Twenty Percent
Bailey Kalesti
The last twenty percent of every project is always the most fun for me. It's when everything starts coming together. Because for the longest time (the 80%), the art is never very interesting. There are so many missing pieces, proxy portions, and tests littered throughout the video. In fact, for most of the project I'm just hoping that I'm making something good. It's hard to see the end result when everything is in progress. It requires lots of imagination.
But once the polish phase begins, that's when I get really energized. I assume there are lots of other artist out there who feel the same. And as the puzzle forms, the vision finally comes into focus. It's very rewarding, in general.
I'm currently entering the last week of such a project, and as I feel the joy of this 20% time, I have to be extra careful not to work myself too hard. Like I've said before in the 20-Mile Marching article, it's easy to get caught up in the work and not get enough sleep each night. I'll admit that it remains a struggle to resist the urge to work in favor of rest.
Bailey