04-21-2015, 08:51 PM
&Lyraina. Always on point. Your crit is perfect, and taken on board!
@Eru, I'll see what I can do mate. It's pretty easy for the b/w digital things, I just use a simple round brush of black or white to define shapes and details. No other colour, and use a 100% opacity. That's it. The rest comes from just drawing and practicing. Instead of psyching yourself out to start with, why not just give it a go?!
So I wanted to take the time in this post to explain a little about the experience I just had of being a 'winner' (1 of 12) in the L.Ron Hubbard's Writers and Illustrators of the Future volume 31 competition. Before you switch off at LRH, and think to the new doco 'Going Clear' that just came out on Scientology, let me assure you this has very very little to do with all that shit.
Ok so Writers of the future has been running for over 30 years. It's affiliated and linked 'Illustrators of the Future' competition has been running for somewhere in the 20-something years. Both are open only to non-pro artists and writers. By non-pro they mean you must not have been published professionally in more than 3 publications and been paid for it. 12 writers, and 12 illustrators get picked each year.
As a winner in quarter 2, 2014, I can say that it has been a totally eye-opening experience. I submitted 3 images I had already done in Feb 2014 and didn't think twice about it again, until 6 months later when I got the call that I was one of the 3 winners for that quarter. That easy. Actually I knew I would get in, but I can't tell you how, it's a feeling thing. Anyway that's a different story.
The prize is, you get flown to LA and put up at the best 4 star hotel in Hollywood for over a week at their expense. As an indication, Bono was staying in the hotel in the week I was there.
During that week you are in day long workshops with some pretty big names: For the illustrators this year, we got Cliff Nielsen, Errol Gershon, Dave Dorman, Larry Elmore, Mike Valle, Nathan Fowkes and more, some of whom were judges for the contest. The writer's comp has even bigger names that I won't bother mentioning.
They basically run you through the business side of the game, and prop us up with everything we need to go forth and conquer and believe in ourselves. You do have to pay your own food and expenses, but that is minor. I got flown from New Zealand, another got flown from Poland. You can imagine the value of the prize in monetary terms is the best I have seen in any art competition ever, but so few know about it. They literally spend many thousands on each of us internationals, perhaps up to 10k. There are documentaries, and promotional posts and professional headshots etc.
As well as that they pay you for being a winner in the first place. Then they pay you for the illustration you do for the writer's story that you get assigned to illustrate. It gets published in the Anthology. On top of that, out of the '12 winners' a grand winner gets chosen from the writers and illustrators and they get an additional 5K. It all culminates in a grand Oscars style award ceremony where they really make a big deal out of you. Acceptance speeches, tuxes and gowns, book signings etc.
If this sounds too good to be true, well, it isn't. There are downsides of course. You have to endure a gruelling schedule of promotion and paparazzi-like behaviour during the week you are there, cameras and video cameras always in your face and on the periphery, some stupid shit you don't really want to do and Hollywood really is full of totally insecure dicks, that think the superficial shit like how you look or appear is the real deal. That said it is itself an experience, but in general the whole thing is worth the pain.
I am attaching an image of my bit of the award ceremony. If you want to know more just ask me questions, I will be totally honest about it all. Anyway, that has been my last two weeks. And now I'm back, I am sick, have 29 dollars in my account and the mortgage is due. That's life
Go to Writersofthefuture.com for more info on how to enter
Folio Reviews at the workshops
The ceremony
The book signing
Me with William Pomerantz the VP of Special Projects of Virgin Galactic!
But the best thing are these bunch of people here (the other artist winners). I have met a few people I know I will be friends with for a lifetime probably. You can't beat that.
@Eru, I'll see what I can do mate. It's pretty easy for the b/w digital things, I just use a simple round brush of black or white to define shapes and details. No other colour, and use a 100% opacity. That's it. The rest comes from just drawing and practicing. Instead of psyching yourself out to start with, why not just give it a go?!
So I wanted to take the time in this post to explain a little about the experience I just had of being a 'winner' (1 of 12) in the L.Ron Hubbard's Writers and Illustrators of the Future volume 31 competition. Before you switch off at LRH, and think to the new doco 'Going Clear' that just came out on Scientology, let me assure you this has very very little to do with all that shit.
Ok so Writers of the future has been running for over 30 years. It's affiliated and linked 'Illustrators of the Future' competition has been running for somewhere in the 20-something years. Both are open only to non-pro artists and writers. By non-pro they mean you must not have been published professionally in more than 3 publications and been paid for it. 12 writers, and 12 illustrators get picked each year.
As a winner in quarter 2, 2014, I can say that it has been a totally eye-opening experience. I submitted 3 images I had already done in Feb 2014 and didn't think twice about it again, until 6 months later when I got the call that I was one of the 3 winners for that quarter. That easy. Actually I knew I would get in, but I can't tell you how, it's a feeling thing. Anyway that's a different story.
The prize is, you get flown to LA and put up at the best 4 star hotel in Hollywood for over a week at their expense. As an indication, Bono was staying in the hotel in the week I was there.
During that week you are in day long workshops with some pretty big names: For the illustrators this year, we got Cliff Nielsen, Errol Gershon, Dave Dorman, Larry Elmore, Mike Valle, Nathan Fowkes and more, some of whom were judges for the contest. The writer's comp has even bigger names that I won't bother mentioning.
They basically run you through the business side of the game, and prop us up with everything we need to go forth and conquer and believe in ourselves. You do have to pay your own food and expenses, but that is minor. I got flown from New Zealand, another got flown from Poland. You can imagine the value of the prize in monetary terms is the best I have seen in any art competition ever, but so few know about it. They literally spend many thousands on each of us internationals, perhaps up to 10k. There are documentaries, and promotional posts and professional headshots etc.
As well as that they pay you for being a winner in the first place. Then they pay you for the illustration you do for the writer's story that you get assigned to illustrate. It gets published in the Anthology. On top of that, out of the '12 winners' a grand winner gets chosen from the writers and illustrators and they get an additional 5K. It all culminates in a grand Oscars style award ceremony where they really make a big deal out of you. Acceptance speeches, tuxes and gowns, book signings etc.
If this sounds too good to be true, well, it isn't. There are downsides of course. You have to endure a gruelling schedule of promotion and paparazzi-like behaviour during the week you are there, cameras and video cameras always in your face and on the periphery, some stupid shit you don't really want to do and Hollywood really is full of totally insecure dicks, that think the superficial shit like how you look or appear is the real deal. That said it is itself an experience, but in general the whole thing is worth the pain.
I am attaching an image of my bit of the award ceremony. If you want to know more just ask me questions, I will be totally honest about it all. Anyway, that has been my last two weeks. And now I'm back, I am sick, have 29 dollars in my account and the mortgage is due. That's life
Go to Writersofthefuture.com for more info on how to enter
Folio Reviews at the workshops
The ceremony
The book signing
Me with William Pomerantz the VP of Special Projects of Virgin Galactic!
But the best thing are these bunch of people here (the other artist winners). I have met a few people I know I will be friends with for a lifetime probably. You can't beat that.