Learning Curve
Like all of my other projects, there’s a learning curve with this new video project. I tried to anticipate concerns, but I knew that I wouldn’t see the problems until I had an actual product in front of me that I could critique.
After reviewing my content, I’ve realized that I need to emphasize comparisons between common mistakes with good technique much more. I have to actually demonstrate the bad habits, show the results, explain why those habits are detrimental, and then follow up with good technique. Seeing the mistakes enhances the rationale for the good technique even further.
Since I teach freshmen at RISD, I spend a significant amount of time getting students to unlearn poor habits. I devote just as much time telling students what not to do, as I do telling them what to do. This is especially true in the fall semester, when high school was just a few months ago for the students. Unfortunately, it’s common for many high school students to be taught an extremely narrow minded way of drawing. I had a student once who was shocked to hear that drawing wasn’t just about “making your drawing look like a photograph.” This process of shedding bad habits can be hugely challenging; I’ve had experienced students tell me that they wished they had come into my class with no background at all.
On top of that, common mistakes also occur because students don’t think beyond their first impulse. If you don’t take the initiative to explore other options, you’ll end up doing things in the most obvious way. Consequently, everyone else has that same first thought, which is what makes something cliche and boring. For the first homework of my RISD freshman drawing class, the vast majority of the class will default to the most obvious response: a stiff drawing with objects placed in the center with blank backgrounds. The student drawings that stand out are the ones that pushed well beyond that first thought.
I’m guessing that my target audience is in some ways not that different from my students at RISD. I’m anticipating that they will have the same bad habits too, and hopefully acknowledging those problems will help drive home the good technique.
