly discouraged a long time ago.
Perfection is something that I will always strive for in my work but the definition of it has
changed. No longer do I use it as a comparison of my own work to other's, but rather as a never-
attainable goal that keeps me working and creating. I hold steadily to the phrase, “never become
complacent with your work. Once that happens, you will cease to create anything great.”
entitled and nothing I can do is wrong, but perfect as in I expect the art that I make to be a success
every time. Perfect colors, perfect line weights, perfect anatomy.. everything. I used to spend countless
amounts of stress and effort trying to get what I make to be exactly the way it should be. In the end, I
would wind up disliking whatever I could make because it was never exactly what I wanted. After a
break from the art-making process, and a change of scenery by attending University, I was able to wrap
my head around the idea that sometimes accuracy isn't everything.
One of the ways I was able to use imperfection successfully in my work was through animation.
After doing it the boring way to learn the basics, I could really stretch my wings and complete two
films I can really be proud of. By working on an animation without the pressure of it being completely
visually accurate or “perfect”, I could let the emotion and movement be the major strong point of the
film. If I had to bog myself down by making the animation completely technically animated,
comparable to Disney or Miyazaki, I would have been incredibly discouraged a long time ago.
Perfection is something that I will always strive for in my work but the definition of it has
changed. No longer do I use it as a comparison of my own work to other's, but rather as a never-
attainable goal that keeps me working and creating. I hold steadily to the phrase, “never become
complacent with your work. Once that happens, you will cease to create anything great.”