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I consider myself a kind man and a good neighbor. I look in the mirror and I see a sainted man full of the milk of human kindness, a real pillar of the community...or at least I did until the other day when a friend asked me to show him how Photoshop works. I found myself saying, "Bugger off! I had to learn it the hard way, and so should you!" |
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Actually I didn't say anything like that, but I rattled off some sugar-coated bromide that meant the same thing. A minute later I felt terrible. How could I be so mean, I who had my tin cup out, begging friends for Photoshop help only a short time before? I made a note to call my friend back and offer to help, and also to try to understand my own selfishness. |
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After thinking about it, I concluded that maybe I'm not really such a jerk after all, that maybe something about Photoshop actually encourages behavior like that. I had just learned it (sort of) and like everyone else I'd convinced myself that I'd just breezed through it, with no trouble at all. It was a comforting myth, and it made me feel good about myself. Now, with someone asking me to teach them, I was suddenly forced back into reality, and the painful memories of a time when it seemed I could do no right with the program. Nothing makes you madder than being confronted with reality. What is it about programs that makes every user construct a personal mythology where every obstacle was painlessly pushed aside? Something about computer culture makes every initiate a collaborator in the conspiracy to make computing seem faster to learn than it really is. |
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The computer era I live in reminds me of the way things were a hundred and fifty years ago when refined people wore starched shirts and whalebone corsets with rib-deforming waists and hoop skirts and elaborate hairstyles. Of course the trick to making all this bearable was to put all the fuss of morning dress-up out of your mind, and imagine that that you just put on whatever was handy. Tom Wolfe nailed it when he said that human beings are status-seeking creatures and we'll do anything to convince ourselves and others that we acquired our god-like attributes with no effort at all. Soon I'm going to try to pick up the relevant parts of Illustrator and Flash. Then there's...Groooooooan!... ToonBoom. That's going to take time. I'd much rather spend the time improving my drawing and animation, but if I want to stay employed... Oh well, at least I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that after I go to all this stupid trouble I can create a memory for myself that I learned the programs effortlessly, in a few weeks. |
Something about this post reminds me about how people at my school tend to act when they're on Facebook.com or some social networking website like that. I should know. I used to have one, but quit out of frustration with all the narcissism and mean-spirited atmosphere of the whole thing. A lot of them usually loved to post about themselves on their statuses and what they were doing throughout their day and always post these ridiculous photos of them and their friends.
ReplyDeleteI even found myself acting like a jerk on there, even though in real life, most people seem to like me for some strange reason (I still don't get why to this day, except that they think I'm nice), like to this so-called "friend" I used to have, who ended our friendship because I figured out this detail that he claimed he never told me in any of our conversations.
Pretty stupid and immature if you ask me, but that's what I get for trying to socially connect with my peers, the same ones who happen to like crappy singers like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. Blech! This YouTube video illustrates all of my above points really well.
The reality of the whole Photoshop situation is that eventually, I'm going to have to learn how to use it, whether I like it or not, if I'm ever going to work in animation, which I'm planning to. Most likely a storyboard artist for me.
I'd say that if nothing else, you're learning your programs in the right order. Once you learn Flash and Illustrator, Toon Boom shouldn't take too long. Maybe a week or two? I think you'll find the drawing tools a little nicer than Flash.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I went to an art school where they had us learn a ton of programs, and there was always that sense of people trying to learn more programs than everyone else, just to say that they know the most, more than trying to broaden themselves out to get a job.
Eddeee! When did you turn into George Carlin?
ReplyDeleteHuman beings have an innate tendency to believe that every time we learn something, we learn about life. The reason we're designed like this is because that used to be true. Unfortunately, now that we've created a world where every little thing we use reinforces the modern illusion that we can completely design our own destiny, there is a rift between the social and practical skills we THINK we're getting and what we are actually learning. The deeper in we get, the less willing we will be to take a step back and objectively assess what technology is doing to us.
ReplyDeleteIgnorance is even more dangerous than codependency - I may have done some long-term damage to myself by using a computer for excessively long stretches of time on occasion, but my total revulsion at doing this has swayed my behavior the other way time and time again. These days it's about ten minutes a day.
I feel your pain. Photoshop and other computer programs need to be more user friendly.
ReplyDeleteYour status as a moral philosopher has risen in my eyes because of the way you busted your own animal instincts on the job.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best info I've ever received on Photoshop. It's a method for separating out your line work from the white of the page. Sherm Cohen was kind enough to direct me to the source
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tomrichmond.com/blog/2008/06/06/new-photoshop-line-art-trick/
Here’s the process:
1. Scan line art as grayscale image
2. Create a new blank layer, rename it “Inks”
3. Go to the “Channels” palette, there is only one channel called “Gray”
4. At the bottom of the channels palette, click the “dashed circle” icon entitled “Load Channel as Selection”
5. In “Select” drop down menu, select “Inverse”
6. Go to your “Inks” layer
7. Press “D” on your keyboard to reset swathes so full black in active color
8. Press “Option” + “”Delete” to fill selection with black
9. On background layer, press “Command” + “A” to select and then “Delete” to delete line art on that layer
10. Convert to RGB or CMYK
Using this technique, your line art layer will contain all your lines but the white will be gone, rather than just inert due to the multiply mode. So instead of this:
It's been said that you learn more by teaching than by doing. So, yeah, teaching Photoshop to your friend would be a great opportunity to make sure you really know the program well.
ReplyDeleteTom Wolfe is definitely right though. We all try to make ourselves seem much better than we are even when we don't try to. It's just human nature, and even a part of nature in general.
Roberto: It's not really all that hard to learn the basics if you have friends to show you the ropes. Everything depends on having sympathetic friends. If you have to learn it from a book it'll take a whole lot longer.
ReplyDeleteVincent: Many, many, many thanks!!!!!!!!!!! What a pal, what a pal, what a pal!!!!!!! Thanks to Sherm, too! I can't wait to try this!
Roberto: It's not really all that hard to learn the basics if you have friends to show you the ropes. Everything depends on having sympathetic friends. If you have to learn it from a book it'll take a whole lot longer.
ReplyDeleteVincent: Many, many, many thanks!!!!!!!!!!! What a pal, what a pal, what a pal!!!!!!! Thanks to Sherm, too! I can't wait to try this!
David: True!
Pappy: Thanks for the compliment!
Lester: I was hoping no one would notice the face on the saint. Yep, it's George Carlin!
Hi Eddie,
ReplyDeleteI also agree with David that when you teach someone else, you will be amazed at how you will probably learn quite a few new things - just by having to explain certain tools, or by watching your student select things you didn't expect! ... so go for it, ... you can be generous, AND selfish at the same time!
Which program by ToonBoom are you thinking of learning? There are some quirky things in their software, and if you can pay for some telephone support when you buy the program, ... it is probably worth it. I like Toonboom's real animation dopesheets, rather than always having to use timelines.
Your photo of you getting punched is very funny!
It's the hubris of Accomplishment Against All Odds.
ReplyDeleteBeing a Corel baby, I find Adobe products to be over-engineered. That, or I'm under-equipped.