Category: Blog Posts

Productivity in a Can

Latest Developments in Angela’s Checklist to Take Over the World by Art Storm:

  • Updated my eBay shop with more original artwork and matted/signed prints.  Felt really accomplished after 15+ postings!
  • Currently reading 3 Weeks to Ebay Profits. Extremely helpful thus far!  Will post more once I’m done reading.
  • Posted my first ever video tutorial on Color Pencil Tools!  I need to learn how to not curse when I mess up my dialogue so I don’t have to shoot so many takes.  Perhaps an outtake reel is in order?
  • Making concrete plans to attend more conventions and saving up to hit more Artist Alleys for networking.  Already sent out to Katsucon, for starters!
  • Huge plans in the works to start on several longer series of illustrative works.  Time to see if I can balance those muses and to focus my artistic ADD.
Because sometimes it’s just easier to list things rather than ramble about them.  I got alot done this week and I am only full of hope as I slowly, yet surely, begin to see all these efforts pay off. I still have a long way to go, but it’s great to finally be able to check off a few things that have been on my to-do list for years now.
Plans for this week:
  • Put the finishing touches on glass tile pendants and list them on eBay/Etsy
  • Dig the original art out from under my bed and mat them.  Need to start working harder on presentation!
  • Practice more digital media with some orthographic concept sketches.  Practice more watercolor techniques while I’m at it.
  • Start prospecting galleries in town to see if any will display my work. Gotta give my local galleries some love!
  • Start looking for academic publishers for the thesis paper, if there’s time!
I promise a meatier, more thought-provoking post the next time!  I’ve recently seen Inkheart and it has my ol writing urges simmering again.  More on that later!

Sorry for all the exclamation points in this journal. It appears I’ve had about four times the quantity of Dr.Pepper than I usually allow myself!!!!

Balancing the Creative Muses

Well it seems I’ve been gearing up for ages here to really sit down and work on my writing projects, but I’ve just been too caught up in working on my current slate of commissions to really sit down and give my stories the attention they crave.  “Feed me!” My darling writing muse says as she rattles her chains and is shut back in her cage in the basement of my mind.

It occurs to me that eventually I will need to find a balance.  I’m hoping to be a writer, to illustrate said writings, to be a self-represented artist as well as a self-marketed author…and somehow amid all this still maintain a sort of life that involves socializing with friends and family.  How the heck do I balance doing all of that?  So far, I’ve found it easier to focus if I take on one project at a time, but then I find it hard to sleep at night thinking about that big project on the horizon and how it’s not been accomplished yet.  My friends call it my ‘endless project fairy’ who grows a set of wings whenever I think of something new for myself to do.  I have a mental image in my head of this poor fairy dragging herself and her hundreds of wings along with a ‘kill me’ expression on her face.
Along the same lines, I’m curiuos about any of you who may be a slave to both writing and art muses.  Just what are you inspired by first?  This is probably a ‘chicken or egg’ argument, but I’m really curious to know what muse dominates you.  Is your art inspired by your personal story first, or do you make your stories based on a nameless image that pops to mind?   If you’re ruled by both, how do you balance them equally?  Or is there no winning the battle against muse and time management?
More often than not, I find myself inspired by stories first.  I need a character I can sink my teeth into before I can get the inspiration that gives me the drawing itch.  Occasionally I’ll think up a cool look and make up a story inspired by thing that was too cool to resist making a story out of, but that is rare for me.  I am never more inspired to draw than I am when I’m writing or reading a good book.  How about yourselves?
In the end, I offer no solutions here.  My best guess being that any solution will differ for each individual.  For me, I think a swift kick in the butt will do.
Work it, Angela, work it!

The Jumping Off Point

So here I am…doing that thing that I swore I’d never do.   You know…that horrible, trendy thing they call ‘blogging’.  It never occurred to me till recently that perhaps blogging isn’t just a trend, but a viable way to reach someone who I may never have reached if I just sat at home trying to communicate with you all via magical mind rays (which are easily blocked by foil caps).

 
This blog is what I hope will become a record of a journey to success (or at least to self-satisfaction).  For those who don’t know me, I am an emerging artist with aspirations of writing, illustrating, and publishing my own books alongside meager plans to start my own art studio.  In my younger days, I was one of those morbid children writing creepy little stories about dead prom queens accompanied by creepy little illustrations.  I gobbled up the sordid tales of the Brothers Grimm before I reached the age of 10.   And yet despite my love for the darker side of things, you’ll find a Disney song or two on my playlist.  I am a lover of contrasts and twisted archetypes, of raw tension and otherworldly delights.   Of hamburgers with just ketchup.
 
These days, I’m coming off of graduation from the Savannah College of Art & Design with a Masters degree in Arts Administration, a lint ball in my pocket, and a glint in my eye to start weaving the grand design of my fate.  I’ve had my fill of doing dime character portraits and tattoo designs and have finally decided to start treating myself like a professional.  This is my declaration of indepence from the stereotype of the tin cup artist.
 
So here I am.  I will try to spare you my rambling on existence (which you can find at my forum or on my livejournal instead) and stick to the good stuff.  IE. Previews of new artwork & writings, advice for other artists, convention stories, and whatever else you’d like to know!  I will try to post weekly, or at the very least when I have something interesting to say or new to share.  Stay tuned for the video blogs that will link from these posts as well once I figure out the finer points of video editing.
 
Let the madness begin!  I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.