The question of what is pure art and what is straight commerce, McCloud says, can be determined by examining the path an artist takes toward his or her art: “‘Pure art is essentially the question of purpose—of the artist deciding what they want out of art.” That path, McCloud says, consistently follows six steps:
Idea/purpose: What are the creator’s philosophies, purpose, or emotions that shape the content?
Form: How best to convey the idea? Through a song? Writing a poem? Creating a comic?
Idiom: What will the vocabulary/style be? The creator must select (or create) a genre.
Structure: The creator must evaluate the best way to arrange or compose their content.
Craft: The construction of the work, the employment of the creator’s specific skills.
Surface: The appearance of the finished work, the production values.
