Form and the (Real) Master Artist

Recently I've been trying to get into grad school, and I got an email last Thursday asking me to redo my portfolio and send it back for reevaluation. I was excited to get word back, but on the same token I was doing some serious metaphorical nail-biting because hoo boy, I gotta make an even better second impression. When I checked for their requested specs, they wanted more examples of "understanding and application of form as it relates to value and color and edge control." I kinda squinted at it for a while, and then wandered out to complain (good-naturedly) to my parents about it, and then sat down to consider what I should replace the pieces with. 

Of course, the piece I quoted from the email is chock-full of jargon. Let's break it down.

FORM: the 3-dimensional quality of a piece of artwork, having a visible light and shadow side.

A lot of artists, especially in the past decade, have been drawn (I don't think I'll ever be able NOT to make that pun) to more 2-dimensional styles. Let's look at all the popular animated series that have been 2D -- Avatar: The Last Airbender, Steven Universe, the She-Ra reboot, My Little Pony, Arthur, Phineas and Ferb... the list could go on for a LONG time. 

In some sense, there are some 3D elements in some of these shows. Many of these shows are cel-shaded, which give the basic indications of shadow. But there is very little to otherwise indicate 3D. There's a reason these shows are popular amongst beginner artists. They are very simple and easy to draw/make it look accurate to the source. You would have an easier time drawing Steven Universe than you would Rebecca Sugar herself. 

A lot of people would argue that no, that's not necessarily true, because they've seen some master artists draw accurately with only lines and no shading. It's true that you can do a good line drawing and make it look like the reference image. But what many amateur artists fail to take into account is that learning to communicate form is what makes your line drawings better. 

WHO IS THE HUMAN MASTER ARTIST?

Let's look at Cameron Stewart's work, for example. He typically draws in a comic book inking style, which is typically only black ink on white paper. But as you look through his work, you see that he has a very solid, fundamental understanding of form. He's an excellent digital painter. He knows what colors and values to use to show the lit areas vs the shadow areas. And because he understands light and shadow, he communicates 3D form VERY well. Thus, he's phenomenal at line drawings, because he knows what lines will indicate (you guessed it!) form. 

We could look at Dave Malan's work as well. Dave draws with mostly lines and very little "shading" as most people would see it. But once again, if you look at his other work, you see he's an excellent painter. You can see how shadows fall and wrap around 3D shapes. It looks like a photo, and it makes sense. Dave is a master of form. You could list plenty of other artists that exhibit a masterful understanding of form. Cameron Stewart and Dave Malan are just two of my favorites.

Form can be easily defined as "light and shadow", but there are subcomponents to light and shadow. When working in black and white, your primary concern is value, which is how light or dark the shade of gray is. You can communicate accuracy with just shapes -- vector portraits are probably the clearest example of this. The colors aren't blended; they're butted up against each other like puzzle pieces. And you could really relegate it to literally just the colors black and white (not grayscale), as long as you've got the shapes of the shadows right. 

After you get your values right, you look at the edgework. How hard or soft is the edge? Is it totally blended out, or is it as sharp as a knife? Knowing how to set your edges correctly will seriously affect the quality and style of your piece. The least important part of form is color, technically, but colors do make a whole heck of a difference. A good midtone color choice will drastically liven up what you're working on.

COULD I BECOME A MASTER ARTIST?

When I took all this into account, I realized that they wanted me to paint like a photo. 

Given my propensity to 2D art, I balked at the idea, because gosh darn it, I want to specialize in concept art, not digital painting. But I buckled down and created anyway. I ended up creating over five brand-new pieces in the course of a weekend because I was determined to get in, and if it was form they wanted, then form they would have. I never sat down and reviewed my notes from my classical courses, per se, but I could hear my teachers chanting form form form form form form very ominously in my head as I attempted to master an entirely new painting style in four days. I suppose it felt more like a montage from Rocky than anything else, except that I mostly had the Krusty Krab Trap Remix playing rather than the Rocky soundtrack. 

Have I gotten in? I have no idea. I've yet to hear from them beyond saying "oh yes we got your portfolio". And this has been in the works for over a month now. Am I going crazy? Absolutely. Can I do anything about it? Absolutely not. The powers that be in academia operate completely independently of me. One thing is for certain: I did my best, and it is only God who knows whether or not ya girl is getting in.

As I write, though, I realize that swallowing my pride and taking the time to intentionally improve shot me light-years forward. Intentional improvement is not something society values as much as it should. Nothing inside of me WANTED to sit down and get better for the sake of learning. It wasn't spite, it was something else. I wanted to prove myself. I have always felt some obligation to prove myself to somebody. It's a natural response and I've never been able to shut it off of my own accord.

I realized, though, that the whole point isn't to prove myself to anyone -- not my teachers or the admissions team or the people who follow my art account on Instagram -- and certainly not God. Could I shut off the need to prove myself? Not on my own. God had to figuratively sit me down and give me the pep talk of "you're not the best you know, you could stand to take it down a notch or two" and I had to nod and concede and just work. The same thing goes for our personal and spiritual lives. We are in a constant state of growth, or at least we SHOULD be. Growth doesn't happen by accident, though; improvement is always intentional. Your relationships with others, God, and your hobbies will always require effort to press forward in. 

Of course, we're not equipped to grow without help. We were made for companionship and to learn from others. We are all equal at the foot of the cross, but we are not all equal in every other sense. We have our strengths and weaknesses, and together we "form" a brilliant piece of God's design, if we choose to surround ourselves with all the right "values", "edges", and "colors".

WHO'S THE REAL MASTER ARTIST?

The greatest piece of art this universe has ever seen is most definitely the story of God's great love towards mankind. Let's look at the list again:

1) Value
2) Edgework
3) Color

Artistically, these all have their own meanings (value = light vs dark, edgework = hard vs soft, color = hue/saturation). But as we know them morally, let's reconsider the hierarchy.

1) Values = the moral code of conduct you live by. Your life is lived by a moral code of your own design. Of course, you can't create pure objective morality on your own. That's why we seek God and His definitions of morality. He knows all, and is above all. In the grand (color) scheme of things, value is the most important thing, both artistically and morally. Having values and a moral compass pointed to God's true north will anchor you to create beautiful, truly morally and technically good art.

2) Edgework = rough or refined. We've heard the term "rough around the edges". It's usually used to say that someone isn't quite fitting into their surroundings or the people around them. We also hear the term "diamond in the rough". If someone is very refined and socially adept, we say they are "well-rounded". Those who are rough around the edges (bold and brash) provide their own sharp edges and contrasts with the people around them. The refined, well-rounded folks blend with the people they're surrounded by and are the links holding their little society of different people together. We need a variety of edgework to create the right light and shadow patterns to fit God's design. 

3) Color = personality or physical appearance. "Color" is a touchy word with many connotations. It's often used in the context of racial tension. It could also refer to your vocabulary (colorful language) or your personality (someone with a colorful personality is certainly more exciting than someone with a bland one). Each color has its complement (orange/blue, red/green, yellow/purple), and similarly, we see complements in personality and in even visual aesthetics. Color is the final element that we splash in to make something really just pop out -- and our God is an artist Himself, of course. Why shouldn't He take His liberties to splash us with seemingly inconsequential things, like our personalities and the way we look?

FORM AND THE (REAL) MASTER ARTIST

In the end, we see how we as people come together to create a great piece with form. Our God is the Master Artist, to be certain -- after all, He made the world and everything in and beyond it in six days. He made us the way we are for a reason, which is to bring Him glory and to experience His boundless love.

Painting with form is the mark of a master artist, in the earthly sense. But being the piece in the form of God's handiwork is far greater than any piece you could ever make yourself.