Firstly, I want to apologize to the watchers of this blog. I started this blog at a time when I really should have waited. The company I work for, Funcom, just released it’s new game Age of Conan and the beginning of crunch was not a good time to try to start a blog. Any how, that is just an explanation for my absence, I know no one likes to hear excuses, so onto the post!

This week I had the pleasure of babysitting a friend’s pet ferret. If you are unfamiliar with ferrets, they are a small carnivorous mammal, related to and about the size of a weasel. They are known for being absolutely crazy! I have been thinking lately about getting more into the art industry and I realised there were quite a lot of things I could learn from this little ferret!

#1. Never stop trying

If you know nothing about ferrets, know this first: They never give up! My grandma had a ferret who, whenever she got out of her cage in the morning, beelined straight for the refrigerator and tried to move the thing. Ferrets will always try to go where you don’t want them to be, and they will always go there no matter how many times you pull them away and move them somewhere else. They are determined little creatures!

And this applies to art… how?

Even if you feel like you’ve been knocked around or prevented from going where you want to go, never give up. No matter how many times it feels like you have been blocked from your goals, you have to get up, keep marching on and try again. This applies to yourself and your art as well. Even if you are frustrated with a piece, stay course and don’t quit. That frustration is a way of learning, once you get past it, you will be so much more knowledgeable and thank yourself later for not losing focus.

#2. You always have more fun with friends!

There is nothing more sad than a lonely ferret. Even if you do nothing at all, your very presence in their vicinity brightens their whole little world. It was hard to resist spending all of my free time in the evenings in the playpen with the little animal, as she used me as a human jungle gym. If I wasn’t playing with her she seemed to get lonely and despondent.

And this applies to art… how?

Like ferrets, humans are gregarious. We need the company of our fellow man. Without them, we also get lonely. With encouragement from your friends or online pals, you can do anything. If you are ever feeling down about your artwork, be sure you are making strides to let people know about your work. Post your work online or show your sketchbook to fellow artists. Nothing can be more uplifting than a someone giving you a good critique on your art.

#3. Bite and if that doesn’t work, make a little noise!

Ferrets are known for being quite feisty. They will play nip (and sometimes get a little zealous about it- OUCH!) to get your attention. And when that fails, or if they are being held too long, they will make all sorts of noise to let you know what they want!

And this applies to art… how?

If you never put your stuff out there, you will never become famous. Regardless to what some may say, you won’t get famous for your artwork after you die. That is the exception, not the norm. You have to bite! By which I mean, you have to get people’s attention by aggressively showing off your artwork. You have to self promote. The internet is a wonderful medium for such, but it is also an immense ocean. You have to try really hard to get yourself seen above the crowd. Make some noise if you have to!

#4. Be on or off

Ferrets have this peculiar habit of resembling a light switch. They always appear to be one of two ways, on or off. When they are on, they are 110% playful, in your face, loving life and having fun. When they are off, they are almost in a state of comatose. They sleep a lot and hard. Some people even have ferrets that are such sound sleepers that they can be picked up and moved around without waking up! Now that’s what I call out like a light!

And this applies to art… how?

When you are at half energy, it’s really hard to produce good quality work. Take care of yourself, get good sleep, exercise and eat healthy. When you do these things, when the time comes to concentrate on art, you can be at 110%, at top gear and enjoying yourself immensely. When you are sleepy, exhausted and only have the power of coffee keeping you awake, you can hardly concentrate on your goals in art or otherwise. Make sure to take care of yourself so you can be “on” when working on your art!

#5. War dance!

Ferrets have a move called war dancing, where they frantically jump around in pure joy, huffing with their mouths wide open in what can only be called a grin. They have a pure joy of life that you will be hard pressed to find in any other animal. It almost seems like nothing can get their little spirits down!

And this applies to art… how?

No one can make you get excited about art, you just have to reach from inside and find the love for it for yourself. You really have to be passionate about it. There is an inner joy I believe all humans posses that inspires them to want to create, you have to find that tap and let it flow. After all, art is what you want to do, right?

Is there an animal you think you can learn artistic lessons from? Feel free to share in the comments!

In this article, I will review Sketchbook Pro. It is surprising to me how few people know about it, but love it once they learn more about it!

The premise of the program is simple: It’s a virtual sketchbook. Right out of the box, the design, interface and ease of use make this a perfect transition tool for traditional artists to digital mediums. This multiplatform (Windows and Macintosh) program is useful, powerful, but not as powerful as high end software such as Photoshop. The worst problem with the software appears to be that it is only available within the US and Canada.

Sketchbook Pro is largely a program suited for use with a tablet and stylus pen. The program has many tools available that simulate real media. The pencil tool is surprisingly supple and mimics using a real pencil just about as perfectly as possible with digital media. The airbrush tool is good for laying down washes of colour, but it can be difficult to achieve small details. The marker, chisel tip pen, ballpoint pen and felt tip pen behave very similarly and as you would expect. The paintbrush tool can be effective, but usually some adjusting is needed to achieve the exact results you may want, usually in terms of opacity. The erasers and smear brushes are both effective and intuitive. The capacity exists to make your own brush, but as of late, my favourite tool has simply been the pencil.

I recommend this very highly to traditional artists who are hesitant in getting into the digital field. It isn’t a seamless transition if you are not familiar with using a tablet and stylus, but the interface is certainly less daunting than Photoshop or any open source art packages. Sketching with the pencil tool in Sketchbook Pro is so similar to sketching on paper, that those who own a Tablet PC, Modbook or Wacom Cintiq may switch to a completely digital sketching existence.

One of the best features in the program is the great intuitive user interface. The whole program can be used with just the semi-circle in the corner of the program. All of the tools can be accessed by putting the tip of the stylus onto one of icons displayed on the semi-circle, which pops up a set of other icons. You move the stylus up, down, left and right to select a function. This “no keyboard” process is reflected in all of the most useful aspects, such as the layers and the resize brush. I love how you rename your layers with your own handwriting! Photoshop users will be pleased that many of the familiar keyboard shortcuts are the same in this program. Perhaps the most useful of which is the space bar, which pops up the zoom and move canvas tools.

Disappointment may rise if people think that Sketchbook Pro is a cheaper alternative to Photoshop. Priced at nearly $200 USD, the price of this powerful software is a lot easier to swallow than the $600 USD tag on Photoshop. However, while the program excels at the conceptual aspects of a drawing, finer details, while not impossible, are harder to achieve. The default brushes are set up to have a whispy, sketchy feel to them and a lot of readjusting is necessary to achieve a polished look to your sketch.

Another problem for myself is that a digital download is unavailable for Europe, specifically Norway, from the Autodesk website. I hope this issue is remedied soon. I will be looking into various ways to purchase this software. Readers, if you happen to know a reseller or a method to buy this software in Europe, I would greatly appreciate a comment to let me know!

Overall, I highly recommend this software to anyone who either wants to get into digital art or an advanced digital artist looking to just get in and draw within 30 seconds of opening the program! Below are a couple of videos of artists making use of Sketchbook Pro.

Sketching with Bobby Chiu: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Yit95pgZEeo

Bobby is a real inspiration of mine. He is very worth listening to in his podcasts as he is extremely enthusiastic and listening to his podcasts was the big push that made me want to really excel in my own artwork.

Sketching with Jason Seiler: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UoQqFyPHW40

Jason is an accomplished caricature artist who also works with Bobby at their studio called Imaginism Studios. Watching him work is a great way to see Sketchbook Pro in action!

Thanks for reading! Have you tried Sketchbook Pro? Let me know how you feel about this program!

If you are reading this, chances are you are an artist wanting to be in the creative field or you already are. This article is catered to those who are not yet in their dream job. The first thing to think about is what you want to do in the industry. Do you want to run your own studio, make characters for video games, or even produce backgrounds for movie sets? These are all different jobs that have different requirements and need to be researched before choosing the right one for you.

Too “starry-eyed”

So say you want to draw characters for video games. What is the first step for this path? Some people would automatically claim that schooling is the first step. While going to a good art school is a great first step, that’s not the option available to everyone. If you are lucky, make the most of it! Go to your classes on time, take it seriously and appreciate this head start. To those not so fortunate, there is still a way and it takes plenty of hard work.

First realise that you don’t have it easy. You may have to work a job you don’t really like for eight hours a day or more and then go home and force yourself to draw for another two. However, you do need to try to keep your head from going into the clouds. As frustrating as your current job is, don’t think about quitting and living off of freelance. This spells disaster for the unprepared! You aren’t as good of an artist as you think you are and there is always room for improvement. If you get someone to honestly critique your work, you should be told this. This prevents you from getting an ego!

The steps to your dream

Keep yourself grounded. The best way to get a job is to figure what it is exactly that specific job entails. Will you have to have to have a large body of work, lots of various subject matter? Or can you just get enough clients coming to you for art in your specific style? What seems like a dream job at first, after research may not be. A concept artist job includes drawing things you may not be comfortable with on a regular basis. Buses, people, animals, weapons, machinery, landscapes… You may not have to draw each to a technical precision, but you need to have a firm understanding of all these objects and how they look and work.

After researching your career path and you are certain that you are willing to do the work necessary, you need to get a portfolio together. This is the hardest part for those not in a portfolio assembly line… aka school. For those in school, those projects that you hate are great material for your portfolio! When forced to make your own portfolio, you have to force yourself to do those projects you don’t like. This is a very difficult step, but it will be the one that lands you the position you want. Stray away and far from your comfort zones and practice!

How have you followed your dream to your desired career? Please share in the comments!

Originally from Norway, Henning now lives in Greece and is helping to develop the MMORPG Darkfall. In this interview, I ask Henning some questions aspiring artists may wonder about. You can view more of his artwork at HenningLudvigsen.com. Enjoy!

Q. I think a big reason people stop drawing as kids is out of fear of failure and their art not being accepted. Have you ever felt this way and if so, how did you overcome this feeling?

A. I never had this fear, and everyone around me was always very supportive concerning my interest in drawing and painting. I’ve always been the artsy person in my group of friends, and I decided from my early years that I wanted to work with illustration when I grew up. The transition towards art school and the art and design industry simply happened on its own. In some cultures, art isn’t considered a “serious” profession, which I think it very sad as you do see this all around you, all day, every day.

I think that it’s a good thing having the personal skills of always jumping into any tasks with both legs, even if there are tasks you’ve never handled before. I personally think I have this skill, and I don’t really listen to people who find my work unserious.

Q. I grew up as pretty much *the* artist, I didn’t know any other people who liked to draw as much as I did. What advice do you have for people in similar situations and how would you suggest they maintain their creative buzz?

A. I had the very same situation, but then again, I never had any problems with my creativity. I think that looking at your self as something special and different from the others might help. Try to figure out WHY you want to work with art, and do it because of that. Don’t do it for the wrong reasons, or you will finally loose your muse and productivity.

Q. What advice can you give to us artists who are starting out in the creative field? What are some of the best ways to get noticed?

With the modern times, I believe in having a strong online presence for getting noticed and for getting projects and offers. Having a solid portfolio, and always deliver more than what is requested from you when you get the chance of proving yourself. It’s a very competitive profession, and with the internet, you have to make yourself visible by producing quality in a reliable way.

Q. How do you suggest balancing networking and drawing time, as each is important in becoming a successful professional artist?

A. Networking is extremely important for getting your name out there, and also for getting the cool jobs and projects. Both things takes time and none of them should be underestimated, which usually means long days and crunching hours.

Q. Drawing a lot is the only way to get better, but until each of us get our dream jobs, we have to juggle real life, other jobs and art. What is some practical advice for us artists with a busy schedule on how to improve our art?

A. First of all, hope that you have an understanding and supportive partner. Working with art WILL mean long hours and unpredictable projects popping up when you least expect them to do. Painting a lot if of course important to improve, but don’t burn yourself out. If you’re meeting the wall and find yourself in an art slump, either take a break and wait for it to return, or MAKE yourself work though it. Both things works for me.

Remember that even simple 30 minute speed paintings helps you to improve, and I believe that everyone can make time for this once per day no matter how busy they are. It’s all about self education.

Q. What do you find is the best way to market yourself to get noticed and get a job within the creative field? Do you suggest limiting your genre and style or making it expansive enough to permeate multiple genres?

In the beginning I tried to cover as many drawing and painting styles as possible to offer myself as a diverse artist. Throughout the years I kind of found my own genre, and I believe that if you want to become really good at something, you need to limit your style and genre. By time, you will probably narrow down no matter how diverse you’re aiming to be, unconsciously.

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If you have any suggestions or tips on the format or would like to be interviewed yourself, just email me or leave a comment!

Hillary, also known as Hibbary on deviantArt, illustrates here how to go about the process of dying paper in a detailed tutorial. This technique is a great way to achieve a textured look to your paintings. Not many tutorials on the subject are so succinct and illustrative. There is plenty of room for creativity here.

Have a go and try dying your own paper. Comment and show off your work!