Refiner's Fire

I am a sloppy artist—an enthusiastic artist, yes, but a sloppy one. Raw shapes, lines, colors, and gradients spill right from my mind onto the paper; it is a joyous mess. I employ a very simple set of rules to each picture, and revise only until I no longer feel like I am breaking any of them. I am, however, a perspective animator; without correct proportions and an accurate sense of space, there is only a very slim chance entering the field. The dilemma I face is one I have noticed in many places: keeping that childlike spontaneity and enhancing it with structure and logic.

The first two weeks of the Figure Drawing for Animators course were like pulling teeth: I had to unlearn most of what I “knew” about drawing, establish a foundation of measurements and procedures, and then re-learn the creative aspect with the new rules in place. Oh, it was awful! It was dry and itchy and boring! But this is an ongoing process; I’ll be doing it all my life. I noticed that, once a handful of the new rules had set in place, the art that grew naturally out of my mind was better, somehow.

It does not surprise me that I am also a sloppy dancer; in Social Dance 180, the same thing is happening! That innocent, eager, creative part of me needs to be taught the “rules.” Through the courses at BYU, every aspect, every discipline of that creativity can be refined and made productive—and can, someday, support a family.

Now, about my writing…

--Posted by Sergio Benjamin Puente