My Creative Twitch?
At the time of writing, I’ve probably drawn 20+ bird images. Most of them dumped as I’ve refined the visual style. (They’re on my Twitter feed if you’re interested.) And, I admit I enjoy creating them.
I decided to create images of birds on a whim. I’d finished producing the Amphibian Portraits and thought that birds would suit the style. I had also been submitting images to the Colour Collective challenge and I thought I could kill two birds with one stone. (Pardon the pun!)
But, I’ve had to be heavily reliant on the internet for imagery and the thought occurred “Why am I not shooting my own photographs?” (After all, I’ve had an extended career as a professional photographer. I still have my EOS and plenty of birdies flapping about in the back garden.) Then I realised I had fallen into the ‘average’ mind-set - People think it’s easy!
When photographing wildlife, there is a huge amount of expertise, equipment knowledge, and a deep understanding of the animals. Not to mention oodles of practice and patience. The same can be said of Illustration.
It IS easier for anyone to create a good illustration using the vast armoury of creative apps available in today’s technological climate. But, the reality of producing images regularly and with consistency is the real challenge. I defy anyone using whatever version of whatever app, using whatever filters to produce a good illustration from scratch. But then to also do it again and again - in the same style, to the same quality. That takes expertise, equipment knowledge and oodles of practice and patience.
Of course this applies to all of The Visual Arts. But how often have you caught yourself thinking –“ That’s easy! - I could do that!”?
I’ll leave the Twitching to the experts!
