The Gaming Den

I might have learned a decent amount of computer engineering here, but probably the most important thing is "practice makes perfect".

Okay, maybe I should elaborate on that. I've learned that a lot of time when you think you're bad at something it's not really a lack of talent at doing it, but just that you haven't really practiced doing it. My own example is in giving presentations: now that I've had to give a lot of presentations (to classes, to the research group on my research, to our funders, to the school as a whole...) I'm suddenly not bad at it anymore.

Now I'd like to take this same idea and apply it to something else I've never been good at: art. I've pretty much sucked whenever it came to doing anything even remotely related to visual art. So, has anyone else tried to bootstrap themselves up in this field from nothing? If so, what kind of things did you do to learn? I'm mostly interested in 3d rendering actually, and I'll probably just play around with Mudbox and Mudbox tutorials for a while, but I eventually want to be proficient in basic drawing as well.

I'm not a visual artist. And yet: Shadowrun Horror totally exists. A lot of it is collage, parts of it are drawn in photoshop. The key was just fucking around with it until it looked OK.

-Username17

I've always been able to come up with cool ideas but when it comes to application, I just suck and it all goes downhill. So, I tried my hand at art recently. Made ceramic masks, A rather stout Odin with the ravens on his shoulders out of clay, clothe, and yarn. I had to learn to use the yarn needles and all to make it.

All of this was new to me and I've learnt that when you put yourself in the situation and give it your all and more, I am to do a decent job.

I was watching a Jeff Bridges special on PBS' "American Masters." Something he said has been roaming around in my head all day.

He was tired of movies and when he was offered a chance to work with great actors and a great script made for him, He turned it down. He said he bushed and he was probably done with acting. After this, the other actors, his father, and several other people that he respected just called him an idiot.

He processed all this and still felt bushed, tired, and not feel like acting was his craft. But he thought about it, and realized that most professionals in any line of work have times where they don't like the work. But they still go and stick it out. So he decided to stick it out and he found himself wanting to be an actor.

There is something to this whole sticking it out and the whole "practice makes perfect." ideology.