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Animator, Artist - Are You Nuts? Probably - but There is Help!

By Steve Pitzel (Intel) (54 posts) on June 29, 2009 at 6:00 pm

I was talking to Carl Jacobson from Cakewalk a while back about the challenges artists face in this world. Okay, I know, Cakewalk creates audio software, not what you'd normally call "visual computing" software but stick with me on this for a minute. Audio and visual are pretty much intertwined - especially for animators.

We agreed that artists & musicians have a heck of a lot to deal with - much of that related to time.

Sure, as an artist your wife, girlfriend, kids have to deal with YOU - but not with what you're going through as an artist.

Artists HAVE to create art. It  isn't something you "like to do," it's something "you have to do."  Even very, very gifted artists can spend a lifetime mastering their art - but most also spend a lifetime learning and working a trade as well. As an artist, you'll almost always have two lives to live - but only enough time for one.

With a lot of luck, you may have made the creation of art your living. Sadly, most artists don't - which means sleep, a family life, any sort of normal existence, is out the window. If you're an artist making your living at anything other than creating art - you still create art - you just do it in place of sleep and everything else.

Some artists and musicians make enough money doing "something else" to buy all the fancy equipment they need to create their art - but they rarely have time to use it - even less to learn how to use it. I liken the equipment bought that way to treasure anchored to the bottom of the sea  - you can use it all you want - but only as long as you can hold your breath.  Being an artist, and not making your living that way, is very, very tough.

So what can you do when there isn't enough time in the day?

You can be organized (unfortunately this is a tough call for most of us with Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees) but necessary, and you can also make sure you're using technology that's so fast, and so transparent, that you can spend more time creating with it than learning how to use it.

I'm lucky. I work with some of the top folks who create some of the best technology for art and music in the world. I'll point you to it whenever and wherever I can. And when I hear great tips on organizing your time and life to create more art...I'll pass those along too.

- Pitz

Categories: Art, Music, & Animation, Graphics & Media
Tags: animator, artist, artistanimator, Cakewalk Sonar, Carl Jacobson, digital art, living as an artist, musician, Visual Computing

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Comments (2)

July 14, 2009 6:15 AM PDT Carl Jacobson

Steve, that was a great conversation we had, and I'm looking forward to continuing it in a few weeks at Siggraph. I like what you wrote here. Especially the part about taking advantage of the technology that's available to you. It's kind of an awkward analogy, but I've always called PC's a "prosthetic limb for my creativity" With my responsibilities at Cakewalk and also the shreds of a personal life that I try to fit in around work :), I could never hope to accomplish half the art and music that I create without the assistance of digital tools like SONAR, Photoshop, and Intel processors. See you soon, Carl

July 14, 2009 8:47 AM PDT Steve Pitzel (Intel) Total Points: 7,636 Community Manager

Definitely! Hey Carl, I've tended to think of the technology more as a very, very expensive paint brush or pencil - but heck, for artists what are brushes and pencils if not prosthetic limbs :) ? And yeah, when I think of the audio side especially - I remember how cool I thought I was a few years back because I could "sometimes" sync up my midi gear with my PC (if I got all the settings right and the audio gods happened to be with me...) Then you guys built Sonar - and now I don't even use most of my other outboard hardware (although I do keep it powered up with the lights on so Nina won't throw it away...) The world of digital content creation is definitely changing for the better! Looking forward to a demo of the Sonar V-Studio at Siggraph! Also - hoping to get a music/anim project out soon -- just need that second lifetime I have to start kicking in. See you at the show! - Pitz

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