The undying Talent thread meanders on - mostly uninterestingly aside from a few good statements now and then. The latest involves the killer instinct - something required in competitive sports to reach the highest level of performance. This is in fact a component of performance, not so much an aspect of artistic talent, but still vitally important in the mix.
It’s about attitude and confidence, that intense desire to knock it right out of the park, to show ‘em what you can REALLY do. I refer to it as ‘Showoff Mode’, and it’s also a component in what I call ‘competition/cameraderie’, sort of the buddy system applied to learning art. Think Frazetta. Or Kent Williams. You know these guys want to dazzle everybody with what they can do - they want to test their own limits and see what they’re capable of.
I suppose it’s pretty necessary for doing heroic fantasy art - it’s the spirit of rugged individualism, the drive and ambition of masculinity. I think you need to feel it to create characters that stand proud and defy all opposition with a smirk and a swagger.
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