Monthly Archives: November 2016

Recollect

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    All of my favorite people seem to be either dead or out of my life in any meaningful way. That’s the kind of observation that can ruin your holidays!

I’m sure I’ll be fine.

     So last week I decided to do an online tutorial, live on Facebook. It was pretty successful; I had no idea so many people were interested in Prismacolor shading process for markers!

    A couple of people told me I had a unique look and wanted to know where I learned it. The school of trial and error was my reply. Sure, I’d like to be able to have the style of an Artgerm or Warren Luow, but I’m proud of coming up with my own solutions.

   Having said that, I often find myself inventing a wheel that already exists. But the process of finding and implementing the solution teaches me a lot.

     This will never end for me. I’ll always be learning something new and exciting in art. Always picking up a new technique. When I look at my old stuff all I see is what I did wrong! 

Rather than get discouraged, I take it to heart. If I wasn’t growing in both knowledge and experience, it would still seem fine to me. If your stuff from a few years back still looks great to you, you’re stagnating.🙁

     While I’m content with the praise I received last week for this image, I know that next year I’ll cringe a little looking at it. 

      It’s only natural.

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    Well, it’s Thanksgiving week. Or as some are calling it, last holiday until Christmas. Even though my workload is four times what it was last year, I’m still taking a break.

    I don’t celebrate Christmas. So this is the one time a year I make it home to see my mom. Usually I don’t promise her anything; I just pop in for a day or so, then leave. In a way I’m her Santa Claus, except she gave birth to me, lol.

   That didn’t sound quite right, did it?

     So before I get on the road, here’s a picture of a friend of mine, who goes by the moniker “Callie Cosplay”. As thename would suggest, she’s a model for fictional characters. 

     The first I’d heard of her was about three years ago, through a friend. She was about to do a really cool rendition of Wonder Woman and I asked if I could draw her. At the time I was doing digital art exclusively(which reminds me I need to start again) so her cosplay was a learning experience for me.

     She was ecstatic with it. You can find it here if you go through my archives. Since then I’ve drawn her several times. Her friendliness and openness gave me the courage to approach other people about their cosplays, which lead me to where I am today.

     This picture of her really doesn’t do her full justice. But it’s my small token of thanks for someone who helped me get started. 😊

Friends with Adversaries

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    Sometimes I can slip in a picture at work and this is one of those times. Think of it as an art study, the kind teachers usually put on a person the middle of the room.

     The drawing itself wasn’t the hard part. I knew the translucent quality of the bottle was what would try to kick my ass, so I begin by gameplaninng it first.

     Of course I couldn’t ignore the headphones! Getting the textures right proved to be technically easy. Harder edges with more separation in values gave things that hard plastic sheen.

    Now came the bottle itself. I began by laying out my mids and leaving highs as page white for now…

    …after which I begin to add reflections by using a darker red. It gave the illusion of a highly reflective surface, which made for a good starting point.

     From there I chose the original color I used to create my mids to add gradation to the bottle. It helped create the outline of the other speaker, as well as the twist grooves for the cap.

   Finally I used Deco Peach to go over the entire thing and add a bit of glossiness to the bottle. A white gel pen created the lettering and logo and it was done!

    I hope you guys like the end result.😊

Ugly 

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    I can’t help but notice that the more content I make the less supportive certain people in my life become. Not you guys; you’ve been aces!

    I’m hearing a lot of negativity about bad economy, bad timing, bad decision, etc. So I started the week by announcing that I was going to have to drop individuals based on their level of negativity. 

    I’m down two people.

      Two whole people that told me I wasn’t good enough to charge people yet, that I didn’t have a degree and that I was being stupid. One actually uses one of my pictures as his banner. Really?

     Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that they can’t disagree with me. I have a diverse support system and honestly if all you’re hearing is your own opinions parroted back at you?

   You have issues.

    But anytime you try to improve your position, your real friends should cheer you on, not actively try to stop you.

    So… business plan in hand. Various price points set. Ideal customers found and targeted. Branding beginning and set….

     Here I go.

Autumn Warmth

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    This weekend I did absolutely nothing. I drank a lot. Slept. Watched the Crossfit Games on tv. I’ve been really active for a while now and it was a welcome break.

      It was something my dad told me once, “work smarter, not harder”. Sometimes we fall into the trap of believing that if we redouble our efforts we can improve our circumstances. “Always be on your grind” is the new catchphrase. It’s bullshit, of course. How much of that effort is simply wasted energy?

     So instead I sat, rested and thought. I organized my ideas, set goals and made a plan. I’m giving myself six months to achieve my goals. 

     I have a lot of artwork, both digital and traditional. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be presenting it in the best light. Hell, last month alone I made 38 pieces! 

     So I took a weekend to be lay about and consider my near future. Today I’m doing my business plan. I’m going through my social media and determining which pieces got the most responses. That’ll help me find my audience.  I’m also going to set up an artist page on Facebook. But first I need to make sure my chosen product is in its best light. 

    Thanks for being here while I built up a portfolio. But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere! You guys are valuable to me. You help clear my head and allow me to talk about my life. I need that sometimes. So you get to continue being along for the ride.

Buckle up.😉