Hello my friends. Above you can see the painting is moving along. In the next blog, it will be finished. I've got to admit that I have been having fun with this one, but its time to get busy and move on to other projects. For one, I need to get the logo and type put on the cover of the Mental Scars cover so we can show that off. I'm excited because my baby starts her vacation after work today. She'll have a whole week just to relax, write and have fun. I do work better when she is here to. For some reason she makes me feel more comfortable and I am able to focus more. Yesterday I got to talk to some old friends that I haven't been able to talk to in a while, mostly because of our schedule conflicts. Mark, George and Daniel. Daniel is really moving ahead with his mask making business. He just got the rights to do all the Lon Chaney masks, Sr. and Jr. I mean how cool is that. You can go here and see tons of his work, finished and in progress. A true Eye feast! And you should be able to go here and order one. If not, just drop me a line and I'll put you in touch with him.
Both Mark and George are doing great. Both have been turning out some awesome art of their own. George just did a movie poster that really rocks. Probably his best piece to date. Mark is working on a couple of new pieces for Dragon-con that look like they will rock. One of them is a Lovecraft piece that really is just frigging awesome.
I got to talk with Suzi last Sunday, and she is doing great these days. She has turned into a movie producer as well as actress/model. We also talked about our plans to work on some projects together which I think I've mentioned before. But in the fall of 2010 you will see Suzi and me doing Horror conventions and shows together promoting a line of Suzi/Nick stuff. Should be a blast and probably you will see Daniel at some of the shows as well.
You know, and I know you all are tired of hearing this, but I just can't tell you all how happy I am these days. One of the biggest and main reasons is Cheryl. I've never had anyone in my life treat me as good as she does. She really loves me, and i can see it in her eyes whenever I look into them. She got me a new pair of headphones for me the other day. My old ones got ate in the printer, or the plug in part did, and I just can't focus without my tunes. What I am saying is that I don't have to ask her to do things for me, she knows me well enough to know what I need, and always does special things for me. I've never had anyone in my life that cared about what i needed or wanted, it's always been about them. I feel like the luckiest man on the planet to have her and believe me, I walk the line, because i know I got a great thing and I would never do anything to loose her. I will be at her side until the day I die, and after that if I can figure out how to do the ghost thing! lol
Ok, lets get down to business here. This will probably take several blogs to do, well actually, it could take a whole lot more than that to share with you the things that may or may not help you on your road. So, lets get to it.
First off lets assume that you are in the same boat as me, and can not or could not afford to go to a well known art school. To be an professional Illustrator, there are things you need to know, and I am going to do my best to help you. If I don't explain something good enough, or you still don't understand, just leave me a comment and I will do my best to get to it. After we finish all the things it takes to be a pro, then I am going to start sharing things I have learned training under Todd Lockwood, and Master Daniel Horne. I am going to do my very best to give you all that you need to make your dream comes true. But remember, a lot of it is up to you. You have to study and practice, practice and practice.
Go here and study this book. It is by the Master of Illustration, Andrew Loomis. This book, Creative Illustration is considered the "Bible" of Illustration by every major player in the field and is considered the standard. I have read it twice so far, and plan on reading and studying it again very shortly now. Each time you read it, you will learn something new. Even though the book was written about 50 years ago, every part of it except the last few chapters, which are about advertising are still the standard. I can not express this enough. A lot of what you learn in a art college is free to you in this book. As a matter of fact, most of the things they teach you in art school, come from this book.
The next thing you need to consider is your portfolio. You need a hard copy one and an Online one as well. Now remember, the things I am going to tell you come from my 3 years as a Art Director, things that have been shared with me by other art directors, such as Irene Gallo of TOR books. Artist like Daniel, Todd, and so many others. I am in no way trying to tell you that I know all there is to know about this, but what I am telling you, I am sharing all the information that I have learned from working in the field and the knowledge I have gain by the friends I have that work in the field.
Art Directors are very busy people. If you are lucky enough to have one take the time to go to your online website, then you need to make it very easy for them to see the art. You want it to load quickly on the page, and make it easy for the AD to move through the images. So, with this in mind, lets change the way you think. If you have a website, then make it for the fans only. The fans want to know about you, your bio, pictures of you, buy your stuff, ect. Art Directors just want to see art, quickly.
This works well. Start an account like Photobucket, where you can put your art, and just your art. If you can afford the premium account with no advertisements, then that would be to your advantage, but even with the adds, it does serve the purpose. An with the economy being what it is, free is good.
When I start the next blog, I will explain how to get them to see your work in the first place. Well, I have to get back to work. Look for the next Blog Sunday morning. Peace and Blessings everyone.
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