Articles
This is going to be a monologue from present me to future me (or present me from past me, depending when one reads it). No one makes blogs nor read them anyway, so it'll be mostly a write-and-forget-and rediscover-years-later note to myself.
Hey, me, how are you doing? It's probably been a long time since last you checked this blog. I hope you've travelled far in your art journey. I'm here to give you some perspective, because past you/present me is feeling like it would be a good idea to give you some reminder of where you come from.
So, no surprise, we didn't make it to professional level by 30. Past you is 33 at the time of writing this and... yeah we're nowhere near. I'd be willing to bet you're probably nowhere near where you'd want to be. I'll mark that as a fail, and curse earlier me for not putting in the hours. No way I'll make up for the time not spent practicing and studying.
On the bright side, I'm getting commission requests on a regular basis, and I may be able to be published for the first time in some ttrpg. Past you is not considering that being pro yet. I'd think having some sort of regular client or some major commission from a big company would do the trick, but I'm not there yet. Maybe present you can see things differently with a perspective I don't have yet. Maybe you have a professional portfolio and a good client base. If so, good job me! If not, oh well, does professional level means being a professional? As in getting clients like a pro? Probably not. Past you you doesn't think so.
In any case, we've come a long way already. Let me remind you there was a time we couldn't get any satisfying face in any form, be it drawing or painting, or that time we spent 20 hours on a drawing that we now sketch with better everything in 30 min. Past you is now decently happy with their drawings of the human figure and face. Hopefully present you is now also good at painting them. I'm still aspiring to master lighting, and I haven't done enough yet. If I'm being honest I'm not even working on it right now. But I've been doing a full year of anatomy studies. I've filled a whole sketch pad of them, and I'm planning to redo the whole Proko's course again. I've managed to clock in about 2 hours of art everyday for a year (you know how we count), and I'm keeping it up. That's quite the accomplishment when you consider we had some long downtime. Have you kept up with that schedule or even spent more time doing art? That's be awesome, although I don't know how you will manage that feat with our already booked days.
Present me has not yet been feeling confident enough to start Blanche. I hope by the time present you reads this, you'll either have completed it or feel confident enough to do so. But I'm working on it in so many ways: with the anatomy studies, to which I'm planning to add some clothes studies, with ink practice, with comic style coloring. Stay true to that story. It's a simple and meaningful one, and it's dear to us.
Today I'm feeling all fired up by some art video from one of the Ori's concept artist. These key shots... man, check them out again if you find them. It reminds me why we set on this journey in the first place. It's also what past me wrote in an enveloppe before: tell the story. That's why we have Blanche to do. It's not the end all be all. It's just a stepping stone. It doesn't mean we have to do another one like it. But remember, it's all about the story and being transported there. Maybe I coul try to immerse myself more into the paintings, to see if it helps.
On a side note, and to nuance a bit what I just wrote, that artist said something that rings true, and I have to take a page from her. It boils down to "be the artist you want to be" and "you don't have to do it right, you have to do it the way you like it". For that last one, I guess it's fine if the way you like it is the same as the right way to do it. Just... don't pick it by default. What I'm trying to say is don't force yourself into something you can't enjoy if it doesn't serve the purpose of making the art you enjoy. Studies help you for your art. Past you hasn't found out what "your art" means yet, but I'm trying to, and to do so I'm doing studies so you can do our art.
Don't lose sight that we do art because we love it. That's it. That's the only reason. Not for money, not for fame, not for anyone. I work my ass off with studies to allow future me to be able to make the choice to do art in a right or wrong way, consciously, by choice and with purpose, because you'll like it.
Best of luck, me. I know I'd be humbled by you, and proud of me, if I could see what you can do.
