Seraphim: Carpe Noctem - Book cover Illustration for Sandra Baumgärtner - published by Verlag Kleine Schritte
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Seraphim - Carpe Noctem
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Ctuhlhurotica Cover
Dark Cthulhu empress painting - published by Dagan Books for the Anthology "Cthulhurotica"
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Spellbound III
Personal pinup piece for my Fantasio Girls portfolio, inspired by Hajime Sorayama and Serge Birault. Print available here.
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Frozen Teardrops
Personal work made out of plaster, findings, digital photography and Photoshop - print available here.
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Android Legacy - Messenger II
Workshop piece I did for "Der Bildbearbeiter" a 6 - page Workshop from reference image to this final piece. Model courtesy from Marcus J.Ranum
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Corpus Delicti - Disquisition II
Personal work inspired by Michael Parkes, Max Sauco and Nekro. Lots of experimentation with fractals. Print available here.
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Easter bunny Vs. Santa Claus
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Guardian of Legend - Cover Art
Book cover illustration I did for J.S. Chancellor´s novel Guardian of Legend - Son of Ereubus
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Skullified: Batman
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Daedalus Rimes Book Cover
Book cover I did for Howard Lewis´s novel Daedalus Rimes
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Howls Moving Castle at Staubbach Falls
Personal work - a mashup of Howl´s moving castle with an Albert Bierstadt landscape painting
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Vampiria Morgana
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Help Others To Help Themselves (And Why You Should Do That!)
First thing first, I hear many people say:" ...that is ridiculous, no one will get back to me then..."
Wrong!
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It depends on who you are and who you want to be for sure. If that request from a relative to design a logo for their band bothers you, there are two choices - you do it, or you don´t.
As soon as you waste time on that thought to help someone by doing a side-request for zero money (of course it´s your friend, aunt, daughters friend, relative, etc) you will get into an endless loop of doing changes for zero money. And you don´t show up professional as well if you don´t take money.
Tricky situation this is...
Sure thing is that declining just because you are an illustrator and therefore not specialist in doing logos is true and you know that. But as soon as you explain that to others it can lead to a different picture of yourself, one that shows you as not being capable to look beyond your shadow.
That can be bothersome.
The only solution is to offer help to help others do things on their own (at least if you know they won´t pay you anyway).
I do that in my profession as lecturer as also in personal life.
My father got to buy his first PC at the age of 60, now he knows how to burn CD´s, browses the web and can write emails - he also does his taxes online. And I´m really proud of him for having developed a curiousity to find out most of these things on his own.
When, as a professional, you want to decline a request, give an opportunity to people to come up with a solution on their own. This gives others the impression that you are a helpful person and you give an impression of what you would do if you were them.
That gives others a valuable standard, one they can live up to and be proud if you will approve.
Easy as that, isn´t it?
Wrong!
It depends on who you are and who you want to be for sure. If that request from a relative to design a logo for their band bothers you, there are two choices - you do it, or you don´t.As soon as you waste time on that thought to help someone by doing a side-request for zero money (of course it´s your friend, aunt, daughters friend, relative, etc) you will get into an endless loop of doing changes for zero money. And you don´t show up professional as well if you don´t take money.
Tricky situation this is...
Sure thing is that declining just because you are an illustrator and therefore not specialist in doing logos is true and you know that. But as soon as you explain that to others it can lead to a different picture of yourself, one that shows you as not being capable to look beyond your shadow.
That can be bothersome.
The only solution is to offer help to help others do things on their own (at least if you know they won´t pay you anyway).
I do that in my profession as lecturer as also in personal life.
My father got to buy his first PC at the age of 60, now he knows how to burn CD´s, browses the web and can write emails - he also does his taxes online. And I´m really proud of him for having developed a curiousity to find out most of these things on his own.
When, as a professional, you want to decline a request, give an opportunity to people to come up with a solution on their own. This gives others the impression that you are a helpful person and you give an impression of what you would do if you were them.
That gives others a valuable standard, one they can live up to and be proud if you will approve.
Easy as that, isn´t it?
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Useful Set Of Desktop Tools Every Artist Should Know About
Designer, digital painter, 3d - and concept artists already spend a great deal on the computer to produce art, so it is inevitable that they come across and share useful tools (often free ones).
This post aims to showcase some of the most useful nifty time saver that can help you brighten everyday tasks. In my recent post I wrote already about useful website management add-ons such as start for chrome, this one goes deeper into the workflow of artists who either use the computer to assist them and is especially useful for those working directly in Photoshop with a tablet.
Personally I use 80% of them - the newest addition refboard does a great job in being a replacement for the deskpins method to make reference images float on top of any application. Many apps are also available on the web, which makes it easy to use on mobile devices as well, such as the lighting tool, model drawing practice tool and webchemy - which allows to paint abstract figures like alchemy does.
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Lighting Tools (web):
The first link is probably the best, it allows you to set up a virtual photography and thus lighting studio. The second tool is for download and probably won´t work with 64bit systems.
The third link will start with a audio commentary, explaining the visual depiction.
(Web) http://www.zvork.fr/vls/
(Download) ...photomatters.org/light-direction
(Web) ...pauldebevec.com/FaceDemo/
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Color Tools (web):
Some web application that helps you to understand gamut masking and color schemes, regardless which software you use.
...livepaintinglessons.com/gamutmask
http://colorschemedesigner.com/csd-3.5/
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Screencaps Database (web):
Screen captures from movies, also called movie stills, are frequently used for inspiration on colors and composition, but it is also useful to draw them for exercise.
...movie-screencaps.com/movie-directory/
http://screenmusings.org/
http://www.moviestillsdb.com/
http://www.cinemasquid.com/
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Photoshop Perspective/Grid Tools (Download):
Some options to help you set up perspective grid in Photoshop for correct perspective drawing.
...polycount.com/forum/php?p=1894898
http://madebyvadim.tumblr.com/rahll-3d-pers
...epicgames.com/free-art-tool-to-epic-friday/
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This post aims to showcase some of the most useful nifty time saver that can help you brighten everyday tasks. In my recent post I wrote already about useful website management add-ons such as start for chrome, this one goes deeper into the workflow of artists who either use the computer to assist them and is especially useful for those working directly in Photoshop with a tablet.
Personally I use 80% of them - the newest addition refboard does a great job in being a replacement for the deskpins method to make reference images float on top of any application. Many apps are also available on the web, which makes it easy to use on mobile devices as well, such as the lighting tool, model drawing practice tool and webchemy - which allows to paint abstract figures like alchemy does.
Reference Board Tool (Download):
This little AIR application will allow you to gather images from your library into one or more boards that float on top of any other application and thus allow you to draw from them, it also allows you to save boards, very useful when working on various projects.
www.designerjon.com/refboard/
Another version with more function and web application would be https://realtimeboard.com/
Another version with more function and web application would be https://realtimeboard.com/
An alternative solution I used to have before I knew about refboard, was using deskpins to pin any image with nomacs image viewer on the desktop (also floating on top through desk pins - which also allows to use a hotkey for pinning) the downside of this was I had to close or minimize every single image.
The first link is probably the best, it allows you to set up a virtual photography and thus lighting studio. The second tool is for download and probably won´t work with 64bit systems.
The third link will start with a audio commentary, explaining the visual depiction.
(Web) http://www.zvork.fr/vls/
(Download) ...photomatters.org/light-direction
(Web) ...pauldebevec.com/FaceDemo/
Photoshop Light and Coloring Actions (Download):
Tony Kuyper explains his action panels and offers these as downloads for Photoshop, you better read his explanation to get the whole scope of usefulness.
Tablet Pressure Tools (Download):
The first link is an app that helps to change the pressure level so that it becomes easier on your wrist. The second link is to add a widget that gives you options for better line drawing in a way that you get a handle to pull smooth lines.
Drawing Model Reference (web):
Model references are all over the Internet, when it comes to study, the first tool helps you to randomly find images to show (for speed paintings or life drawing sessions) and the second link shows animated sequences, which go further to explain movements, muscles and behaviour.
Some web application that helps you to understand gamut masking and color schemes, regardless which software you use.
...livepaintinglessons.com/gamutmask
http://colorschemedesigner.com/csd-3.5/
Screen captures from movies, also called movie stills, are frequently used for inspiration on colors and composition, but it is also useful to draw them for exercise.
...movie-screencaps.com/movie-directory/
http://screenmusings.org/
http://www.moviestillsdb.com/
http://www.cinemasquid.com/
Anatomy Proportions Tools (web + app):
Anatomical proportions are a valuable thing to know as an artist, this tool somewhat helps you with measurements by calculating the correct proportions.
http://hpc.anatomy4sculptors.com/
http://www.posemaniacs.com/
http://www.handyarttool.com/
https://www.biodigitalhuman.com/
http://www.posemaniacs.com/
http://www.handyarttool.com/
https://www.biodigitalhuman.com/
Texture-Ripper (Download):
A nice tool to rip textures from photographs and to help apply them in your workflow that requires repeated patterns and such.
PS Color Wheels (Download):
The color wheel is a very useful guide to work with colors in any program. Photoshop lacks this feature but there are lots of paid and free options. I recommend the Painters wheel from Coolorus and Anastasiy, the latter provides nice features such as tone-lock to always match the right brightness when changing colors.
Work-Life-Balance Tools (Download):
Basically the first is a Windows, the latter an OSX approach, both programs interrupt your work to remind you doing a break - to prevent wrist injuries or other health issues.
Some options to help you set up perspective grid in Photoshop for correct perspective drawing.
...polycount.com/forum/php?p=1894898
http://madebyvadim.tumblr.com/rahll-3d-pers
...epicgames.com/free-art-tool-to-epic-friday/
Photoshop Brushes Helper (Download)
Helps creating brushstrokes to visually sort brushes in a new way.
Symmetry In Photoshop (Download):
Symmetry in Photoshop is a much desired option and yet only achievable with workarounds
Non-realtime: ...youtube.com/watch?v=OCvHZvUCtp0
Realtime: https://vk.com/adobe?w=wall-57578001_496
Abstract Painting Tools (web)
For relaxation or to inspire, or simply to produce patterns to use in your artworks.:
Special thanks for suggestions go out to: Anker Illustration& Wolkenfels.
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Why Potato Salad Is More Worth Than Your Hard Work
OK, that´s a little harsh headline, but it is true, according to Kickstarter the Potato Salad of Zack Brown will get funded.
At the time of writing this article he has already raised $58.000 bucks with 24 days left to go.
Sure this is just fun, yes but he always (and still) has the chance to delete the campaign and reject the funding.
There is a deeper meaning behind this experiment (let me call it this way) and I want to analyze a little what he is doing, why he is doing it and why it is so successful.
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This experiment is in my opinion a proof that the system that is based on logic, is flawed. And at the same time I say it is perfectly working.
No, I´m not silly, that is just what a paradox is.
The laws of how things behave are depicted by their nature and it means that in the real world a magnet is always attracted or constantly detached from another, that´s a rule. And since we grow up with rules like that, it doesn´t occur or happen to us that we are used to question it. We are born with creativity and would playfully try out ways to change the rules until we learn that this works only to a certain degree.
What we do is try to apply logic to the internet or any other market, but lets take the internet, because that is where the magic happens right now - so we come to kickstarter, the crowdfunding page and see someone breaking the rule properly.
Many inventors use the site to fund projects that aren´t invented yet or to raise money to compile books that aren´t published yet and to gather people to participate before the critical mass even knows that such a project exists.
And here comes someone who uses this site for a complete different thing a commodity such as a potato salad with even a realistic goal of $10. So where is logic now?
It´s gone, vanished and yet it confirms one thing that a machine never can understand; The fact that what we do is for people and people are illogical.
Only people can understand what is going on there and they have only two choices; Support or envy, pro or contra.
And that´s where the magic happens twice: those people that are against this project, because they think it is a waste of time a joke or fake still promote it to their friends by complaining about it and most likely than not; 5 of 10 people think it is good and spread it to their friends, and on and on and on...
But still one thing isn´t explained yet: Why does it raise so much money then?
Sure, there are tons of people talking about it, but that doesn´t mean everyone does shell out $3 for a bite of potato salad that will be delivered in December.
For one thing I suspect people on Kickstarter are waiting for such fun things to happen and happily pay $3 for it and probably even don´t expect something in return. What they support is the brave attitude, the support for someone who know how to break the rules properly - cleverness wins.
And another aspect is the story. I refer to the K.I.S.S. approach (Keep It Stupid Simple) here and this simple approach delivers a short but authentic story; there´s someone you don´t know who want to do a potato salad and needs $10 bucks for it. Chances are that either no one supports it or everyone wants to give a little and they become part of a bigger story - you can guess what happened here and I bet it will have an impact on future KS-campaigns too.
There is an interesting talk about design from Frank Chimero that led me to some of the thoughts about logic in this article, so I think it is only fair to credit where it is due:
Frank Chimero - The Shape of Design from Build on Vimeo.
At the time of writing this article he has already raised $58.000 bucks with 24 days left to go.
Sure this is just fun, yes but he always (and still) has the chance to delete the campaign and reject the funding.
There is a deeper meaning behind this experiment (let me call it this way) and I want to analyze a little what he is doing, why he is doing it and why it is so successful.
This experiment is in my opinion a proof that the system that is based on logic, is flawed. And at the same time I say it is perfectly working.
No, I´m not silly, that is just what a paradox is.
The laws of how things behave are depicted by their nature and it means that in the real world a magnet is always attracted or constantly detached from another, that´s a rule. And since we grow up with rules like that, it doesn´t occur or happen to us that we are used to question it. We are born with creativity and would playfully try out ways to change the rules until we learn that this works only to a certain degree.
What we do is try to apply logic to the internet or any other market, but lets take the internet, because that is where the magic happens right now - so we come to kickstarter, the crowdfunding page and see someone breaking the rule properly.
Many inventors use the site to fund projects that aren´t invented yet or to raise money to compile books that aren´t published yet and to gather people to participate before the critical mass even knows that such a project exists.
And here comes someone who uses this site for a complete different thing a commodity such as a potato salad with even a realistic goal of $10. So where is logic now?
It´s gone, vanished and yet it confirms one thing that a machine never can understand; The fact that what we do is for people and people are illogical.
Only people can understand what is going on there and they have only two choices; Support or envy, pro or contra.
And that´s where the magic happens twice: those people that are against this project, because they think it is a waste of time a joke or fake still promote it to their friends by complaining about it and most likely than not; 5 of 10 people think it is good and spread it to their friends, and on and on and on...
But still one thing isn´t explained yet: Why does it raise so much money then?
Sure, there are tons of people talking about it, but that doesn´t mean everyone does shell out $3 for a bite of potato salad that will be delivered in December.
For one thing I suspect people on Kickstarter are waiting for such fun things to happen and happily pay $3 for it and probably even don´t expect something in return. What they support is the brave attitude, the support for someone who know how to break the rules properly - cleverness wins.
And another aspect is the story. I refer to the K.I.S.S. approach (Keep It Stupid Simple) here and this simple approach delivers a short but authentic story; there´s someone you don´t know who want to do a potato salad and needs $10 bucks for it. Chances are that either no one supports it or everyone wants to give a little and they become part of a bigger story - you can guess what happened here and I bet it will have an impact on future KS-campaigns too.
There is an interesting talk about design from Frank Chimero that led me to some of the thoughts about logic in this article, so I think it is only fair to credit where it is due:
Frank Chimero - The Shape of Design from Build on Vimeo.
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Spirit Of The Crow
In ancient mythology the crow is the guardian of ceremonial magic and healing.
Crows are the bringer of messages from the spiritual world, which otherwise would have to dwell beyond the realms of time and space.
"One who has the honor of having a Crow fly by her side, is an individual who has the Role of carrying souls lost in pain, denial, bitterness or ill intent, into the light of forgiveness and self-awareness."
The reference Photo from the model was the inspiration to this, while the main intention was to get close to my "wings of steel" kind of work Inspired by Michael Parkes and some Art Nouveau;
Which has set a new landmark for me combining graphical and flat surfaces and also 3 dimensional / Photomanipulation and digital painting to create a composition.
My main focus lies in the composition and flow of the image, the story with the crows has developed around this piece as a happy accident while working on it and it allowed a really uncommon pose and setting between repose and action.
Close-up
Here some close ups:
Credits
Another collaborative work for my "Fantasio -girls" portfolio.
Model is the beautiful Seffana: Seffana
Reference Photograph from Pascal Abadie: ~abadie-photo
Brushes and painting technique acquired from `DanLuVisiArt
Some Ornaments and stock resources i used for reference:
~MouritsaDA-Stock, ~IanGray, ~sergeypoluse
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6 Things You Can Do Right Now To Complain Less
"If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it."
Anthony J. D'Angelo
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When I recently found this suggestion/ motivational quote about going 24 hours without complaining, it really stroke a chord, because I had to really think about that matter for about 5 minutes to come up with a reason and a time when I had complained about something the last time.
Honestly I can´t remember.
However, when I read the comments to the facebook post it feels like I am the only one without a reason to bother. This brought me to think deeper about that matter and what effective people probably do differently than others. No, I´m not promoting a book here or one of these countless blog posts that give you 10 random things you could do on any day to be more succesful, etc.
Well, the first thing to note is that my text on the image above reads a bit different, and while it seems funny, it still holds truth. It seems to be a ridiculous amount of time, but the timeframe is more realistic than to expect a change from just 24 hours without complaining.
That leads me to a very hard conclusion; If you have to complain within 24 hours more than once, you certainly have a serious problem, that can cause a lot of issues along your way, health issues included.
Anthony J. D'Angelo
When I recently found this suggestion/ motivational quote about going 24 hours without complaining, it really stroke a chord, because I had to really think about that matter for about 5 minutes to come up with a reason and a time when I had complained about something the last time.
Honestly I can´t remember.
However, when I read the comments to the facebook post it feels like I am the only one without a reason to bother. This brought me to think deeper about that matter and what effective people probably do differently than others. No, I´m not promoting a book here or one of these countless blog posts that give you 10 random things you could do on any day to be more succesful, etc.
Well, the first thing to note is that my text on the image above reads a bit different, and while it seems funny, it still holds truth. It seems to be a ridiculous amount of time, but the timeframe is more realistic than to expect a change from just 24 hours without complaining.
That leads me to a very hard conclusion; If you have to complain within 24 hours more than once, you certainly have a serious problem, that can cause a lot of issues along your way, health issues included.
- Adjust Your Mindset
The first thing to change is the mindset. I have some relevant posts about how to adjust your mindset. Worldview changes everything, whenever we find us in a position where we would usually complain, it can be divided in 2 groups: those situations that we can change and those situations that we can not change. The latter is harder to deal with and only a different mindset helps to get over this. The first step to a better mindset is to learn empathy and how to see beauty in everything.
- Change Things Immediately
This one is tough and is relevant for the things "You Can Change". How we deal with things that happen to us is a result of routine, routine comes from habits. You have control over habits.
It is important to immediately take action to shape habits the way you want a routine to be like. One example would be that you react to emails directly to keep your inbox clean, answer directly or move mails into a "TODO" folder if you need to get to them later. It is not that hard, really. - Turn Away From Things You Can´t Change
Seems like a no-brainer, but there are many things around us, issues that we can not change by ourselves, such as a hurricane that destroys your home, or taxes, or the mood of your boss. What you can do is to turn away from the issues, find a different perspective and turn towards solution that change a whole situation. Most often these are radical changes such as quitting a job or change profession or seeking a new home. But somewhere in your life there was something that led to that dilemma and either you face it and find a solution or you stick with it and will always keep complaining about things. Change is always about minimzing possible complaints. - Avoid Time-Thieves And Energy-Parasites
There are people who profit from other peoples energy, time or talent. I don´t mean that in a way of tipping of others, but in a way that some people are energized with a positive power and others with some negative power. As soon as these two persons are in one room they clash. Complaints and frustration is in order. Avoid these people (your guts help you) and you have another reason less to complain or to procrastinate. - Take Your Time
One often overlooked asset is time. It takes time to implement a new mindset or to positively change your habits, autosuggestion also takes time (sometimes years). You´ll notice that impatience is your biggest enemy. This literally is the number one answer to many things in life. Give yourself and others time. No one is all evil, give them time and they´ll show you a good side. With the right attitude you are able to see it (worldview). The same goes with applications, once you submitted your application for this job or that position, simply forget about it. Sure, in 7 out of 10 cases you won´t get an answer, however, the more you are able to forget about it, the more answers you will get. - Control Through Responsibility
You control your life. If you don´t - you are remotely controlled - and that is a very bad thing to happen, the murder of John Lennon was remotely controlled. Whenever you find yourself in a situation that makes you feel upset, repeat the following words:" I am in control of my life and this is where I want to be, everything else is too expensive in my humble imagination."This may sound harsh, but you won´t repeat that autosuggestive sentence 2 weeks in a row, twice a day without changing anything, believe me. But the change must come from within you, no one else then you is responsible for your situation.
Breaking Habits Is The Key
Actually, as you may find out by yourself, breaking habits and changing things you can change immediately will be the most important thing that you can do right now. Avoiding procrastination, forcing breaks and enjoying life is equally important as it helps you to find solutions for your problems. What I find useful when it comes to problems is to go to bed with that open question and having faith that I wake up with a possible answer to it. In 90% of all cases it works. However, it takes time to train your mind in such a way, but what most people tend to forget is that the brain as also the mind is a muscle and it can be trained.
Exercise for Your Mind
One great suggestion to train your mind to be more effective is writing down random things that come to your mind immediately after you wake up. This can be one page or three, important is that you also write about issues you have. I promise; You won´t write about an issue or problems 3 days in a row without doing something about it.
Exercise For Your Brain
Nowadays I do 15-20 minutes of workouts everyday to maintain a certain fitness and it took me years to make that a "working" habit, not because it is hard to do that at home or because it is hard to maintain the discipline doing that on a regular basis.
It is far easier than that: Once I realised, that I can better focus on all my tasks, that I have a better feeling in general and a better blood-circulation - I realized that I do that exercise for my brain and not for a better physical fitness - the latter is a secondary goal called the head-fake.
There are for sure many more ways to lead a life without complaints, but I would rather leave this for the comment section. Any experience you might have, is appreciated, dare you and share it!
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Fight Your Biggest Enemy
The biggest force that holds you back… is you!
So, now that you know it, feel free to slap yourself in the face for an hour or so until you feel better.
OR, here´s some info instead that you could read…
First; Why do you sabotage your work on the way to success so much?
Answer: Simple because most of the time we aren´t aware of that.
And that is because our self image is not asociated with the person we could be- Logically that is the hardest thing to do, imagining things that are not there, or better said imagining us in a position we´ve never been.
The main problem, and in this case the core of every sad story, is that the protagonist is utterly gifted but in most cases he isn´t aware of it. But he is the chosen one, every watcher of this scene in Spiderman or the Matrix knows what the chosen one can do except for the chosen one in his own reality (that of the movie) itself. Despite the clear fact that the one thing is reality and the movie is fiction, we fail to see ourselves in these situations too less.
What if someone would have said to me at a young age; you become a professional artist, you can make a good living of painting all the stuff you fancy all day and write a blog about that too. I wouldn´t have laughed but know that this could be my way and that there is a deeper meaning behind it. I still try to figure out the latter, but at least all other things worked out, because this tiny thaught became a part of me.
This is different from the tiny voice in your head that reminds you that you are just a little clerk — self awareness and a good evaluation of your true potential have to be established beforehand. This can be through external sources such as peer review or a proven track record or by comparing your work with that of others side-by-side.
Then if you really are on the right side, made yourself aware that you are the chosen one, have several peers recognize your abilities, then you´ve read all the business-zen blogs on how to be successful as entrepreneur — you might eventually come close to the point where the door opens and Morpheus offers you the blue and the red pill. Believe me this is probably a literal euphemism but it comes very close to reality. You have to make a decision and agree to make commitments.
And in my opinion it is the commitments that make so many struggle along the way.
The path of the freelancer and the artists is as much abandoned as wished to succeed upon. Everyone can be a marketer or a salesman, there are proven tactics and methods to be learned and once approved, you can sell a car or house to anyone. But artists are different, they have seemingly the possibility to create something out of thin air, imagine places or unseen lifeforms, creatures and moods and with that a desire to own these things.
An artist has literally the chance to make people fall in love in an instant. Trust me I have seen that in action often enough at my booth in various conventions and countries.
The power of all salestactics fail against the power of the perfect artwork. The iphone in its early day was a remarkable example from which design-students of all ages and all countries still pull inspiration.
So my question still comes up, why in the world do we artists sell ourselves at such a low value, when that what we create has such an enormous power?
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Colors of Fantasy | Digital Bodypainting Illusions
Colors of Fantasy is a calendar project on which I worked last year.
This project was a collaboration with airbrush artist J. Steiner, Photographer Jens Schmidt and various models.
My task was to come up with a more retouched / manipulated version of the images, to take them into a new stage and something that is not possible with bodypainting alone. It was a big challenge and fun.
If you want to see the uncensored version of the images below, you should go to my behance page here.
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
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| Result after manipulation |
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| The raw photograph before editing |
From 12 calendar images, these were only 9 that I did and only 7 were used in the final calendar.
If you have a similar project, where a professional, flexible high-end retoucher is needed, don´t hesitate to contact me for a non-committal quote.
If you want to see the uncensored version of these pictures, you should go to my behance page here.
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Freelancing Zen: Harnessing The Power of Suggestion
The power of suggestion is a something we all have to deal with. Until the age of 18 years many of us have heard many negative suggestion, from parents, siblings or peers - sometimes even with good intentions. The only way to reshape such a mental status is by being exposed to positive suggestion, either from others or from ourselves.
This is where auto-suggestion comes into play.
I know, it sounds like some esotheric zen-nonsense, but more often it appears to me that academics don´t like to hear about such a zen-nonsense - mainly because they fear that beeing the reason of their failure or succeess.
First of, when I mean affirmation, I mean to program the mind or subconsciousness, to work in a certain way.
Basically, what affirmation does is programing your subconsciousness to pay attention to the little things in your daily routine in order to navigate you better towards your goals.
Easy as that, but how is it established?
Below is a list with some ideas to get you started:
This is where auto-suggestion comes into play.
I know, it sounds like some esotheric zen-nonsense, but more often it appears to me that academics don´t like to hear about such a zen-nonsense - mainly because they fear that beeing the reason of their failure or succeess.
First of, when I mean affirmation, I mean to program the mind or subconsciousness, to work in a certain way.
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| Perfect example of extrinsic negative suggestion (Art from tangled © Disney) |
Basically, what affirmation does is programing your subconsciousness to pay attention to the little things in your daily routine in order to navigate you better towards your goals.
Easy as that, but how is it established?
Below is a list with some ideas to get you started:
- Everything takes practice, exercise your mind. Often. Read books about that matter. James Murphy and Bob Proctor are a good start.
- Change habits in order to complain less.
- For social media it is a good idea to go through your friends list and unfollow all people who share bad, unpleasant and negative stuff. We have the power to decide what we want to subscribe - so please, do yourself a favor and decide for a positive way of thinking.
- This thought can easily result in the urge to throw away your television, that is totally normal and if you do that, it will lead to another level of enlightenment as well.
- If you use video on demand at a moderate level you can keep your television. The importance lies in not having to consume advertising or news.
- Learn to be patient. Learn the art of achieving things by forgetting them.
- Unsubscribe from negative thoughts wherever possible. The world is not all fluffy-puffy, but it is also not your fault that there is war anywhere in the world, unsubscribe from information that you can not change.
- Turn drawbacks into assets.
- Lean towards a network with people or institutions that have problems you CAN change, be it healthcare, childcare, neighbourhood help, whatsoever - get control over things. That gives you power back over your life and it feels good to be in control.
- Exercise your mind wherever possible, read books (text books) non fiction, autobiographies, ted-talks, whatsoever, there´s a huge list of things you can do to broaden your horizont.
- Meet likeminded people, make a group, meet often and share thoughts about the things you care the most.
- Avoid Burnout and stay motivated
- Write 3 pages after you wake up. Everyday. For at least 3 weeks. Things will happen.
- Unlearn or get rid of the emotions: fear, doubt and anger.
The most important part however is to learn the right way to do affirmation or autosuggestion.
For the most part, there is no single right or wrong way to do it, you have to find the perfect and working quote by yourself - and that is also the most exciting thing about it as well.
However, to entrench a working suggestion it takes time. Be patient. You can´t expect things to change in 3 weeks time. It may take years. In my case it took 9 years to find out that the suggestions were working -and now since 5 years I work effectively with them because I know they work.
However, to entrench a working suggestion it takes time. Be patient. You can´t expect things to change in 3 weeks time. It may take years. In my case it took 9 years to find out that the suggestions were working -and now since 5 years I work effectively with them because I know they work.
I found out about this all the hard way, and at my lowest point in life, I sat there for weeks and wrote 3 pages every morning, kind of random stream of consciousness, and then after 4 weeks it sat there within the written sentences - waiting to be picked up by me.
Since around 13 years now, I apply this mental suggestion in the morning and evening, whenever I think of it. It is like a quick meditation on the go.
I was reading through my morning-pages from 14 years ago recently, and surprisingly I found that everything I´ve written down that I wanted to do or what I wanted to achieve in my life is achieved by now! (At leat career-wise) I credit the perfect sentence of affirmation for this as it helped me to skip doubt, anger and fear and allowed me to spend time with the right things and to decide for the right people.
I was reading through my morning-pages from 14 years ago recently, and surprisingly I found that everything I´ve written down that I wanted to do or what I wanted to achieve in my life is achieved by now! (At leat career-wise) I credit the perfect sentence of affirmation for this as it helped me to skip doubt, anger and fear and allowed me to spend time with the right things and to decide for the right people.
One of my personal affirmations sounds like this: "The right people will find their way into my life"
And I blame this sentence to be blessed with "just-right-clients" who really appreciate what I do.
And I blame this sentence to be blessed with "just-right-clients" who really appreciate what I do.
Imagination is important while you do such a set of brain-exercises, it only works when you can imagine what kind of people should step into your life, what attributes are important (and by that I don´t mean the color of their hair). You get the idea, what do you offer and how can you help them?
That might be a good start to find working auto-suggestions on your own.
Good luck and let me know your story in a comment!
P.S.
Actually I had planned to do an audiobook/ebook about how to succeed as a freelancer without burning out, I believe it will take some time and is postponed because my artistic work is more important right now. But if there is a core aspect of that course, the gist so to speak, the matter about self-affirmation and programming the right mindset is it.
P.S.
Actually I had planned to do an audiobook/ebook about how to succeed as a freelancer without burning out, I believe it will take some time and is postponed because my artistic work is more important right now. But if there is a core aspect of that course, the gist so to speak, the matter about self-affirmation and programming the right mindset is it.
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