links to previous steps are at the end of this post.
I used freesound.org for a bunch of the sounds in my app. The sounds are free to use as long as you give credit to the artists in your project. I only used “public domain” sounds and “creative commons” licensed sounds. The agreements can be easily viewed and read on their site.
I also created some sounds using tinyvox on my iPad and then altered them in Audacity. I couldn’t find a good digging sound for Gary but I knew what I wanted – so I scratched my pant leg – I know – weird right? But it made a pretty good sound and I could kill tow birds with one stone. (don’t really kill birds) I could get that sound I wanted and scratch that itch on my leg at the same time. Then I doubled it up in Audacity, changed the pitch, and cleaned up the front and back end and it was perfect!
Kwik allows you to use both mp3 and wave files which you can create in Audacity. My total learning time in Audacity was about one hour from fooling around with the program and watching youtube videos produced by 8 year olds.
One of the most important things you can do with your sound files is to chop off the dead space at the front and end of the clips. You don’t want the users of your app to hear hiss or crackle before the actual sound is about to play.
I’ll keep sharing my progress on “Gary’s Place” which I plan to submit to Apple, In fact, It is NOW only available on IOS But – we’ll have it up on Amazon for android very soon!…did I mention – IT’S DONE!!!!, Google, Amazon, etc. in a few weeks. Just in time for Christmas (Next Year) I’ll continue to blog about this process even sharing my sales stats when it hits the various app stores!
“My Kids adore Gary.” ~Sabrina Chamberlain-Parks
“Great job Will! I loved the page/scene transition especially.” ~Jan Clifton Watford
I bought the app for myself, I don’t even have kids and I loved it. Gary pulls you in and you can’t wait to turn the page to see what he’s up to next. Great job Will, I’ll pass it on to my parenting friends! ~Zulu Zulu
See how to make a story app from the beginning.
If you’re wondering where the first steps are I started this project back in September 2013 – check these links: And if you just want to brush up on your nun-chuck skills, or rather, your art skills, take a course at folioacademy.com, art lessons online.
Now available, Step 8. The final step, till we add more, are you ever realy finished?
By this I mean, something that you want to do for you, a non commissioned piece. You don’t have to have someone tell you what to do in order to create a nice piece for your portfolio.
When I was in School I would do some things just for me, or for fun or just for my portfolio. Other students would often ask me what assignment “that was for” and I would tell them that it wasn’t for an assignment. They couldn’t believe I would work if I didn’t have to. But I was working for me.
Some of my best pieces, were little things that I did as personal projects. These personal art pieces were also a big help in me finding me, or finding my style, or niche.
The most important thing about these personal pieces, I would say is to make them small, and therefor doable. That is to say, FINISH them. If you think you are going to create this gigantic masterpiece for you portfolio, you might be right, but more often than not, you are less likely to finish a BIG MASTERPIECE than a sweet little doable personal art project, especially at first. So remember KISS, not the rock band, the acronym. Keep It Simple, Stupid.
I suggest you start with something small. Make one finished piece that will go into you portfolio, or not if it doesn’t turn out. Maybe your goal could be, not to stop until you get that little thing finished. Here comes another sports analogy. If you were going to run a marathon you wouldn’t just start a marathon. You need to work up to it.
One of the dangers is to want to bite off more than you will chew. Notice I didn’t say more that you can chew, but more than you will chew. I know that you can do what ever you put your mind to, so I’m saying, that you are more likely to put your mind to something that is simple, and therefor finish it, especially at first.
The danger of choosing a personal art piece that is too grandiose is that you are less likely to finish it, and if you fail to actually do it, you are training yourself that A, YOU don’t always finish what you start, and B, it is OK to fail. Like if you decide to do a complete comic book or picture book and put it out there on Kickstarter, you may fail or run out of time or just get sick of it. Then you have that stupid little voice in your head that is there for all of us, you know, that voice that says “you won’t finish this” then if you DON’T finish, it will say, “see? I told you soo”. So beet the negative little voice, choose small, doable, personal little projects, and complete them. Tell that little voice to SHUT UP!
I am finally getting to the point where I am finishing a story app. It is a big endeavor, but I have done dozens of smaller personal projects in the past and several big projects too. Even though I have done a lot before, this one is still a little tough, I gotta be honest. I still have that negative voice, and I have to keep telling myself that It will get done. I have to remember to enjoy the journey and the process along the way.
Choose a personal piece that you want to do. If you are creating something that you want to do, it will be more fun and more likely to turn out. I have a friend who loves animals, so she paints animals. If you have a hard time with people, stay away from people or work on parts that you can conquer, like a back or torso, then build up to the harder stuff, work on something that you can do. Cats maybe, or a plate with fish on it. Who knows what you will like. Take something boring and make it exciting. They don’t all have to be gems.
I’m not saying to invest a lot of money here, But I do want you do invest a little time and energy, and challenge yourself. Not too much at first, we need to have some successes to build confidence and self esteem.
Remember in an earlier blog I mentioned that a child likes to draw and paint and create artwork because it is fun and fulfilling. Not because she thinks it will make her a lot of money. Don’t kid yourself that you are going to sell all of your personal pieces and make bank. That isn’t the motivation here. Ironically, that is the work that will get you closer to making money as an artist, Or making more money as an artist. And who knows, you may monetize your personal pieces. The more you have, the more likely you will be to sell a few. Who knows. Some artists create a little personal piece of artwork every day and then sell them on their website. And that’s all they do. Win Win Win. Artist improves and hones his skill, artist makes money and end buyer gets a valuable piece of artwork.
Most of the projects I have done, I would say, well that negative little voice in my head that just won’t mind his own business and shut his big yap, would say, they mostly all failed. But did they? Well I didn’t capitalize on all of them, but they all helped me develop my style, my portfolio, my talent and my art stamina. So NO, they did not fail. They all succeeded in one way or another, even if just to keep me in the zone and to help hone my skill.
Get on it and do a personal piece and then do another. To steel a quote from NIKE, “Just Do It” and before that, Spencer W. Kimball, who used to say “Do it!” You just gotta do it.
My seventh grade, wood shop teacher, Mr. Swayze would always say, “Git-R-Done!”
“Git-R-Started might have been a better tag line because that seems to be the hard part every day when you looking at that blank canvas or work in progress. So Git-R-Started and Git-R-Done!”
It’s a personal project so you don’t have to worry if it isn’t perfect or if doesn’t turn out. Everyone has at least 1000 bad paintings in them so feel free to get a few of them out of your system. You don’t have to hand it in to an art director, so you need not stress. Learn from it, try new things, this is where you can totally be you. If it sucks, don’t show it to anyone. Don’t throw it away either, at least not yet. You may want to use it as an example someday when you are teaching.
Every artist has contorted their hand and looked in the mirror trying to figure out how to draw different poses. The wooden doll was a great invention for capturing gestures of the basic human figure.
Now for around $300 plus shipping you can get the S.F.B.T-3. WOW! This doll has few limitations.
Manufactured in Japan by Dolk Station, the S.F.B.T-3 is made from ABS resin, which is stronger than the colour range used in the first version. Priced at US$300, orders can be shipped internationally.
Ten years in the making, this girl has 80 moveable parts in her body, allowing for an unprecedented number of poses and anatomical designs. We take a look at the doll’s amazing details and see how it performs in some popular anime poses for the illustrator’s eye.
▼ The lines and shadows in the hands give you incredible detail when it comes to gun-holding scenes. All that’s left to do is load her up with the weaponry of choice.
▼ The flexible torso allows for increased movement and more precision when it comes to the natural angle of a back arch.
▼ The eyes can even be manipulated to face left, right, up or down.
▼ The forearm twists with the hand to provide an accurate silhouette.
▼ The toes can be adjusted for accurate running and leaping movements.
▼ Although able to support herself in a number of poses, a stand is included in delivery.
▼ The attention to detail is enhanced thanks to over 200 parts used in her construction.
For more design details check out the video below or visit CrabFu Blog for a full review.
Artist Paul Mann hard at work in his studio.
There are people out there who ask me ‘Other than being a big mouth and starting a YouTube channel what have you done?’ (And if there aren’t there should be, because it’s a valid question)
I started Folio Academy with my good friend Wayne Andreason, where we sell video tutorials. I have made 3 e-books, (see here, here and here) which have sold over 50,000 copies on amazon and Barns & Noble.
A story app called “I Eat You” for iPad and iPhone.
The school of visual storytelling. With Jake Parker, where we teach live online classes.
Now I am working on an app called Gary’s Place, about a gopher who lives beyond his means. I am working very hard on that right now. (Fall 2013) I even have my son Aaron learning how to program and animate for that. Yes I’ll pay him for his work.
These are things I’ve picked myself, and I’ve decide that I will try, and if it fails then so what? I can move on to something else.
Now as for helping you, I want to tell you.
If you could look into the future and see yourself after you’ve finished an amazing project. That is having great commercial success. And aside from all the money you’re making, and the conferences you’ve been asked to speak at, and the recognition and awards.
Now after seeing all that, if you could see what it took to get there,
Would you give up some of your Friday and Saturday nights to work on your art?
Would you live in a smaller apartment or house so you could work less at a job, and work more on your art?
Would you go for a cheaper cell phone, and save money to apply towards your art projects?
Would you spend less time watching TV and movies for your art, and I mean a Lot less time?
Would you play fewer or no video games for your art?
And if you are not willing to give up those things then I want you to say this and see how it sounds and feels coming out.
“I would rather hang out with my friends, spend this money, hang out with friends, watch TV, and play video games than have my dreams come true about becoming a (state your dream here)”
I see a lot of my students wasting time, and I’ll come clean I used to be addicted to Star Craft. I lost two years of my life to that stupid game. I have come to the point that if a game is really good, I can’t play it, because I don’t have the time for it.
You need to be able to fall in love with your art and creating your art. Not the things that will keep you away from it.
That’s the first step, but it’s not the only step and it’s not an easy step. It takes a lot of practicing, and work, a lot of NOT surfing on the internet. A lot of just sitting down, drawing and painting and working on your craft.
If you’re starting out right now, you may not be making great art. Nobody starts out great. The idea of child prodigies in art is a debunked myth. An artist like Mozart who has had movies made about him, and books and is really well known was virtually unknown for the first ten years of his career.
Next step is… Continue reading
I became and Artist cuz art is fun.
I want to start this by asking you, how did you get into art? What made you start producing art? Was it just for fun? Were you just a kid? Did you get into art because people asked you to draw things for them? I honestly doubt that you got into art because other people asked you to. Most of us got into art to make cool stuff and because it was fun and fulfilling.
There is much amazing stuff out there, and we looked out at it and decided we wanted to make our own and show it to the world.
Art is fun.
Yet so many artists who have spent so long learning, and practicing get to a certain point, like when they’re about to finish school, and they start thinking about getting out of school, becoming an Artist, an illustrator, or just thinking about how to make money with their art skills.
After that all of a sudden we want to get hired. So we can get paid. So we can eat. We want to be employees. We start looking for someone else to tell us what to do (or draw) so we can make a living, and so we can eat.
We get asked to draw something that isn’t fun or we get asked to do something that takes away from our vision.
I don’t want to discourage you, there is nothing wrong with working with and helping other people. I want to help open your mind to other possibilities.
It started with students across the country, and now it’s students all over the world. People want to be hired.
The main thing I am asked is, “what can I draw to make money?” I think it’s backwards, is that why we became artist? I’m not saying it’s inherently wrong, but it’s not why we started.
I’m in a position now that I can pick and choose. I’ve put in a lot of work that I ended up hating but I’ve also put a lot of work into my children’s books that I’ve really enjoyed, and I enjoyed the people I’ve worked with.
But is that the only way or are there other things that we can do? Have you ever thought that musicians, authors, actors, videographers, and gallery artists are more entrepreneurial than illustrators. Think about that, are they?
What is wrong with Illustrators. And this is a generalization. Musicians move to Austin, or Nashville, or they record in a friend’s house, and now with the internet a lot of them are starting their own YouTube channels. Comedians are starting their own YouTube channels. Actors move to Hollywood or start YouTube channels, Gallery-Artists make something and try to get someone to buy it. Writers write something and hope publishers buy it, or they publish it on Amazon and sell it directly. Like Amanda Hopkins.
What’s the difference between us Illustrators, and all the other artists? Ask yourself and try to answer that question. A graphic designer decided to publish his own small books. I have a friend who owns a graphic design studio, and we first started working together about ten, fifteen years ago. And he would hire me, he was getting contracts from Children’s book publishers, and he would hire me to do covers and inside spreads.
A couple years ago he hired me to do some work for a children’s book with a publisher I had never heard of before, why because it was new, it also happened to be him or his publishing company. He decided ‘you know what, I can make one of these myself’. And he’s still publishing books, and even some e-books online.
If you are a teenager or in your mid-twenties, you probably grew up with the internet. Not knowing life without it. I wonder if the internet is more impressive to me someone who lived without it. I can’t speak for someone who lived without cars, or plains. But I worked without the internet. I don’t want to just assume that I appreciate something more than you, but I wonder how I ever got along without it.
There are thousands of people on YouTube who picked themselves. People who just decided to utilize this wonderful tool. Some decided, “Hey! I’m going to broadcast the news, and I’m going to make money doing it”, and they’re doing it.
You got the guys who did kid history, (Bored Shorts) and the guys who do honest trailers, (Screen Junkies) look them up, or click the link. But don’t get sucked in, your focus is here right now.
Prank vs prank, there’s that guy from Utah “tipping servers $200”. Video recorded it, and put it on Youtube. By my calculations I’d say he cleared $20,000 just posting that one idea.
You can now make a free service like Youtube, get your own channel (FolioAcademy has one right here that is grossly underutilized by the way).
My Kid History friends at Bored Shorts are talking to Disney right now, who may end up buying their channel of videos and if they do it’s going to be big. By the way That guy who filmed the tipping video has over a hundred million views, when you do that, you get noticed, and even make money with advertising. There are tons of review channels too. Someone decides “Hey! I am going to review this product.” Have you ever noticed that whenever someone decides something they start by saying “Hey!” My friend Jedd Henry who did Yukio Heroes. Michal Dowdled who makes his own puzzles of all the famous cities. He picked himself, Kazu who made flight, People who made their own web comics. That oatmeal guy (I love that guy) Music, everyone in music is getting involved, Indie Music, it’s when YOU decide that Hey! you are a musician, you don’t wait for it.
The guy’s running public school never taught this, because so many of them didn’t create anything.
My slam on public schools, they do not teach creativity. They teach people to obey the rules and math and language and science. And WE need that, OK we do but we also need creativity.
We have not been equipped for this world, and public schools haven’t either, our parents and friends and the world is all telling us what to do. Go to college, get good grades so you can get a job. It makes sense, it’s safe. But ask these guys who have “picked themselves”, they don’t worry about safe.
This is starting to run long so I’m going to have to have a part 3 and maybe part 4 and more.
Okay my next posts will share some strategies, like: Things that I’ve learned, Things that I’m trying to apply now, and ways for an artist to be more entrepreneurial.