Monday, March 10, 2014

Psychology


8 comments:

  1. He's mad at his…computer?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Whoa there, let's not read too much into this. :)

      Delete
  2. GUh! I love the chalky texture in this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can steal the brush if you want, it's in the concept department folder at Avalanche. Let me know and I'll give you the specific location.

      Delete
  3. Hello sir Nielson,

    First, great artwork again and again, i've been looking forward your art for some time now and i'm always amazed, amused and aiming at "stealing" as much knowledge as i can from your creations ^^
    Never had the chance to follow one of your course so please don't stop doing it until i've enough money to participate in one ^u^, meanwhile i've a question :

    I take the chance of this one post cause it's titled "Psychology" and i think it suits perfectly what i want to ask you.
    A friend of mine is willing to become a professional illustrator, and i actually think he's already on a nice way to achieve this.

    The only problem that would still hold him from jumping in would be his mindset.
    Of course i guess he (we) need to practice as much as possible the fundamentals in order to be able to produce quality art, but even after reaching this point, this moment when you "can produce" enough quality to be able to ask money out of it, isn't there still this part of your brain telling you "you need to get better, it's not good enough, you need to do more this, more that", and finally we could spend years learning enough to be called "pros" even if we are not earning any money out of it? ^^

    So my question is, what would you say to someone who could be good enough to be a professional, but for some reason, is lacking of self confidence or just always find an excuse to hold himself from jumping in?

    I also think, if we were all waiting to be as good as old masters before we begin taking comissions from clients, the art world would be pretty tiny and limited...

    Thanks in advance, and i would understand that you don't have time to answer to my question, just be sure that i would continue looking forward your work again and again ^^

    Cheers (from france)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry I didn't see this earlier, it's hard to keep track of earlier posts with so many spam links going up.
      I think what you're describing is similar to the impostor syndrome and it's something any sane professional artist suffers from occasionally. A good portion of any job you get is going to be due to a chance opportunity, even if you have a very good skill set.
      As for being called a "pro," a professional uses what they do to make money. You do not have to be good to be a professional, nor is a person who is really good but makes no money at it a professional. Pro/amateur is often used to be synonymous with quality/lack of quality, but in reality an amateur can be good and a pro can be terrible. I think this is what I would say to someone who is afraid of "jumping in" to the industry: there's literally no harm in trying. If you're not good enough now, nobody will remember you or hold it against you when you try again after spending whatever time you need to improve to that level. And if you're good, you'll get jobs. Maybe not always the job you want, but there is always work for the talented/hard working artist.
      I hope that helps,
      Sam

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.