I Used to Struggle as an Illustrator & I Still STRUGGLE with My Art

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If You only knew How Much I Used To Struggle!

 In fact, I still STRUGGLE with my art.

Fish King

To this day I still have a problem drawing in front of people. I have no problem painting in front of a group but I’m so unsure about my drawings I get really self conscious.
This fish for instance goes through a really rough loose stage that changes form many times before I start to see things I like. Often I don’t like where it’s going and have to start over from scratch – that would make a really fun demo wouldn’t it? (sarcasm intended)… and the fear of that happening is paralyzing – so I don’t often draw in front of my classes.
A lot of our artist friends that are realy good at what they do, don’t want to do a course for folioacademy because they are afraid of the camera, they don’t want the world to see them struggle.

Developing Your Art Skill Takes Time

I know I’ve talked about this before but I really want you to know two things:

1. This art thing that you want to get good at takes a long time – a lifetime really.

2. It’s really fun when you start to put all the pieces together and start creating images that gather an audience!

Assignment: Create a “Fish King Character”

King Fish line artI gave an assignment to create a “Fish King” character in my Imagination and Visual Literacy class at UVU and invited my students to send me images to post – some of them took me up on this invitation. I hope they realize that they draw better than I did when I was going to college. In fact, I was put on “probation” as a provisional student for being such a horrible artist. I was one of the few that didn’t get a studio space my junior year and I was on probation, I had to improve or I wouldn’t be in “the Program” my senior year. So I spent my Junior year being a lesser student. Yes that was stressful and depressing. And scary, to spend three years in University just to be told that “I can’t be an artist”.

Here are some preliminary sketches.

Oh yeah – it was my son Aaron’s idea to put fish hooks in his lips – credit where credit’s due!

Evolution of a Fish King.

King Fish line art c

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s What My Students are Drawing

King Fish line art d

I love the diversity you can see in their work. By nature artists want to be different. Artists want to show the world something they’ve never seen. Check out Dallin Orr’s and Todd wilson’s work.

I don’t mind admitting it, some of my students are a lot better artists than I was at their stage in the game.

 Here are a few warm up sketches I did.

King Fish line art b

SKETCH of a Sketch Book

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“The best sketch book is the one you have with you” ~Wayne Andreason

My friend, Wayne always says that the best sketch book is the one you have with you. I always say, “Don’t leave home without it!” ~Karl Malden
If you know me, you know, I don’t like to read but…
Because of my involvement with the California Teachers Association and the many school visits i do, my mind is often on reading and it’s importance in the development of the lives of children. And even though I don’t love to read, I don know that it is important. In fact, I might even say that reading is fundamental. RIF 
“Give a hoot, read a book.” ~Herschel Krustofski
At foliio academy we concentrate on art and illustration. We believe that many a child begins to enjoy reading because of the illustrations that come with the books. So the irony is, we artists who hated reading, grew up to help children learn to love reading.
This above picture is a little doodle I did while my wife was at the doctor’s office.
“You have a sketch book, don’t leave home without it!”
(but please, sketch responsibly.)

How to Break Out of a the “ARTIST’S BLOCK” Slump

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Artist’s Block, Break Out of that Horrible Slump

What do you do to break out of a slump? Artists block…or whatever you want to call it……it’s got you, what do you do?

A Can’t Think of Anything to Draw!

We all get it and rather than just tell what I do, I am going to list a bunch of ideas and comments from other artists. So lets hear what they suggest and then you can decide what’s best for you.

I just rant and rave. And RAGE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMMENTS FROM A DOODLERS LINKED IN GROUP.

 Keith Kern • Get out and do something you love doing. Have an adventure, watch a cool movie or whatever it is you like to do.

 

JB [Jack] Hertz • Kind of depends on what the situation is. It is different if it is for a deadline. Nothing can kill creativity better than pressure to perform. Getting away and doing diversionary things doesn’t work as well for me as I find I tend to obsess on the fact that I can’t come up with anything. And there I am sitting in a movie thinking about not being able to come up with some idea rather than enjoying the movie!!

If I just feel like I have had the last idea i’ll ever have, I will just scribble on a piece of paper. Big swirls, and little tight ones. Then I stare at it for a while. It is amazing what you can see in that sort of thing. It can really get the juices flowing. Another technique I use is to just draw. Free your mind. draw eyes, or other body parts..or faces then I imagine what the faces are saying or doing. Also I try not to throw much of what I have done away whether it is good or not as I can look through this “morgue” and get stimulated as well.

 

Chuck P• That is very good advice Jack, doing simple little scribbles and doodles would at least get me doing something on paper. It might inspire something…..you never know. I obsess on my block also and that is probably why it is stumping me. I should also work on some faces and hands as well as those are the things I am not happy with in my own critique. I might just have to start a :sketch graveyard” as well…lol…maybe I can pull a doodle back from the dead into something significant!

 

JB [Jack] Hertz • Glad you found something useful. I am always happy to help. This is a tad off target, but I find ideas don’t always come at the moment you are trying to conjure them up. Some of my best have come just as I am waking up. I guess that’s when my mind is the least cluttered. They may come, however, any time and anywhere. At any rate, I always

try to have a note pad and pencil close by so I can write down any pearls I surely will forget ten minutes later. [ (Shhh it’s a secret). That’s really why there are napkins on tables in restaurants and bars] ©¿©

 

Our brains are really funny machines. It is impossible to understand why there are somethings we cannot get out of them, while others are gone in a flash..at least that is what happens between my ears.

Keith Kern • “Great ideas Jack”

Wayne Andreason • (that’s me) I say, work on something easy. It seams like you don’t want to draw or paint when you fear that it won’t turn out. A lot of accomplished artists have the same problem. They too fear that it won’t work. They will work on an easy area on something that is easy, not a face. Then as their Left Brain shuts off and the Right Brain engages, they get back into their groove.

 

 

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PHOTOSHOP PLUG IN DOES THE WORK FOR YOU

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New Photoshop Tool Makes Painting TOO Easy to Believe

Christmas Card

I know we don’t usually post on a Tuesday but this is a special occasion that can’t wait. This new plugin is SO usefool, You would have to be a fool not to look at this new Photoshop tool. Some wonder if computers are going to make it too easy. We will have to compete with every fool out there that can afford a PC and Photoshop.

Watch this short Demo video while Mr. Folio Academy, Will Terry shows you how easily he just painted this beautiful digital creation of Santa Claus on a snow board.

 

 

You probably want to know where you can get this cool plug in and how much it’s going to cost. They say that the right tools don’t make you an artist but I am starting to think that this is all I need. I am so greatfool for this new plug in. The cool thing is, the company that created this affordable plug in is working on another one that is equally helpfool. It does most of the drawing for you. It will be released 04/01/2015 a year from today. Happy april fool’s day.

Comments welcome.

A detailed guide to help you plan, create, manage, and fulfill your Kickstarter project.

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A Kickstarter Project on “How to do a Kickstater Project”

Pledge $20 and get the $29.00 Video coarse free

kickstarter

This post is to invite YOU to be a part of this Kickstarter project. The Kickstarter companioin book. We are looking for $20 pledges to help Heidi create this How to Guide in video form. The course will cost $29.99 when it is made available this October, but will be given to our $20 pledgers for that pledge. DEADLINE: Monday, March 31st, at 11:59 PM CDT.

Kickstarter is a Crowd Funding Website 

Kickstarter has become a valuable resource for many creatives looking to raise money to fulfill their dreams and ideas. It’s a crowd-funding website based on a  fixed-funding model which means, unless a project reaches its funding goal during the duration of its campaign, no money is taken from backers. So you could go through a lot of effort and receive no money. Or you could go through a lot of effort and get the money you need plus more. Kickstarter is also project based; some thing must be produced at the end of the campaign and given to backers as rewards for their pledge money. That thing can be physical (IE: a book, CD, art print, etc.) or electronic (EX: PDF, MP3, FolioAcademy courses, etc.). A Kickstarter project is a fabulous opportunity and great responsibility when it succeeds.
Heidi Berthiaume
My name is Heidi and since 2009, I’ve backed over 80 Kickstarter projects. I love how Kickstarter allows creators to connect directly with the people who would most want their creations. I promote a lot of Kickstarter projects and get a lot of questions about Kickstarter. But I could only answer questions from the perspective of a backer, which is quite different than the perspective of a creator.

In order to be able to give more thorough answers, she ran her own Kickstarter project in June, 2013 – 1000 Origami Wish Cranes.  Thanks to a $25 funding goal and over 260 Backers from around the world, her project funded over 6000%.

She wrote a book to answer all those questions and more

After her Kickstarter success, she received a lot more questions about how to run a Kickstarter project. With over 15 years of experience with information architecture (Organizing stuff and writing technical documentation for non-technical people, like artists), she’d not only backed a lot of Kickstarter projects, she had analyzed them and was able to provide a lot of detailed answers. So she wrote a detailed guide to help people plan, create, manage, and fulfill their own Kickstarter project and called it the Kickstarter Companion book. She ran a Kickstarter project to raise money for the editing and ebook formatting, and to print limited edition copies which contain the names of all the backers who supported her project. The Kickstarter Companion Kickstarter project reached its funding goal on March 29th, and we’re currently working our way through some reasonable and attainable Stretch Goals before the campaign ends on Monday, March 31st, at 11:59 PM CDT.

Get the $30 online video course by pledging just $20 now.  

One of the add on items we’re very happy to offer backers of her project is access to a video tutorial based on the Kickstarter Companion book which will be available at the Folio Academy website in October. Different people learn information differently, so she wanted to make this information available not only in print, but also as a video course for those who prefer that kind of format. Backers of the Kickstarter Companion can add the video tutorial for an additional $20 to their pledge, compared to the $29.99 it will cost when it is released this fall.

 

 

 

Whichever crowdfunding website you use for your project, We wish you great success in achieving your ideas and dreams. ~Heidi Berthiaume.

Should I Go To Art School Or Take Art Classes Online?

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Should I take college art classes or learn online?

Advice for beginner artists.

I get this question a lot so I posed the query last week in hopes to get you all thinking on your own and now I am going to give my answer. This may take awhile so you may want to pack a lunch or put on a pot of coffee.

Let me just start by saying that it is really an unfair comparison, it is like the old apples and oranges thing. But let’s compare anyway.


So first, let’s look at cost.

 

Online, you could probably spend anywhere from $1000 maybe even up to $5000. With that amount of money and a little digging around on the internet, finding a few systems or mentors that work for you, and applying yourself, you should be able to get all the schooling you need to become a genuine artist and get started as a pro. Compare that to a state college where you could spend from $25,000 to $35,000 and that’s if they even have an illustration program and if you are close enough to go to that school. Compare that to an bonafide (bow-nuh-fide) Art School that can cost well over $100,000.

What Kind of Artist Are You?

Sammy the Dog doing art

Maybe a better question here would be, What kind of student are you? This makes a lot of
difference. Are you super motivated? Do you love to draw? Do you love to paint? Are you a
self-starter and can you push yourself. This will make a lot of difference. If you are self
motivated, like most of us are NOT, then you will most likely do better any way. If so, you
could become a professional artist/illustrator and do well without any college or formal
education. When people really want to learn something, they usually figure out a way to do it. Libraries, stores, teachers/mentors, internet etc. That is probably fewer than 3% of us, but if you really made up your mind to be one of those 3%, I believe you could. I believe you CAN. I KNOW YOU CAN. I also know you probably won’t. (just sayin)

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speed painting a GIANT just for fun

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 An old Painting I Did For Fun

I wanted to do a painting of a dream that I had as a kid….
make sure you watch the ending  : )

A little lesson in acrylics but watch fast because it goes fast. 

The worst (and best) thing about painting with acrylics

0007 giant

The worst thing about painting in acrylics is that it dries fast. The best thing about painting in acrylics is that it dries fast. The worst thing about painting in acrylics for me while doing THIS painting was filming it and working around the camera.

Notice the painting process, Start with the Darks

As you can see, or could see, or did see, if you actually watched the video, I first tone the canvas, (AKA gessoed board in this case) with a dark yet rich color. Then I paint in a little more dark, and you will note that the dark acrylic colors are transparent, while the lighter colors, (aka colours) are opaque. And that is a good thing, so you can see you lines, a little, and transparent shadows are nice. Plus it is good to cover up what you want with those light colors.

Slowly build it up with lighter and lighter paint

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Online Art Schools vs University

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Art Lessons Online or University?

lizard SVSsm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– I’ve been asked about the difference between online courses like we have at Folio Academy, interactive online schools like SVS and attending an illustration class at a University or art school -(I will give you my opinion next week, March 28, 2014) – I’d love to know what you think. One thing I will say is that we have quite a few art teachers at art schools and Universities using our videos to enhance the learning experience. We aren’t any better than those teachers, and they aren’t any better than us, well not a lot better. Often teachers want their students to hear the same things from other teachers and in different words. I do the same thing when I’m at University – I often show videos from other artists and teachers to reinforce the principles I’m teaching.

 

 

Illustrations & Artwork for My Own Book

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writing and Illustrating my Own Book

“Get used to disappointment” ~Dread Pirate Roberts

These are some character and environment sketches for a book I wrote and tried to get published. I’ve already scored one rejection on. We learn by our failures right? But in the publishing world you need many many failures, rejections, refusals, dis-approvals, and disasters in order to be a success right? (just say yes) I’ve written many a children’s book my friend and so far the score is, Publishers 15 – Will Terry 0.
Enjoy it while it lasts publishers – for one day I shall laugh at you for buying one of my manuscripts…MWAA HAA HAAA!

 

 

 

:) folioacademy is awesome.  (<<< subliminal message)

Another Billy Goat, How Gruff.

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TREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, CONTINUED…

Artist Jim Madsen’s take on the three billy goats gruff. 

bully goat by Jim Madsen

So I was trip trapping on Facebook last night and my best friend Jim Madsen had posted a digital painting he did of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff, and boy did he make a big troll. He says don’t worry about the little goat.

Don’t feel sorry for the goat. Remember that killer rabbit from Monty Python’s Holy Grail? This goat has the same amount of whup arse as him. My dad used to tell the 3 billy goats gruff story nightly to me and my brother… never got old. ~Jim Madsen

 

Since we just posted a Billy Goat blog, and we said, use a big troll, and we also posted on that post, a Jim Madsen illustration, a twist on the old NC Wyeth’s, Blind Pew, and then I saw this, I wanted to hurry and put it on the blog. Nice work Jim.