Comparing learning new skills to experiences learning art

@darthmongoose Kate Holden
Thu, 09 Feb 2023 08:10:09 +0000

@darthmongoose wrote:

The videos on 8-Bit Music Theory are really good, both the "Music theory minute" ones, and just generally all the videos that talk through how techniques are applied in great videogame tracks and what effect they can have.

With regard to learning, I think it's good to have people to look up to and aim for who aren't at the very top end of pro. Like if I was going to learn composition, I'd be chatting to people from Videogame Remix communities, composers from really small videogames on itch, or Homestuck fanmusic people, because they're good at what they do, but they're not waaaay up a the top end of their field and speaking at a level I can't understand. That's how I kept going with comics when I was younger; I made friends with people who were just breaking into the industry, a few years older than me, had just placed in or won competitions I was planning to enter, and I aimed to be as good as them, "good enough" to get professional work.

People tend to think about professional creatives like once you're pro, you're top level, but honestly, there's a whole world of difference between somebody who's just reached a level where they can do baseline acceptable work on a small product or fill in details under the eye of a more experienced creator, and top-end senior creatives whose name is known even outside of the industry. So I think rather than immediately aiming for the top, aim for the bottom of the profession first, aim to be reliably able to make some really simple, basic background loops that'd go in a videogame, and then start applying more complex theory and ideas to up your game until you're really good.

I have the same feeling about comics where people are trying to tell the cleverest story and have the most complex and artistic art and so think they're above baseline pros, or even mid-level people like me, but they haven't mastered really basic stuff like making their visual storytelling clear and easy to follow, how to make pleasing panel layouts that flow well, how to pick fonts that fit, how to choose where to publish and market a comic to find people who want to read it etc. Always respect the people who are managing to hit the bottom targets; you can try to fly above them later.