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Journal time!! I apologize for the length of this post, but I think it's important for artists, especially newer artists, to consider. Hopefully it will be of some use to you in your artistic journey.
SO... ConceptArt has been sending out emails to promo their study programs with little snippets of advice, some of them are good but one of them that came the other day really irks me. The first thing on their list is, "Study with a sense of urgency"
Now... this is my opinion, but I've heard similar sentiments from many other artists and creators who I would consider, "successful" in their field. And, in my opinion, "Study with a sense of urgency" is the absolute worst advice anyone could give to a beginner.
Yes, you need to work hard. The arts are a competitive field, and you need to push yourself if you want to climb the ladder. BUT in all of your hard work beware of mind sets like:
-"If I don't get good fast my dream job will disappear."
-"When this artist was my age they were still twice as good as I am now, what's wrong with me?"
-"If I'm not drawing for 16 hours a day then I'm doomed to failure."
-"I've been drawing for years now, why is this still difficult?"
All of these are a sure fire way to kill your passion for art and drive yourself mad. I would know, I spent a lot of time trapped in them. There's an old adage that's corny and cliche but it's true: the journey is the destination. And as soon as you learn to appreciate that, you will be happy with your work. As a counterpoint to the above mind sets:
-If your dream job disappears, who cares? There are other jobs. There's pleasure to be had in all kinds of work, don't deny yourself happiness until you, "make it" with X company.
-Age doesn't matter, and you can't compare your journey with others. You just can't, it's too complex. You have no idea what situations lead to someone else's success, and you will never replicate it. So just do your own thing, the only thing that matters is that you're better now than you were yesterday.
-Quality over quantity. Drawing for 16 hours a day isn't healthy; you need to spend time on other things to refresh your brain. A few hours a day of high quality study time will always be better than bashing your head against a wall for 12 hours straight.
-Don't, "should" all over yourself. Graduated last year? That doesn't mean you, "should" be or have anything. The universe owes you nothing, so don't be disappointed when things don't go as you planned. Instead, work hard now so that when a good opportunity presents itself you're prepared for it.
In conclusion, urgency is (usually) an imaginary construct, assuming that there is extremely limited time / opportunity to achieve your dreams. This is a lie. There's plenty of work to be had, plenty of time to improve, plenty of opportunities to experiment, and plenty of joy and fulfillment to be had where you are right this second. Live in the moment, appreciate what you have, and enjoy the journey as you work for bigger and better.
SO... ConceptArt has been sending out emails to promo their study programs with little snippets of advice, some of them are good but one of them that came the other day really irks me. The first thing on their list is, "Study with a sense of urgency"
Now... this is my opinion, but I've heard similar sentiments from many other artists and creators who I would consider, "successful" in their field. And, in my opinion, "Study with a sense of urgency" is the absolute worst advice anyone could give to a beginner.
Yes, you need to work hard. The arts are a competitive field, and you need to push yourself if you want to climb the ladder. BUT in all of your hard work beware of mind sets like:
-"If I don't get good fast my dream job will disappear."
-"When this artist was my age they were still twice as good as I am now, what's wrong with me?"
-"If I'm not drawing for 16 hours a day then I'm doomed to failure."
-"I've been drawing for years now, why is this still difficult?"
All of these are a sure fire way to kill your passion for art and drive yourself mad. I would know, I spent a lot of time trapped in them. There's an old adage that's corny and cliche but it's true: the journey is the destination. And as soon as you learn to appreciate that, you will be happy with your work. As a counterpoint to the above mind sets:
-If your dream job disappears, who cares? There are other jobs. There's pleasure to be had in all kinds of work, don't deny yourself happiness until you, "make it" with X company.
-Age doesn't matter, and you can't compare your journey with others. You just can't, it's too complex. You have no idea what situations lead to someone else's success, and you will never replicate it. So just do your own thing, the only thing that matters is that you're better now than you were yesterday.
-Quality over quantity. Drawing for 16 hours a day isn't healthy; you need to spend time on other things to refresh your brain. A few hours a day of high quality study time will always be better than bashing your head against a wall for 12 hours straight.
-Don't, "should" all over yourself. Graduated last year? That doesn't mean you, "should" be or have anything. The universe owes you nothing, so don't be disappointed when things don't go as you planned. Instead, work hard now so that when a good opportunity presents itself you're prepared for it.
In conclusion, urgency is (usually) an imaginary construct, assuming that there is extremely limited time / opportunity to achieve your dreams. This is a lie. There's plenty of work to be had, plenty of time to improve, plenty of opportunities to experiment, and plenty of joy and fulfillment to be had where you are right this second. Live in the moment, appreciate what you have, and enjoy the journey as you work for bigger and better.
I'm going on an adventure!
Well it's been a wild 5 years, but my days of freelancing are drawing to a close. Next week I'll be headed down to Atlanta to join the talented folks over at Hi-Rez and work on Smite full-time! :D
I'm super excited and grateful for the opportunity, I couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with and working in-house has been at the top of my bucket list for years.
successkid.jpg
Art Tip: Managing Focus
People don't listen to classical music as much as they used to. Many would define it as slow or boring, and in comparison with the fast paced, drum driven, digital glitching music of today they're not wrong to feel it that way.
This is true in every form of media. Why play a board game when you can play a video game with exciting graphics and sound? Why watch a stage play when you can watch a movie with impossible action and breathtaking visuals? Why read an article when you can watch a YouTube vlog with jump cuts mid-sentence ensuring none of your precious time is wasted?
This is the evolution of media and technology and it's not inherentl
Video tutorial - pick a character!
Howdy folks! Just a heads up that I'm almost ready to begin production on my epic start-to-finish illustration tutorial, and the ever-wondrous PTimm (https://www.deviantart.com/ptimm) designed a fantastic character for it!! Let me know which one is your favorite and I'll tally the votes for the final decision. Gonna be a lot of fun things to paint. :D
Video tutorials! What do you need help with?
Art peeps, I need your input! I'm going to be starting production on an über illustration tutorial showing my process in detail from start to finish! It'll be a series of videos including real-time drawing demos, time-lapsed examples, and little theory snippets. It'll also be completely free to watch.
SO... what are some things you have trouble with and would like to see demonstrated? I'll do my best to cover as many of your specific topics as possible. And don't worry, hands, shading, and hair are already on the list. :D
© 2015 - 2024 Andantonius
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Seeing the post about your new job reminded me of this post you made last year and I've put in my favorites. I still glance back at this every now and then as a reminder and can see you're definitely a man who loves by his own words. Sorry if this sounds mushy but seeing your progression is such a big motivator to me.