State of the Union 3

Describe your typical creative process, from getting an assignment to finished piece.

-I sketch first initial ideas

-thumbnails come next

-larger, more refined thumbnails come after i have selected two or three i like most.

-i sketch and layout exactly what i think the composition should be, i determine what i think is or is not working within this, and all of this is done at around 8x10 (however sometimes, i scan the thumbnails and re-draw them, if i feel i'll only hurt the composition by re-drawing it without guidance.)

-once the final sketch is laid out, whatever medium i've selected dictates how i go from there: if its ink, i test line thickness, and decide what kind of lines i want and where, if its conte or charcoal, i start shading and knocking in basic forms, and so on.

-Lately, scanning has become almost a requirement for me, as i don't move the actual piece around everywhere, and i like to see how the work reproduces. So i scan, sometimes tweak colors and light balance, and print.

Describe what your creative process should be like.

Using the process i have listed above, the things that i would alter include:

-more thumbnails (as i tend to get impatient with them, and always think i have the composition down the way i want it after about 15 or 20.)

-going over the larger thumbnails i pick out, and fine-tuning them more before i even start the final thing.

-and remaining vigilant of when something is too much, and when it is not enough.

Research of a professional creator's creative process: Stanley Kubrick

-He reportedly exposed 1.3 million feet of film while shooting The Shining (1980), the release print of which runs for 142 minutes. Thus, he used less than 1% of the exposed film stock, making his shooting ratio an indulgent 102:1 when a ration of 5 or 10:1 is considered the norm.

-Known for making his actors and crew make up to 120+ takes consecutively.

-Kubrick took charge of many projects, almost completely, imposing his ideas and standards on the film. Many crew members were upset by his style: cinematographer Russell Metty complained to producers that Kubrick was taking over his job. Kubrick's reponse was to tell him to sit there and do nothing. Metty complied, and ironically was awarded the Academy Award for his cinematography.