I was thinking about my "burn together" picture, and about my problem with the smoke, and I suddenly remembered that I hadn't intended to have smoke at all. I had made a deliberate choice to avoid smoke because smoke implies destruction of the thing on fire. The 'decision' to add smoke was driven by the desire to make the fire look more 'fire-like'. Reflecting on this, made me think that there are three forces governing the form each element takes, broadly in order of importance:
- Technical: What is the medium capable of? In this case, what constraints does Blender place on fire simulations... But it could equally be the constraints of working in watercolour, or the limitations of carving stone
- Ascetic: Does it engage the viewer? Does it look right? Is it 'readable'?
- Significant: Does it convey meaning to the viewer? Does it convey the self-expression of the artist?
As I am working, I need to keep these three elements in balance, knowing they are all inter-related, but that (for me) significance is most important, followed by ascetics, and constrained by technicalities.
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