Defining Art...

What is the definition of art?

• Being Creative?
• Presenting ideas in different forms?
  
• Is art sculpture? Paintings? Sketching? Acting?
  
• Representing things in an abstract form of what they really are?
• 3D representations of modern day things

The 'World Wide Web' defines art as follows:

• The creation of beautiful or significant things
  
• Superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observation; "the art of conversation"; "it's quite an art"
  
• The products of human creativity; works of art collectively

Thinking about that first point 'The creation of beautiful or significant things', this may sound like a wierd point but people always think babies are a beautiful significant creation.

Does that make sex an art form?

However, swiftly moving on.....

Leading on from those definitions and that point, there is no definitive, over-ruling of right or wrong within art.

Some people believe that acting isn't an art form. Is it?? You use your creative sides to represent characters in the way you see fit, and bring them to life, you use your artistic license to make backdrops to show what the scene is portraying.

Others can just see acting as 'playtime' and an inappropriate use of creativity.

I think that most things are an art form, from painting and sculpting to problem solving. In my view, Problem Solving is a creative activity because you have to create another solution to the problem to ensure that it works.

Not everybody will agree with this.

Without defining for certain what art is, you begin to struggle defining what is good and bad. I will suggest that one activity is an art form, you however could/would disagree with me.

Defining what art is, is almost like defining normal, it doesn't truly exist because there are so many different variations and representations of one diverse subject.

How many people actually know how much art work, hard graft and creativity goes into the kinds of things we do as Game Artists?

Not many.

And then when you do tell them how long these things can take, they think your joking.....



Within this, to enable us to come out with the sufficient skills at the end, there has to be some guidance along the way to tell us what is good and bad within our own personal work. Without this, we wouldn't be able to improve and further our skills, and get better at what we do.

Yes there are technical limitations and specifications, but only when they are not met is your work shot down.

Even if it isn't perspectively right, from an outsiders point of view, there's nothing stopping it being a good piece of artwork.

Running along side that view.....is this.....

Who would employ a graduate who cant draw?

Who would employ a graduate who cant model anything?

The answer: Nobody!!

So yes, even though art is objective and subjective as to what's good and what's bad, with us at our stage and area of expertise, there has to be a certain amount of judgement.

I am using the words 'right' and 'wrong' on this post as apposed to 'good' and 'bad'. In some respects they are the same thing. For instance you could say different sentences, but to communicate the same point.

We can all make good models, we can all make quite shitty models as well (or at least we all have done at some point)

For a degree course, to be given a grade, you have to 'fit' a certain criteria a.k.a the marking scheme.

This can immediately put many boundaries on the work which you have produced.

Even though we have a certain amount of freedom in the work in which we produce, at the end of the day, all of our work has to fit the same criteria.

So in some respects, where is the creativity if we all have to end up fitting the same bill?

Its a very objective area.

It puts an immediate 'Good' or 'Bad' label on what you have produced.

Which can't always be good.

Okay okay so if our art is 'bad' then we do need to improve and the way to do this,is to be guided as to where your going wrong.

Without knowing what your mistakes are, or what needs to be represented and shown, you can't meet the required limitations.

Our future career field can be a nasty one.

In some cases it is the fact of being a good or bad artist and modeller, however that is having followed a technical guideline. That's what gives a good/bad label to your work.

Without one of those, who's to say that a public observer is going to say the same thing?