Radio Silence

_{[A sketch done in black over a light grey background. It shows several figures lined up in height comparison with each other. The figures include a bull, a small deer, a ram-headed figure, two male figures—the second having large wings—a weasel, and a large draft horse.]}

A little cheat sheet for me for chapter 3. In case you missed it, the title page of the new chapter is up, and regular updates will be starting again this Sunday!

_{[A screenshot of a FireAlpaca workspace. The file currently open is a half-finished drawing that right now only shows a winged man leaning up against a door frame, looking rather despondently up into the sky.]}

I forgot how to draw while I was moving, but this is coming along somewhat as it is.

EDIT: ‘I like how I forget how to draw him if I don’t  do it every single day’ was not only already a tag of mine, but I was also talking about Hawk then as well, and that was in 2011. GOOD 2 KNO

_{[A sketch in brown on a bluish background of two figures half-crouched in the scrub. One (with a squarer face and curly hair) is craning his neck, as though peering down a hill, and asking, “What’s down there, do you think?” The other (with a long, straight nose and unruly hair) is grimacing and answering, “Some shit, probably.”]}

Hey guys I’m mostly back-ish! Update:

• I’m graduate! I am done with college. Yey!
• I’ve spent the last five days hauling my stuff from a tiny dorm room to a nice large house, and cleaning four years’ worth of junk out.
• I will probably be spending the next few days cleaning/painting/assembling furniture. The new place is a bit beat up!
• I’m still job-hunting and commissions are still wide open! Only one slot has been confirmed filled.
• I guess I haven’t actually been gone that long but it feels like a long time? I haven’t had much breathing time the past few days.
• Chapter three of White Noise will still be starting this month! Let’s set May 17th as a tentative launch day, yeah?

That’s about it for right now I guess?? I’m excited to start the next chapter. It’ll be fun to get back to these two clowns and actually draw them properly this time.

Hahahahaha.

I hope y’all are doing well! I’m seeing some people are having some rough times on my dash. I’m wishing you guys well!

etteette:

artdirections:

5 Ways to be a Happier Creative

We all know the tortured artist schtick. To be honest, I can be a downer sometimes myself, but I think it would be terrible for us to all perpetuate the idea that being creative and miserable are mutually exclusive.

So here’s to being creative and actually enjoying it:

1. Refuse to See Your Entire Life Either as a Success or a Failure
The idea here is to never buy into the lie that your life is either successful or failing in terms of your creative output. Think of the most successful creative person you can, if you look closely you can see a series of successes and failures.

The best way for me to look at the creative life is as a series of projects which can be successful in some ways and fail in other ways. For instance, some projects are really successful in the development of your skill but not financially advantageous.

Also, don’t believe that there is some level of success where you have now “arrived” or attained a level of success which can never been denied to you, like being hailed a “creative genius” with endless financial gain, forever. I could tell you many examples of artists and musicians who seem like they have “arrived”  with one project and then completely fail the next.

2. Make Something Everyday
Will Bryant says something like, “I make stuff because if I don’t I get sad”. A silly and profound statement. Last year I did a daily drawing project where I created a new character every weekday. I found this statement to ring very true.

This practice gave me a sense of creative productivity every single day, which is a serious morale booster. Even if you don’t show anyone, it can help you feel prolific and unlimited in your creative abilities, which in turn increases your confidence.

3. Be Authentic
This is huge. Many people have done amazing things in creativity and have received many rewards, successes and prizes for them. So there is a lot of incentive for YOU to be THEM. But the trick is knowing the truth: you CAN’T be them. Trying to be something you are not will make you feel like an old sock. You already know this, but I thought I’d remind you.

4. Know Your Purpose
Shooting aimlessly into the dark can feel like…shooting aimlessly into the dark. Your purpose doesn’t have to be mind meltingly important. I like the humble yet ambitious purpose the great Debbie Millman has taken upon herself to “try to make the supermarket more beautiful”.

Try to clarify what you want to achieve overall so that everything you do has a sense of purpose. Purpose equals meaning, and to most creatives I know, a sense of meaning is why they want to make art and why they DO NOT want to work in a factory.

5. Address and Defeat Your Fears
That dreadful fear is a bully that is killing your soul and it should be stood up to. Listen to it, don’t ignore it. Hear what it’s actually saying and then dismantle it. Talk to someone about it openly, if the fear is tied to reality, then face it and take it down with integrity. If it’s all lies, all smoke and mirrors then let it disappear in the cloud of smoke that it is. If you are doing super boring unadventurous work, you won’t have any fears at all…but who wants to do that?

Hope this makes you a bit happier today.

- Andy J. Miller

P.S. To tackle the piling up questions here on this tumblr I have started taking on 1 hour video creative coaching, for more info click here.

Thank you Andy ! I needed these reminders today. 

Good advice all around!

(via fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment)