*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :) Welcome back, fellow artists! I'm very excited to share that I made it through my first time participating in the Inktober drawing challenge. In today's blog post, I'll be sharing my last time lapse compilation of Inktober sketches, as well as things I learned by having pushed myself through it. Though the drawings I'll be sharing were created specifically for Inktober, most of the information I'll be including throughout the post (and video) can relate to any type of daily art challenge. There's no question that being able to produce a new piece every-single-day for an entire month (no matter how small), is extremely difficult. However, there's a ton to learn from participating in art challenges like this one, as they allow us to improve not only our cold-technical skills (drawing, shading techniques, etc.) and our time-management abilities, but also test us mentally in many ways. This is why I made the decision to finally take on Inktober this year! If you visited my blog or YouTube channel at any point throughout October, you're probably aware that I've been sharing time lapses for every-single-one of my Inktober sketches! I've also talked about a variety of topics pertaining to it. Make sure to check out my past Inktober blog posts and find the rest of my time lapses over at my YouTube channel: 5 Tips to Make it Through Inktober and How I'm Going About It My Inktober Supplies and Time-lapses for Sketches 6-11 Inktober Sketches 19-25 + Reviewing My Supplies
If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*
You can find a list of my current favorite art supplies, as well as helpful art books here. What I Learned from Inktober
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I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself.
I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey. :)
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*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
In today's blog post/YouTube video, I'll be sharing Inktober sketches 19-25, as well as a review of the supplies I've been using throughout this challenge.
I wanted to really put these products to the test and have a good amount of experience with them before I actually expressed any opinions.
I have released several blog posts sharing tips and tutorials about pen and ink drawing that I highly recommend you check out if you haven't already (two very popular ones are this one and this one).
In past YouTube videos, I've shared how much I enjoy using this drawing medium and why I think it's so effective at helping us progress our artistic skills.
All this said, I had never used pen and ink as consistently as I have with this drawing challenge. I committed to participating in Inktober this year because I knew that creating a new piece every-single-day for an entire month would lead to amazing growth in a short period of time.
The challenge would help me not only exercise my creativity continuously and gain confidence in my pen and ink technique, but would also test my time-management skills and even more mental/personal aspects.
Over at my YouTube channel, I've shared all of my Inktober sketch time lapses so far:
1. Timelapses 1-5 + A Bit About My Thoughts and Process
2. Timelapses 6-11 + How I Come Up With the Ideas Behind My Sketches
3. Timelapses 12-18 + My Struggles So Far
*The video included in this post is my fourth compilation of sketch time lapses and I'm closing this Inktober series with a last video including my final drawings, as well as a bit about what I've learned.
If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*
My Inktober Supplies
I knew I wanted to make a careful selection of supplies and stick with them throughout the entire month. This way, I would be able to come up with solid opinions about them.
I bought all my supplies through Amazon and Blick Art Supplies this year.
If you'd like to see a full list of my current favorite art supplies, go here.
1. Leuchtturm1917 Sketchbook
This was my first time using a Leuchtturm sketchbook and I really enjoyed it, especially in combination with drawing pens and ink. These sketchbooks are definitely on the more expensive side, but I'm really glad I invested in one and decided to use it for this drawing challenge!
The sketchbook is 15 x 21 cms. in size and is made up of 96 pure white 180 g/m drawing paper that is quite smooth. I love that the sketchbook includes two bookmarks and an elastic to keep it safely closed. These characteristics make the sketchbook perfect to take out for drawing in plein air or coffeeshops.
I had a couple of different sketchbooks to pick from laying around that I could go for, but I went for this one for two main reasons:
a) I knew that I wanted some areas of my Inktober sketches to have thick applications of ink and the thickness of its pages would allow for this.
b) The pure/brilliant white of its pages would really allow my black ink lines/shapes to contrast and pop out!
Though I find this sketchbook amazing for drawing purposes, I wouldn't recommend it for sketching with watercolors, as its paper is too smooth and I don't think it would hold/absorb water very well. I think it would, however, work pretty well for gouache and even acrylics.
It's always a smart idea to give thought to what kinds of mediums you're planning on using in your sketchbooks before making a decision about which one to buy.
The sketchbook is 15 x 21 cms. in size and is made up of 96 pure white 180 g/m drawing paper that is quite smooth. I love that the sketchbook includes two bookmarks and an elastic to keep it safely closed. These characteristics make the sketchbook perfect to take out for drawing in plein air or coffeeshops.
I had a couple of different sketchbooks to pick from laying around that I could go for, but I went for this one for two main reasons:
a) I knew that I wanted some areas of my Inktober sketches to have thick applications of ink and the thickness of its pages would allow for this.
b) The pure/brilliant white of its pages would really allow my black ink lines/shapes to contrast and pop out!
Though I find this sketchbook amazing for drawing purposes, I wouldn't recommend it for sketching with watercolors, as its paper is too smooth and I don't think it would hold/absorb water very well. I think it would, however, work pretty well for gouache and even acrylics.
It's always a smart idea to give thought to what kinds of mediums you're planning on using in your sketchbooks before making a decision about which one to buy.
*This sketchbook is no longer available on Amazon, but you can find it on the brand's website here.
2. Pigment Liners from Staedtler
I've had this set of drawing pens for a while and I've always used them interchangeably with my Micron pens. I think these two brands/products are pretty close in terms of quality and price, and produce almost the same results.
I will continue buying Staedtler drawing pens for the time being, as I found throughout this challenge that I really enjoy them.
The four-pack of drawing pens that I have includes .1, .3, .5, and .7 millimeter points. The majority of my Inktober sketches were created using only the .3 and .5 points. I find the four pack includes a perfect variety of point thicknesses and don't think I would personally need anything smaller or larger.
The ink in the Staedtler Pigment Liners is waterproof, bleed-proof, smudge-proof and fade resistant, which leads me to think they would be perfect for use in combination with watercolors. The lines created by these drawing pens are also very crisp and dark.
Lastly, the ink in these pens also lasts a very long time. Even though I used them every-single-day for 31 days (and pretty roughly-I might add), they never started drying out.
3. Speedball Drawing & Calligraphy India Ink
I acquired this little 2 ounce tub of black ink a while back for exploratory purposes and I'm very glad I had it on hand for this Inktober! It allowed me to create the flat black geometric background shapes that I decided would be the unifying aspect of my drawings prior to starting.
This Speedball drawing/calligraphy ink is a rich black and a bit on the thick side. However, it can be diluted to create a variety of values and a runnier texture. I used a small, angled, soft-bristled brush to apply it onto my paper and the wash always came out quite even. I never noticed any granulation, even in areas where I applied the ink thickly.
I also loved the fact that it washes off from skin pretty easily and that it has no overpowering odor to it. Lastly, the shape of its bottle is genius, as the bottom of it is wider than the top and makes it more stable. This avoids it from tipping over and creating a huge mess!
This Speedball drawing/calligraphy ink is a rich black and a bit on the thick side. However, it can be diluted to create a variety of values and a runnier texture. I used a small, angled, soft-bristled brush to apply it onto my paper and the wash always came out quite even. I never noticed any granulation, even in areas where I applied the ink thickly.
I also loved the fact that it washes off from skin pretty easily and that it has no overpowering odor to it. Lastly, the shape of its bottle is genius, as the bottom of it is wider than the top and makes it more stable. This avoids it from tipping over and creating a huge mess!
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That's it in terms of my Inktober supplies for 2018!
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey. :)
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey. :)
*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
Why, hello there! Thanks so much for visiting my little artistic corner of the Internet today!
Today's post includes a video in which I'll be sharing the sketching time lapses for Inktober prompts 6-11, as well as how I came up with the ideas behind these quick pen and ink illustrations.
It's definitely a challenge to come up with a new original idea every-single-day, but I'm still going strong and am hoping to make it through!
I'm also sharing links to the exact sketchbook, drawing pens and ink that I'm using for this year's challenge, so make sure to find those at the end if you're interested in buying some new supplies for yourself.
Check out my previous Inktober-related blog post/video titled: 5 Tips to Make it Through Inktober and How I'm Going About it for specific tips to get the most out of this drawing challenge.
Also, here are a few past blog posts and YouTube videos in which I share a ton of helpful info about pen and ink drawing/shading.
They will definitely help you step up your game throughout the rest of this challenge!
Pen and Ink Alternative Shading Techniques (Shading a Sphere)
How to Shade a Hand Using Pen and Ink
Must-Know Pen and Ink Drawing Tips
If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*
My Inktober Supplies
Here are the supplies I'm using for all of my Inktober sketches this year. I buy most of my art supplies through Amazon and Blick Art Supplies.
*The Leuchtturm1917 sketchbook is no longer available on Amazon, but you can find it on the brand's website here.
For a complete list of my current favorite art supplies, go here.
For a complete list of my current favorite art supplies, go here.
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey. :)
Thanks so much for popping by today!
*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
Are you curious about painting with oils but find them a bit intimidating? Do you feel that there are too many "rules" that you'd have to follow and that they would make the painting process anything but enjoyable? Are you tired of running into oil painting tutorials online that are far too technical and confusing to the point that you start tuning out and not want to learn the medium at all?
When I was first starting my oil painting journey, I got very confused and overwhelmed as I tried to learn from instructional articles and videos I found online. There were so many different types of mediums and solvents one could use, so many ways one could go about using them, and so many rules to follow in order to ensure effective drying of paint layers.
Not to mention, professional oil painters have different tips to offer which sometimes even contradict each other.
In today's post, I'll be sharing my current process for creating still life oil paintings. I'll share the specific things I have in mind when creating my photographic reference, what I do to prepare before starting to paint, and the general steps of my painting process.
Still life is a subject I highly recommend all beginners to delve into when they are first starting to paint with any medium, as it allows us to practice not only compositional arrangement, but specific fundamental art skills like proportion and value placement.
This post also includes a painting time lapse video where you can see me create a complete painting from start to finish using my alla prima method!
What I have come to realize, after having explored oil paint first-hand and tried out a few different mediums and methods (and even ruined a few paintings in the process) is that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to go about creating an oil painting.
It is up to each artist to explore different supplies and methods until he/she arrives at what he/she is most comfortable with. It's a matter of not being afraid, experimenting, and slowly but surely arriving at the specific techniques that will enhance and work in favor of our particular painting style.
This is not to say that you should completely disregard the most basic rules and safety measures, of course, like making sure you're working on a primed surface, following the "fat over lean" principle in order to ensure your painting will dry effectively, working in a well-ventilated area and avoiding having paint, mediums or solvents on your skin.
However, once you've understood these basic aspects of oil painting (and probably ruined a few pieces for yourself) you'll most likely find oils very enjoyable!
Are you curious about painting with oils but find them a bit intimidating? Do you feel that there are too many "rules" that you'd have to follow and that they would make the painting process anything but enjoyable? Are you tired of running into oil painting tutorials online that are far too technical and confusing to the point that you start tuning out and not want to learn the medium at all?
When I was first starting my oil painting journey, I got very confused and overwhelmed as I tried to learn from instructional articles and videos I found online. There were so many different types of mediums and solvents one could use, so many ways one could go about using them, and so many rules to follow in order to ensure effective drying of paint layers.
Not to mention, professional oil painters have different tips to offer which sometimes even contradict each other.
In today's post, I'll be sharing my current process for creating still life oil paintings. I'll share the specific things I have in mind when creating my photographic reference, what I do to prepare before starting to paint, and the general steps of my painting process.
Still life is a subject I highly recommend all beginners to delve into when they are first starting to paint with any medium, as it allows us to practice not only compositional arrangement, but specific fundamental art skills like proportion and value placement.
This post also includes a painting time lapse video where you can see me create a complete painting from start to finish using my alla prima method!
What I have come to realize, after having explored oil paint first-hand and tried out a few different mediums and methods (and even ruined a few paintings in the process) is that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to go about creating an oil painting.
It is up to each artist to explore different supplies and methods until he/she arrives at what he/she is most comfortable with. It's a matter of not being afraid, experimenting, and slowly but surely arriving at the specific techniques that will enhance and work in favor of our particular painting style.
This is not to say that you should completely disregard the most basic rules and safety measures, of course, like making sure you're working on a primed surface, following the "fat over lean" principle in order to ensure your painting will dry effectively, working in a well-ventilated area and avoiding having paint, mediums or solvents on your skin.
However, once you've understood these basic aspects of oil painting (and probably ruined a few pieces for yourself) you'll most likely find oils very enjoyable!
I've heard a bunch of reasons that people come up with to turn away from oils and reach for acrylics instead. Some of them are:
1. They are too expensive!
There are both student-grade and artist-grade oils, the same way there are for acrylics and watercolors. Winsor and Newton is a brand that offers great quality products for beginners at accessible prices. *See supplies included in this post.
2. You need way too many supplies when compared to other kinds of paint!
What you need to understand is that the use of oil painting mediums is a choice, not a necessity. There are artists that don't even use mediums at all. Even the use of solvents is a choice, as you can use alternatives to clean with. There are people that even use regular dish soap to clean their brushes!
3. They are toxic and harmful for the environment!
Oil paint is a mixture of pigment and linseed oil, which isn't toxic. Different color pigments have different toxicities, whether you're using oils, acrylics or even watercolors (unless you're using the super cheap Crayola-types). So you have to take safety measures with any kind of paint you use.
What makes oil paint potentially more harmful to our health than say, acrylics, are the thinners and, possibly, mediums we use with them. If you're worried about toxicity and harming the environment, simply don't use thinners and mediums, or look for brands like Gamblin that create completely non-toxic products.
Don't believe me when I say that mediums and solvents are optional? Check out this video from JerrysArtarama in which an experienced artist explains how he avoids using them altogether in this work.
4. They are a hassle to clean!
Are they, really? I find cleaning up acrylic paint even more frustrating, as it dries fast and hard on everything! Oils at least remain wet and they can be removed from most surfaces very easily with any kind of thinner.
I personally find acrylics more of a hassle to clean because, even though it can be said you need only water and soap to clean them, you need to clean them right away or anything hardens almost immediately. With oils, there is no problem if you continue working and take care of the cleaning at the end.
5. They take too long to dry!
Depending on how you work, you may find this a negative thing or a VERY positive thing. Oils' slow drying properties allow the artist to create awesome effects.
However, if you need your paintings to dry faster, there are a variety of mediums you can add to your paint in order to make your paint layers dry in a day or two. Two of these mediums are Liquin by Winsor & Newton and Galkyd by Gamblin.
6. There are too many technical aspects involved!
As I mentioned before, don't allow yourself to get confused by tedious explanations from artists that have been doing this for decades and have very specific ways of working.
I highly recommend learning the basic do's and don'ts and tuning out all other specific recommendations that are right according to one artist and wrong according to the next.
Stick to what matters and tune out the rest. You'll learn along the way.
Great Basic Oil Painting Supplies for Beginners
Aside from these supplies, you don't really need to buy much else! You probably already have everything else you'll need at home or can DIY it. For example, you can create a paint-mixing palette by carefully removing the glass from an old picture frame (cover its edges with masking tape so you don't cut yourself while painting).
Find some disposable gloves that you use for cleaning (or you can do as I did and use the ones that come in hair dye boxes -haha). Use regular kitchen paper towels for staining your canvas and/or cleaning, and dish washing soap to wash your brushes when your done.
If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*
My Still Life Painting Process
1. Taking a great reference photo
Having a great reference (whether you're using a photograph or painting from direct observation) is essential, no matter what kind of painting you are planning to create.
Check it out my blog post titled How to Plan and Produce Great Art Reference Photos. In it, I explain the basic things you should have in mind when producing photographs to use as references for an artwork, and I also provide tips to help you achieve harmonious and appealing visual compositions.
I highly recommend learning about composition and, at least, basic photography. Start forming your own art reference library as soon as possible so you don't have to always depend on photographs taken by others. It doesn't have to be difficult and time-consuming. Not to mention, you're also ensuring that your artwork is completely your own and that you built it from scratch. Going through this process leads to a deeper understanding and a greater artistic development.
Check it out my blog post titled How to Plan and Produce Great Art Reference Photos. In it, I explain the basic things you should have in mind when producing photographs to use as references for an artwork, and I also provide tips to help you achieve harmonious and appealing visual compositions.
I highly recommend learning about composition and, at least, basic photography. Start forming your own art reference library as soon as possible so you don't have to always depend on photographs taken by others. It doesn't have to be difficult and time-consuming. Not to mention, you're also ensuring that your artwork is completely your own and that you built it from scratch. Going through this process leads to a deeper understanding and a greater artistic development.
2. Editing/cleaning the photo in Photoshop
After my photo sessions, I always open my images up in Photoshop and pick my favorite. By the way, I cannot tell you how useful knowing about photo-editing softwares like Photoshop and Gimp is for artists. If you haven't played around with one, I highly recommend doing so! You can download Gimp for free and it has a lot of Photoshop's capabilities.
Once I've arrived at the photo I'll be using, I almost always clean it up at least a bit and resize it so that it ends up having the exact proportions of my canvas or substrate I will be painting on. This, for me, is essential, as it allows me to arrive at effective proportions and placement of elements within my space more easily as I'm creating my initial sketch (more about this below).
For some more experimental projects, I create digital collages using combinations of photos or manipulate colors more drastically.
3. Staining/toning the canvas
The purpose of staining or toning a canvas is to get rid of the stark whiteness of it, so that it doesn't affect the way we see the colors we start placing on it. To stain my canvas, I choose a neutral color (in this case I chose Raw Sienna) and thin it out on my palette with odorless mineral spirits.
I then use an old towel or rag (I love Scott Shop Towels) to create a transparent stain all over my canvas. I don't worry if my tint is darker in some areas and lighter in others, as all of this will be covered later.
I love painting alla prima , which means that I complete my entire painting (at least ones this size or smaller) in one sitting. When using this painting method, you're basically applying your paint wet-on-wet and the fat over lean rule doesn't apply the same way as it would when painting in layers.
When painting in layers, you have to allow the bottom one to dry completely before applying the next. If the bottom layer isn't completely dry before you apply the one on top, the latter will most likely end up cracking (perhaps not right away but it will over time).
When you paint alla prima, this principle becomes a little vaguer, as you aren't painting in layers per se, and all your paint dries simultaneously. Nonetheless, it's important to know that certain pigments take longer to dry than others AND that thicker placement of paint will also take longer to dry whether you are painting wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry.
I always start my paintings using thinned out paint and move on placing it in thicker layers as I go, whether I'm painting alla prima or not. Also, I have yet to find a medium I enjoy using so...I don't even use one for most of my paintings! I highly recommend beginners to leave mediums out when just they're just starting out, as mediums make the whole process much more complex.
4. Selecting my colors
It's important to give thought to the colors you will be using prior to starting any painting. I like limiting my color palette and creating all required color mixtures using only those I have previously selected. To select them, I take a few minutes to observe my reference picture, think of the colors I will need to create them, and choose my tubes from what I have available.
The colors I used to create this specific oil painting were:
-Raw Sienna
-Burnt Sienna
-Burnt Umber
-Primary Magenta
-Sap Green
-Lemon Yellow
-Titanium White
-Ivory Black
The colors I used to create this specific oil painting were:
-Raw Sienna
-Burnt Sienna
-Burnt Umber
-Primary Magenta
-Sap Green
-Lemon Yellow
-Titanium White
-Ivory Black
5. Initial sketch
After toning my canvas, I create a very loose sketch focusing on proportion and placement of different elements within my space. This is where having an image to work from that has the same proportions of your canvas is extremely useful. It doesn't matter if this sketch isn't perfect, because it's going to be painted over and shapes will be refined as the painting process continues.
This sketch is an excellent way for me to start loosening up!
I almost always use a darker neutral tone, which in this case was Raw Umber. Notice how this paint mixture contains much less thinner in it than the mixture I created to stain my canvas with.
6. Laying down large blocks of color
At this stage, I try to focus on recreating the large areas of color that I see, but I'm not being too careful, as these shapes will be refined as the process continues. I do my best to cover up large spaces on my canvas with the darkest values of the different colors I perceive in my picture. It helps to squint when observing the picture in order to tune out smaller details.
I usually start with my darkest values and make sure to leave the placement of color mixtures that contain white in them until the second half of my painting process. The reason I do this, is because white tends to dull out the beautiful saturated darks that have been placed. It's important for those darks to stay there for the painting to really pop at the end.
Remember that it's essential for an artwork to have a wide variety in values and you don't want to erase those darkest values that have already been placed (this is not to say that you cannot place more darks later).
7. Pushing through the "Ugly Stage"
This is the longest part of the painting process, as I move back and forth between the different elements in the composition. I sometimes get tired of painting a particular area and jump to another area.
I'm working on laying down my brushstrokes more confidently and really keeping blending to a minimum. When painting alla prima, it's very important to place colors effectively and be very careful when blending because this can lead to muddy colors. Overblending is a big no-no.
I'm working on laying down my brushstrokes more confidently and really keeping blending to a minimum. When painting alla prima, it's very important to place colors effectively and be very careful when blending because this can lead to muddy colors. Overblending is a big no-no.
8. Adding final highlights and details
Once I'm happy with the look of my painting, I move on to final details and highlights. This is a point at which I use my paint mixtures with large amounts of white in them. I also leave painting the background until the end most of the time, as it helps me clean up my composition a bit.
Something else I love is using my palette knife for final details. In this painting, I used my palette knife to create the pistils of the flowers and to add texture to some other parts of the painting.
Oils are one of my favorite painting mediums to work with, and if you are curious at all about what it's like to work with them, I highly recommend you give them a go. For me, nothing compares to their richness and the depth they are able to achieve.
I hope you found this helpful and that I've encouraged you to give oils a try!
Thanks so much for reading!
Something else I love is using my palette knife for final details. In this painting, I used my palette knife to create the pistils of the flowers and to add texture to some other parts of the painting.
Oils are one of my favorite painting mediums to work with, and if you are curious at all about what it's like to work with them, I highly recommend you give them a go. For me, nothing compares to their richness and the depth they are able to achieve.
I hope you found this helpful and that I've encouraged you to give oils a try!
Thanks so much for reading!
*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
Frustrated with having to spend so many hours a day at a 9-5 job when all you want to do is work on your art? Confused about how to make the jump from working a full-time job into creative entrepreneurship? Wondering if making a living from your creative gifts is even possible to begin with?
Becoming a full-time artist or artistpreneur is definitely possible, provided you establish clear goals for yourself, set up a realistic plan of action depending on your current life situation, and keep working towards your objective, no matter what.
It's possible, and there are lots of amazing artists out there doing what they love for a living.
Is it easy? Not at all.
Will the first few years be tough? Absolutely.
But as long as you stay motivated and focused on your end-goal you will get there.
In today's blog post and YouTube video, I'll be answering three of the most recurrent questions that I was asked during my recent Ask Me Anything event over at www.amafeed.com, which was much more focused on the business side of becoming an artist and how I transitioned from being a full-time employee into creative entrepreneurship.
This blog post and YouTube video are probably the most personal ones to-date and I will be sharing lots of tips and secrets that have allowed me to set the foundations for a successful art business.
It's hard for me to believe that it's been a year since I left my last full-time job! I had been working as an employee for almost ten years after having graduated from university, and it wasn't until around three years ago that the idea of becoming a solopreneur started looking like something I could pursue.
Even though the idea made me extremely nervous and I was very uncertain about what would happen, I decided to take the leap and have been working extra-hard on my art business ever since.
Though I am not making an income I can live off from yet, I have learned a ton throughout this year and I have confidence that I'm slowly (but surely) building a business that will allow me to live life on my own terms.
Aside from finally having time to devote to my personal artistic growth, this year has been full of new and interesting experiences, including meeting people from all over the world whom I share my passion for art with and would have otherwise never met!
Frustrated with having to spend so many hours a day at a 9-5 job when all you want to do is work on your art? Confused about how to make the jump from working a full-time job into creative entrepreneurship? Wondering if making a living from your creative gifts is even possible to begin with?
Becoming a full-time artist or artistpreneur is definitely possible, provided you establish clear goals for yourself, set up a realistic plan of action depending on your current life situation, and keep working towards your objective, no matter what.
It's possible, and there are lots of amazing artists out there doing what they love for a living.
Is it easy? Not at all.
Will the first few years be tough? Absolutely.
But as long as you stay motivated and focused on your end-goal you will get there.
In today's blog post and YouTube video, I'll be answering three of the most recurrent questions that I was asked during my recent Ask Me Anything event over at www.amafeed.com, which was much more focused on the business side of becoming an artist and how I transitioned from being a full-time employee into creative entrepreneurship.
This blog post and YouTube video are probably the most personal ones to-date and I will be sharing lots of tips and secrets that have allowed me to set the foundations for a successful art business.
It's hard for me to believe that it's been a year since I left my last full-time job! I had been working as an employee for almost ten years after having graduated from university, and it wasn't until around three years ago that the idea of becoming a solopreneur started looking like something I could pursue.
Even though the idea made me extremely nervous and I was very uncertain about what would happen, I decided to take the leap and have been working extra-hard on my art business ever since.
Though I am not making an income I can live off from yet, I have learned a ton throughout this year and I have confidence that I'm slowly (but surely) building a business that will allow me to live life on my own terms.
Aside from finally having time to devote to my personal artistic growth, this year has been full of new and interesting experiences, including meeting people from all over the world whom I share my passion for art with and would have otherwise never met!
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Transitioning into Creative Entrepreneurship Questions
1. What arrangements and preparations did you go through before leaving your full-time job? How did you know you were ready?
Firstly, I saved up as much money as I possibly could, especially during that last year. I've never been a very big spender, so I already had quite a bit of money saved up.
This was hugely important because I knew I wanted to treat this as a business right away and that I was going to have initial business investments to make on top of my regular living expenses!
Investments I would have to make right away included: Hiring an accountant, paying for a website/domain name, social media schedulers, business courses, quality art supplies so I could start producing work I could sell with confidence, etc.
Also, well before leaving my job, I was doing my absolute best to invest as much of my time out of work as possible into continuing to develop my artistic skills so that, as soon as I was able to, I would have quality products/services to offer.
It didn't matter if I had worked overtime (which I did several days a week) or if I had to give up being social on weekends, I made sure to schedule in time to work on my art.
Here are, quite literally, some of the supplies I had by my side as I was working hard on building those initial skills. I even took these to work with me to draw or paint whenever I had a few extra minutes!
This was hugely important because I knew I wanted to treat this as a business right away and that I was going to have initial business investments to make on top of my regular living expenses!
Investments I would have to make right away included: Hiring an accountant, paying for a website/domain name, social media schedulers, business courses, quality art supplies so I could start producing work I could sell with confidence, etc.
Also, well before leaving my job, I was doing my absolute best to invest as much of my time out of work as possible into continuing to develop my artistic skills so that, as soon as I was able to, I would have quality products/services to offer.
It didn't matter if I had worked overtime (which I did several days a week) or if I had to give up being social on weekends, I made sure to schedule in time to work on my art.
Here are, quite literally, some of the supplies I had by my side as I was working hard on building those initial skills. I even took these to work with me to draw or paint whenever I had a few extra minutes!
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During every free minute I had (even during work hours at this point!-woops!), I continued reading articles and watching videos to learn as much as possible from artists that were already successful.
I took mental notes of everything they had to do and how long it actually took them to make a living from their art, as well as many other things.
In regards to the second part of this question, I would say (as cliché as this sounds) I just felt it. I don't think the time is ever going to be 100% perfect, and you're always going to be nervous and feel uncertain when it comes to any big decision in life.
However, I knew I had prepared as much as I possibly could and felt that my time to take action was running out. If I didn't do it then, I would probably be stuck teaching art in a school environment for the rest of my life.
I spent the majority of that last year before leaving my job thinking about all of these ideas I wanted to make happen and anxiously waiting to get home to draw and paint and continue to develop myself artistically.
Even whilst at my job, my mind was already elsewhere!
2. What were the most challenging aspects of transitioning from a 9 to 5 job to a full-time artist? What were the first steps you took when you became your own boss?
I would say that, aside from all the financial preparations I had to make sure to make, it was difficult for me to accept in the beginning that artists ARE business owners.
As a business owner, I would only be actually creating art a certain amount of time and I would have to spend time doing activities that are tedious, boring and downright scary. For an introvert like me, this meant accepting that I would have to constantly push myself out of my comfort zone.
Another thing that was challenging was to create, and stick to, a weekly work schedule. As a solopreneur, there is nobody setting a schedule for me and I don't have to abide by anyone's timeframes (unless I'm working on a specific client project or commission-but even in these cases I have a say in the matter).
This may sound like a dream, but anyone that has been doing it for a while can tell you that it requires a HUGE amount of discipline and commitment. If you don't get up and check off those things you have to get done that day to move your business forward, you're backpedalling (at least this is the case in the beginning).
Throughout the months, my daily schedules have shifted around a bit as my priorities change and I discover at what points in the day I'm most creative. Nonetheless, I make sure to set my alarm to get up early, and stay as focused as possible throughout the working hours I have set for myself, every-single-day.
Another essential thing I did once I left my job was give serious thought to what I wanted my life to look like in five years and what kind of business I wanted to work towards.
There are SO many directions that an art business can go in, and it's very important to think about what YOU want, so that you can then set those strategies and commit to them. If we don't know what we want, we're never going to get anywhere.
And yes, goals shift and new ideas pop up, but you have to MOVE in order for things to happen!
Check out my blog post titled Time Management for Artists: My Secrets for Staying Consistently Productive to learn more about my short-term and long-term goal setting method, as well as how I schedule my days to keep my business moving forward consistently.
This blog post has a free goal planner and time-blocking worksheets so you can make sure you're moving forward yourself!
Lastly, but just as important as the previous points, I made sure to make self-care a priority. As a solopreneur, if I'm not well, my business is going to suffer. Especially in the beginning, it's essential to show up and be ready and able to put in the work.
3. Do you have any regrets? Do you wish you had left your full-time earlier?
In the beginning I kind of did. Especially because I was already over thirty and I felt drowned in a sea of amazingly talented artists that were a lot younger than I was. I felt that I would have to push myself to the max on top of everything I already had to do to start building a business just to catch up.
However, over time, I have come to accept and enjoy the phase I'm in. I also came to the realization that everything happens for a reason and I was exactly where I had to be.
Also, I think I had to go through those job experiences and the growth they provided so I would be able to do what I'm doing now.
I don't see those years as wasted time, by any means, and am incredibly thankful for those experiences that allowed me to grow at both personal and professional levels. They allowed me to prepare financially and mentally to be able to do what I'm doing now, building up my dream career.
5 Tips to Achieve Success as an Artist
1. Set up multiple streams of income for yourself.
Do not put all of your eggs in one basket. Stay open and think of different products and services you can offer using your talents and skills. As a creative being, there is a ton that you can do to bring light to people's lives.
Stay generous and never underestimate the connections you can make with people that are either directly or indirectly related to your end goal.
Stay generous and never underestimate the connections you can make with people that are either directly or indirectly related to your end goal.
2. Continuously learn from other artists that are already successful.
Research who's currently successful at doing what you want to be doing, and learn all you can from them so that you can do that as well, in your own way. Remember they started from zero, too and that, if they could make it, you could too. Learn from what's already working and keep paying attention.
3. Stay adaptable and flexible.
As an entrepreneur, there are a lot of learning to be done along the way before finding true success. As time goes by you're going to start finding out what works and what doesn't.
Try to find a middle ground between what you like doing and what your audience actually wants. Adapt to do more of what's working.
Try to find a middle ground between what you like doing and what your audience actually wants. Adapt to do more of what's working.
4. Accept (and embrace) that you are a business owner.
A lot of artists (perhaps even most of us) are introverts.
However, if we want to achieve sustainable success, we need to be open and willing to step out of our comfort zones.
Learn about marketing, accounting, inventory, sales and do not be afraid to put yourself and your work out there. Remember that it's as much about your artwork as it is about yourself.
Always stay professional and courteous, both online and off. Build up a solid and reliable reputation.
However, if we want to achieve sustainable success, we need to be open and willing to step out of our comfort zones.
Learn about marketing, accounting, inventory, sales and do not be afraid to put yourself and your work out there. Remember that it's as much about your artwork as it is about yourself.
Always stay professional and courteous, both online and off. Build up a solid and reliable reputation.
5. Stay inspired and motivated, no matter what.
This can totally happen for you but you have to remain patient and keep going, but it's going to take effort and it's going to take time.
It's highly likely that you're going to have to work a full-time job, but stay thankful and take these experiences as learning opportunities to grow at both personal and professional levels so that you can use these skills to set up a successful art business later on.
It's highly likely that you're going to have to work a full-time job, but stay thankful and take these experiences as learning opportunities to grow at both personal and professional levels so that you can use these skills to set up a successful art business later on.
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is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites
to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
www.erikalancaster.com
is a participant in the Shareasale.com Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Shareasale.com partner companies.