by Marty Coleman | Jun 29, 2012 | Competition - 2012 |
And here is yesterday’s blank napkin with a quote. The quote is from Lou Brock, one of the best base stealers, runners and defensive outfielders in baseball history.
Starting Over
I switched careers when I first moved to Oklahoma. I had been a college art instructor (part time at 3 different colleges) and a restaurant manager. In Oklahoma I became a commercial computer artist helping to create interactive educational software for kids. I started out at the bottom at minimum wage by scanning animation cels that an other artist did. I used Photoshop to clean them up and hand them off to the animator. The artist who drew the original drawings was the top dog in the office. He also used Photoshop exclusively.
Saying Yes to Looking Bad
At one point the producer came to the creative group and said she needed someone to start to learn how to use Macromedia Director, the software that actually animated the individual drawings. The top dog artist, who had first choice, was intimidated by that prospect and said he had no interest in learning it. I, on the other hand, when given the opportunity, jumped at it. I didn’t care if I didn’t know the program. I didn’t care if I was going to probably mess up at times. I didn’t care if the other creative people in the company would laugh at my attempts at animation. What I cared about was learning, growing, getting better, becoming indispensable to the team.
A Cautionary Tale
4 months later we had hired veteran professionals to draw much better animation cels and I was assisting in animating them, using that software. The Top Dog artist had been pretty much shunted off to the side and soon left the company to do roofing in Texas. Within a year and a half I had become both the Producer and the Creative Director of the company. Why did it turn out that way? Because I said yes to a task I KNEW I would look bad in at times.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Quote by Lou Brock
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 28, 2012 | Competition - 2012 |
I thought it would be fun to let you contribute a quote, saying or idea. What do you think this drawing is about? It is competition week so it’s about that, but WHAT is the drawing saying to you about competition (or anything else really)?
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What's the Quote?
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 27, 2012 | Art, Competition - 2012, Patti Smith |
Thank God I made it to day #3 of Competition Week at the NDD!
Knowing the Universe
The quote says God, but it doesn’t really matter if you believe in a deity or not for this to be true. The point is that the universe is awesome. It is one big amazing masterpiece. Your job as an artist is to re-‘VIEW’ the universe. You interpret it, not copy it. You learn from it, not teach it. You stay informed by it, not ignorant of it.
Realistic Competition
It takes courage to compete with someone you know is going to win. Imagine being Michael Phelp’s rival over the past 8 years. But the truth is you aren’t competing directly against universe unless you are either so ignorant of the universe that you think you are at the center of it (You’re not, by the way) or you don’t think about it at all. But the best way to create the most fantastic art is to know your world, your universe. Pay attention to the sounds, tastes, smells, images, textures of the universe. Then filter it all through ‘you’ and out will come unique and individual creative work.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who has a talking paintbrush that posed for this drawing. Her name is Penelope.
Quote by Patti Smith, who lusts after Penelope but can’t have her.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 26, 2012 | Competition - 2012, Napoleon Bonaparte |
I have been competing all morning to get #2 of Competition Week done. Here it is!
When Naked is Good
Naked is good when you are appropriately showing your true self to those whom you want to show yourself to. Being vulnerable, telling who you really are, your struggles, successes, failures, flaws, highlights – those are all in the ‘naked is good’ category and people respond to it. It makes you MORE popular and endearing to your friends, fans, followers, customers, clients, to see a well-rounded version of you.
When Naked is Bad
Naked is bad when you are inappropriately showing your stupidity, desperation, insensitivities, and disrespect. You aren’t choosing to be intentionally vulnerable, you are making a fool of yourself. You are ruining yourself in the eyes of others. You aren’t seeing yourself clearly, otherwise you would never expose yourself the way you are.
Witnessing Naked
Most of the people I know who could possibly be considered my competitors in one field or another are good friends or at least respectful acquaintances. I would be willing to help them to some degree and I know they would do the same for me. But in business if someone is directly competing with me for specific business I am not going to give them my insights as to why a move they might be making is a bad one.
I am not wishing them ill. I am certainly not designing any activity that would purposely make their business more difficult to run. But I am doing all that I can can to make sure I am the better person for the job and that includes leaving them to their own devices. If they succeed, I am happy for them. If they don’t, I am going to take advantage of the void they create.
What about you, what do you think of this idea?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who doesn’t have many enemies.
Quote by Napoleon Bonaparte, who had a lot of enemies.
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by Marty Coleman | Jun 25, 2012 | Competition - 2012, Self |
You Are.
The Fight Within
It’s not ‘the competition’ who is your strongest competition, it’s you. It’s your decision to settle. It’s your decision to give up. It’s your decision to blame circumstances or others or the weather. Win the battle with your mediocre, excusing self and you’ll win, simple as that.
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Drawing by Marty Coleman, who is preaching to himself.
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