Pretty cool vid on dealing with stress and deadlines as an artist

[lemorris]

I've had to really work on this over the last couple of years.  I wasn't ready to do better after I got better.  So much work came in, it flipped me out.

This is one of the things that helped quite a bit.

people sketching - episode 4

[Command-Z]

I like.

Yes, stress never goes away, it just scales to your level of involvement.

Stress hits and sometimes I freak out, but somehow, things always get done. So that's what I tell myself... "it always gets done."

[lemorris]

Its a nice way to look at it so you don't end up "thinking" yourself into a corner. 

Sittin there in a puddle of p_ss air drawing and mumbling random Dukes of Hazzard quotes.

Don't laugh...I've been there. 

[Dottonedan]

Love that vid.  Thanks.


Yea, stress.  Been there, still go back to visit frequently. That was a good vid for me.


I like the story about him needing to pay a $300 bill and the other guy with his problems. Good example. The stress for the richer guy is probably more, but stress none the less for each with the same problems. It reminds me of a conversation I ha d with another printer when I was doing sales for him. He said dude, don't become a printer. Just have other printers print it. I said but you own your own print shop and still do. He said Yea, and it's a 3 mil Co but I got nothing. I said well, you just paid cash for a house that looks like a mansion. He said yea, but i got no money. I couldn't relate. (I got no money). He paid cash for A 3 story HOUSE. I said you run this business and have 15 employees and travel to shows, rent the best cars, Have great customers, He said yea,  but I still make about the same income as you per month. As me?  He said yea, I live off a pay check just like you and about the same. I wasn't buying it. He's got "a business". ASSETS. I got squat.


He's got problems tho, just like the rest of us, trying to pay bills, just bigger.


I complete the most work when under the gun. Don't know why I drift into putting myself there, but if I get a job thats not due for two weeks, (usually art) It will be the day or two before it's got to be turned in for a few reasons


1, I take in all I can get and most usually have much shorter deadlines.


2, those jobs that have a week or two are typically art creation jobs and yea, like the guy said. I wanna make it good and sometimes I just gotta get  it done and hate that.


In my mind, I know had I started 11 days earlier, I would of had that time to make it better, yet, we also still feel that need to get more work and fill in the voids.


It's tough being an artist. Critics make it more difficult because when we do it, we feel we have more flaws in it then the average person sees.   We stress over it...thinking some other artist (CamandZ) will see flaws and know I'm not that good. ...so we go back and fix those...and then we wonder, (Is Lemorris going to think this is cool?)... find more...and more....I wonder what Chadick will think. so a 4 hr job takes 10.  Typical.


I have my moments. Most times, I do what I do knowing it's not perfect and it's a  business and can't stop to make it perfect from my artist perspective. It's much harder to come to terms realizing that the customer may more than likely flip over it and love it.


I did a quick scratchy pencil of a Pig the other day for Darryl. He said "The custy wants to do something different than the initial request now since another competitor has art very similar to the initial request, so just do your thing with it"  I says to myself, Ok. This could be fun. I retrospect, Both Darryl and myself should have asked for some reference as to what the customer was expecting in his mind. That happens all the time so it's something I should have recognized to do.


So I sketched it out. For me, I was like. Oh, that looks pretty cool. Yeah, I'm happy with myself.  Yea, it's not done of course. It's a rough pencil...I knew it had this and that wrong or not complete.  I knew I'd fix this and that in the revision and inking. So, I'm pretty stoked with it...send it in,  Customer comments.  Wants a completely different style.  More catoony, not so mean.  Oh?  Nice. A few hours later, custy sends in his own sketch from somewhere prob. an employee. So now, we are inking that persons cartoon they probably pulled of of some clip art site. Ugh.

[3Deep]

Dan, those are my thoughts too, I too push things to the last few days, sometimes those are my best designs and prints, but hey I've been doing it now for 12 years so why stop now.   Hey Dan that little sketch they send over does look like something I've seen before but hey it is what it is.

Darryl

[lemorris]

For me it's been a different kind of transition.  Some of you remember when I popped up.  I didn't know jack and it's because of the Jeris, Commands, Fluids, DTD, HotRod Xs, Dions, Webers, and countless others that I know anything.  I'm in constant fan mode which works for me because I don't see this as a competition.

I see our journeys as individual and much more personal.  I don't compare.  Not only because I really do see the work of others in an admiration only light, but also because I know that my art comes from me and my experiences and nobody else has the same.

That attitude has really helped me be a better fan of the art of others and be helped me to be able to just share in and enjoy art for what it is....individual expression.

Now...on the other side I also recognize I am a commercial artist.  I do work to get paid.  I don't have a higher calling, and like I have said before, I don't believe the "gift" is in ability or proficiency in ones craft.  I don't think it's a given talent...it's a learned behavior, with one exception.

I believe the "gift" is stubbornness.  The gift is being stubborn enough to stick with something you are not good at, until you are good at it. 

That being said, I have had my ups and downs in this field like anyone else and I think I'm in a pretty ok place right now.  My personal view may be more subtle than some but my drive to get to where I am ok with what I do is pretty strong.  Can't really ask for more than that.

On a side note, I made it a point to have my daughter watch the video and we had a good talk about it.  It was kinda cool to share that with her so I'm gonna call this one a good one.

[Dottonedan]

Dan, those are my thoughts too, I too push things to the last few days, sometimes those are my best designs and prints, but hey I've been doing it now for 12 years so why stop now.   Hey Dan that little sketch they send over does look like something I've seen before but hey it is what it is.

Darryl

Yes, prob. so.  It looked pretty stock.  I googled a bunch to see what everyone had been doing for that...before sketching mine out and faintly remembered several that resembled that one. Same pose, same elements.  I see it happen a good bit doing art and seps for people. Pretty par for the course but one thing this person had going for them is that they sent it in as a sketch tho. so,  can't complain.  Oh well, I tried to give them something different and they wanted same ole same ole. It happens.


Thats like Fire fighters. I used to go all out thinking I'd give them something different for just them since they aren't work wear. Nope. Revision,  "Arched type over and under. Maltese cross in center. White BOLD blocky letters on navy tees.  Same ole same ole.  HA!

[Dottonedan]

For me it's been a different kind of transition.  Some of you remember when I popped up.  I didn't know jack and it's because of the Jeris, Commands, Fluids, DTD, HotRod Xs, Dions, Webers, and countless others that I know anything.  I'm in constant fan mode which works for me because I don't see this as a competition.

I see our journeys as individual and much more personal.  I don't compare.  Not only because I really do see the work of others in an admiration only light, but also because I know that my art comes from me and my experiences and nobody else has the same.

That attitude has really helped me be a better fan of the art of others and be helped me to be able to just share in and enjoy art for what it is....individual expression.

Now...on the other side I also recognize I am a commercial artist.  I do work to get paid.  I don't have a higher calling, and like I have said before, I don't believe the "gift" is in ability or proficiency in ones craft.  I don't think it's a given talent...it's a learned behavior, with one exception.

I believe the "gift" is stubbornness.  The gift is being stubborn enough to stick with something you are not good at, until you are good at it. 

That being said, I have had my ups and downs in this field like anyone else and I think I'm in a pretty ok place right now.  My personal view may be more subtle than some but my drive to get to where I am ok with what I do is pretty strong.  Can't really ask for more than that.

On a side note, I made it a point to have my daughter watch the video and we had a good talk about it.  It was kinda cool to share that with her so I'm gonna call this one a good one.

 

I do think that some are born with (more of something) than most start out with. Take your daughter for example. When you first showed us her stuff, she was young. Real young but had MULTI levels of talent that was easily noticeably different than others her age or older than her for that matter. You know, that some college level artist were (are) not as good as she was then. And NOW, she's awesome.


My grand daughter is 5 and drawing comes naturally to her. She has drawn a chair in perspective at age 4 and no artist had been around her to teach her or for her to watch them, not even me (at the time).  She's sculpted animals and things with play-dough...that we knew what they were right off the bat at age 4.  So, I know "some" are born with something more than others. I'm sure that then, they have to cultivate that skill more to get better.


When I look back, In kindergarden,  I was drawing baseball players in motion throwing the ball and batting, standing on grass with threads on the ball (with that little s curve shape on it. They had pin striped uniforms back then...but thats all I knew of them from the Abbot and Costello shows from "Who's o first". LOL.

[3Deep]

Lemorris, I got to steal your quote here (I believe the "gift" is stubbornness.  The gift is being stubborn enough to stick with something you are not good at, until you are good at it.)

Off topic but my son has been working out hard trying to get really this summer for college recruiters for football, and I always tell him to work on the things your not good at and get better in those area's...being a kid he only likes to do work on what he is already good at.  I'll be using your phrase this weekend thanks!!!

@ Dan, today I did 4 different designs for a high school cheer camp, and wouldn't you know the one i just banged out in a few minutes is the one they loved, go figure Ha

Darryl

[lemorris]

Have at it man.

My daughter grew up in that environment.  When my kids went to other peoples homes they would say "Where's the art room??!!"

no joke

....but still.....she had to spend the hours and hours and work her way up.  She's pretty high end now so I was happy she bothered to watch.  LOLOLOL

I was opposite...didn't start art till I was 20.

All good