I'm a huge fan of sketchbooks, so I'm very passionate about this subject. I hope that in this post I will give you enough reasons to finally start using them, and of course even if you don't consider yourself a visual creative, sketchbooks are a lot of fun!
In the end I'll also share some tips how to get the best from your sketchbook practice, and I'll show you a video of my sketchbook flip. Read more...
In this 13 minute video you can see my entire painting process from start to finish! It's sped up 40 times, and what you can see here in 13 minutes was actually created over the course of 4 days. I hope this video will satisfy your curiosity of how I create my paintings :) Read more...
I'm a bit of an expert on the subject because all my work experience was based on my hobbies. I never trained to become a creative professional, it just happened that I was offered opportunities to make a living with my hobbies because people saw what I was doing for fun and offered me money to do it! Isn't it amazing when that happens? Well, I've learned that it isn't just sunshine and roses, and it doesn't work for all people and all kinds of hobbies. Read this post to learn the potential pitfalls of turning your hobby into your full time job. Read more...
Stuck with ideas on what to draw or paint? Wondering where do I get my ideas? Here's a post in which I describe how I got inspired to do one of my latest works. Of course, every work has a unique story and I don't go down the same route twice so it's hard to compile a 'recipe' - but I hope you'll find these tips helpful anyway! Read more...
If you're just launching your new business or creative venture, you're probably on a tight budget. And as much as us designers insist that you should not be skimping on some things, I understand that it's difficult to invest upfront in something that you aren't even sure will take off. So I'll skip the preaching how you should absolutely let a professional do your branding and visual identity (it goes without saying). I'll just try to give you some tips how to handle it if you absolutely can't invest in it currently. Read more...
I periodically delete things from my gallery. I don't have a set time-frame, but let's say that once in 2 years I go over my entire gallery and remove everything I deem not 'good enough' for my current standards.In this post I explain the reasons why I do it. Read more...
In this post I've shared the things I've learned over the past year of battling with procrastination, and it might just give you some ideas how you can tweak your own process. Read more...
When I started my website, I wrote about my branding and how it came to be. I wanted NelaDunato.com to embody all my creative work and hobbies, so that people may see the entirety of who I am, and not just one facet. However the homepage image was bugging me a bit. The image I wanted to portray was 'I do all these different things, and I'm managing it well! No reason to specialize, you can trust me even though I claim I can do the job that normally takes 3 people to accomplish!' I'm not sure if that's what came through. All I know is that I did some heavy soul-searching in the past 6 months... Read more...
They say even a kick in the rear is a step forward, and I tend to agree. As of September 1st I no longer have a day job, and it's just the kick in the right direction I needed. If you're wondering how this came to be, read on. I could potentially sum it up in a paragraph, but where's the fun in that? Read more...
I've realized (not recently, but it keeps hitting me on the head often) that perfectionism is number 1 reason why my projects don't get done. When I want to make a project 100% on my own terms and the way I imagined it, and I realize it's not possible for me at this moment, I choose not to do it. I postpone it for some future time when I'll have all the resources I need to do this project properly.
I just wanted to share this because I'm probably not the only one to feel this way. And because I'm trying to break the annoying myth of "Nela has everything figured out" that I just can't live up to. Read more...
