This Is A True Story.
Sketchifer
Salutations, friend -
On the first day of school, the teacher divided his class in two 👯♂️
The left half, group “quantity", was told that their final grade would be judged on the sheer amount of art produced. 100 finished drawings would earn an “A” grade (yep, even if they were ugly). 90 completed was a B, 80, a C, and so on.
The right half, group “quality,” was told their class grade would be based on one singular piece. A final project, which they could work on for as long as they’d like. But, it would need to be near perfect to receive that dearly coveted “A.”
So, which group created the BEST work?
By the end of the semester, the students who focused on quantity, produced better QUALITY artwork. Quantity lead to quality.
Okay, but why?
Those who focused on quaLity spent their days philosophizing, and theorizing about the perfect image, but by the end had nothing to show for it - save their unproven conjectures, and one sad mediocre image 💔
The students focused on quaNtity put in the work. They tried out varied drawing methods, experimented with composition - they made mistakes, which gave them the opportunity to learn. They actionably solved problems, instead of just thinking about them 💯
A stepping stone need not be perfect, it need only be a stone to step upon.
*This is indeed based upon the true events of Jerry Uelsmann’s class at University of Florida. The original story is about a photography class, but the lessons are the same. This tale was popularized first in the book Art & Fear (as a ceramics class), and later, Atomic Habits.
Think less, draw more ✍️
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