For years, Richard Williams' Animator’s Survival Kit has been the most popular reference for animators of all skill levels. Yet amongst all the charts and principles it's easy to overlook its first (and perhaps most controversial) lesson. In it, Williams recounts a particularly memorable interaction he had with the Disney star animator Milt Kahl. Williams approached the animator at his desk and asked a simple question: “Milt, do you ever listen to classical music as you’re working?” This query prompts an oversized response from Kahl, who swings from an enraged arrogance into a subtly humble “I’m not SMART enough to think of more than one thing at a time!!” In other words, “no.” If Milt Kahl, one of the greatest animators in history, was unable to listen to music while he worked, could any of the rest of us expect to accomplish this feat? Williams takes this lesson to heart, and is later shown sitting at his desk with a embroidered jacket reading “Animation is Concentration.”
animation of williams' drawings from the book
However, most artists I know don’t take this advice so readily, one such artist being myself. Whenever I’m drawing, I usually have something playing in the background: news and comedy podcasts, video game soundtracks, funk and 80s pop. I’ve heard of several Disney artists even playing TV episodes on a second monitor as they paint. If Kahl thought classical music was distracting, he would be blown away by the type of content we regularly listen to while drawing. And on some level, the music is helpful. For me, music while drawing serves the same purpose as music while running - it keeps me going when I’d otherwise slow down. When I’m scared to begin a sketch, I’ll put on something really fast to build up my courage. While I’m slogging through rendering in the 9th hour of working on a piece, it helps to have a podcast providing something else to think about. I’m still able to focus on the drawing, and if anything, it helps me to draw for longer amounts of time.
However, as I started recording my time usage during an at-home workday, I quickly realized I was lucky to get in 2 hours of actual work a day. Some of this was due to starting late and other factors, but one major cause was the time spent queuing up the next song or podcast. And since I listen to a lot of music on YouTube, I’d also get distracted by queuing up regular videos which would totally stop my productivity. As a result of these findings and a greater desire for effective work times, I gave up multitasking, and with it, listening to music while I draw (in most circumstances).
Kahl really was right when he implied that you think differently while drawing with music. Music, and especially podcasts, aren’t just background noise but demand some amount of my conscious attention. Attention that is being taken away from my art-making. Animation in particular requires a lot of thought and I can really feel the difference when I’m not also thinking about the music. My thoughts are oriented in one direction towards one goal, and I think the art is better for it. At the very least, I’m investing all the time that I would be spending queuing music towards working on the art, which prevents further distractions from popping up. Sometimes I do get tired from drawing without music, but I’m able to pack more work into a shorter time which ends up being more satisfying.
Some tasks can still be done fine with music. If I’m in a good mood while cleaning up animation, it’s fun to sing along with a favorite song (or perhaps a sea shanty) as I go. But I do realize now that music does demand an amount of attention that I may not have to spare while doing creative work. And it’s often an easy way to procrastinate even while I’m “working.” In those cases, it’s best to admit that I’m not smart enough, unplug, and put the all the attention where it needs to go.
What’s been your experience working with/without music? I find that every artist has a different take on it and some are more affected than others. I’d be interested to hear what works for you!
much love,
-dh
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