Straddling Various Worlds

by Greg Vineyard

Many forms of entertainment require a suspension of disbelief.

Sitcoms and rom-coms, for example, often expect one to believe that anyone can have a fabulous New York flat, that all couches face the viewer, and that no mere set of wacky circumstances can hinder true love.

Science fiction, however, is a MEGA-suspension. Gravity’s not a problem, teleportation is normal, and food – including the dishes upon which it is served – are replicated in a slot in a wall. Stars go zooming by when in reality it would take forever to reach even one of them, let alone pass them in such a continuous fashion. And yet when I watch Thor traveling between Earth and Asgard, or explorers navigating a wormhole, I rarely question it.

Even knowing a bit about how shows are made doesn’t affect my nerdy, Y-chromosome ability to just sit back and enjoy wonderful visual storytelling. It serves to fuel my imagination, albeit in an amped-up Walter Mitty-ish sort of way.

Sci-fi provides me an alternative to the life I already know: I regularly hit the snooze alarm before shuffling out to the kitchen to feed the cat, wondering what this or that newly-arrived pain might be. And just before I spend an inordinate amount of time making myself presentable to the world at large, I take care of mundane tasks like cleaning the cat box, taking out the trash, and fussing over some bills.

Golly, the excitement could cause a stampede! So it’s no surprise to me that secret agents working in a warehouse full of unusual artifacts capable of doing madcap things is more likely to grab my focus. That new noise under the hood of the car can wait, there’s aliens and monsters on!

However, compared to some of my friends, I’m merely an average escapist. Enthusiasts in the art world here have very serious discussions about whether Marvel or DC has created the better, more cohesive universe. And they explain to me in scientific terms (AGAIN, ‘cause I’m kinda slow) about how one day we really will be able to bark: “Earl Grey Tea – Hot!” at a hole in the wall, and receive exactly that. In a china cup. And it will actually BE Earl Grey tea, not a copy. I think about how cool that would be, not having to pause the Star Trek Deep Space Nine marathon to raid the fridge for a snack!

You may be several sentences past wondering how on earth this relates to art. (But, then again, you may be used to me.) I believe having some type of personal passion – like being a sci-fi geek – grants one a type of balance, where a deeper sense of creative-fueling and idea generation unfolds in part of our brains. As an illustrator, suspending disbelief and temporarily enjoying stories that are otherworldly helps me refresh and zero-in on the right idea for any given concept.

As a working professional, I also believe that having an individual enthusiasm or two helps me to be a better worker. My career has always had a creative component, and I believe ALL work involves inventive thinking. But even for jobs that might not be deemed “creative”, having additional interests allows folks to be more refreshed and innovative on the job. This idea-generating ability makes one a bigger contributor in the workplace, being of greater service to both the core team and the company overall. Taking a real break allows one to come back refreshed, energized and ready for the next task. Why not do this all the time? When one has a passion – geeky or otherwise – it can lead to original moments every day!

So, I suspend disbelief regularly – not because I’m an escapist, but rather, because I’m a realist. Even though I still have to make my tea the old-fashioned way each morning, and most of my illustrations involve my earth-bound cat, spending some time in other worlds helps me remain fully-engaged and in love with this one!