"Small victories over time add up to large improvements." - Matt Kohr
I believe my mind is at full capacity, so I need to find a place to put all my art related thoughts somewhere. "Welcome to the desert of the real", as Morpheus would say. Simply put, welcome to my Offical Art Blog.
For the few who are familiar and follow my last blog http://jasonjalbuenaart.blogspot.com/, I thank you for the support. That blog was created to document my time at AAU, and now that I've graduated (woo hoo!) I felt it was time to close that chapter and begin a new one. Now I'm a working professional and I've learned so much to the point where I need to write it all down and draw it all out. So here goes nothing.
My 1st major takeaway from working as a professional is that Art is a mind game. This industry is full of talented people with the same self-doubt and fearful mindset. It's crazy no matter how skillful one can be, it will never measure up to their expectations. I believe that is where the breaking point is for many artists - the inability to channel their expectations toward a more realistic path - thus convincing themselves that "it's not meant to be". It's a shame to know that so much talent and passion is lost and left undiscovered because of that conclusion.
I know this because I frequented my breaking point many times in my short career, wondering if I have what it takes to turn it into a long prosperous career. It's a dark place to be in, and I made a pact for myself to not go there again. Success as an artist is about the small victories over time. Since there are absolutely no shortcuts to getting better as an Artist, it's imperative that I set short-term realistic goals for myself - small victories. So to establish "drawing a kick-ass sci-fi soldier" as a "goal" is a misnomer. Instead it should be viewed as a milestone, and goals should be specific and formulated to reach it. As a result goals with that milestone in mind should be more like this:
1. Learn to draw the human figure
2. Learn to pose the figure dynamically
3. Learn to clothe the figure
4. Armor studies
5. Weapon studies
Small victories, and before you know it you have the skill set to reach that "kick-ass sci fi soldier" milestone.
Upon carrying out this work practice, it's important to exercise patience. Like I said, there are no shortcuts so it's best to find satisfactory in the small victories.
Cheers!
JJ
