I thought it would be fun to share some of my sketchbook explorations here more often, just like I did with my sketchbook flip video. Today I want to share a peek into my lettering practice. This post is very photo heavy and contains lettering from a couple different sketchbooks. Read more...
Six months ago, I could not have even fathomed that I would ever feel this good again. Six months ago I wasn’t able to imagine a brighter future or what would it take for me to reach it. Six months ago I was at my lowest of lows since 2008, and the years in between weren’t exactly Disneyland. Six months ago I was wondering, “what if this is the real me, and what if the happy, content me was a fake? What if there’s no way for me to ever feel better because that’s just my melancholic nature?” You may be wondering why I feel so compelled to write about depression, on my art and business blog no less? Read more...
Do you feel like you spend so much time on social media, and it's giving you little to no results? Are you feeling overwhelmed with all the choices and advice, and you have no idea who to listen to and what will actually work for you? If so, I have an important message for you: Stop wasting your time online and share your work where it really matters Read more...
If I were to choose one secret weapon that helps my productivity more than any other, I'd have to say it's meditation. I know, it sounds weird to associate meditation – the epitome of non-doing – with productivity, which is all about doing, but if you think about it a little, it actually makes perfect sense. Meditation and action are polar opposites, but as with any opposites, one cannot exist without the other. We need the state of non-doing in order to be able to define doing, and vice versa. Meditation acts like a reset button on those thoughts, and enables me to get the most out of my time. Here are 5 ways meditation can boost your productivity. Read more...
This Saturday, June the 20th, was the opening reception to a group art show called "Visions from the Fairy Realm" featuring art by me and a fellow fantasy illustrator Karin Bogdanic. Here are some photos from the show opening. Read more...
New business owners get overwhelmed with all the options when it comes to professional presentation. Additionally, each type of design service is a special beast with its own science behind it, and people often specialize in one area. In this guide I give an overview of the most common visual design services for small businesses, and you'll be able to tell if you need it right now or may need it later, and how much to budget for it. Read more...
You know how it goes. You come up with a brilliant idea for a project you want to bring to fruition. You break it down into phases and tasks, and create a foolproof action plan with deadlines when everything needs to get done by. And then weeks and months go by, and you're constantly running behind. You move things around and postpone them, and then postpone again and again. 'What the hell is wrong with me?!' you think to yourself, despairing. You have no clue why those Other People seem to have it all together and follow through on their goals. Life would be so much easier if you could just stick to your plan and do the things you wanted to do within the deadlines you set. Read more...
I imagine that a lot of people reading this are artists that either have a job in a creative field, or have a business that relies mostly on creative services. On the surface, it sounds like the best possible way to live as an artist, right? Here you are, doing the stuff other people would kill for. But there are days when you realize it's not as shiny as it seems on the outside. Read more...
Popular marketing advice for small business owners is to be authentic and transparent online. But some of us who may be careful about what we put out in public are asking ourselves the question: is too much authenticity unprofessional? That's a valid question. After all, we grew up in a society that generally shuns authenticity like the plague, and showing our true self to the world feels extremely risky. Read more...
Some people say ideas are worthless without execution. Others say ideas are the currency of the future. You, however, seem to have a problem cashing in on this currency because you have more ideas than you know what to do with — it's both a blessing and a curse.
While I don't have a magic pill that will stop this craziness (and honestly, we wouldn't want to stop it), having a system to manage our wealth of ideas helps a lot.
Here are my suggestions how to handle this 'problem'. Read more...