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Secrets On How ToAlright I guess I'm gonna make another rant, and this one's been bugging me for the longest time. And I'm going to be as BLUNT as I will be and not sugar coat anything I'm about to say.
Often do I hear things like:
"what custom brushes do you use"
"how do you achieve this blur/ focus effect"
"how did you get the colors to go this way and that"
"what technique or computer program did you use"
What I rarely get asked for is:
"What did you study to be more efficient at drawing."
"What is an efficient way to study how to render certain types of materials"
"How do you practice proper lighting when painting?"
and etc...
Guys I'm just gonna say it now, there's no shortcut to art. I work primarily in digital mediums now but I do have a solid foundation in traditional mediums. I didn't simply go out and buy a $400 tablet and instantly got to where I am today. I use custom brushes and special effects in my pieces, but they only take up less than 3% of the overall work. There's sti

doubting your art? - DON'T!There are a few questions that seem to be going around dA a lot these last few weeks

Is my art even improving?

Have I lost my style?

Does anybody like what I do?
Among other questions similar to these... the answer is, really, WHO CARES? I know that sounds harsh, but your art is for you, not for them. This is what makes you happy, what you like to do, and what you've fallen in love with. Don't let others deter you from what you do.
Let me explain, we'll start with oh, have I lost my style?. The real question is, have you lost it, or have you added some variety to it. Being an artist isn't about keeping yourself in the same bubble of art forever. If you do horror photography and love it, great... if you side track to some people and portraits of non-horror related styles, that's perfectly fine. It's called broadening what you're already aware of. There is nothing wrong with it. And from what I've heard, as well as what I believe... it's good!
But, what

Don't ever tell me this! (or to any other artist.)I saw something like this pass me by on Facebook, with just the first 10 points.
Together with some others we could name a lot more.
How about you? anything like this ever happened to you?

Things you shouldn't say to an artist.

Can you do the artwork for this job for free? It will be a good promotional piece for you. Get you some word to mouth advertising.
2

Mom Look! That painting is just like that picture you downloaded from the internet and got framed for the living room.
3

Wow. You charge THAT much? You make it look so easy.
4

If you don't make it so detailed... Just scribble something down... Can I get it cheaper?
5

If you use that piece you already got and change it a little, can I get it cheaper? You already have done most of it.
6

I can use a Photoshop filter to do that exact same thing.
7

You are lucky... you don't have to work, you just have to sit and paint all day.
8:

The Road To Creating Your Own IP - P.5Part 1, The Next Three Years Of My Life: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/journal/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-1-354518946#comments
Part 2, Sell That Damn Book, Danny: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/art/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-2-354730628
Part 3, I Was Not Ready For This: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/art/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-3-354860965
Part 4, Objective: Character and Story Building: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/journal/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-4-354965190
PART 5:
THE FAMILY
The first thing I had to do was create a sample. What would the pages look like? What is a Killbook?
In the story, before Gabriel breaks out of Level-9, he is introduced to an "Agent-O, a character that gives Gabriel the documents needed to begin this revenge quest. Inside of the documents are bios and information on all of the characters Gabriel will meet/team-up with/or kill.
Well, I didn't just want to show boring documents, I wanted to add life

Is Reference Bad?I feel like I've addressed this before at some point, in some other journal, but I find myself either discussing this with people a lot, or coming across people who on their work proudly claim to have "used no reference."
The biggest problem, and misconception, regarding references is that people feel like it's cheating or that it somehow cheapens their work. While I can understand the sense of accomplishment coming from using no reference to finish a painting or drawing, people who consistently do it are only hurting themselves in the long run. So in short, no, reference isn't bad.
Artists have been using reference since the days of the old masters. They would reference life, whether it be landscapes, objects on a table, or models standing in a studio. They would even reference their own sketches or other people's work in order create convincing paintings.
For some reason, a lot of people today seem to think that in order to be a good artist, they have to be able to do things without

5 Reasons to WriteI wrote a blog once that urged comic artists to try writing their own books. I held back a bit on what I said--Punk Rock Jesus hadn't come out yet, so I didn't feel like I had the proper authority to really speak up.
Since then, there's been a lot more discussion about the etiquette of publishers toward their freelancers, the recent rise of creator owned books, and the effects of Hollywood moving into comics (or vice versa). And as friend of mine at Newsarama pointed out recently, I'm one of a few guys who's found a middle ground--not only because I'm writing and drawing my own book, but because my OGN is partially owned by DC Comics.
Certain events of the last year have created new concerns within our industry. Do you still need to work for big publishers if you want to "make it"? Do they deliver a better product than creator owned books? Are the Big Two treating creators as fairly as they've always been? Between the rise of digital comics and comic-based movies, are creators getting

On Art Schools + Art Style: A response to EndlingEndling posted this [click here] answer to a questioned by one of his followers on Tumblr.
It pertains to how his art school and supporters treated/reacted to his particular art style in an academic and professional setting. Give that a read first then come back here.
I posted a response to it that I also wanted to share on my DeviantART. (If you're getting tired of me ranting about my experience at school, sorry, but this stuff means a LOT to me. I want to try to inform other people of what my time was like there so that if YOU go, you're all the wiser.) Response was as follows:
This is partially one of my problems with art schools at this point in time. They're ridiculously expensive, and because of the rapid change in art/media industry and culture, fall into generally one of these two categories:
1) They typically have instructors who are remnants of doing their bes

To Critique, or not to CritiqueCritique, on any art forum, has always been very welcome in my eyes. There's plenty of praise and nice comments going around, which is always a joy to hear, but it won't make you a better artist. Although I don't always like to hear critique of my work, I know that it is what I need. It prevents me from becoming complacent with my level of ability, and often pushes me to work harder than I would under my own initiative.
However, I recently heard from a group of artists whom I greatly respect, that to critique someone's work who had not asked for critique, was a rude thing to do. If this is the case, then I have been a most despicably rude person.
There are situations in which I understand critique may not be appropriate. Say for example you have an actual gallery show, in an actual building with walls. That is a formal setting in which you may not want me to walk up to your framed artwork... and proceed to point out your shortcomings in front your admiring fans.
Now if we

artists block - BREAK IT!Ah, yes, the time old question, how do I get out of this funk of artist's block... I'm sure we've all come to it, an I'm sure you've asked how to fix it. Here is a little about artists block and how you can overcome it all!
I just don't feel like it... I'm bored this is the easiest part to fix! You're bored, you're tired, it seems like you're repeating yourself and your art just doesn't seem to be of any interest at this point. This is the one big way you can lose touch with your art and never come back to it.
The obvious thing you can do is take a break, and that is perfectly fine. We all come to parts of our lives where something just doesn't seem interesting to us, and we just want to walk away from it for a little while. But the question is, how long do you go? A few days, a week, a month? Really, that depends on the person and how often you already are active in your art.
Do you go take a photo every day or once a week, or even less? Nobody can't tell you how often you shou

Respect the person or respect the artist?***:icontextwallplz: alert but I hope it provides for interesting reading.***
Been reading a lot of DA drama recently. Whereby "Respect the Artist!" Is being flung about in defense those who do not want criticism.
Fact - Critique is commonly understood as fault finding and negative judgement but can also merit recognition and praise. It's a process of evaluation where it can be either positive, negative or both.
"A Criticism is a Critique but not all Critique involves a Criticism."
Going by this logic, I pretty much see every comment regarding a deviation is a critique in my eyes whether it be 'I like this',' 'Love the colours' to 'I don't like it', 'lose the lens flares and learn anatomy.'
So when someone on DA spouts that "critique shouldn't be negative" or "critiques shouldn't be asspats"
I think "WRONG!" :iconwrongplz:
Critiques are written at the discretion of the person giving them. It is their personal opinion, perception and

The Road To Creating Your Own IP - P.6Part 1, The Next Three Years Of My Life: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/journal/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-1-354518946#comments
Part 2, Sell That Damn Book, Danny: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/art/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-2-354730628
Part 3, I Was Not Ready For This: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/art/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-3-354860965
Part 4, Objective: Character and Story Building: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/journal/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-4-354965190
PART 5, The Family: http://danluvisiart.deviantart.com/art/The-Road-To-Creating-Your-Own-IP-P-5-355097985
PART 6:
WAVES OF DOUBT
I remember this one night I couldn't get anything to work with LMS. I couldn't draw, I couldn't write, I couldn't be creative. I felt trapped, sick to my stomach and had an ongoing feeling of anxiety.
I would get up, walk around, and force ideas. Stupid, uncreative and rushed thoughts. I went upstairs and laid down next to my gf at the time,

DA's Insular Taste PhenomenonIt's been quite a while since I wrote a preachy "THINK ABOUT YO' ART"-type journal, and some of my newer watchers may not know that this is a particular(ly annoying) habit of mine. This is a subject I've had on my mind for quite some time for a number of reasons, and it's recently coalesced into a semi-soluble form so here we go. (As an aside- this journal does have some recycled ideas from a previous post of mine, but obviously I hadn't really said everything I wanted to on the subject.)
It's no mystery that I love this website. I came in at the tail end of the pre-critique wonder years, when the internet discovered and exploited that, yes, we don't always produce the highest quality art here. There's a lot of unpleasantness directed towards DeviantArt. At RISD, I made a point to never mention that I had an account here, because of the looks of disgust I would get haha and people would think about me differently. It was

GlitchYou can find hidden truths in simple lines,
Even in broken grammar or in faulty rhymes.
One just needs to tap into his soul,
That, among others, is the writer's goal.

Yet for some the ink on paper looks plain,
They belong to a world for the terminally sane.
Believing only what's in front of their eyes,
Imagination and dreams to them are merely lies.

Lucky are those who can see the fault in the system,
Lucky are those who can absorb flawed criticism.
But within the borders of this fragmented society,
Things aren't really what they always seem to be.

Xenogears 15 Anniversary doujin - Everyone welcomeAttention guys! *cough, cough, khmm*
A bunch of enthusiasts is willling to make a PDF doujinshi book on Xenogears. And it meens they need everyone... maybe YOU?!

Just look at this. Don't you want to join right now? Don't you want your work to be under this juicy cover??!! XD
The rules of attending are really pleasingly simple. You can read them here:
http://lunalapine.net/xenogearsdoujinshi/
Don't forget to spread the word! The more, the merrier!

Hello!I have accepted my ghost-like lifestyle. Disappearing and reappearing at random occasions has become the norm for me as you are sure to have noticed.
Last time I posted, I was talking of transferring to another school, I didn't do that. Instead I just finished up my BA degree as a Studio Art/Digital Media major at a local state college. Now I'm in the process of looking at graduate schools for animation. It's so easy to feel left behind when you don't attend an actual art school but I've learned that it's best to stay true to yourself as an artist and continue the quest of "never-ending artistic growth" regardless of where you are.
I stayed busy while I was gone and I still draw like crazy.
As the very fickle person that I am, I've found that my growth as an artist is highly dependent upon experimentation. I'm beginning to find that my niche may lie somewhere along the lines of character design and storyboarding. There's nothing more fun than creating characters and mixing up styles de

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the myth about talent

by ~leventep, Jan 31, 2013, 4:00:57 AM
Journals / Personal

Many people are under the assumption many of the high profile artists in the digital art community are mainly good because of talent. This is not completely true(in my opinion). What does make them great is the simple fact of constant and regular practice. But if you still like to cling to the word, then talent is just in other words an ambition and motivation. This word,"talent" has been branded with something that you think is something that can only be inherited and if you dont have it you are doomed to fail. Many people has lost potential careers because of this.

well folks let me put that myth to rest because i think anyone with ambition and motivation can learn any tool and any skill.And if you are not learning it, it is because you are not working hard enough on it.its simple as that.The practice will open your eyes and you will develop to see things in different ways, once again this has nothing to do with talent. Once your understanding of all the levels of art gets wider you will be able to do more because you have seen it, worked with it and practiced it.

a good example on how to test yourself is to simply to do master copies, and the majority of artist who do it are very successful. And many artists in production and in personal art use reference for their work. In a sense learning and replicating some aspects of a reference weather its design, lighting, palette or texture.And by doing this all that information is being stored in your visual memory and gets added to the experience bit by bit. Slowly that will build up and your visual vocabulary becomes that much bigger. You have become better not because you had a secret power you were born with but just because you took all that visual information in and learned it.

so don't be afraid to tackle things because of this word, instead , observe learn and be inspired.

And yes a good visual eye takes many many years to develop and impatience is something that frustrates many people who are developing their skills, and so they give up claiming that they dont have "talent". Once again the success comes from ambition motivation and just a fuck ton of practice. Your whole artistic life is ment to be constantly practicing.

but take one day at a time and with persistence you WILL see results.

i think a lot of high profile artists would agree with this, because we all went through these stages and we have reached new levels of artistic understanding.And we still strive for learning more.

so it's fun to see people react to this so here is more text to read

yay

* this is not about disputing the existence of talent, its about the idea that practice is everything when it comes to any kind of development. Talent is simply our brain being more efficient because we are learning and we are enjoying it.

* yes true prodigies exist(savants or people who have developed a keen sense to learn) BUT how can we really know how they got there, Take Mozart, a prodigy, a genius , composed music since he was 5-6? but he also lived a life of touring and shows, and his father was his stern teacher.Imagine a life of music everyday in and out, you breath it you live it. Your brain will see patterns, learn melodies, remember keys, memorize harmonious combinations etc etc. Of course you will be very quick to outrun other people because they had not been exposed to the same factors of learning.

* we can tell that someone is doing something good with ease, but its hard to know for fact how they got there.The girl who plays piano beautifully is "talented", but what we dont know is that she played that piano and that piece a thousand times.My own sister who was great at drawing said she gave up because i had more "talent" but she didnt know i was up almost every night drawing.

And yes hard work does pay off, if you are keen to be fast , you haveto do it more and you haveto love doing it. Someone who hates it will never learn or develop, neither the one who does not take initiatives.

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the myth about talentby ~leventep

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~zirothar Apr 29, 2013

Each individual has a physiological plateau. Example: A professional tennis player who had been playing since he was 3 years old but never managed to win Wimbledon or become the world number 1 [link] . He was by average standards a successful player, but not likely to be remembered as a great player like Pete Samprass.

The same could be expressed with someone who has played guitar their whole life, and by normal standards is good. He can play by ear and regularly does session work and writes and plays their own music. But Slash will always be better than him.

Talent is something intangible. A quantum-level neurological difference that can't be replicated in another even with the same experience and knowledge. This is your personal physiological plateau of ability. Most people, barring physiological problems, will have the potential to be very good at most things, providing they put in the work to practice, thus improve. However, most people who put in the practice and hard work will not achieve greatness, win an Olympic medal, or become a professional concept artist. Also, your plateau of ability will begin to fall sometime in your twenties [link]. Meaning your ability to develop your skills will become harder over time and a decrease in ability is going to occur even though more knowledge may be attained. Yes, I am suggesting that sometimes it IS too late to learn.

This isn't to mention perpetual evolutionary flux, meaning that certain individuals have genetic differences/mutations advancing their natural physical and neaurological ability.

Or, maybe all those snooker players who can't beat Ronnie O'Sullivan just aren't putting the effort in!

~weebasaurus Mar 26, 2013 Professional Filmographer

I guess deep down many of us believe this and knows it, atleast for myself. However, as an enemy most artist share , I'm constantly struggling with myself for not doing good enough work. Whenever I see a great artist works and I look back at mine.

"They make it look easy, so simple and fast. The principles, so solid etc etc..... Why can't I ever get there ?!"

I know it's all hardwork and practice. I do. But It's pain to see what I produce even come close to what I want. Don't want to come off as a whiner, but I guess this is the process of learning and growth of an artist. Just have to accept it !

Thanks for the few sharings on your journal lately. Just have you know that you're one of the many artist I look up to

best of luck !

~nonwings Feb 16, 2013 Professional General Artist

i have discussed this matter many times with my friends, I´m glad to see someone who I respect so much agrees with me on this one.

~Parmjeet-Johal Feb 9, 2013

I've never liked the word talent, well said.

~vinterdragen Feb 7, 2013 Traditional Artist

Well, you said it. I've tackled around this theme a lot. Is common to hear from people "hey you are so talented", "God gave you such a gift" with that gesture of -you do it good by birth's grace and that makes it easy-.It feels like all your hardwork has been negated. It used to bother me... but now I don't care, I try to see if someone has any dream and tell them "HEY!, You can do it!".

I totally agree with you and I think that we can buildup any skill, unless you have any physiological limitation (which in many cases can be tackled out and find other way to develop it).

Great post! thanks by sharing your thoughts.

~leventep Feb 8, 2013 Professional Filmographer

at the same time it's quite odd to hear someone say "ooh you worked so hard" in stead of "ooh your so talented", it has become such a common phrase that the first one here even may come off as somewhat offensive, which it isn't.

~vinterdragen Feb 8, 2013 Traditional Artist

lol yeah xD

Look this article at Muddycolors, is by the industry veteran Greg Manchess, which speaks about talent too.

[link]

*DennisDarmody Feb 6, 2013 Professional Digital Artist

This is a bit of the re-motivation I think, as artists, we all need once in a while. We all get burned out, or hit a block of sorts, or sometimes "life" happens and we struggle to get back in the groove.

I have discussed fr years that I believe anyone can become an excellent artists for the exact reasons you mention here. A lot of it first involves getting beyond the notion that have to have the "talent" or "gift" for it. Then comes, unshackling mind of your perceptions of visual anatomy (ie. don't draw what your mind thinks a tree looks like, rather, draw the tree in front of you; don't draw what your mind remembers your girlfriend to look like, but actually draw her or draw from an upside-down photo... etc.)

Thank you for this and your emotive and inspiring art.

~gr4y-inu Feb 5, 2013

nice article, really enjoyed reading it!
on art side i would agree about 98%, though there are people with wider view of things, imagination is only limit right, so not everyone can be an artist, everyone can draw technically perfect, but an artist, there are still those few percent who just won't and can't. i totally agree that many people just give up before even really trying, blaming it all on some mystic talent.
on side of sciences (math, physics, biology etc), it - talent - ability to grasp wide array of knowledge and use it in short period of time manifests itself even more. i've seen people learning as hard as they can, but can never break a barrier and be at the top.
i don't believe that anyone can do anything and be really good at it, therefore talent matters, ability to do things in field you're working. let's make it simple - afro american people from Kenya are the best runners, because their bodies are built that way and you will very rarely see afro americans being among best swimmers, same goes for brain and its abilities.

~Delta2094 Feb 3, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

Strong post. Totally agree.

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