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> You do not go to college to 'learn' talent. You are either born with it or not. Can't say I agree with this entirely. I absolutely agree that going to colleg

> You do not go to college to 'learn' talent. You are either born with it or not. Can't say I agree with this entirely. I absolutely agree that going to college for four years will not make you into a good artist. But "being born with it" will not make you a good artist either. Hammering away at it two hours a day from age 12 to 22 will make you a good artist. You may never be a great one (that is where being born with it comes in). But you will be a good one. And the same is true for most pursuits. There was a great forum post a while ago where some guy could barely put together a stick figure and three years later (after an hour a day, every day) he was making oil paintings that people would actually pay for. I can't remember where though. Anyway, that sort of thing has nothing to do with talent. It's hard work and sticking to it.

jmelloy 14y ago
Yeah, I wasn't a big fan of that portion of the argument either. (Same with the math bit). I definitely think "I show an aptitude for art and graphic design, and enjoy doing it, so I will attend college to learn and grow" trumps "I have some magical amount of god-given talent." But maybe that's because I never touched a compiler before college, and it hasn't affected my career.
dasil003 14y ago
Were you thinking of this? http://www.conceptart.org/showthread.php?t=870 http://www.conceptart.org/showthread.php?t=870
- jamesaguilar 14y ago
  Same concept, but it wasn't this particular thread.
pbaehr 14y ago
I agree, but I think what you need to be born with is the passion that drives you to spend two hours a day from 12 to 22.
dsfasfasf 14y ago
I was with him until he said that. Is an excuse to give up on anything. You might as well believe in destiny and that your entire future has already been written. Who believes something like that? Seriously. Does he believe that that girl woke up one day and started drawing like that? He is wrong on this count. What you need is perseverance.
- jamesaguilar 14y ago
  Practically speaking, it can be useful to give up in some cases. But do it for the right reason . . .
- mirkules 14y ago
  I always believed that perseverance is 90% of what is required to be a great "anything". The other 10% is sheer talent. In every case I have seen so far, that 90% will make you good enough so that the talent doesn't matter much.
rdouble 14y ago
The artist he linked to is exactly the kind of art that one can get better at with practice and a good teacher and curriculum, and does not require much in the way of mystical innate talent.

jmelloy 14y ago

Yeah, I wasn't a big fan of that portion of the argument either. (Same with the math bit). I definitely think "I show an aptitude for art and graphic design, and enjoy doing it, so I will attend college to learn and grow" trumps "I have some magical amount of god-given talent." But maybe that's because I never touched a compiler before college, and it hasn't affected my career.

dasil003 14y ago

Were you thinking of this? http://www.conceptart.org/showthread.php?t=870 http://www.conceptart.org/showthread.php?t=870

jamesaguilar 14y ago
Same concept, but it wasn't this particular thread.

pbaehr 14y ago

I agree, but I think what you need to be born with is the passion that drives you to spend two hours a day from 12 to 22.

dsfasfasf 14y ago

I was with him until he said that. Is an excuse to give up on anything. You might as well believe in destiny and that your entire future has already been written. Who believes something like that? Seriously. Does he believe that that girl woke up one day and started drawing like that? He is wrong on this count. What you need is perseverance.

jamesaguilar 14y ago
Practically speaking, it can be useful to give up in some cases. But do it for the right reason . . .
mirkules 14y ago
I always believed that perseverance is 90% of what is required to be a great "anything". The other 10% is sheer talent. In every case I have seen so far, that 90% will make you good enough so that the talent doesn't matter much.

rdouble 14y ago

The artist he linked to is exactly the kind of art that one can get better at with practice and a good teacher and curriculum, and does not require much in the way of mystical innate talent.