Choosing a few pieces of art to represent yourself is a challenge. What pieces should you include?This video considers the challenge in terms of your end goal, and the person reviewing your work. Like it or not, the portfolio you choose to present to the world says a lot about you, and can have a big impact on your art career.
Making these videos has been a great experience, and it's probably time to introduce myself. After all, we're 100 videos in. I'm trying my best to sculpt ctrl+Paint in a way that represents my art experience. I've had two major formative experiences: 1) Self-Teaching. All of my software experience has been self taught, and I've never attended a painting class. As a result, I know how hard it can be to learn a new skill without a teacher.
2) Art School. I was lucky enough to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design, which gave me 4 dedicated years of art education. This was a totally different level than taking a few art classes in high school - I was living art. Though art school is absolutely not required, if you can go... it's a lot of fun.
Ctrl+Paint is my attempt to join these two concepts: self-teaching and art school. So if you're looking for either of those two experiences, you're in the right place. Thanks for being an awesome community!1
Do you keep an "inspiration" folder? You should! This video explains the benefits of keeping a folder of inspirational paintings, and organizing them with Adobe Bridge. There are a variety of programs that offer similar tagging and organizing, but Adobe Bridge integrates well with other Adobe software, so I like it a lot.
Learning to digital paint is a long process. It can seem overwhelming at times, but it gets easier! Trust me! This video will give you a bigger-picture view of the process, and help keep things in perspective. If you want to know more, Learning Map is another good resource.
Do you ever feel like you're treading water? You're stgnating, while the rest of the art community is progressing at lightning speed? You're not alone.This video is a little detour from the standard ctrl+paint technique videos to talk about inspiration, mindset, and 'getting better'. Ultimately, we're all experiencing this in one form or another, so it's worth talking about. Remember: even professionals feel sub-par a fair amount of the time. Art is mind game. UPDATE: It's been really, really great hearing these responses. Art is one of those challenges that we all take on personally - and can feel isolated by the effort. Knowing that everyone else is wrestling with similar issues can be a big help.
So keep the conversation going -- It's an important one to be a part of. Additionally, reader "Jonathan" reminded me of a fantastic series of videos by the radio host Ira Glass on storytelling and inspiration. He's the host of This American Life, and has a lot of experience fighting through the self doubt and frustration involved in creative work. It's definitely worth watching.
Painting is all about controlling your mindset. You can easily become your own worst enemy by tensing up, being overly critical, and worrying about your mistakes. Learning to control these feelings is a huge part of learning to paint. In this video I'll show you a drill that helps you come to terms with 'professional detachment'. This practice of 'letting go' will give you a thicker skin, and make critique easier to hear. Being able to throw away your work is essential for all artists, but it is especially useful for professionals.