Category: Blog Posts

August 5, 2009

Whistle While You Work!

The busy time has commenced and it seems like half the artists I know are bustling about trying to get things ready for conventions! Excitement and possibilities are in the air and the countdown has begun.

So while we’re all working, I’ve noticed myself falling into a certain few habits. It seems I’m unable to do one task at once, I always have to have music playing, the TV tuned to a movie I enjoy (and have no doubt seen a thousand times), or a podcast or audiobook chiming with info in the background. I’ve lost my ability to mono-task in lieu of receiving a constant stream of information nearly every second of the day.

Lately, I’ve been listening to the awesome folks at Ninja Mountain, a podcast by a band of mystic ninja artists in the industry who have come together to share their secret arts. They keep me laughing, energized, and inspired all at once to really keep at it and give me hope that I can succeed if I stick to my guns. I highly recommend them to any amateur artist looking for good practical advice on stepping foot into professional waters.

I’ve also been going through a phase of listening to audiobooks while I work, the current flavor of the day being the audiobook of Outlander by Diana Gaboldan. The tale of a combat nurse cast back in time to 18th century Scotland comes alive with the very effective accents of the narrator, though I’m still deciding whether I like this tale in general. (If you’re curious on my thoughts of Outlander, I’ve started a forum thread about it documenting my thoughts as I ‘read’).

I’ve also got audiobooks of the Joseph Campbell interviews for “The Power of Myth”, the Kushiel series, Good Omens, and Paradise Lost lined up and a few new podcasts by the Morhbachers (a pair of lovely artists and friends interviewing other artists and talking of concept art and things) that I need to check out.

Yes, I am waiting for the day my head explodes, but until that happens, what are you guys doing while you work? Are you a multi-tasker like me or do you prefer the sanctity of silence? Anyone have any good suggestions of audiobooks and podcasts I might like?

July 30, 2009

DragonCon Diary 09 – The Rush Begins

Diary Entries Thus Far:
Dragon Con Diary 09: Pre-Con Prep
Dragon Con Diary 09: To Charge or Not to Charge?
Dragon Con Diary 09: The Rush Begins
Dragon Con Diary 09: The Calm Before the Storm
Dragon Con Diary 09: Matting Madness!
Dragon Con Diary 09: The Aftermath
Dragon Con Diary 09: Video & Photo Stream

With a little over a month until Dragon Con, it seems like it will take a miracle to get everything I’d like to do done. Now it seems I’ve been accepted into the Artist Alley of Anime Weekend Atlanta (table 38), which means I’m preparing for this convention at the same time as Dcon, since AWA is a mere week after it.

The plan? To sell off any extra I might have leftover from dcon at AWA, but also to have enough prepared so that there will BE extra items for the pandering after Dragon Con. San Diego Comic Con has just finished so I’m hoping my artwork will be returned in time to use for the next few cons. I’m also hoping I did well so that any sales will help fund the incoming round of craziness!

Without further ado, here are the ultra fun lists of my progress thus far!

Things I’ve completed (Hurray!):

Finished my layout for my art show panel at Dragon Con. (Get a sneak peek at my layout here)

Applied for and waiting on my EIN (employer tax ID number) so I can be eligible for merchant status and fun things like credit card chargers

Ordered print and products for standing inventory and sorted it into an Access database

Started keeping better records of receipts and invoices in Quicken

Got a shiny beautiful vinyl banner for my table printed by my awesome brother, Roland.

Things I’m currently doing:

Working on a new batch of cameo and art tile necklaces

Sketching the centerpiece painting for my Dragon Con layout (It needs to be done by August 15th for a contest I want to enter, as well!)

Developing a hopefully healthy addiction to green tea

Things I still need to do!:

Work on designs for my three ceramic piggy banks for the charity auction. I’m thinking a Three Muses theme with gold leaf and rhinestones! I love some blingy pigs.

Fill two Itoya portfolios with pretties for people to look at

Ponder if I’ll need a pvc frame to hang my banner on or if I can use my backdrop set to double as a hangy thingie. Experimentation is in order.

Mat about 40 or more things! I’m avoiding this currently because I REALLY hate matting. I also want to play with the mats by dripping some paint on them or doing some custom designs in acrylic. Still pondering what to do!

Received my dcon barcodes and now ready to attach lots of sticky things to my stuff bound for Dcon’s artist alley and art show!

Design and print bookmark brochures for my freebie items

Working on a makeshift homage costume of Dawn just for kicks (because I’m masochist and don’t already have enough to do). Currently searching for a corset and preparing to make a leather mask and wrist rose.

Organize an unofficial little luncheon for artists at the con. I’m looking into reserving space at the Brazilian restaurant, Fire on Brazil on Saturday. Will be sending emails about this one as soon as I know more details!

And somewhere during all that, I’ve got to keep working on my book, which is coming along nicely! I’ve reached the halfway mark and will soon be able to reveal a little more about what has been secretly keeping me busy for the past few months. I’ve got many more plans for the future AFTER the con, but I’ll save that for another entry.

Right now, let us drink in the glory and the caffeine of the pre-con rush!

July 22, 2009

The New Improved Kooky Character Quiz!

With as stressy as things have been getting lately with deadlines and such, I thought we could use a break with something completely different! So I present to you, the new, improved kooky character quiz! Be warned! Your characters will never be the same again!

Character Name:
Age:
Species/Race:
Piercings/Tattoos:

1. What kind of modern music would your character like? Any specific group or band? Or would they hate music?

2. If your character had a theme song, what specific pre-existing song would it be?

3. If your character had a speaking or singing voice, what actor or singer would they sound like? Can your character sing at all?

4. If you were to cast a movie of your character’s story, what actor would play them?

5. If your character could play an instrument, what would it be?

6. What is their favorite meal?

7. If your character was in a high school drama, what subject in school would they have been the best in? What about the worst?

8. What normal, everyday job would your character have if he or she were in modern times?

9. What would their favorite hobby be if they were in normal, every-day, modern times?

10. What pasta or fruit could your character’s endowments be compared to? (ie. For guys: angel hair noodle, penne, thick spaghetti, etc. For gals, apples, melons, watermelons, etc. Hey…just answer the question!)

And here are a couple of my own characters to answer the call!

Character Name: Aurora Adonai
Age: 20’s
Species/Race: Cybernetic Elf (Goblinized Human)
Piercings/Tattoos: Tons mostly along the ear lobes. Aury’s fully tattooed on her stomach, face, wrists, shoulders, and ankles. No ‘secret’ tattoos or piercings to speak of.

1. What kind of modern music would your character like? Any specific group or band? Or would they hate music?

Aurora would probably like lots of angry, angsty screaming rock and metal or monotonous with a hard beat, like trance and techno that she could lose herself to dancing. Evanescence, Lacuna Coil, Metallica, Paul Oakenfold.

2. If your character had a theme song, what specific pre-existing song would it be?

Too many to count on Aurora’s Playlist, but if I had to limit to one song, Haunted by Evanescence.

3. If your character had a speaking or singing voice, what actor or singer would they sound like? Can your character sing at all?

Angelina has the perfect voice and way of speaking for Aurora (well when she’s not doing a horrid accent a la Beowulf). Angelina can yell with the best of them and she’s good at taking on a dark, cutting tone when insulted (see Girl, Interrupted for the best example).

4. If you were to cast a movie of your character’s story, what actor would play them?

Angelina Jolie, of course. She has that sort of self-destructive anger and beauty combined with a sensual, deadly aura that’s just perfect. Alternatively, Kira Knightley MIGHT work, but Angelina would be my first choice (and yes, I have thought about this more than a person should).

5. If your character could play an instrument, what would it be?

Something to get all her anger and violence out, like drums.

6. What is their favorite meal?

She loooves the taste of beef, but is allergic to it, being an Elf. Therefore, her favorite meal is a Caesar Salad.

7. If your character was in a high school drama, what subject in school would they have been the best in? What about the worst?

Tough one. She sucks at cooking, drawing, and just about anything dealing with domestic skills. She is rather interested in dance and martial arts so the closest equivalent would be Physical Education. Her worst topic would definitely be Home Economics.

8. What normal, everyday job would your character have if he or she were in modern times?

Pretty much what she does in her own universe: Waitress, Exotic Dancer, and/or Bounty Hunter.

9. What would their favorite hobby be if they were in normal, every-day, modern times?

The same hobby she has in her universe: Reading comic books and collecting swords and guns!

A decent set of modest sized melons!

Character Name: Ry Phirunaden
Age: 200’s
Species/Race: Elf (Half Fae, Half Human Descent)
Piercings/Tattoos: Tattooed on the biceps with the military emblem of his unit. In an older design, he had “Have Ye Merry Day” tattooed somewhere, but I’m not sure if that still stands or not. It’d make a nice tattoo across the buttocks.

1. What kind of modern music would your character like? Any specific group or band? Or would they hate music?

Being a bouncy fellow who likes a good jig to dance to, I can see Ry liking Swing and Jazz and possibly some techno. The serious side of him would probably enjoy a good classic ballad as well. I will forever associate him with Cherry Poppin’ Daddies thanks to Windfalcon.

2. If your character had a theme song, what specific pre-existing song would it be?

Again, When I Change Your Mind by Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.

3. If your character had a speaking or singing voice, what actor or singer would they sound like? Can your character sing at all?

Hands down, Ry would completely sound like Iarla Ó Lionáird from Afro Celt Sound System. Ry’s a rather accomplished singer, despite appearances

4. If you were to cast a movie of your character’s story, what actor would play them?

Torn on this one. Seann William Scott has the look, but I prefer the more tongue and cheek sarcasm of James Marsters as Spike.

5. If your character could play an instrument, what would it be?

A fiddle or violin suits Ry and his propensity for breaking out into song to pass the time.

6. What is their favorite meal?

An Ale and YOU, baby!

7. If your character was in a high school drama, what subject in school would they have been the best in? What about the worst?

He would have been good on the Track team and one of the sexy popular Drama class students who sells drugs on the side to afford a nice car and to date a different chick every night of the week. And maybe he’d be in Band too. Worst topic would be History.

8. What normal, everyday job would your character have if he or she were in modern times?

The high class Drug Dealer and Conman conning old ladies out of their money and selling Weed to their husbands.

9. What would their favorite hobby be if they were in normal, every-day, modern times?

His job IS his hobby, in addition to womanizing.

A robust penne!

July 13, 2009

DragonCon Diary 09 – To Charge or Not to Charge?

When last we left our hero, she was buried under a deadly pile of things to do! But with truth and justice (and coffee!), she has managed to whittle down the lists into something like this:

I’ve managed to do much of the following for Dragon Con this past week:

I split up the print inventory between the print shop, art show, and table at the artist’s alley. Phew! Got a butt load of prints to handle this year! About 3 times the amount I’ve ever had at about 27 pieces for the show, 64 for the print shop, and about 50 more for the table itself. Got all the paperwork turned in with a week to spare instead of the night before!

I’ve entered said inventory into Microsoft Access and categorized it all. Egads! Organization?? It can be done!

I’ve made about 20 new glass tile art pendants and am waiting for some new cabochon settings to arrive so I can play around with a more elegant jewelry design.

Planning an Artist’s Alley Table
I’ve been researching displays of other folks at artist alleys and there’s a few things that I’ve noticed everyone seems to be doing.

PVC Display Frame – This seems like a neat way to display your banner and any signs or art you’d like to draw attention to. Displaying the banner across the top of the frame would be much more visible than hanging it from the front where casual browsers will block it. It looks a little ghetto, though. I’m trying to think of ways to spruce it up.

Display Portfolios – I still need to sit and prioritize what goes into the portfolio people will be browsing through at the table and make sure there isn’t anything family unfriendly in it. I’m pondering limiting the portfolio to 10-15 of my best pieces, or raising the number to give people a longer journey through the art?

Brochures? – I’ve read of other artists who hand out a brochure showing their process, contact info, links, and fun biographical info about them. I’m wondering if this would be worth the extra expense so people have a freebie to take with them?

Freebies – Buy 2 prints, get 1 free! Or maybe not. Things are costing me much this year and I am not sure if a sale like that would be smart. Perhaps I can do that on the last day?

But of course, there will also be free candy with shiny stuff on it to lure people in! Besides that, there are still many things to do! Including the matting of prints and art for display and making sure everything is autographed, bagged, tagged, and ready to go.

To Charge or Not to Charge?
But then what happens when people want to pay? I am considering accepting credit cards, but that has opened up a whole other arena of information to explore.

First off, most of these places charge per transaction and a monthly fee and require you to be a business (which I am not just yet.) Also, there’s extra equipment to carry and so many choices of services that it makes my head spin!

And let’s not forget how easy it is these days for people to pay with a fake credit card at the expense of the poor sap (me)! It has me considering accepting debit and cash only.

The Legend Continues…
Sadly, I won’t be participating in the Dawn Lookalike Contest this year to give my friend some time to really put her all in it, but I am still planning to deck myself out in the 3 tears of the Goddess, tragedy mask, and wrist rose/chain she is so famous for. Now, I just need to sit and make all of that too! (Masochist much?)

With 52 days left, and counting, it seems there will be never a dull moment around here!

July 1, 2009

DragonCon Diary 09 – Pre-con Prep

In order to give others an idea of what the life of a convention artist is like, I thought I’d keep an ongoing diary of this year’s preparation and main events for Dragon Con. I attend this convention every year when possible and have done so for the past 5 years or so since it’s the largest one local to me. I may be whipping out the video camera to document the chaos as well once my room is a proper mess of convention madness.

This will be my first year having a table in the Artist Alley and the largest size panel display possible in the gallery. That’s four beautiful 4×4 foot pegboards all for me! Now to figure out how the heck to fill them!

So without further ado, let the convention season begin!

Things I’ve done already:

Updated inventory files with new prints

Updated website with new shop (still need to make it pretty)

Uploaded products to the web (including zazzle & deviantart. Considering Redbubble and others as well). Gotta make sure my online presence is thoroughly fluffed and updated for ensuing convention driven traffic.

Purchased a 12 pocket rotating countertop rack for display of small matted prints and a tiered magazine display for showing off the larger matted prints (both from www.displays2go.com)

Purchased 500 foil accented business cards from vistaprint.com

Things I need to do:

Re-learn Microsoft Access so I can keep better books

Create convention budget and profit/loss projection

Recreate inventory master list in Access

Design and print the vinyl banner for the table

Start matting all the prints to fit in all my shiny spinny displays (50+ 4×6’s to mat?)

Handcraft about 25 more art tile and cameo necklaces

Estimate how many and which paintings I can complete for display at Dragon Con so I can get my control sheets turned in to the staff

Buy proper frames for already matted pieces to display

Order more print inventory from iprintfromhome.com

Tone up for the Dawn Lookalike Contest (Egads I’m going to be a model??)

With only 64 days left till dragon con, the next couple of months are going to be interesting!

June 25, 2009

Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you

I just wanted to take a moment to apologize for the sporadic blogs of late. The great deadline wheel is turning and the pressure is on for me to do a massive amount of work in little time. This means that I might not be able to post here for a little while. Good thing that I’ve been taking special creams to calm my anxiety, among other things. If you are curious to know more about good dermatology go to The Dermatology and Laser Group and check them out!

So while I catch up with the grindstone, I’m curious to know what you guys are interested in hearing about in later posts? Is there something you’d like to know about me? A topic you’d like to hear more on? Anything at all that you’re curious to know more about (preferably art related, but I’m open to anything that seems interesting). Since this medicine has many benefits for people all ages we will like to recommend you the Delta-8 THC vape cartridge which has been positively reviewed by both medicinal and recreational users all over the word.

Some topics I’m kicking around are:

Websites and artists. Do’s and Don’ts
More Confessions – common mistakes by artists, young and old alike
Continuing the Resources series with my favorite references on anatomy, entering the illustration market, starting a business, etc.
Reviewing my favorite online art communities.
More character babble!

So what do you want to hear more about? Inquiring minds want to know!

June 22, 2009

Resources – Watercolors

– Check out my latest offerings at Esty. Lots of new pendants up! Plus a special offer for those on DeviantART.
– New paintings in my Fantasy & Scifi Gallery: + Verdant Muse
+ Angel of Purity

Lately, I’ve been brushing up on my reading to make sure my skills are sharp for my current projects and it struck me that I should put my obsessive-compulsive researching to good use! I have a fortunate (or unfortunate) habit of collecting art books, links, and all manner of things and figured I would share what I have with you all. In turn, I hope you will suggest other good sources so I can add them to my lists!

BOOKS ON WATERCOLOR

Painting Weathered Buildings in Pen, Ink, and Watercolor by Claudia Nice
Nice’s books on watercolors are some of the best I’ve seen with plenty of suggestions on how to create textures in watercolor by blending media, using rubbing alcohol, sewing threads, and plenty of unexpected things!

Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor by Claudia Nice
More of the same quality as the last book with tons of illustrations and a focus on creating natural forms and textures.

Dreamscapes: Creating Magical Angel, Faery & Mermaid Worlds In Watercolor by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
This is technically meant for fantasy artists, but I find that the techniques concerning texture and design are applicable to all artists interested in watercolors. Flipping through the full color pages jammed with fantastical creatures always gets me inspired. Pui-Mun’s work also possesses a particular grace that’s often absent in most fantasy-themed art instruction books,which are generally very cartoonish with generic character designs.

ONLINE RESOURCES

The Handprint Watercolor Guide – An excellent, extensive, and easy to understand guide about everything from brushes to paints and methods.

The National Watercolor Society – A great place to consider joining. They host open exhibitions, activities, and other such things that are good for career building.

WatercolorPainting.com – A handy compilation of images, info, and free tutorials.

TUTORIALS

Bob Davies’ Tutorials – An awesome beginner’s video tutorial by bob Davies. Be sure to check out the rest of his easy to understand tutorials on watercolors, watercolor pencils, etc. I really enjoyed his voice and laid back sense of humor as well.

Watercolor Tutorial by Clap-San – A glimpse into doing a more light and airy style with watercolor by DeviantARTist, Clap-san.

Want more? Keep an eye on the Resources Section of my forum. Suggest your own resources too! What are your personal favorite resources concerning watercolors?

June 17, 2009

Talent vs. Training

Da Vinci, Mozart, Durer…

We all know the names of these geniuses who exist on that level above everyone else. There talent simply is, an untouchable level of perfection that we can never hope to achieve.

Or is it?

As a young artist, I would stare at the works of Linda Bergkvist, John William Waterhouse, and Edward Burne-Jones and think to myself, “Gosh, I will never be that good. Why am I even trying?” There was something sublime and unattainable in their art that I felt I could never reach no matter how hard I tried.

As I grew older and wiser, I entered into the art program at university and was exposed to the flurry of line, shape, form, texture, and color that make up the rudimentary foundation for the whole of visual arts. It was true that there were some students who were better than others, but it soon became very apparent that even the worst student among us could be fantastic if they pushed themselves to practice and the best of us could get a failing grade if we became lazy and complacent and didn’t do our homework or strive to be more original in our thinking than what was required.

Also, it wasn’t simply the act of practicing either that led to improvement, but the combination of repetition in addition to the presence of a good teacher. An effective teacher can help translate the mysteries of the universe into a language you can understand. When we train ourselves, we are left to unravel the mysteries on our own and may not learn as quickly as we would have if we had guided direction by someone who has already been through the learning process. Teachers can show us the golden moments of realization that happened for them so that we might learn from theirs and arrive at our own realizations of understanding.

I say this because I’ve had so many other artists and friends look to me and say “I’ll never be that good,” or simply sigh and give up under the weight of what it takes for them to get from the point they’re at now to the level they want to be at. They all had the mindset that everyone was so much better, when we can be just as good if we work at it. A hard truth is that there will always be someone better than you because all artists are continuously improving, including the ones that came before and are already established in the industry.

Personally, I am not a believer in natural talent, of people who can just draw and have a masterpiece right off the bat. I define talent less as the ability to draw well and more the ability to come up with the idea that’s out of the box and to combine that idea with the expressive act of realizing it in painting, drawing, sculpting, or what have you. The true talent is in having the patience to push yourself to study and draw again and again and again until you’ve united the idea with the act of expressing it physically.

I have never seen a successful artist, or anyone in a creative craft for that matter, who isn’t 5% natural talent and 95% pure drive to succeed. If you have, than I guarantee they had an early exposure to that craft thanks to very encouraging parents.

So the next time you find yourself staring at another artist’s work and feeling insignificant while placing that artist on the pedestal of “thou has has recieveth talent without effort”, remember that they’ve probably had their own sleepless nights of staring at the art of someone they respected as well and practicing until their hands cramped.

We all have our nights of sighing and dreaming. Even now, I still sit, chin in hand, and stare at the work of Da Vinci and Kuniko Craft and think to myself “When will my time come?”

Still, perhaps it’s the dreaming that keeps us motivated to succeed?

June 9, 2009

Late Spring Cleaning & Other News

With the last days of Spring nearing and the onset of Summer, it’s time for that annual compulsive urge for Spring Cleaning! Out with the old, in with the new! (Or perhaps it’s the fact that it’s getting really hot here in Georgia and I am less compelled to go outside). That means I’ve finally sat down and done some things I’ve been meaning to do. Including, but not limited to the following:

– Finally made the following prints available as Limited Editions through Angelic Shades:

– The very same prints are now available in my DeviantART and Zazzle shops as various products. The Zazzle post cards and calendars are even more awesome than DA’s because I can customize the backs and add text. The calendars are also available with various colors for the wire binding and in three different sizes. Here’s just a sampling of what I have available on Zazzle:

make custom gifts at Zazzle

– I recently sat and made a Google calendar of what convention art shows I’m hoping to participate in. There’s not much on it now, but I hope to have a full schedule soon once I do a bit MOAR research. If you know of any good shows accepting fantasy themed work, do drop me a line! Right now, I’m aiming for San Diego Comicon, Dragon Con, and Anime Weekend Atlanta for certain.

– Speaking of Dragon Con, the great convention rush begins bright and early! I’ve never really had a table space that wasn’t sad and amateurish. I’m currently researching ways to make a winning table display that doesn’t look like I’ve propped it up on some cardboard boxes with a home printed banner. Any tips from anyone out there about what makes a successful table? So far I’ve got grid cubes and…well…that’s it.

Still a long way to go before I’ll be ready for Dragon Con’s Artist Bazaar, but that’s why I’m starting early!

Has the Spring Cleaning bug hit anyone else these days? I always find it refreshing to get those nagging tasks done so I can get back to the arting.

June 5, 2009

Overcoming Graduation Fear

This journal has been a little quiet of late thanks to that lovely time of the year I like to call the ‘graduation rush’, as well as my own pressing deadlines that have had me resembling a freshly bitten zombie.

Sitting inside the very same hall my own graduation was held in had me thinking on how this time last year I was so full of excitement at entering a whole new world of possibility, but also overcome with a dread that I would never be able to find my place in the world.

Graduating from college with the prospect of job searching is a fearful time, especially with the downturn in the economy. When I graduated, I was so afraid that all I would be able to find would be a retail job at a book store. Every other job in my area of study seemed to want me to work for free as an intern or was just too far away with a pay rate that would barely cover my gas costs. I felt like such a loser living at home to save money on paying rent. I was afraid of being trapped at home never able to fulfill my potential and eventually losing myself to the malaise of a retail or office job doing something I found only half interesting just so I could pay the bills.

You’re not alone, graduates, everyone feels this way and I am here to tell you that the one thing you need to be fighting is Fear. If you are in the creative industry, I’m here to tell you it is not pretty. You will have to work even when you don’t feel like working. Particularly if you’re running your own studio or managing yourself as a freelancer, it will take time and effort and focus.

But don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s impossible.

If you have to get a job temporarily to pay your loans and expenses, don’t forget to dedicate a couple of hours a night to your craft and your organization. Take a weekend to work even if you’re feeling tired and just want to rest. Just because you may work slower than if you did your craft full time does not mean you’re making no progress at all. It may take longer, but it’s better than always sitting and wishing you had done something and regretting the fact you never took action for yourself.

Do not live your life by always asking yourself “What if…”

If you’re lacking in technical skills, try taking some online classes or night courses. If you don’t have the money, try looking up tutorials online, in magazines, or (gasp!) in that dusty old place full of old people that you never go to (aka. The Library). Nothing beats free knowledge and half the time you can learn exactly what you could from a class by reading a book, if you’re unable to afford the time and money it takes for training. There are some great e-learning courses available at SCAD and the Art Institute as well.

And just so you know, you don’t really even need a degree to write a book, work as a painter, or as an illustrator. These professions can be self-taught, though it is always helpful to have training to aid in your learning and to make connections in the creative community. In lieu of school (if you can’t afford it), why not try joining sketch groups, societies, clubs, or online communities? Having a degree does NOT make you automatically smarter or better than those who don’t.

On one final note, there is nothing at all wrong with living at home. Most of us feel ashamed at living at home, at first. I know I did…almost 30 and still at home! It took some swallowing of pride for me to do it. But really, there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking the logical route and staying at home longer to save money so you won’t be struggling and living from paycheck to paycheck just so you can have a place to call your own.

This mentality can trap you in a way of living you don’t like just because you’re trying so desperately hard to preserve that little bit of space. Why do it if you have parents who love you and don’t mind you living at home so they can give you a chance at a brighter future? This really is one of the best ways to save money for the future. More and more people are doing it as the rate of students graduating with excessive loan debt continues to rise and entry level job salaries become less able to support the cost of living on one’s own.

The world is full of opportunities if you can overcome that niggling fear of the unknown, the fear of being unable to act, and the fear of your own skills not being good enough. You’re not alone in your trepidation.

The only one holding you back is yourself and the consequences of your actions.