Concept: Shepherd

I saw this image while tumbling and just had to try making it myself! ;^; SO COOL….

I used this for the header of the last part of Foiled #5!

:D

samspratt:

Art is just communication. Sometimes we sit around in a circle and have surface-level, vapid, but highly entertaining and fulfilling conversations with each other about why The Avengers would’ve been at least 372% better if every character were played by Ian Mckellen. Occasionally we escape and have an all-night one-on-one conversation with someone about the deepest complexities of our ooey gooey souls and feelings — earnestly saying things like “Man… looking at all these stars really makes you think about things… and stuff.” Many people even just talk to themselves revealing their most honest and personal truths… mostly in written form granted, but I’d be lying if I said things don’t get verbal now and then when I’m painting for long stretches. The point is: communication (art in this case) doesn’t “have” to be anything at all, you choose what to say and when to say it. A teacher can hate what you have to say and grade you accordingly, however arbitrary that may seem — but at the end of the day, you have the choice to be as “deep” as you want to with the things you say.

You don’t have to pick a side. What you say and what you make doesn’t have to all be profound or all be simple and surface-level. You’re a human, and if you’re human like me… some days you’ve got labyrinthian feelings and ideas that need to be unleashed in high concept personal artwork, some days you just want to paint something because you “like it”, and some days you feel that the Dowager Countess should be in a leopard pimp coat, Ron Swanson should have a chestache, or that robots should just be girls in awkward cardboard boxes.

Art doesn’t have to explore a philosophical concept. Art doesn’t have to be much of anything at all really — but personally? A balance helps. People have many facets to themselves and creating artwork is a great way to share these facets, all of them. There is a chance that your teachers are repressing your artistic freedom and trying to force you to do what you don’t want to — but, before you climb up on the desk, rip your shirt off screaming “FUCK THE OPPRESSORS” and start burning things down in some sort of occupy art school frenzy — consider the (good) chance that they’re doing that exact thing only to see if a bit of pushing can get you to share those other sides of you in the event that you might have something else worth saying.

medax:

Daria speaks the truth

etteette:

artdirections:

5 Ways to be a Happier Creative

We all know the tortured artist schtick. To be honest, I can be a downer sometimes myself, but I think it would be terrible for us to all perpetuate the idea that being creative and miserable are mutually exclusive.

So here’s to being creative and actually enjoying it:

1. Refuse to See Your Entire Life Either as a Success or a Failure
The idea here is to never buy into the lie that your life is either successful or failing in terms of your creative output. Think of the most successful creative person you can, if you look closely you can see a series of successes and failures.

The best way for me to look at the creative life is as a series of projects which can be successful in some ways and fail in other ways. For instance, some projects are really successful in the development of your skill but not financially advantageous.

Also, don’t believe that there is some level of success where you have now “arrived” or attained a level of success which can never been denied to you, like being hailed a “creative genius” with endless financial gain, forever. I could tell you many examples of artists and musicians who seem like they have “arrived”  with one project and then completely fail the next.

2. Make Something Everyday
Will Bryant says something like, “I make stuff because if I don’t I get sad”. A silly and profound statement. Last year I did a daily drawing project where I created a new character every weekday. I found this statement to ring very true.

This practice gave me a sense of creative productivity every single day, which is a serious morale booster. Even if you don’t show anyone, it can help you feel prolific and unlimited in your creative abilities, which in turn increases your confidence.

3. Be Authentic
This is huge. Many people have done amazing things in creativity and have received many rewards, successes and prizes for them. So there is a lot of incentive for YOU to be THEM. But the trick is knowing the truth: you CAN’T be them. Trying to be something you are not will make you feel like an old sock. You already know this, but I thought I’d remind you.

4. Know Your Purpose
Shooting aimlessly into the dark can feel like…shooting aimlessly into the dark. Your purpose doesn’t have to be mind meltingly important. I like the humble yet ambitious purpose the great Debbie Millman has taken upon herself to “try to make the supermarket more beautiful”.

Try to clarify what you want to achieve overall so that everything you do has a sense of purpose. Purpose equals meaning, and to most creatives I know, a sense of meaning is why they want to make art and why they DO NOT want to work in a factory.

5. Address and Defeat Your Fears
That dreadful fear is a bully that is killing your soul and it should be stood up to. Listen to it, don’t ignore it. Hear what it’s actually saying and then dismantle it. Talk to someone about it openly, if the fear is tied to reality, then face it and take it down with integrity. If it’s all lies, all smoke and mirrors then let it disappear in the cloud of smoke that it is. If you are doing super boring unadventurous work, you won’t have any fears at all…but who wants to do that?

Hope this makes you a bit happier today.

- Andy J. Miller

P.S. To tackle the piling up questions here on this tumblr I have started taking on 1 hour video creative coaching, for more info click here.

Thank you Andy ! I needed these reminders today. 

(Source: artdirections)

HOORAY FOR FILLER SKETCHES!

I’m postponing the final part of Foiled #5 until next Monday, May 6th. I’m going to be busy with Japanese work and studying for two midterms, plus there’s a commission that I should actually finish like, asap.

I also really want to make sure I have a greater header image for the finale. I want to make it count!

Until then, here’s sketches of D-chan! Did I ever mention she was trained in acrobatics? Well, more on that later. After Foiled #5 is done, I can focus on developing all five of them, both visually and in terms of character personality.