TODD MCFARLANE
Here's the nirvana, right? It's finding the space, doing it your way, and it works.
In this third installment of Criterion, we will be digging deeper into the interview with Todd McFarlane. The post has three tables which highlight the values and principles shared from the different parts of the interview. I mark certain points and expand on them further below the table, with my own opinions, further references and statements from the interview, and sources or links to educate further.
I plan to encourage readers to expand further on the values from the table in the comments. To reduce the amount of reading, I'll only be sharing one point from each table. However, at the end of each post, I'll share the Blueprint video for anybody who wants to dig even further.
Hopefully, we can turn each Criterion post into a mine full of golden wisdom nuggets for the future.
DO WHAT OTHERS DIDN'T
From a young age, Todd was very much obsessed with drawing and art. He was always doodling in class and practicing the varying styles before he even picked up a comic book. That all changed at 16 years of age.
The first part dives deep into the ways Todd edged himself into the comic book industry. Noah's questions seem to effortlessly send him on little spurts of sharing, which will enlighten you beyond belief with their wisdom and realism. There are so many helpful points, for budding artists especially, within the first part of the interview and they're all backed with the varying confrontations that Todd experienced in his early years of illustrating.
Just so we're all clear, I'm in business for only one thing... to drive my art, to drive my ideas. And really what it takes isn't just the idea. It's the time, the money, and the gumption.
| FOUNDATION |
|---|
| 1. Find your passion |
| 2. Learn the details |
| 3. Look for an opening |
| 4. Be persistent |
| 5. Make it sexy |
| 6. Fight the status quo |
| 7. Know your weakness |
| 8. Hit your deadlines |
| 9. Entertain yourself |
| 10. Make business serve art |
MAKE IT SEXY
Are you making something which has been done before? Yes? You aren't the only one.
What makes your idea fresh, cool, and most importantly, sexy?
That's the question you should ponder on and consider because it's what makes your idea different and endearing. You're reading this, so the chances are you are writing content and publishing it here on Steemit. There are ways and means to make your work pop and stand out from the rest if you consider what will make it different.
Steve Jobs took something that preexisted and made it sexy. Made it prettier, made it sort of fun to be with
Your ability to change and evolve your work into something that stands out from the rest will not only make you better, it'll also prevent you from getting bored.
Having something different and having something viewed, are two totally different things. Creating the on-road for your work is the next step and it all comes down to timing, understanding your idea, and execution. Learning about the varying factors which make up your idea is important, but it doesn't eliminate perseverance and grit.
Come up with a good idea. Do the thing that you like. Put it out there. If it is of quality, and people like it, the by-product is cash.
KNOW WHAT YOU'RE WORTH
Image comics. Some of you may have heard of them, some may not. In the second part of the interview, the questions focused on the starting years of Image Comics and how a select bunch of elite artists disrupted the comic book scene in 1991.
Todd McFarlane and the other founders betted on themselves and left the corporate side of the industry. They created a true haven for artists over at Image Comics, providing every artist with full ownership of their ideas (sounds a bit like the blockchain revolution doesn't it...). He discusses the struggles and tribulations when starting up the business and throughout the segment, artists receiving $500K for their first issue (leading to spontaneous jet setting), sly attacks from different corporate comic leaders, and the general day-to-day struggles which made work more like work, rather than the artists nirvana which they had molded.
| INITIAL DESIGN |
|---|
| 1. Know your value |
| 2. Watch your back |
| 3. Do the math |
| 4. Empower the artist |
| 5. Own your ideas |
| 6. Have a sustainable plan |
| 7. Create stories you don’t see |
EMPOWER THE ARTIST
Let's go back to the point that I made about the blockchain. Image Comics was so successful because they did not take any ownership of their artist's ideas. They owned their intellectual and creative assets, 100%. If we relate this too the blockchain, you will notice how all of us undoubtedly own our work, no questions asked. This perspective is monumental for your personal growth and for the gains you can generate from it.
Not only do you and I have the platform and the ability to create, we also have the audience to share it with. Right here in one place. Our self-worth and determination to share what we've made are the two main things that stand in the way.
Todds successes from Spawn at Image Comics, an idea he had worked on at the age of 16, came from the ability he had to relate himself to the character. He played to his strengths and empowered the storyline and the writing to match his own traits and feelings. This is a powerful realisation to understand when writing and creating, it plays a crucial part in honestly expressing yourself and relating to the reader.
We are all human beings.
DIVERSIFY
The next segment in the interview delves into the steps taken by Todd to diversify and give security to the brand. He took headway into creating McFarlanes Toys where he stepped into the ring with the big players of the toy industry. He provided value and quality above all others with his artistic figures of superheros, famous figures, movie characters and sports stars.
We use a technology, if you can't understand what I'm about to say you can go to Google and look it up, we used a CAMERA.
This final part of the interview highlights some amazing points, some of which were brought up in the previous Criterion, as Todd describes how he created a skyscraper on top of the solid foundation that was Spawn. The final 5 minutes of the interview are phenomenal and are without a shadow of a doubt, some of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard.
| RENOVATIONS |
|---|
| 1. Find the white space |
| 2. Demand excellence |
| 3. Always say yes |
| 4. Diversify your brand |
| 5. Get help when you need it |
| 6. Learn from pain |
DEMAND EXCELLENCE
What is excellent to you? Obviously, it's subjective. Ones perspective of excellent differs from another if it comes down to style, feeling, emotion. Excellence can be defined though, so there is no need for stating that presentation and expression have a crucial part to play in this.
Excellence is a talent or quality which is unusually good and so surpasses ordinary standards. It is also used as a standard of performance as measured e.g. through economic indicators.
A standard of performance.
So by that nature, a consistent standard of quality, which exceeds the ordinary, is excellence. This is something we all have the capabilities to achieve, the opportunities are out there for each and every one of us. The question is...
What is ordinary?
Finding your vibe, and seizing the opportunities before you, requires time, dedication, and a certain level of wits. But it also needs another factor which I'll finish on with the use of a quote said by Todd towards the end of the interview.
Time should teach you something, and what time should teach you is where the mistakes and the potholes are.
Over time I found out I'm a 5-ball juggler and what that means is, every juggler has a max number. If you see these guys on stage they can juggle twenty balls. But even they have a max number. If you throw them one more ball than they can manage, they all fall down.
COMPLEX
The Criterion series is a review and closer look at some of the points highlighted in Blueprint, a Youtube series created by Complex.
I have no association with Complex and I'm not sponsored in any way. The use of their video is for educational purposes as a way to expand further on some of the points highlighted in the interview.
On this week's episode of 'Blueprint,' Bobby Hundreds explains how he channeled his love for music and culture into one of the world's most iconic streetwear brands.
