I recently heard an idea on a podcast that to get anywhere, you only really need to know 3 things. A is where you are right now, Z is where you want to end up, B is the next logical step.
I realized that this is not at all how I approach writing my book. I am always happy to plan out what exactly I’m going to do on the launch week of the book, how many posts I’m going to send, the format I’m going to print the book in, how the pricing model works, etc. If I spend 1 hour planning how the launch is going to go, I feel accomplished already, even though I haven’t even opened Photoshop that day.
Planning isn’t work
This is something I should remind myself of more often, because planning makes me feel productive.
There are of course benefits to having a plan, but usually it’s enough to know the overall vision and not get into details when those details are only going to matter around a year from now. By that time I might need a new plan because things could change.
It’s similar to how drawing works. You start with a rough sketch and then add details when you have the basic forms in place. If you start shading the character’s clothes before even drawing the character, the result is not going to look cohesive, so you will have to restart.
The boring parts
The first 3 chapters of the book are all about the basic fundamentals that everyone needs in order to master figure drawing, but they are boring! I could work on the next step for 20 minutes, like drawing a diagram that shows 3-point perspective, then get tired and not want to do it anymore. The temptation to do some planning instead of drawing, or to take a day off, gets even stronger when I am supposed to be drawing something I’m not very interested in.
The whole point of those chapters is to tell beginners “I know that you just want to draw characters, but you need to know how to draw a line, and learn the boring cubes and cylinders first.” This is ironic because I am just like a beginner who wants to skip to the fun part too.
In the end, it’s not that complicated to work on a project. All you need to keep in mind is the rough idea of what the finished product looks like and what the next step is. Overcomplicating this will only lead to confusion, which usually leads to losing interest. The best way to avoid this is to write down the next step at the end of your work sessions, so you always know where to start next time. If you’re ever confused, just do the next step.
