Closing the Gap
Creative Block → 002
Creative Block is a weekly newsletter that gives you a glimpse into my life, creativity, design, and music. It's like a little pick-me-up that you get delivered straight to your inbox each week.
I'm on my 6th attempt at trying to learn and use Cinema 4D. Most of my design career has been focused on 2D, and only in the past two years have I had the courage to start learning 3D. It's been quite the journey, and I've struggled a lot because sometimes I feel like I'm forcing myself to learn 3D. Looking back now, I think I was just trying to push myself creatively, but also felt like it was too late to learn the software since my peers had already been using Cinema 4D for over 5+ years.
I realized that the issue wasn't my inability to learn 3D, but that there was a gap between what I wanted to make and what I could create in the software because of my lack of experience using it. It was so frustrating and my response to the frustration was to quit.
This is my sixth attempt, and I've learned a few things long the journey:
It's okay to take breaks when learning a new skill, especially when frustrated.
Asking for assistance from peers is helpful in bridging knowledge gaps. It's important to identify individuals who may be willing to serve as mentors, either directly or indirectly. I consider myself a student, and I constantly learn from my favorite artists on youtube, skillshare, domestika, and patreon.
Here’s one of my favorite quotes when I feel discouraged about this 3D journey. I hope this inspires you in whatever space you’re at in your journey.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
-IRA GLASS
This week, I focused on shapes, color, reflections, and composition in Cinema 4D. Although my projects are not perfect, I did learn a few things along the way, which counts as progress.
Lastly, I think one thing I can say about this week is that it was humbling. I’m in a space in my career where I don’t NEED to learn 3D but I want to. Who knows.. It may never amount to anything but at least I tried and can say I did something new.
Weekly Column of Inspiration 🧶
📔 Read:
👁 See:
Greyscale Gorilla Tutorial (3D tutorial I watched to make what I made this week)
🎧 Hear:
Check out these songs :)
I relate to this so much. I'm a photographer who's currently learning how to make videos not because I need to but because I want to. And I agree that it's humbling learning something new. Learning is a process that everyone goes through, no shortcuts, and the only way 'out' is to keep practicing until you get 'less bad'.