sketch trade for http://www.tenpacesanddraw.com/

the theme was 7 sins and I got to trade with Rachel! (http://racheldougherty.tumblr.com/) Check her work out she’s awesome!!!

Giant Guarding Garden

Monkey king!

janky type…

Attempting typography…another book cover!

I added type to the book cover I did…I need to learn how to graphic design.

We wrecked it, Ralph.

dindin with MCR + X

Oh my god who’s gona help me eat this monster #jkitsallmine

clawsu:

javacasanova:

- Out of a request to make this rebloggable

Thanks man, Its always nice to hear that im not working hard for nothing.

hmm tips. Most of anyone who has even briefly met me knows I get heated about classes and i would be glad to let u in on some stuff. Since ur going to be a sophomore u now have the ability to pick ur own classes and that can be stressful trust me, i have had my fair share of getting stuck with ridiculous classes. If i could go back i would have investigated the classes i was going to chose, i know its a pain but its definitely a life saver academics can ruin ur work flow and that a serious problem. I strictly advise taking History of animation, History of Illustration, Bioethics, and biodiversity. Its like ur not even taking a class, that way u have more time for doing your work. Im notorious for getting stuck with classes that make u read a book a week and that will mess u up, so ask around before signing up. and as a heads up Sequential art, lifestyles, and advanced character design are the largest work loads out of any class in the illustration dept. ive taken two of them and they eat up 2-3 full days a week of hw so be careful wen picking other classes with them and ask ur self seriously if this is wat u want.

Some things to keep in mind:

manage your time: make schedules for urself and plan things out and try to stick to a routine, that way ull be mentally comfortable with ur work load and u will get things done on time

look at good art: keep folders of people u like and photos or screen shots of stuff u like or think is interesting. its always good to make a “spirit” sketch of ur piece. which is pretty much a group of images that u feel that will get u to where u want. it makes things easier.

steal: from the word of Mr. Picasso “good artists barrow, great artists steal” At this point in the game ur learning and even wen ur 50 ur learning, look at wat u like and make it urs. if u like some ones colors, use them. U like some ones comp, use it. its just to help u get used to using new colors and comps. eventually ull begin to understand how the mech of illustration works and ull be using them with out even thinking about it.

USE COLOR SCHEMES, REAL ONES

The most important thing is to remember that u need to be happy with who u are as an artist and if ur not, u owe it to ur self to work hard and do everything possible to make ur self happy with ur work. If not work hard for ur teacher or client, work hard for ur self so u can enjoy ur art as much as u enjoy others and theres a profound feeling when u can honestly say ” no one has worked harder than me today”

Joe gives some great advice, I asked he make it rebloggable to share w/ you guys. The top portion is specific to MICA, but I wanted to point out and stress a section near the bottom:

Work your ass off, you owe it to yourself. You may not be the best or most stylish, but nothing’s stopping you from working the hardest. and If you work hard people will notice, and if you keep it up you’ll be on your way to becoming the best.

But regardless of the recognition you’ll get, you’ll be improving as an artist. If you work you’ll improve. It’s never for nothing.

I remember taking classes with Joe last year, he was one of the classmates who inspired me to put in huge amounts of work this year, totally changed what I thought was “a reasonable amount of work”. Thanks for that.

Also, re: “Steal like an artist”, I want to add in my take on that. You never want to lift directly, and that’s not at all what Joe is talking about here, but I see that quote used all the time to justify ethical wackness. Have a sense of honor and respect your fellow illustrators. You’ll go further, be truer to your own voice, and you won’t be harming others. If someone steals a piece that was original in its context, it makes it “ok” for others to lift it as well. Eventually that part taken out of context becomes generic or trendy, cheap.

I totally have my sketchbook open during crits doing thumbnails of interesting comps my classmates come up with/ making visual notes to myself. I keep vast folders of saved art and images to draw inspiration from. It’s possible to do all this without being derivative.

Actually, I think surrounding yourself with quality, inspiring works and constantly looking at art/ IMAGES IN GENERAL is nearly as important to improving as actually making drawings and practicing.

CONSTANTLY LOOK AT IMAGES

~

 I encourage my other classmates to join in, MICA Illustration Advice general.

Something important to remember when you go to an art institution like MICA is to make friends. Make good friends. Make friends who are just as excited as you are to make good work.  Because at the end of the day, your peers are the ones that are going to help you with critiquing your work, bouncing off ideas, and just generally motivating you to improve! I truly believe that one of the reasons I am ok with spending $30k+ a year for college is to make connections. College ends after four years but friendships don’t!

A spread for my advanced book class, I’m kind of screwed. (insanely fucked)