Category: Blog Posts

Read Along: The War of Art Book 1

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a read-along and I’m still working with some of the exercises in Artist As Brand before I can return to that one.

In the meantime, I’ve started reading The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield .  This book has been on the lips of a lot of independent artists I know as a must-read for motivational purposes.

Part 1 focuses on ‘resistance’.  Resistance, as it is defined here, is a mercurial force that embodies our excuses, mental blocks, etc. and it comes purely from within and feeds purely from one’s own psyche.  Pressfield breaks down all of the elements and characteristics of resistance in Book 1: Resistance – Defining the Enemy.

Do you say you’ll write your symphony, but that you’ll start tomorrow?  That’s Resistance.  Do you get caught up in a drama of life with you or your loved ones that keeps you from working on the things you really want to work on?  That’s Resistance.  Any form of self-sabotage or acceptance of external factors that keeps you from doing the grand, epic thing is Resistance.

My knee jerk reaction to Book 1 is that this is all pretty straightforward and unsurprising.  It reads more as a collection of quotable anecdotes without solutions (which I know the future segments will go into in a deeper capacity).  I also take some issue with the section which describes mental illness as a form of Resistance.  And I quote:

“Attention Deficit Disorder, Seasonal Affect Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder.  These aren’t diseases, they’re marketing ploys.  Doctors didn’t discover them, copywriters did.  Marketing departments did.  Drug companies did.”

“Depression and anxiety may be real. But they can also be Resistance.”

He’s not wrong in that sometimes we can get wrapped up in the drama and difficulty of depression and anxiety, but this feels awfully dismissive of genuine disorders of chemical imbalance or the validity of research that has helped us to understand behavior and treatment better than we have in the past.  The large ‘but’ at the end doesn’t feel adequate to resolve that dismissiveness for this reader.  If you need some helpful resources you can visit this site. Perhaps feeling annoyed or negatively towards some of these topics is all part of this book’s strategy to get us to feel defensive and start analyzing the reason why?

My sensitivity to this topic aside, there are also some great anecdotes I highlighted for my own inspiration.  This was one of my favorites:

“Rule of thumb: The more important a call to action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we feel towards pursuing it.”

Truth, my friends!

While so far the voice of this book doesn’t connect with me as much as I’d hoped, it definitely has me examining my own sources of Resistance.  Taking a deep, down look into our inner selves is what I consider to be strategic planning for artists.  I know for me, my sources of Resistance look something like this:

  • Confidence.  I’m always afraid my skills aren’t up to par with the vision I have in my head, so I save my challenging products for the never-ending agenda of ‘later’.
  • Flow.  I get caught up by the fact I personally like to have large swaths of time to ‘get into a flow’, so when I know something is going to interrupt that flow (friends visiting, appointments, basically everything that is called interacting with the world, etc.), I get frustrated and don’t start a project.
  • Envy.  I look a lot at how motivated my artist friends who are further along than me in my career are and wonder why I can’t seem to be as motivated.  This usually just sends me in a self-destructive spiral of ‘my work will never be good enough’ or an equally as damaging spiral of ‘if I work until my eyes bleed, surely I’ll get ahead?’.

The list could go on, but those are my top sources of Resistance right now that I shamefully admit to my dear readers.

I’m looking forward to reading the future sections which will hopefully move from this mood of ‘Be an inhuman machine and get over your problems instantly, you lazy, fragile human flesh bag’ and more into offering thoughtful solutions and dialog.

Onwards to Book 2: Combating Resistance – Turning Pro!  In the meanwhile, I leave you with another of my favorite quotes:

“The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.”

Sketch Diary – Winter Offering

Inspiration: Every year I do a painting to spread the cheer of the winter holidays to my fans, friends, and family.  Keeping in that tradition, I created this piece entitled “Winter Offering” for 2015.

I wanted to capture the quiet warmth of candles, which are one of my favorite decorative elements of the season, and pay homage to some of the Celtic traditions that define the holidays with the presence of evergreen holly and pine.  I also wanted a celestial theme for the window to represent the dark, cold winter nights which the light guides us through.

Tools and Techniques

For this painting, I used Photoshop CC and a Wacom Cintiq 21UX.

References

ref-winter-offering

A selection from my references. 

Art Process

Step 1 – Thumbnail sketching with ink and white color pencil on toned paper to find the right idea. At first, I wanted to do a candy theme, but the candles struck me with their simplicity and elegance. The Krampus one was also a fun contender, but I decided to save him for another time.

wip-candles-thumbnails 

Step 2 –  Reference gathering! I looked at many Tiffany glass windows, wreaths, and white candles for inspiration.  I keep a secret reference board for my yearly holiday images on Pinterest.

Step 3 – I did a rough sketch in Photoshop keeping loose and quick.  The sketch was then printed out and refined with pencil sketching on top of the lightly printed line work.

christmas-2015

Step 4 – This refined sketch was then scanned in and the lines turned blue so they could be easily transferred.  I also used the same refined sketch to do a digital color test so I had an idea of my colors before I put paint on paper.

winter-offering-color-test

Step 5 – The refined sketch with blue line work was then printed and transferred with graphite dust applied to the back of the printout.

transfer-process

Step 6 – The transferred line work on the illustration board were inked with various colors of mechanical pens for visual contrast and interest.

colored-ink

Step 7 – The ink drawing was finished with watercolor paints.

You can also watch the 5 minute time lapse video of how I created this painting here!

For more in-depth instruction on how I created this image, including the brands of materials I used, tips on creating a stained glass style in watercolor, etc., pledge to any $10 and up level on my Patreon to gain access to the narrated video tutorial!

You can also buy the individual tutorial separately at my Gumroad shop, but you won’t receive the other extras you would by purchasing via Patreon.

Patreon Update – Art Student Tier!

A brand new year is upon us and I’m rearing to get started on all the projects I have waiting in the wings!  With so much going on I’ve decided to pause the Mentorships I was hosting through Patreon so I don’t split my attention too much.

I know the mentorships have been helpful (and affordable) for aspiring artists, so I added a new Reward tier to take its place till I’m ready to host full mentorships again.  This new tier is called the Art Student!

With the Art Student tier, you’ll get the following:

  • Access to my usual Patreon Rewards from the prior tiers, including wallpapers, video walkthroughs, PSD files of my paintings, a PDF sketch diary, & the ability to participate in the inspiration prompt drawing each month.
  • A single paint-over OR redline per month for your work in need of critique! Additional paint-overs can be purchased separately at a discounted rate of 25% off for Art Students.
  • A narrated video of your critique will be recorded and uploaded privately for you to view at your leisure on YouTube. Critique videos will be fully detailed, providing advice and study resources.
  • A .PSD of your paintover/redline which you’re free to use as a base will also be provided!

Critiques will be delivered after the 1st of each month once the prior month’s pledges have been successfully processed. I aim to have them online within the first week of each month. You will be individually notified when your critique is available.

Questions, comments, or suggestions?  Feel free to drop me a line in the comments or via email! There’s no greater joy than unlocking the potential of a piece of art, so I’m excited to see what you all might throw at me!

Art in the thumbnail by Jude Mayr with a redline by me.

Art Goals for 2016

At the beginning of every new year, I like to set myself a few goals, as opposed to New Year’s Resolutions which always seem to fall to the wayside for me.  I usually have a thousand ideas going in on my brain, so doing this activity also helps me wrangle them into a format that helps me remember what I want to be focusing on.

First off, let’s see how I did with my 2015 art goals!

2015 Art Goals

1.  FINISH PD1! And my other online courses (Figure Drawing Fundamentals and Fundamentals of Color and Light).

Alas, I still didn’t finish Proko’s Figure Drawing Fundamentals or Painting Drama, though I made a lot of headway starting Painting Drama over from the beginning. It was making much more sense a 2nd time around, despite the fact I got waylaid by horrible life events and never finished…again.

2.  Finish my Rapunzel comic after all these years! It’s very nearly done.

YES! I finished this project that I’ve been working on since senior year in college!  You can read the whole thing here.

3.  Finish my cover portfolio and submit it to my target publishers.

I turned my portfolio in to a couple of my target companies, but never heard a word back.  Here’s hoping that more no’s (or never hearing back) will equal a single ‘yes’ some day, but I’m going to keep myself busy with my own IP’s in the meantime!

4.  Fully launch my art book review and resources site, The Muse’s Library.

I managed to get The Muse’s Library up as a blog and Patreon, as well as sync my current stock gallery to the new brand name! It’s all set and ready to expand.

5.  Teach myself how to make a music video just because it looks fun!

I DID IT!  I created my first anime music video for Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust!  It’s a little rough around the edges, but I learned a lot and hope to have fun with more videos in the future!  Video editing is becoming another hobby of mine.

6.  Spend more time writing for my novel-verse. I miss writing!

I managed to create a mock up book trailer during my IP Development Mentorship, write a fully detailed 3 act synopsis for Book 1 and finish all of the basic character bios.  I’ve taken some giant steps forward in preparation for my first novel this year!  I still have such a long way to go, but as they say, every journey begins with a step!

7.  Draw/write enough to publish a yearly sketchbook.

I think I’ve done enough Monster Girls for a little booklet, though it’ll probably be a coloring book instead of a sketchbook.

8.  SmartSchool/IMC???

Alas, I didn’t have enough funds to do either this year.  I’m still saving and hoping.  I’m considering a GoFundMe if it seems like we can’t get enough funds on our own within the next couple of years.  I’m also considering doing a writer’s retreat instead, if my focus is going to be writing this year moreso than art.

9.  Get out of the house more!

I did okay at this.  I occasionally made it to geek trivia with friends and did art meet up with other friends.  My motivation died off pretty early on though thanks to extreme stress and illness, however.

10.  Exercise and eat better!

My SO’s illness this year which requires low sodium has inspired the both of us to eat much better now.  A bad reason, but a good result!

 

2016’s Art Goals…starting NOW!

  1. I finished Rapunzel so now it’s time to create a special ebook edition with unpublished sketches and try to publish it on ComiXology or elsewhere.
  2. Continue (and hopefully finish) the Ladies of the Months series! I have big plans to expand this IP into a lot of different things once they’re done (calendars, a sketchbook, coloring book, etc.).
  3. Wrap up the Monster Girls and produce prints, stickers, and coloring pages of them.
  4. Finish world-building prep and get my first draft for Song of Exile finished! (Or I’ll settle for at least 3 chapters, instead)
  5. Create basic character concept sheets for all main characters in Song of Exile for concept art practice.
  6. Start publishing video reviews of art books for The Muse’s Library!
  7. Finish up Painting Drama, Proko’s Figure Drawing Fundamentals, CtrlPaint’s Concept Art Portfolio Builder, and Color and Light with Schoolism.
  8. If I can get the Monster Girls and Ladies of the Months wrapped up, start back on my Kushiel’s Legacy cover redesign and illustration project over at Kushiel Concepts!
  9. If I can get enough new work produced, start hitting up conventions again! I’m not rushing this one, however.
  10. Go to a park or museum I’ve never been to before and sketch!

That’s a lot for me to try to do in a single year, but I’d rather aim high and see how it goes!  What are you all hoping to achieve this year?  Give me your top 10 art goals!

Summary of Art 2015

Thoughts on 2015 – It’s been a tough year, no lie.  A lot of IRL challenges meant I spent a lot of time off instead of making art and that sent me into a spiral of depression that was hard to escape (I’m still not completely out of it).  When I was finally able to get back to creating art, I had to drag it out of myself.

On the upside, I completed The Rapunzel comic, which has been in the making for years!  I also finished the IP Development Mentorship with Robot Pencil and laid the seeds to a fantasy story I’ve been working on for over 10 years now and that’s something I’m majorly proud of!

My best piece this year was probably Blood of the Few.  I really pushed myself to strive for something different and cinematic!  This piece plus all the other work I did for the mentorship was yet another step in the direction of a personal project (Song of Exile) that I really want to push forward with in a major way in the near future.

Next Year – I’ve decided to do more writing and have planned to split my schedule between wrapping up some of my ongoing art projects so I can dedicate myself fully to Song of Exile.  If there’s anything I’ve learned from our trials this year, it’s that life’s too short to wait on doing those things you’ve always wanted to do!

List of Art for 2015’s Summary
Last year’s Summary of Art:
For an expanded look back of my progress as an artist, check my other art progression meme.  It has my art since the age of 9!

Sketch Diary – Satyr

 

Inspiration

Today I’ll be talking about how I created Satyr for the 30 Day Monster Girl Challenge.  For my version of Satyr, I went with my own fantasy twist of a well-known figure from Greek and Roman mythology.

The Satyr of myth is usually a mischievous male with the lower body of a goat who is known to lecherously pursue nymphs and dryads.  The Satyr were also drinking buddies with Dionysus, the god of wine and merriment.

For more about the Satyr, check out one of my favorite Greek mythology resources, http://www.theoi.com.

 

 

Tools and Techniques

For this painting, I used Photoshop CC and a Wacom Cintiq 21UX.

Concept Inspiration

For my Satyr girl, I wanted to go with the theme of grapes to honor Dionysus and his wine, so she ended up with a purple complexion crowned with grapevine adornments.  Like many Satyrs, she is also a player of instruments, in this case a flute.

 

References

A selection from my references for Satyr.

monster-girls-satyr-refs

Art Process

Step 1. Quick digital gesture drawing done to capture the movement and energy of the pose. This isn’t very precise and is more about energy than accuracy.wip-satyr-01

Step 2:  A cleaner line art is drawn on a layer atop the gesture. I used Lazy Nezumi Pro set to ‘subtle’ to help stabilize my lines in Photoshop and make them smoother.

wip-satyr-02

Step 3:  Added a base layer of color so no background color will accidentally show through.wip-satyr-03

Step 4:  Added the flat colors after much deliberation on what her skin color should be.wip-satyr-04

Step 5:  Colorized the lines to make the grapes, grapevine, and flute stand out.wip-satyr-05

Step 6:  Added a shadow layer using warm grey above everything clipped to the Group and set to Multiply.wip-satyr-06

 

Step 7:  Added a highlight layer painting in white set to Overlay. Also clipped to the Group.wip-satyr-07

Step 8:  Final touches of pure white in key places such as the leaves, grapes, and hair to help lead the strengthen the focus, flow, and dimensionality of the piece.

wip-satyr-08

 

 

For more in-depth instruction on how I created this image, Pledge to any $10 and up level at my Patreon to gain access to the narrated video tutorial!  You can also buy the individual tutorial separately at my Gumroad shop, but you won’t receive the other extras you would by purchasing via Patreon.

You can watch a video preview of the tutorial for Satyr without narration here: