Flexing some (other) creativity muscles...

 Next month I will be participating in my very first NaNoWriMo! What is this absurdly long string of abbreviations, you ask? Well, November is National Novel Writing Month; a time when fellow writers and creatives come together in a friendly environment to write 50,000 words (from start to finish) in 30 days.

That's right folks- one novel, 30 days, start to finish.

 
 Your biggest opponent is yourself, and the only way to "win" is to meet your goal! The real challenge is coming up with an original concept then seeing it through -  just like any illustration/drawing/painting/animation. Whatever your medium is, whether you're writing or painting, animating, sculpting or dancing, it is crucial that you are always telling a story. A two-dimensional "static" drawing becomes a scene from a character's life when developed with a story in mind.

 For more information about the NaNoWriMo, visit: www.nanowrimo.org

 For some really great storytelling tips, check out "Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling"

  Between my personal studies and various projects, I plan to begin my novel writing journey on the first of November and maintain my word count goal of "2k-a-day" until the midnight deadline on November 30th! I encourage everyone to at least attempt this challenge, it's not about winning or losing or writing the next great American novel - it's about exercising our often forgotten creative writing and storytelling muscles, so that they will grow stronger and help improve other aspects of our creative work.

Now, get out there and get those story juices flowing!

Someone somewhere got paid to do this...

Yikes! It looks like quality control slipped up somewhere! This man graces the cover of a booklet that comes along with the board game "Ticket to Ride: U.S.A.", I wonder if his extra finger allows him to be extra efficient at ticket punching?

Practice, practice, practice!

 I've been spending time playing around with my new Prismacolor pencil set, as well as experimenting in Photoshop with brushes, blending and textures. Here are my best results with each medium after one week. There are so many tutorials available, and lots of inspiration to be found online, my current favorites being Matt Kohr's Ctrl+Paint and Instagrammer/artist Mia Lynne.  Go check them out and gain some knowledge!!

A note on rejection...

        It's okay! Fear of rejection is a constant struggle for every artist, especially those who are just getting started. My very first rejection came during a previous job as a caricature artist; a day I had dreaded would come for some time, but didn't happen exactly how I had imagined it.

         The smiling couple shown above came back a full hour after purchasing their drawing asking for a refund. What!? They had seen it, liked it and purchased it - then decided later that they really didn't like it after all? I felt rejected and confused, and above all incredibly embarrassed. The man demanded a refund, then verbally accosted my other customers, warning them not to buy drawings from me. Yikes!

         It was a scary situation, but the important thing that I was able to take away from it was this: it really can't get any worse! Having a horrible rejection (in person!) right out of the gate means that any other rejection I get after this one shouldn't be nearly as bad. Sometimes its just better to jump right in than to dip your toes in the water. SO, it is with that mentality that I begin my blog, how bad could be?