Here are some of the commissions I did over that weekend. I think I'm really starting to dig the brown outline and the warm grey tones.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Armageddon
So so, Armageddon has come and gone...and I must say it was pretty fantastic! After writing that big ass post, Sunday was a lot busier and I managed to get some sales and meet some lovely people :)
Here are some of the commissions I did over that weekend. I think I'm really starting to dig the brown outline and the warm grey tones.
Here are some of the commissions I did over that weekend. I think I'm really starting to dig the brown outline and the warm grey tones.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Why I love what I do.
The things I've learnt from Armageddon and why I love doing what I do.
During primary school, I used to love drawing animals, and try and imitate Disney characters in my sketchbook. As I got older, my tastes had changed (particularly with tv) and was really into the Anime style of drawing. At that time Anime was huge and I loved how they made all the characters cute and pretty. When I was near the end of my VCE, I started to prepare my folio for uni applications. I attended some art classes to boost up my folio where I had to learn how to draw with charcoal, pencil and pastels. It was mainly realistic drawings so I started to practise drawing portraits and figures and also took up a life drawing class at uni. During my 4 years at uni, I got exposed to the illustrator designer market, so I fell in love with more stylised drawings, particularly those that reflected illustrations from a certain decade, like the 1920s - 1940s which have a retro style. After I graduated from uni and my honours degree, I got a job at an advertising firm and started to drift away from drawing due to my lack of freedom and will power to do so. A year plus later at my advertising job, I started to go back to my roots and started to attend conventions so that I could push my art again to where I wanted to be.
After attending the first convention Manifest, I realised there was something which made me different from everyone else who was there. I started to ask myself, why don't I have a particular style of drawing? And why don't I have a folio to show it off? I have been drawing all my life so why was it so hard for me to keep all my work together and why did I always flip flop from one thing to another? Although I drew a substantial amount of commissions during those 3 days there was never one piece of artwork that stood out to me and screamed out YES! this is what I'm meant to do. I would walk by everyone's booths and see how beautifully distinct their artwork was, and you could see the passion and drive they had for their artwork that reflected who they are as individuals. And they had the folio to show it off. Me on the other hand, I churned out my artworks like they were nothing, meaningless to me.
For a while it dug through my head, and it was really starting to upset me. I would see people in my class who had always stuck to their guns and it would be so easy for them to attend exhibitions and conventions and be willing to do all the hard work just to show it off. Me, I decided to use it as practise to figure out what I was meant to do.
And then it occurred to me.
I am writing this after day one of the Armageddon exhibition. Things were so so and I didn't sell that many, nothing I was proud of. It was a very stagnant day. But I realised after all those years of drawing, there was one thing that tied it all together. I drew what I felt like and what represented me at the time. Because drawing was always an escape for me where I could just do what I want and be free. And free I was. Free to flip flop from style to style, material to material, subject to subject. Because I had no limitations. I was never precious. I was never hard on myself. I was just me. And looking back on all those years, I realised I had changed too. I was a different person back then, and to be honest...I never want to go back. I loved what I drew but didn't like how I was hiding in my room to do it, not bothering to open up to people as I did it through my work and only pleasing people to do it. Because if you think about it, art is meant to be a true representation of who you are….and so it should be. And I guess when I look back on my art, it all makes sense now. And that is why I don't have a folio to show it.
Although this may sound quite depressing…there is a small glimpse of light through the stormy clouds. The one thing that has been the same, for majority of my life is that I love drawing for people. Not to please them, but because I wanted to. I wanted to find out their interests, what makes them smile, what makes this drawing special and just draw it for them. No matter what occasion, what style, what material, who it was for I loved to do it. And it continues on to this very day. Because at the end of the day I am not a talented illustrator. I'm too awesome and versatile for that. I like to see myself as more a talented communicator who just happens to draw. Figuring out what they like and dislike was my thing. And I guess that's what I'm meant to be doing for the rest of my life. Whether it's through illustration, graphic design, digital design, advertising or any sort of creative medium, I'm meant to do it. My intentions are the same and they always will be.
So, I guess it's starting to become clearer. Although I'll probably still be kicking at myself for not having a folio tomorrow...at least I found my niche. Now it's time to just take chances and do it.
Hopefully tomorrow will go well. And please excuse my lengthy post. It will be a good reminder for me later on in life :)
During primary school, I used to love drawing animals, and try and imitate Disney characters in my sketchbook. As I got older, my tastes had changed (particularly with tv) and was really into the Anime style of drawing. At that time Anime was huge and I loved how they made all the characters cute and pretty. When I was near the end of my VCE, I started to prepare my folio for uni applications. I attended some art classes to boost up my folio where I had to learn how to draw with charcoal, pencil and pastels. It was mainly realistic drawings so I started to practise drawing portraits and figures and also took up a life drawing class at uni. During my 4 years at uni, I got exposed to the illustrator designer market, so I fell in love with more stylised drawings, particularly those that reflected illustrations from a certain decade, like the 1920s - 1940s which have a retro style. After I graduated from uni and my honours degree, I got a job at an advertising firm and started to drift away from drawing due to my lack of freedom and will power to do so. A year plus later at my advertising job, I started to go back to my roots and started to attend conventions so that I could push my art again to where I wanted to be.
After attending the first convention Manifest, I realised there was something which made me different from everyone else who was there. I started to ask myself, why don't I have a particular style of drawing? And why don't I have a folio to show it off? I have been drawing all my life so why was it so hard for me to keep all my work together and why did I always flip flop from one thing to another? Although I drew a substantial amount of commissions during those 3 days there was never one piece of artwork that stood out to me and screamed out YES! this is what I'm meant to do. I would walk by everyone's booths and see how beautifully distinct their artwork was, and you could see the passion and drive they had for their artwork that reflected who they are as individuals. And they had the folio to show it off. Me on the other hand, I churned out my artworks like they were nothing, meaningless to me.
For a while it dug through my head, and it was really starting to upset me. I would see people in my class who had always stuck to their guns and it would be so easy for them to attend exhibitions and conventions and be willing to do all the hard work just to show it off. Me, I decided to use it as practise to figure out what I was meant to do.
And then it occurred to me.
I am writing this after day one of the Armageddon exhibition. Things were so so and I didn't sell that many, nothing I was proud of. It was a very stagnant day. But I realised after all those years of drawing, there was one thing that tied it all together. I drew what I felt like and what represented me at the time. Because drawing was always an escape for me where I could just do what I want and be free. And free I was. Free to flip flop from style to style, material to material, subject to subject. Because I had no limitations. I was never precious. I was never hard on myself. I was just me. And looking back on all those years, I realised I had changed too. I was a different person back then, and to be honest...I never want to go back. I loved what I drew but didn't like how I was hiding in my room to do it, not bothering to open up to people as I did it through my work and only pleasing people to do it. Because if you think about it, art is meant to be a true representation of who you are….and so it should be. And I guess when I look back on my art, it all makes sense now. And that is why I don't have a folio to show it.
Although this may sound quite depressing…there is a small glimpse of light through the stormy clouds. The one thing that has been the same, for majority of my life is that I love drawing for people. Not to please them, but because I wanted to. I wanted to find out their interests, what makes them smile, what makes this drawing special and just draw it for them. No matter what occasion, what style, what material, who it was for I loved to do it. And it continues on to this very day. Because at the end of the day I am not a talented illustrator. I'm too awesome and versatile for that. I like to see myself as more a talented communicator who just happens to draw. Figuring out what they like and dislike was my thing. And I guess that's what I'm meant to be doing for the rest of my life. Whether it's through illustration, graphic design, digital design, advertising or any sort of creative medium, I'm meant to do it. My intentions are the same and they always will be.
So, I guess it's starting to become clearer. Although I'll probably still be kicking at myself for not having a folio tomorrow...at least I found my niche. Now it's time to just take chances and do it.
Hopefully tomorrow will go well. And please excuse my lengthy post. It will be a good reminder for me later on in life :)
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
One last thing...
Steve Jobs Speech
For the past year I have been reading the Steve Jobs book. I have always been a slow at finishing a book, as I rarely find myself to have time to read, or even be bothered to read.
Before I purchased his biography, I came across his speech at Stanford which my parents forwarded to me.
My favourite quote throughout the whole speech is this one:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
It makes me wonder if the world was about to end I think one of my regrets would be that I never finished his book.
I guess it's time to make time. :)
Before I purchased his biography, I came across his speech at Stanford which my parents forwarded to me.
My favourite quote throughout the whole speech is this one:
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
It makes me wonder if the world was about to end I think one of my regrets would be that I never finished his book.
I guess it's time to make time. :)
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