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improving as an artist

5 Ideas for New Year’s Resolutions

by Palle Schmidt 6 Comments

resolution-2015The great thing about the new year is it’s a chance to get some perspective and stop and think for a moment. Look back on the year that went by too quickly and evaluate. What worked and what would you like to change for the new year?

Rather than making some grand resolution like “draw 2 pages every day”, try setting small, achievable goals that build a habit. As my friend Kody Chamberlain put it:

I’ve found that small ongoing adjustments are more effective than attempting a major and sudden change. Try that if you need a ‪resolution.

I’ve made a habit of doing resolutions, not because december 31st is the only day you can make changes and take action – you can do that every day – but because people tend to ask me. And having to answer a question is a good excuse to think.

Maybe you’ve already made a plan for 2015 but in case you’re not sure, here are 5 ideas for New Year resolutions for artists and other creatives:

1: Spend an hour every week cleaning up the clutter around your drawing board and/or office. It’s really easy to get behind on simple things like these, and eventually it can bog down your workflow, having to look for tools or references or just having to work in a mess. Clearing physical clutter cleans out mental clutter as well.

2: Take at least one coffee meeting every month with someone you admire. This could be another artist, a writer or someone completely outside your industry. Someone you have a gut feeling there’s something to learn from. Prepare a few questions but try to be open and curious. Ask about their struggles, their strategies and their workflow.

3: Take a walk every day. Clear your head and get some movement into your joints. As artists and writers, we spend a lot of time sitting down and that hurts our bodies. You don’t have to go to the gym, just walking or doing 15 minutes of exercises and back stretching can really make a diffference.

 4: Get in the habit of asking yourself: Is this helpful? Whenever you’re asked to do something, evaluate if it’s helpful for your overall goal, whatever that is. And every time you get angsty, depressed or start to worry about your story, your craft or if people will like you, stop and think for a moment: Is this helpful? If the mood or your worrying is not helping you produce better art, stop it. Do something helpful instead, like sitting down and getting the work done.

 5: Quit one of your social media platforms. I know this one hurts. But think of the many hours a week you’re spending clicking links from Facebook, scrolling your Twitter feed or liking pictures of art (or cats!) on Instagram. You don’t have to shut down your account, just consider removing the app from your phone or simply don’t go in. We see it as a deserved break in our routine but more often than not, it’s a huge time suck. You’re better off looking out the window for 5 minutes and clearing your head.

This year my personal resolution is to spend the first hour of my work day, EVERY work day,  on my own business. Whether that’s this site, my own comics or that novel I’m working on. Every day I come in to work, I don’t answer the phone or check my email or put out that brush fire. It can wait an hour, surely.

I also believe in the power of commitment, of accountability. So now that I have told you, I guess I have to keep my promise to myself, right?

What’s your resolution? Please share! Maybe there’s an idea someone else can stael to make their 2015 the most productive and epic creative year ever.

 

Filed Under: News, Pro Tips Tagged With: 2015, career, comics, creativity, goal setting, improving as an artist, mind hacks, new year's resloutions, planning, pro tips, productivity, resolutions

Process, pixels and pitfalls – Comics for Beginners podcast episode 27

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment


I got an email from a VIP subscriber who had a bunch of questions regarding his process. What program or software do you suggest for paneling or arranging the images with boarders on a computer? How much bigger should I do my drawing than the actual panel size? Is It important that all my drawings be consistent with that rule? Should I draw out panels into the page and start working on that or draw separate images and put them together on the computer?

I try to answer these and other questions in this podcast.

A shot of my desk, as requested by Joe!
A shot of my desk, as requested by Joe!

 

Filed Under: Podcast, Pro Tips Tagged With: art hacks, artwork, creativity, drawing, how to, improving as an artist, inking, making comics, painted art, painting, Photoshop, pixelation, pro tips, process, scanning, test page, tips for making comics, workflow

Video: Lessons from Thomas Alsop

by Palle Schmidt 7 Comments

I’ve just finished my work on the monthly book from BOOM!, Thomas Alsop. This video is about some of the lessons I learned working on that book – hopefully there is some value in it for you too!

Filed Under: Pro Tips, Video Tagged With: art hacks, Art Tutorial, bonus video, BOOM! Studios, career, Chris Miskiewicz, collaboration, creativity, drawing, improving as an artist, inking, learning, lessons, mind hacks, mistakes, painting, process, productivity, reference, Thomas Alsop, tips for making comics, video, watercolor, workflow

My Top 5 Pet Peeves In Comics

by Palle Schmidt 8 Comments

There are 5 things in comics that drive me nuts!
There are 5 things in comics that drive me absolutely nuts!

Comics is a wonderfully diverse medium and there is no one right way of doing it. But I have a few things I find just plain wrong!

1: Word balloons that come directly out of people’s mouths.

I’ve noticed this a lot in independent comics. It looks like someone is blowing smoke or bubble gum, and that really ruins the reading experience for me.

2:  That hair.

A couple of loose strands of hair is generally a good idea. But for the slicked back hair to stay slicked, it’s probably a lot longer than the lock in front here. Did the hairstylist make a blunder? What? It doesn’t make sense. Yet I see this hair in A LOT of comics.

3: Talking during a fight.

Come on, really? I’ve never been in a fight, but I’m pretty sure I would be focused on not getting killed rather than what my next snappy comeback line would be. Long and clever dialogue during a fight scene is unbeliavable and takes the danger out of the scene.

4: Balloon shaped breasts.

How many women do you know who have breast that are completely circular? Not only is it anatomically incorrect, is also gives me the impression the artist is a 12-year old boy who is afraid to even Google for reference. I’m SURE there are pictures of real breasts out there.

5: Evil, evil, evil-doers.

I happen to believe people do things for a reason. Going up against the law or a team of superheroes takes a lot of nerve and effort. I don’t believe anybody would risk their lives doing evil, unless they had a clear motive – however faulty and twisted that motive may be! – or no other option. At least try to come of with a reasoning behind the bad guy’s evil plans to take over the world.

But hey, these are just my personal pet peeves. What are yours?

Filed Under: News Tagged With: breasts, drawing, evil, fight scenes, Google, how to, improving as an artist, making comics, motivation, pet peeves, reference, speech balloons, storytelling, Writing

Get To The Finish Line

by Palle Schmidt 4 Comments

finishing-your-comic

The most important thing about making comics, is finishing what you start. No one will get anything out of a half-finished story, least of all you!

Be aware that when you are working on a project, it can be very tempting to bail when problems arise. You get stuck on some aspect of the story or things that are hard to draw. That other story you have brewing somewhere in the back of your mind suddenly seems way more attractive. You feel like that’s the one you should really be working on.

But with every new story, comes new problems! You just don’t see them now, because you are not deep in the story yet. It is simply the dream of what it could be, so much better than what you are currently working on.

And of course you can work on any story you feel like. I would just advice that you finish them eventually. One by one.

Another thing that happens as you’re working, is that you learn. You grow. You look at the work you’ve already done, and you think you could do better. If you go back and change that particular scene or redraw that particular panel.

My advice? DON’T!

You’ll end up re-drawing the same three pages over and over again.

Finish the story. Then go back. If it still needs some work. 9 times out of ten, what seemed hopeless and bad during the process, will seem irrelevant and pretty OK after you have finished the story.

The most important thing to gain by finishing a project, is the confidence you build. Making comics is a lenghty and often gruelling process. It’s easy to feel like it’s all for nothing. You start beating yourself up. You feel you are not good enough, that nobody cares.

Having something finished changes that. Now you can show it to others, get feedback, respect. You have achieved! You are a success!

Abandoning a project half way through has the opposite effect; You feel like a failure. Do you think feeling like a failure helps your productivity?

The short answer is NO.

You learn more from one finished comic, even a three page one, than from ten projects that are halfway done.

Get to the finish line. Even if you have to stagger or crawl to get there.

Filed Under: Pro Tips Tagged With: career, comics, creativity, critique, drawing, finishing, improving as an artist, mind hacks, pro tips, productivity, time management, tips for making comics, writer's block, Writing

ProFile: Jason Copland

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

ProFile-Jason-CoplandJason Copland has produced art for various companies, including illustrating The Perhapanauts: Molly’s Story for Image and short stories from Trickster: Native American Tales and Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened. He recently provided art for a story in Ed Brisson’s Murder Book, and is currently working on the online comic Kill All Monsters. He also runs an experimental comics blog called Poutine alongside fellow artist Noel Tuazon.

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

The discovery of comics at age 13. There was so much awesome work coming out from artists like Frank Miller, Walt Simonson and John Byrne that it inspired me to start drawing comics. Miller’s RONIN in particular really opened my eyes to what could be done in comics.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

Inking. I try to do most of my drawing in the inking phase. I keep my layouts/pencils pretty loose and then start inking over those so that the lines I put down are more spontaneous. I think the act of drawing should have a little fear infused into it. There should be risks taken. Needless to say, I use a lot of whiteout.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

Don’t be afraid to fail. Drawing is an adventure and should have the risk of failure present. Don’t let mistakes stop you from pushing on. It’s only lines on paper; there is nothing to worry about.

More at http://jasoncopland.com/

Filed Under: News Tagged With: career, comics artist, comics industry, creativity, Ed Brisoon, Frank Miller, Image Comics, improving as an artist, inking, Jason Copland, John Byrne, Kill All Monsters, making comics, Murder Book, Noel Tuazon, pencils, Poutine, pro tips, Ronin, The Perhapanauts: Molly's Story, Trickster: Native American Tales and Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened, Walt Simonson

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