Max Riffner
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File Under To-Don't?
I heart the web.
I love websites, and I love hand-building websites. I love everything from designing them to writing content for them. And just because my work is now going to be republished and distributed in print does not mean that I am moving from the web. Far from it. All the same, there comes a time when you are building sites that you come to want more from them. Now, I’m used to setting up basic web servers, and using some lightweight scripting to get my sites to make it easier for me to manage, but every once in awhile I wish I was more of a developer/programmer.
With all the talk of Ruby on Rails, it is getting harder to resist this urge. What is it? Ruby is a programming language, while Rails is a web application framework that you plug into it. What makes it great? Rapid, rapid development. I could be building an application very quickly without being burdened by a heap of code that you have to be a grand geek wizard to be able to dicipher. It is helping to spur this Web 2.0 movement – new web applications are being built at an astounding rate. People are talking about trying it around the office (especially with this Apple article), and Kenneth has been badgering me about it for about a year now.
However.
I want to make more comics. The more time I spend writing web applications, the less time I have to make comics. And while it feels like a natural progression, like learning Rails is the next logical step in my career, I’m having a hard time taking the next step. It makes me sad, like I’m missing out a bit, and it also feels like I’m selling myself short. I know I can be a programmer, I’m just not convinced I should.
There is the concept of the To-Don’t list that I like, where I file things that I shouldn’t do. Even though I could do something doesn’t mean I should because it doesn’t help me with my main goals. I started a large to-don’t list when I began managing people; no longer could I spend time doing the tasks I used to because that is what my employees are for. By still trying to do everything you used to, you end up micro-managing what little work your employees actually have, suffocating any growth potential in themselves and burning yourself out trying to do it all. I’ve learned when to say ‘no’ to myself ultimately, and Rails development is one area that has been hard to keep out of the picture. Nevertheless, if my end goal is to make good comics, Ruby on Rails has nothing at all to do with that.
Maybe once this goal is accomplished though, I could make it a hobby…
Oh Net Objects Fusion! I don’t know, it didn’t take that long to figure out it was a turd.
This post wasn’t so much about a visible choice (comics or web dev). I don’t fancy myself to be a serious programmer ever. Having some of these skills may help, but in my experience, my design skills are in better demand. I’m happy with that.
No, wanting to learn Ruby on Rails is more for fun which may develop into something entrepreneurial. RoR is a good, easy-to-learn environment which would let me itch this scratch.
But itching that scratch also takes time away from comics, and I have to be a tyrant with my how my time is spent.
Westcoast TimMar 1, 05:10 AM
Ha! This is great post. Just last night I was deciding to spend this weekend learning a new 3d software program called Rhino. At the same time I sat and looked and the new eisle that Shanna gave me for Christmas. Suddenly filled with doubt, I reliezed that I should I spend the time drawing and paiting instead.
But then again, I love 3d modeling. It is dope. I can make a shape, send that shape to a CAM machine which will cut it out full scale. Not just props, but big sections of walls (see Flightplan, the plane was done this way).
But shouldn’t I practice my sketching and rendering skills on paper? That is where it is key – communicating the idea. It must be sharp and fast; on the back of a napkin. Ugh.
However, sometimes there is no time for a sketch – only words. Should I spend the weekend reading instead? Maybe brush up on my History of Decor? Or the new Phadon book I purchased on layouts.
Ha. Besides, once I become a Production Designer I can just hire an illustrator.
So maybe that means this weekend I can just see a movie, take Shanna out to the MOCA History of America Comics exibit – you know; relax.
But how can I? There is so much to do.
HoltmannMar 3, 11:22 AM
This post is exactly what I needed to read tonight.
There’s a vignette in Po Bronson’s What Should I Do With My Life? that comes to mind. (Though I have to emphasize my reservations about the book: I can’t stand Po Bronson’s prose.) In it, Russell, an aerospace engineer for NASA who has had only one employer his entire adult life, illustrates an important lesson: “Russell hasn’t let minor setbacks get in his way…His backup plans do not lead to different destinations.”
Never mind backup plans. Even co-plans, double-plans, hobbies, or whathaveyou: You’d be a kickass programmer, Max. But I’m glad you’re focussed on comics. Trust your instincts.
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Feb 28, 07:27 AM
The trouble is you know as well as I do that “Ruby on Rails� no matter how cool it is is this weeks technology. Remember what a breakthrough net objects fusion was back in 96’? Where is it now?
My dismay in technology is no matter how smart I am today everything I know now will be outdated and worthless in less than 5 years. I spent a good piece of change getting microsoft certified in windows 2000 and getting a bachelors degree. Now it looks like I have to spend and study again with the vista release of windows.
If I’d of put that education time and money into say the study of science or medicine I’d be a double PHD. What all of my IT study has got me is a thankless job at an inner city high school.
You comic stuff is an art and a craft at the same time. In the end I’d rather have a portfolio of good art that is timeless than a bunch of knowledge of souless computer crap. Just my 2 cents.