...Soo.
As I'm not going to be able to update with pictures a lot these coming weeks, I'd like to write a little bit about life as an artist. At the moment, I don't have a lot to offer because I can't actually consider myself a professional yet.
But there are a few things...
This is long, and mostly written for myself so I can remind myself. A lot of it is pretty obvious, but if it can help anyone else, I'll be glad.
Haha, I sure hope people won't think I'm strange for some of the things I'm writing here.
So, I'd like to start with:
Discipline.
As someone aiming to go pro, you're likely to have a few problems with this, because you can't just dedicate all your time to art. You probably have a lot of other things to think about; school, work, chores, socializing, you name it. You simply have a life and you can't just stop doing those things because you want to be an artist.
And the thing is, art is not always fun. A lot of the time, it might be hard to bring yourself to even touch a pencil because you're just too tired and you don't even know where it will lead. Basically, there's a risk that you're doing tons of work for absolutely nothing.
Or that's what it feels like anyway. The truth is of course that every time you draw, you gain necessary experience. But what it comes down to is: Will you get to use that experience or not?
It's a huge gamble.
Few things in learning discipline here have anything to do with art. But they're important nonetheless, and they can be applied to almost any situation.
So, the first thing you need to do is:
Just start somewhere.
What comes afterwards differs from person to person, but I find it makes things a lot easier if you have a concrete long term plan. What do you want to be? A comic artist? An illustrator?
What do you need for that? A portfolio? A comic chapter? Names? Materials? Contacts?
Start planning from there. You're not likely to get everything in at once, and it's good to leave a bit of space for spontaneity and improvisation. But it's good to have a long term goal.
Then think about it: How will it feel to reach that goal? What is it you want with it.
Now keep those things in mind.
Try not to focus on too many different things at the same time. That means: Don't try to do everything at once! You may be full of ideas that you need to get out. That's good. But settle for writing most of them down for later use instead and focus on one single idea at a time.
Keep your life running – what good would reaching that goal do anyway if you didn't have friends or good experiences outside of work anymore?
But remember that you've still got to do your work if you want to get anywhere. That said, don't work all the time. That will not do you any good, no matter how focused you are. Take a break and breathe , and schedule free time where you don't have to do anything at all, no matter how much or little you've accomplished before that.
Then get yourself together and start again.
Meet people! Why? You don't have time for this, right?
You do though. And if you want to go anywhere, it's important to practise your social skills.
And you may think you have all the inspiration you need from comics, music, films and artwork. Inspiration from there is a good thing! But inspiration from real life is always worth more, at least in my humble opinion. Why? Because you can relate to it much better, and as a consequence relate it to the people who look at your work much better.
And also. Simply because people are awesome! C=
Then there's another thing that I'd like to point out.
Take care of yourself!
“… What? What does she mean?” ...You may think.
I mean, exercise, eat, take a bath and look good! In simple terms: Be confident in yourself.
But what does that have to do with being an artist?
More than you'd think. If you want to be professional at any rate, and not leave everything to chance.
I suppose I should explain?
Why exercise, aside from it being good for you in general? It takes up time you could use to draw or paint.
Well, it doesn't necessarily take that much time. I don't mean you should become a body-builder.
But think about it: Being fit helps you out a lot. It's simply healthier, but the biggest point here is that you'll have more energy and confidence to do what you need to. If you didn't exercise, it's likely you'd spend that time rolling around feeling sorry for yourself anyway, or just doing... nothing.
So instead you get an energy boost and a better confidence. Sounds good, eh? On top of that, it releases endorphins, which is a happiness hormone.
“Eat? It's obvious. We all need to eat.“ But I mean it. Eat properly, and get all the nutrition you need. If possible, avoid the pre-cooked things you can buy, and go for meals prepared from scratch.
...What. Another thing that takes time?
Pre-cooked meals are all good when you're on a deadline or don't have the energy to cook your own meals. But quality meals DO give you more energy and nutrition. And they taste better – but that's just my opinion, I guess...
“Take a bath? Uhhh...?”
Yes. Clean yourself up, and take some time to relax. Refresh yourself, simply.
I don't know about you, but I'm the type that starts to feel self-loathing after a while if I don't clean up. That makes me a lot less likely to do any work at all.
And even if you don't feel the same way, you still should clean up. Partially because it feels good, and partially because your smell won't scare other people away.
“Look good?! Why?!”
Again, it's the confidence bit. Confidence and discipline are rather closely bound together.
If you feel good about your looks, you'll feel happier, and thus more inclined to work. You may not want to work anyway, but you're at least a lot less likely to bum around watching TV that way. And if you force yourself to work while you're down about something, it's likely you'll come to associate that with feeling bad. See what I mean?
And lastly: Find something that helps you focus on thinking drawing is fun even when it's just technical work and boring stuff. Maybe you can find like-minded people and create a studio?
Or you could listen to music. Or audiobooks for the matter. (I'm particularly fond of a Swedish translation of H.P. Lovecraft's works at the moment.)
Some people even like to watch movies while they draw. Personally, I can't do it because it steals too much attention. But whatever works!
Aaand... That's all. Wow, that felt silly.
