The Clone Method: How It Has Helped Me Learn Any Skill In Under 2 Months
From a writer, game developer and digital artist to you
Before I start, I would love to show you proof that I Indeed have those skills I mentioned—so you can be sure that I know what I'm talking about. Well, since you are currently reading my article, you already know that I am a writer—so I just have to prove that I am a Game Developer and a Digital Artist as well.
The image you see above was painted by me along with the image at the beginning. It only took my mobile phone and my thumb to paint them. I hope that's enough to prove that I can paint digitally. If that's not enough, I uploaded the painting process [TimeLapse] on YouTube.
The image you see above is the screenshot of a mobile game I built on the Unity Game Engine years ago after applying what I am about to teach you. I have since taken the game down from the various app stores I uploaded it to for personal reasons. You can also watch the gameplay video on YouTube.
There is a common misconception that game developers make bad artists and yet I managed to learn how to do both because of the "Clone Method". I believe that if I didn't use the technique, not only would it have taken me a very long time to learn those skills, I might have not been able to learn them at all. I have used the "Clone Method" to take over my learning and today, I will show you how you can use it as well.
The Clone Method
This is the part you have been waiting for. The "Clone Method" has 4 broad steps.
- Clone (Well Duh): While following a tutorial.
- Clone again: This time, without the tutorial.
- Build something that is yours but similar to the clone.
- Rinse and repeat.
I will go deeper into these steps so I am sure you understand them thoroughly. In the next section, I will explain how I used the "Clone Method" to become a programmer and build a mobile game in under 2 months. I will also explain how I used the same method to become a digital artist in the next 2 months.
How I Used The "Clone Method" To Learn Game Development
About 5ish years ago, I became obsessed with wanting to build the next Flappy Bird. I saw just how successful they were and I wanted to replicate it as well. First I needed a Game Engine, and then, I needed to learn how to use the Game Engine I picked. Easy right? Not!
I downloaded Unity (The game engine I selected) and quickly set out to begin building the next Flappy Bird. Unluckily, I soon got overwhelmed by all the buttons, UI, code, and everything that made unity a good game engine. You can't blame me though—when you open unity, you get greeted by a blank blue screen. I didn't know where to start.
A couple of days more, I kept trying at it. Still nothing. That's when I took out my phone and searched "How To Build Flappy Bird In Unity For Total Beginners". That was how the "Clone Method" was created.
Step 1: Clone
I picked and downloaded a tutorial on YouTube that was 3 hours long. It was a tutorial on how to build a 'Flappy Bird' clone. I followed it religiously—every line of code he typed, I typed. The video was only 3 hours long but it took me about a week to complete my clone and boy, was I proud.
Following that tutorial taught me two things. It made me comfortable with unity as it wasn't entirely new to me anymore—and it taught me the process it takes to start from an idea to a finished game.
Step 2: Clone Again Without The Tutorial
After I built the game following the tutorial, I wanted to test if I understood what I've done. I decided to build the game, but this time, without the tutorial (mostly).
When I started building the game again, certain parts became difficult—but when I reached a point where I couldn't move further, I watched the part of the tutorial I needed to continue. So basically, instead of following the tutorial from start to finish, I only use it when I got stuck. After about a week, I finished the Flappy Bird Clone Again. I was even happier than the first time I did it because this time, It was mostly me.
Step 3: Build Something That Is Yours But Similar To The Clone
So far, I've built a clone while following a tutorial from start to finish— then I built the same clone but this time, I only watched the tutorial when I got stuck. Now, I need something that is my idea entirely. No longer a clone, my own thing.
I decided to build a game called DunkSwap. It was similar to Flappy Bird when it came to the coding and mechanics, but the gameplay was entirely different. I opened up my laptop and began building it—and since I have built something similar before (twice), I didn't need a tutorial. I already had all the skills I needed to build it on my own. Again, whenever I got stuck, I find help online. It was way harder than building those clones but in the end, I finished building it.
Step 4: Rinse And Repeat
Now I took all the things I’ve learned, and I did it all again with the next clone. After doing this for 2 months, I found myself building complex games with little to no help. One of my games even got the attention of a big casual game publishing company called Voodoo.
How I Used The "Clone Method" To Learn Digital Art
After learning how to make games, I decided to use the method to learn something else. People say it is hard for a game developer to become an artist but I said nay! I have a technique that would allow me to learn it in 2 months. I downloaded "Ibis Paint X" from the Play Store and my first painting was horrible.
The worst part was it took me 6 hours to complete. Can you believe it? 6 hours! After doing this, I knew I needed help to learn digital art better so I could paint better-looking pieces. I decided to use the "Clone Method" and this was the process. I will be faster this time if you don’t mind.
Step 1: Clone
I downloaded a tutorial, a simple one that I could follow as a beginner and after some time, I managed to paint this.
Definitely not the Mona Lisa but it's a start.
Step 2: Clone Again Without The Tutorial
I decided to throw away the tutorial and paint the same image above in step 1. Again, I used the tutorial whenever I got stuck. I managed to paint an exact copy on my own after some time.
Step 3: Build Something That Is Yours But Similar To The Clone
I needed to build something that is mine to make sure I understood everything I learned in the tutorial and I managed to paint this.
I'm still far from Picasso but it's a start. It's similar to the first one but it's a different girl and I didn't use the tutorial until I needed to.
Step 4: Rinse And Repeat
I kept on going through steps 1 through 4 — each time learning something new and after a little bit over 2 months, I can now paint pieces that look like this.
It's still not Picasso but leave me alone okay—I am proud of it. See how the "Clone Method" helped me learn two very different skills?
How You Can Apply The "Clone Method"
- Pick a skill you want to learn. Any skill
- Find a tutorial online of someone teaching that skill and copy everything he/she does from start to finish.
- Complete everything you learned in step 2 again. But this time, without the tutorial. Only use the tutorial when you need to.
- Now try building something entirely new but using the same things you learned in the previous steps. Again, get help online if you get lost.
- Rinse and repeat, each time learning something new.
- In about 2 months or less, you’ll probably get considerably good at the skill you chose. And you didn’t even have to pay for it.
Conclusion: The Power Of The "Clone Method"
The "Clone Method" has helped me learn multiple skills in my life in a very short time frame. Step by step, it has everything you need to go from total beginner to skilled in 2 months or less.
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