Hey guys! I was saving this journal for Monday since, weekends, everyone is gone. Off enjoying the snow, or sun or whatever depending on what country you're in. And I wanted people to actually read this
So, I went out and got me the Intuos4, medium size!! First off, thanks to everyone who voted and responded to my journal! I really appreciate you taking the time out to give me your personal opinions on what you feel about the tablets! And now I'm here to share my own personal feelings, and also go into a little more depth based on a few things I've learned recently.
There are plenty of reviews out there that cover the basics of what this tablet can do, so I will not be getting into that here, what I WILL get into is...well, what words can I use to describe this? I guess...a more sensitive palette...
Recently I watched a documentary called 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi'. In this film, they show and document the life of a sushi master, and what goes into being a master at an extremely expensive restaurant. There is a LOT to be learned here, and I recommend this film to EVERYONE, so please watch it. But one thing that stuck with me was that he explains that he has a sensitive palette. He says "If I cant taste better than my customers, how can impress them?" (Or something along those lines). This line stuck with me. Its was all about the sensitivity of his taste-buds, which were one of his tools, as much as the clean sharp knife, the fresh handpicked fish and octopus, the perfectly cooked rice. His subtle taste-buds were among one of his fine tools used to create amazing sushi. How does this relate to us? Well, our sensitivity and our sight are our 'taste-buds'. It took 15 years to master the basics of sushi making, and after that, there was no ceiling...endless possibilities. This is the same for us. It takes time, and natural progression to truly understand what we're doing in art. Of course we study and practice different methods, but as we do this, our eye and our hand is becoming more sensitive. Which is why work done 10 years ago, where we bumbled and fumbled our way through, and art done yesterday look so different, even if we haven't 'studied' a day in our lives.
Now lets swing this around. I feel there is a progression, and people who answered my poll proved this to be true at least in some respect. For myself, I was feeling the limitations of my tools. People say that its not the tool that matters, and to a degree this is true, but tools CAN limit you. There is a reason a sword master polishes and sharpens their sword and keeps it in proper condition, even though they could slice you up with a butter knife. You need to respect and take care of your tools, and make sure they are of high quality. This is a must as a professional. Now, this is not to say anything about my skill as an artist, but just the level of subtlty which I have achieved, but I could actually feel the limitations. Now, lets do it again! Bring it back to FOOD!
If you or me were to go and eat steak made my a local restaurant, it cost $15, and we got a regular looking plate, some fries, maybe a few carrots and some epic bbq sauce on this baddy. Cooked just right, that steak is going to taste awesome! We'll just tear through it without a care in the world! Now say we go to a prestigious restaurant. We order the steak there. Instead, we get a TINY piece of steak. Its got garnish on it. Its in the center of the plate, which is super clean, and it looks like an art piece. On top of this, it costs $100. At this point in time, are we really going to taste the subtleties that maybe a foodie or food critic would taste? Probably not unless you naturally have a very sensitive palette. It takes training and time. You have to keep eating good quality foods and start to break down tastes in you mouth. This is the same as art. Will someone who is new to art, just got their first tablet, an intuos 5, know the difference between that and a bamboo fun? Other than having some cool nibs and extra buttons, and the fact that everyone else SAYS its better, no.... because they would not understand or appreciate the subtleties. They wouldn't sit there and make a super light stroke. Usually in the beginning, we ignore these things and go for more obvious blunt stokes and then later soften up. I did this too.
An Intuos is a professional grade tablet that isn't TOO expensive so many people have it. But I believe that if you DO have it, rather than upgrading to the new model every time it comes out, you should be working on pushing that tablet as far as it can go. You're probably not using much of its potential at first. I feel this is the problem with jumping in and buying the best of the best, you miss that step where you move up and truly understand the worth of what you're working with. Which is why in many disciplines, they force you to use a training version of whatever you are doing, for a long long time, before finally they place the real thing in your hands. Suddenly you understand and have a true, deep rooted appreciation for the mastery and subtleties of the real thing. Its the difference between a wooden sword and a katana. Learning to master the base, the beginning tool is sometimes necessary to truly mastering the more expensive, fancy tool.
What do you guys think? Do you agree with my point? Or do you have a different viewpoint to the whole thing? Let me know!
Thanks for reading!
Seage~
PS. Oh, I may make a blog soon, or a page on my website for my thoughts and journals like this. And soon after i'll be vlogging about it. I do hope you enjoy this!
