I think the scope is (I may have said this before....) very wide for this particular subject, that's why I think it's so hard to write about...So I'm just going to take a minute to figure out what the hell I'm going to actually write.
*2 minutes pass*
Right then, I'm going to start this blog by writing about what I've been doing creatively in these past few weeks. Yeah, that sounds like a good way to start. *pats self on back*
Recently, as a class, we've been forced to use our creativity and initiative more than ever in game art.
On the art side of things we're being sent out to create things on paper from what we see around us. This alone is a lot different from drawing the same woman over and over again in a variety of different poses.
Our outings have allowed us to actually create things from our imaginations instead of what's just there in front of us, though I think we could actually produce two different ideas in the time we're given, easily. Perhaps one word for the morning and another for the afternoon would get those creative juices flowing faster? Either way, our creativity is probably getting stronger from this exercise.
Our character project is also getting us to access our creativity by having to come up with our own characters. I just realized how different this year has been in comparison to last year, drawing the canal and such and how much more I prefer using my mind to come up with something interesting.
So that's art. 3d modeling, while maybe not as much as art, has been coupled in to our creativity also. Just looking around the labs I can see streams of the stuff flowing into images on the screen, each with its own different style and identity. Even something as technical as "I made my model using edge loops" or "I box modeled mine!" is showing that the minds around me are using creative flair to decide on their preferred method of creation.
Then, of course, there are the props and variations of their self-portraits that are emerging too, the majority of them completely different from one another's. Jesus' model is, in my mind, clearly the most creative. Making yourself into a Goron is the strangest idea I've heard on this project, yet it's a damn creative one.
Another chunk of creativity used in the self-portrait project was thrown at trying to make the model actually LOOK interesting, as touched upon by Joylon Webb in his lecture. With a little critiscm from Mike I decided to re-do my model in order to make it look more interesting, which I did by giving it more shape and (slight!) definition of the muscles and removing my hoodie altogether.
Outside of uni I've tried to keep the creativity running hot by taking part in the 45 minute speed paint sessions with fellow 3ds max sufferers. Speed painting is an amazing idea that really forces your mind into a creative state quickly. I'd done speed painting before, but with lack of company to drive me onwards, I quickly found myself becoming lazy and not doing it at all. But with my course friends becoming involved too, I feel much more compelled to do them, and with far more passion than I had for speed painting before!
I've been very happy with some of the work I've produced and know that in the long run this will be very beneficial to us all. I think it'd be awesome if Chris could be persuaded to get us to do 30 -45 min speed paints in lessons...
My most recent speed paint. The word was "bed"
One other thing I've been doing at home besides the endless flow of work, speed painting and guitar hero, is reading again. I haven't read books since the end of last term, and with the release of "The Golden Compass" (or northern lights as it SHOULD be called...stupid Americans...) closing in, I decided to re-read his dark material's trilogy.
It had been years since I last read these marvelous books. I must have been fourteen or so the first time I picked up Northern Lights and I still enjoy them just as much as I did all those years ago. I don't think I've read anything that's really had me grin with excitement or frown with sadness at what's happening on the page.
These books have really made me realize how much that literature can be used as fuel for our own work.
I was planning on writing about other people’s views on creativity, mainly from the all knowing wikipedia, but I’m sure everyone else has already done that.
Reading through the article on creativity just shows that the term can be applied in many different senses, such as creativity is the same as intelligence, having a good imagination, being artistic or a good engineer.
I realize that creativity is a very important part of our selected field and that becoming increasingly more creative is very significant to us. The best way for it to grow is by feeding it. Feeding creativity is easy enough, books, pictures, experiences, opinions and pretty much anything else will slip down its throat and be a satisfying meal.
But no matter how much it feeds, it will still be hungry for more.
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