Just something I’m trying, folks.

In one of my figure drawing classes, we had a series of assignments where we had to copy the human figures in over 20 famous paintings.  We were supposed to draw them on large sheets of paper.  It was a really tough assignment, especially if we had to copy from paintings depicting a crowd scene.

Some of my classmates had a great idea.  They took pictures of the paintings from the internet, printed them on overhead projector transparencies, and borrowed the school’s projector to enlarge the image onto a blank wall.  Then, they traced the projected image onto the large sheets of paper we had to draw on.

The result? Almost perfectly proportional copies of the original paintings.

Also, they missed the point of the entire assignment.

We were supposed to learn how to draw the curves and lines present in the human figure.  This exercise was repetitive so that such lines would be second nature to us.  Instead of learning how to do this, my craftier classmates took a shortcut just to turn in something at the end of the semester, at the expense of their own artistic growth.

Shortcuts are easily available to anyone who wants to do creative work. Following a formula is a shortcut.  Copying something that has been successful (”In the tradition of Harry Potter…” or “In the style of Stephen King…”) is also a shortcut.  Walking on an existing path rather than finding your own is a shortcut.

Wait a minute… those can be good things.  Are shortcuts really bad?

While shortcuts have their time-saving, result-guaranteeing advantages, using them too often stifles innovation and inadvertently promotes quantity over quality.

Productive shortcuts vs. destructive shortcuts

First, let’s talk about the “good” shortcuts.  These shortcuts make your life easier by leaving you with more time and effort to attend to your creative work.  I call them productive shortcuts.

Here’s an example: For my journal comics, I used a cardboard cutout to outline the 3 panels I need to create the comic.  Instead of wasting time fiddling around with the ruler and a pencil until I get everything straight, I already have a template to work with.  Sounds good, right?

But what happens if I want to do a journal strip of more than 3 panels?  What if a certain strip calls for a more unusual arrangement?  It would suck if I stuck to my usual template, just so I can save time.  In other words, I may use the cardboard template whenever I want, but what the comic needs should be more important than what templates I have on hand.

If you use productive shortcuts without discrimination, then it’s possible that you’ll be stifling your own creativity.  You’d be tracing someone else’s work rather than drawing independently.  You’d be using an existing template for a sales letter rather than studying how your readers’ minds really work.  Or you’ll just be writing 29 different variations of your first novel.

Doing the work

We have to remember that the shortcuts are there so we can devote more time and effort on doing the work.  If there’s a conflict between the work you want to do and the shortcuts you have, then either make new shortcuts to suit your work or don’t use a shortcut at all.  It sounds simple, but it’s much harder to implement since there’s always the temptation of getting things done easier and faster.

But, as we’ve already established, easier and faster doesn’t always make things better.

What shortcuts do you use in your work?  How can you tell if they’ll provide you with help or hindrance?  Where do you draw the line?

Image by C. Cordelia from Sxc.hu

I recently wrote a 3-part series for Web Worker Daily entitled “Better Web Working”.  Although the series was written for online freelancers, I think that anyone who wants to do better at work can benefit from reading it.  Here are the links to the “Better Web Working” series (click on the titles to read the complete article):

Part 1: Facing Your Critics

…the more negative comments I received from my work, I gradually became immune to the pain of rejection.  You think this blog post sucks?  Okay.  Please let me know why.

Part 2: Taking Advantage of Tough Times

…the more important benefit is that you’ll gain the confidence to work even when the chips are down.  There’s no better test of your quality as a web worker than seeing what you’ll accomplish when you have all these obstacles before you.

Part 3: You’re Not That Good

Internal overconfidence can sometimes lead you to think that your skills are fixed and unchangeable.  This is the top, and you’ve reached it.  You are naturally good at your field, so you depend mostly on your talents.  But doing this has its limits.