Life:
Today I was tempted to take a job that's completely uncreative, simply because the paycheck sounded nice. After ruminating on it as a life choice I decided that the 40 hours a week I'd be spending there is too invaluable to my development as an artist, and in the long run it would set me back in my artistic growth. I'm breaking personal art records on a weekly basis, it's only a matter of time before I can pull more freelance, I haven't been marketing myself either, simply advancing www.powerpainters.org. My following is growing beautifully, and I love to pump out content for it, but as of right now it's not paying the bills, so focus is shifting towards making people art for moneys.
Art:
-WIP of a man casting an arbor restraint spell on a biggie
-studies catering to understanding more about brush strokes, figure weight, color and light, etc...One is after Jaime Jones
My goal at this point is to advance my figures and overall believability as a digital painter creating epic and dynamic compositions that will enthrall onlookers. I'm also going to pump out some concept art as well. I've really been taking a "problem solving" approach to all of my works, and it's helped me grow tremendously. I'm holding off on getting to focused on environments simply because I need to specialize at this point to ascertain a level of proficiency that will help net me work.
Self crit: looking at these quickies i'm seeing a lack of "small detail" or grit in my work. really minute specks, dots, grain, etc...Not enough noise. This is under-selling my materials and not permitting me to achieve heightened levels of believability, so I'm going to introduce some "focused noise." I know I've gotten crit in the past about being too noisy, so I'll be implementing it more thoughtfully, and creating new brushes catering to the concept.
Life:
Been grinding all week, painting until 4AM most nights because my days are so hectic. I can't believe how ridiculously busy I am despite not being in college. I've been making videos for power painters, and updating my portfolio for the next blast I'm doing to my mailing list for freelance work.
Art:
-WIP piece for a man ensnaring a creature with arbor spells
-An environment I'm fighting for the sake of learning how to do one properly
-a fan piece for Attack on Titan-- hoping to boost my internet renown with a bit of fan art...we can't always make are for ourselves, eh?
-Piece I did to practice/demo lighting and color temps
Going to hop back on the study train with the next post. I've mostly been learning about color temperature and modifying my custom brush pack to suit every need I'm finding whilst working. I still haven't got enough noise or believability grit in where it needs to be though, haha. I'll keep working on it.
-Jaime Jones study
-blue elf girl WiP
-Arbormancer WiP
off to deal with life and do more studies! I've been sketching a lot more to improve my drawing, while studying the strongest painters I can find to work on the painting end of things. This formula is already providing some excellent and immensely motivational results.
Nice work!
I like the Spaceship/airplane thing :D Nice desing, looks really aerodynamic.
(referring to the first piece of the post) Hmm... You should put some stronger/bigger highlites on the armor (to make it more shinier) because (thats just my opinion) i think it looks too dull/matt.
Having a very difficult time lately. I just can't seem to get into the zone or make myself study.
I fell out of the habit of doing so because of how much I have to worry about in regards to my financial situation. I have to focus so much on getting a job or making money that I can't sit down in peace. When my mind is stressed to the point of physical discomfort I can't focus on painting-- my mental/emotional state must be in harmony, or else I'm better off doing anything but trying to take art seriously or make good images.
I've developed a minor guilt complex when painting...There's always a little voice in my head telling me that I should be doing something besides trying to get better at painting, because at the moment painting isn't netting me any work or $$$. I feel borderline valueless as an artist...This pattern has to be broken before it gets any worse.
The solution is just to get a shitty job slinging coffee or something and then come back and study harder than ever until I can work for Paizo, WOTC, Applibot, or an individual with personal projects.
Sorry for writing so much. Here are some things I've managed to eek out from the past few days + some traditional studies/sketches from when I was feeling better. I have to stop feeling sorry for myself--it's the biggest saboteur of success.
Michelangelo study and a doodle to blow off some creative juice.
Going to pencil study some of the elder masters for their raw fundamental applications, then move onto some figure studies for construction and solidity.
Looking back on this journey, it's nice to see how much I've been able to step forward, but I know that in order to blast off and become world-class, I'm going to have to overhaul my work ethic, not just my creative work.
Art is just another conduit that reflects how much a person is willing to put down for their craft. I've been interested in digital painting (and illustration + concept art in general) since 2010, and studying actively since 2011.
I've had some of my most depressing moments as a result of constantly comparing myself to others, and fighting with the stupid, trivial, ape-like thoughts that find a trillion ways to say "you're never going to make it."
Fuck those thoughts. They exist purely to stop those who aren't strong enough. Everyone would make it if they didn't yield to self-doubt.
I'm grateful to be alive, healthy, and I'm going to MAKE IT. I'm going to inspire others to make it too.
Enough words, more action.
I did 100 gestures yesterday + more sketching, so today I focused mainly on the digital side of things.
3 still lives, and some experimental works. Not all done today, but over the past week or so.
Studies, fan art, and a WIP aimed at working for places like Paizo and AEG games. I'll have to do a female once I finish this olden axe-man up. Then it's time to bother them with my portfolio again-- check it out: taypayart.com
Hey man, nice progression of work you've got going on here. I know exactly what you mean about that stressful voice in your head that says you should be doing things to make money instead of the things that will help you improve as an artist. I fight with that voice alllll the time. It's such a destructive force also, because it takes away the fun of all of this, which is (when it comes down to it) exactly why we are painting in the first place. Kind of a funny catch 22 that I think about a lot. I feel like when I cling onto those things that make it most fun is when that voice is weakest. I still haven't found a good balance of how to do that perfectly yet, but I think having those pieces you know will be portfolio work and also your "fun" sketches going on at the same time makes me feel best about it. Seems like you're doing that as well, and also beating those negative voices in your head so good on you. Happy 2014 to you and keep fighting the good fight
Pnate: Yeah, It's pretty rough trying to overcome it that poopy little voice, but it yields much greater rewards in contrast. I know that so many people walk away from their craft, their passions, and their dreams just because they let it knock 'em down.
It really is just about creating, having fun, and pouring your soul into what you do. Others can see it, and the progress can't be matched if the passion and devotion is there.
When we break into the industry, the money flows and the art takes off too. It's this first little threshold that seems to be the hardest, haha.
Anyway artists like yourself who keep fighting that fight help me tremendously, thanks for the inspiring words and works.
UPDATE TIME:
Finished the axe man, Started a piece aimed at working for WOTC, and then just something fun (the swamptopus)
I'm probably going to finish off with a still life or two today, I've already had my "play time" haha.
Hello!
I don't feel competent to offer useful advice on fundamental stuff (other than tell you it's really cool to see someone working hard) but one thing in some of your pieces seem to be quite easy to quickly improve, and that is presentation. Like that dwarf guy, which I'm assuming is a character concept. The design and rendering are very well done but he still looks quite boring. Reason for that is you have super bright background which kills value read in your forms and makes them look flat. I hope you dont feel like I'm intruding but I spent couple of minutes on it to illustrate what I mean and how I would go about making him look a bit better:
This is obviously a really crude fix (ie. lightning is all wrong now, haha) and might not be 'your style' but I just feel you can easily make your concepts look way better if you dont torture them with backgrounds like that. :)
Man I know the pain of not having $. I am one of those people who had to take a full-time job and do art as much as I can on the side, which is not nearly enough. One thing I can say is that having a job will let you save up and take time off after a year or so. If you get a decent job you might even get them to give you some money for going back to school for a design degree or something similar.
It's a tough struggle, but it's the only way to improve. Stay strong my friend.
ArturJ: Thanks for the paintover! I was trying to follow suit with the Paizo "characters on white" thing, but I agree that doing more than just a flat BG is a lot more stimulating to look at in many cases! At the very least I'll start doing gradients or more engaging lighting scenarios when appropriate :D.
Dracken: It takes a lot of willpower and strength of character to put aside what you truly love for what doesn't stimulate you nearly as much creatively. I admire your ability to do so, as I simply have a very difficult time trying to distance myself from my work for 8+ hours a day. Taking time off after a year would be a HUGE relief though, and I suppose there are still about 3+ hours in the day left to draw after one finishes off their daily tasks.
Anyway, I was able to get commissions through deviantart after reading an old blog post by Dave Rapoza. Also doing some work for Chromancer too.
Studies, commissions and personal pieces/WIPS.
First two are commissions. Working on getting more of those hopefully.
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