Designer's Imagination: Sat. Apr. 22, 9 a.m. - NOTES
Niko Stumpo got stranded at the airport in Amsterdam. Tom Green stepped in at the last minute. Thank you Tom!
moderated by Margot Q. Knight (MK)
Will McGuiness (WM)
Jennifer Shiman (JS)
MK: where do you start/get your inspiration
JS: I read a lot and have a big interest in narrative so that's often where I get ideas
TG: I like pixel boards, I think it's the shiny effect... my students too are very inspiring... also on the Web, you look at what
WM: It's the world, music, books, walks...
MK: I go to the 750 section of the library, pull a bunch of books out onto the floor and spread them out... my parents are doctors so I looked a lot at their medical texts
MK: if you have a deadline, how do you get started then
WM: I'll just start generating ideas, moving things around, stepping back, looking at it differently, then doing more.... you have to take a certain amount of time
MK: There's this thing called a theta state, just above sleep, and I definitely try to get into this state,
TG: I get into that state, I get obsessed, my family complains because I become so unruly... with a new book I'm doing for Friends of Ed, it's uncharted territory, so I've got to think it through... all of sudden I got the idea "here be dragons" associated with old maps, meaning uncharted territory
JS: I get ideas just when I'm about to fall asleep. I keep a notebook by my bed.
TG: I tell my students to take a notebook wherever they go, a digital camera is a great idea too, just shoot, you never know what you may end up using.
MK: How do you motivate yourself for projects that are more ambitious, that are definitely going to take longer.
WM: I have to do timelines and budgets and stuff, i just have to keep the train moving... there are tons of personal things I've started and not followed through
JS: I don't get motivated gracefully, it's not pretty... walking, talking to people help... I have to try different things.
TG: deadlines are a powerful motivator
audience: what about the idea of beautiful? there's the work but then it's beautiful!
MK: yes, that is inspiring... the satisfaction of being able to do it
a famous teacher of mine once asked me "Show me something that I've never seen before, say something only you can say." this is about a place that no one else can come from...
TG: I'd say that's the single most important issue. I've never met a Flash person who think of what they do as work. There's joy in it. Wonder, fun and excitement. A lot of great work is happy accidents.
JS: There is a happy balance. I do one bunny short a month for Starris(?) Entertainment, so the deadline is an important motivator.
question: does it make a difference that it was YOUR idea, they came to you specifically
JS: yes, there was definitely more pressure but it was also great because they stand back, they just want to help you do what you do.
(NB) last year Derrick Hodgson said pretty much the same thing, it's a priviledged role to have people come to you but it's great
TG: deadlines are fearful, but then you are motivated to learn whatever you need to, and you do "get it," and then after I can use that directly in the classroom.
MK: you have to be able to live in an 'uncomfort' zone, to be comfortable in this area of doubt... but then you also have to have high self-esteem to make decisions and stick with them even though that thing is unlike anything else you've ever seen
question: do you find that you have experienced fluctuations in creativity...
WM: I haven't found a way out of a doldrums... but to go back to the fear factor, I've come to rely on the structure of deadlines, even since school, it's kinda sad that I need that... there are times when I feel more inspired but ...
JS: in terms of trying to move out of a rut, I have to be open just to get something down on paper, that can move you forward... the other thing is just to take a break... doing other things.... dragging out old projects and playing with them... reading what other people have done about their ruts
TG: the rut is a really cool place to be because you look at the options and are being very critical; so then I go and do something really different; kill things in an online game, browsing bookstores for hours, whatever... and then boom, you are out of it! I'm going to be talking to some guys about Rich Media, and they were beating me up about what I don't know about it, and it was bad until I realized what I have to bring to the table, then I was ok again
MK: I may have stretches of a year at a time where I don't know what's going on... but it's essential to keep working... I do experiments, little things... in 2004 I forced myself to do images without people in them, I interned at a video centre, I learned something about fibre optic... I didn't do anything specific with these things... one of my mentors said there is no such thing as creative block, it's just that you are not interested in what you are working on... you need to find an emotional connection to your project, if there is that, then other people will relate to it also...
question: what about 'the grind', just the daily routine... that feels so oppressive.
TG: if it's a job, get out... if I get bored, I move on.
MK: you have a finite amount of time and money, money being time because it's time spent making money... you have choices, you can live cheaply in order to start something... if the daily grind is consuming your life, you mght want to think about what you are doing
JS: retreats can be very helpful... you need to have a level of self-trust... there's a book called The Artist's Way, there's a writing exercise, every morning you write three pages of stream of consciousness, gets it out of you and you can move on the rest of the day... I like making lists, it makes you feel good, even if you don't follow them.
WM: I make lots of list, stickies, duplicated... there's a kind of self-trust that you are going to come up with something good... if if you aren't there yet, getting something done is the start
question: have you ever been completely satisfied? right after you finish you don't think much of it, after you leave it a while it looks a lot better
TG: I think it's a self-esteem issue... you are looking at yourself and saying you suck
my students say I have an ego problem... but my students treat me like a regular guy and that makes me feel great
WM: I've felt that, you get so dialed in that you are seeing it much more closely, seeing all the little flaws, but later you are seeing it from a higher vantage point and it looks better
question: I may hate what I've just done but other people coming to it fresh think it's great... so getting feedback is important; don't always take it to your Mom, but to people who will be frank
TG: you learn from your experience, keep your failures and learn from them
question: as a perfectionist, you could keep working on something forever, you have to stop and say, ok, that's it
question: I find it hard to be creative while you are also learning new tools
other audience: yeah, sometimes people have great ideas and do great things without more than basic tools, it's interesting
TG: for me, if you hand me a tool, I'll play with it, that's how I learn it... other people approach it more structured and it takes them a long time
question: doing everything by trial and error and experimentation is more creative, as opposed to people who learn
MK: like Eric Natzke said yesterday, he started out doing it the hard way but then learned the proper techniques... you benefit from learning the proper way of doing things, it can save huge amounts of time, but whatever level you are at is ok... you
audience: my teacher use to say if you think what you are doing is uglier, make it uglier... dwelve in it!
MK: Joshua Davis was really putting chance or randomness into his work. I wonder if others do that.
WG: Yes, that's important, I'll construct something, then take it apart, cut it up, lots of options, to get to a place you'd never have gotten to before
JS: I have to work with some element of chance... I can always go back and tweek things, there's a degree of intuition that has be there
TG: With a book, you have to submit a table of contents... I'd put in whatever I came across, chance broadens you... the AfterEffects book I'm working on, we can do banner ads in Flash using AfterEffects... you don't see things coming
MK: I definitely add randomness intentionally now, thngs were getting too tight, photography is like that
question: what are your environments like at home?
TG: I work portably, but my office where I can shut the door and put on my headphones
JS: I work at home mostly, it's low key, snug so it's important to get out
MK: my studio is at my parent's home and it's not where I live
WM: my studio is a total mess, rummaging through things, I neve put things back in
at home I create a big mess
fquestion: how do you stay focussed
JS: that writing exercise is helpful, and walking too
MK: lists, what you want to get done in the next six months
TG: how do you deal with complexity, break it down into pieces of what you need to do
WM: I started out as a webmaster, doing everything, then you are expected to write ColdFusion... it was hard to learn FLash and focus on design, so I haven't opened up Flash in two years... some people can do it all like Eric permanent link
moderated by Margot Q. Knight (MK)
Will McGuiness (WM)
Jennifer Shiman (JS)
MK: where do you start/get your inspiration
JS: I read a lot and have a big interest in narrative so that's often where I get ideas
TG: I like pixel boards, I think it's the shiny effect... my students too are very inspiring... also on the Web, you look at what
WM: It's the world, music, books, walks...
MK: I go to the 750 section of the library, pull a bunch of books out onto the floor and spread them out... my parents are doctors so I looked a lot at their medical texts
MK: if you have a deadline, how do you get started then
WM: I'll just start generating ideas, moving things around, stepping back, looking at it differently, then doing more.... you have to take a certain amount of time
MK: There's this thing called a theta state, just above sleep, and I definitely try to get into this state,
TG: I get into that state, I get obsessed, my family complains because I become so unruly... with a new book I'm doing for Friends of Ed, it's uncharted territory, so I've got to think it through... all of sudden I got the idea "here be dragons" associated with old maps, meaning uncharted territory
JS: I get ideas just when I'm about to fall asleep. I keep a notebook by my bed.
TG: I tell my students to take a notebook wherever they go, a digital camera is a great idea too, just shoot, you never know what you may end up using.
MK: How do you motivate yourself for projects that are more ambitious, that are definitely going to take longer.
WM: I have to do timelines and budgets and stuff, i just have to keep the train moving... there are tons of personal things I've started and not followed through
JS: I don't get motivated gracefully, it's not pretty... walking, talking to people help... I have to try different things.
TG: deadlines are a powerful motivator
audience: what about the idea of beautiful? there's the work but then it's beautiful!
MK: yes, that is inspiring... the satisfaction of being able to do it
a famous teacher of mine once asked me "Show me something that I've never seen before, say something only you can say." this is about a place that no one else can come from...
TG: I'd say that's the single most important issue. I've never met a Flash person who think of what they do as work. There's joy in it. Wonder, fun and excitement. A lot of great work is happy accidents.
JS: There is a happy balance. I do one bunny short a month for Starris(?) Entertainment, so the deadline is an important motivator.
question: does it make a difference that it was YOUR idea, they came to you specifically
JS: yes, there was definitely more pressure but it was also great because they stand back, they just want to help you do what you do.
(NB) last year Derrick Hodgson said pretty much the same thing, it's a priviledged role to have people come to you but it's great
TG: deadlines are fearful, but then you are motivated to learn whatever you need to, and you do "get it," and then after I can use that directly in the classroom.
MK: you have to be able to live in an 'uncomfort' zone, to be comfortable in this area of doubt... but then you also have to have high self-esteem to make decisions and stick with them even though that thing is unlike anything else you've ever seen
question: do you find that you have experienced fluctuations in creativity...
WM: I haven't found a way out of a doldrums... but to go back to the fear factor, I've come to rely on the structure of deadlines, even since school, it's kinda sad that I need that... there are times when I feel more inspired but ...
JS: in terms of trying to move out of a rut, I have to be open just to get something down on paper, that can move you forward... the other thing is just to take a break... doing other things.... dragging out old projects and playing with them... reading what other people have done about their ruts
TG: the rut is a really cool place to be because you look at the options and are being very critical; so then I go and do something really different; kill things in an online game, browsing bookstores for hours, whatever... and then boom, you are out of it! I'm going to be talking to some guys about Rich Media, and they were beating me up about what I don't know about it, and it was bad until I realized what I have to bring to the table, then I was ok again
MK: I may have stretches of a year at a time where I don't know what's going on... but it's essential to keep working... I do experiments, little things... in 2004 I forced myself to do images without people in them, I interned at a video centre, I learned something about fibre optic... I didn't do anything specific with these things... one of my mentors said there is no such thing as creative block, it's just that you are not interested in what you are working on... you need to find an emotional connection to your project, if there is that, then other people will relate to it also...
question: what about 'the grind', just the daily routine... that feels so oppressive.
TG: if it's a job, get out... if I get bored, I move on.
MK: you have a finite amount of time and money, money being time because it's time spent making money... you have choices, you can live cheaply in order to start something... if the daily grind is consuming your life, you mght want to think about what you are doing
JS: retreats can be very helpful... you need to have a level of self-trust... there's a book called The Artist's Way, there's a writing exercise, every morning you write three pages of stream of consciousness, gets it out of you and you can move on the rest of the day... I like making lists, it makes you feel good, even if you don't follow them.
WM: I make lots of list, stickies, duplicated... there's a kind of self-trust that you are going to come up with something good... if if you aren't there yet, getting something done is the start
question: have you ever been completely satisfied? right after you finish you don't think much of it, after you leave it a while it looks a lot better
TG: I think it's a self-esteem issue... you are looking at yourself and saying you suck
my students say I have an ego problem... but my students treat me like a regular guy and that makes me feel great
WM: I've felt that, you get so dialed in that you are seeing it much more closely, seeing all the little flaws, but later you are seeing it from a higher vantage point and it looks better
question: I may hate what I've just done but other people coming to it fresh think it's great... so getting feedback is important; don't always take it to your Mom, but to people who will be frank
TG: you learn from your experience, keep your failures and learn from them
question: as a perfectionist, you could keep working on something forever, you have to stop and say, ok, that's it
question: I find it hard to be creative while you are also learning new tools
other audience: yeah, sometimes people have great ideas and do great things without more than basic tools, it's interesting
TG: for me, if you hand me a tool, I'll play with it, that's how I learn it... other people approach it more structured and it takes them a long time
question: doing everything by trial and error and experimentation is more creative, as opposed to people who learn
MK: like Eric Natzke said yesterday, he started out doing it the hard way but then learned the proper techniques... you benefit from learning the proper way of doing things, it can save huge amounts of time, but whatever level you are at is ok... you
audience: my teacher use to say if you think what you are doing is uglier, make it uglier... dwelve in it!
MK: Joshua Davis was really putting chance or randomness into his work. I wonder if others do that.
WG: Yes, that's important, I'll construct something, then take it apart, cut it up, lots of options, to get to a place you'd never have gotten to before
JS: I have to work with some element of chance... I can always go back and tweek things, there's a degree of intuition that has be there
TG: With a book, you have to submit a table of contents... I'd put in whatever I came across, chance broadens you... the AfterEffects book I'm working on, we can do banner ads in Flash using AfterEffects... you don't see things coming
MK: I definitely add randomness intentionally now, thngs were getting too tight, photography is like that
question: what are your environments like at home?
TG: I work portably, but my office where I can shut the door and put on my headphones
JS: I work at home mostly, it's low key, snug so it's important to get out
MK: my studio is at my parent's home and it's not where I live
WM: my studio is a total mess, rummaging through things, I neve put things back in
at home I create a big mess
fquestion: how do you stay focussed
JS: that writing exercise is helpful, and walking too
MK: lists, what you want to get done in the next six months
TG: how do you deal with complexity, break it down into pieces of what you need to do
WM: I started out as a webmaster, doing everything, then you are expected to write ColdFusion... it was hard to learn FLash and focus on design, so I haven't opened up Flash in two years... some people can do it all like Eric permanent link
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