Capturing ideas when they come

I wanted to share with you an idea that I got when I was listening to the Making Comics podcast. I’ve linked to the actual podcast in the link.

One of the guests on the podcast said that he got his best ideas in the shower so he uses a piece of plexi-glass and a China marker to scribble down ideas when he’s in the shower. I have to say that my interest was wrapped when the guest said he got his best ideas in the shower. The host and the other guest didn’t quiet “get it” but I did. He even said he had issues trying to remember these ideas until he could get to a point where he could write them down. Even calling for his wife to come write down the idea hadn’t seemed like a working solution. Hmm, I think I get that too. Finally he found this solution and it worked for him.

I wasted no time in going down to Home Depot to find some plexi-glass and a China marker. I actually found something better — it’s stronger and lighter than plexi-glass though more expensive. Works just the same though. The China marker was harder to find. I finally found some at Office Mas along with some clips with suction cups on them. Now I knew how I was going to hang my “glass.”

Now, I didn’t want the China marker to get all soggy, so I used some of the plastic film to wrap around the marker. I used masking tape to hold it — I’m still not sure how long this will work, but so far so good — and some nylon rope to hang it from the clip. I’ve just looped it over so I can release it when I’m writing further on down the board.

Here’s a picture of the board — sorry it’s not the best. I basically wanted an image of the board, not necessarily what I currently had on it. <>

So far, I can’t say I’ve captured any great ideas, but I’ve only had this setup a short time and right now I’m conscious of its newness so the ideas haven’t been flowing. I’m sure in the long run this will be a very good idea. I can write down ideas whether they be for marketing or stories, draw out scenes I think of, or comic panels, or whatever.

The other place I get a lot of ideas is in my car while I’m driving. So far, the best thing has been Evernote on my tablet because I can open a note fairly easily and start recording my idea with the voice record feature. Best of all, it’s shared between my computers so I have access to it the next time I sit down to work without any hassle of transferring the data.

When and where do you get your best ideas? Do you have a way to capture them? Share what you’ve done or if you’re going to try one of the ideas here — or how one of the ideas here has worked for you?

Putting forth the work

I’ve been working with Manga Studios (or I was before I got taken down with this awful cold that’s been going around). I’ve said in prior posts that a person can make great strides in accomplishing whatever they want to do even if they only work on it in 15 minutes a day.

Well, as proof I put forth some *beginning* examples of some of my coloring attempts from Manga Studios. I say *beginning* because I feel like I teach myself how to color and then I “forget” and have to teach myself again. I keep feeling like I’m not leaving the starting block.

So, this first example, I was going to start with a circle, but then I remembered that I’ve done the circle, square, and triangle before when I was “learning” so I wanted to branch out. I picked on my next favorite circular thing, the pumpkin. Mind you, this was after watching one of the coloring videos and thinking about it in conjunction with some other coloring videos I’ve seen. I really wanted to try out some of the tools. This took me about 15 minutes to color after doing the initial sketch.

Okay, not great. Hey! Are you laughing? You are! Right, so much for “great” art — how about just creating something decent! Ha, ha. <>

But that’s not the point here. Improvement is the purpose. That was 15 minutes of work put in. Now I wanted to see how far I’d come, which meant I needed a comparison piece. So, what to draw now? To decide, I started drawing and just let the shapes guide me into my drawing. As soon as the puzzle came together and I knew what I was drawing, I also knew how I was going to color it. Here’s the second piece — which took me about 20 minutes:

Yes, better than the first. I did actually feel like I’d accomplished something, like I’d put in my first steps on the path to coloring my digital work. Still, I couldn’t help pushing it just a little further:

Aw! Isn’t he just the cutest?

Well, it’s a start. I have so much more to learn. Someday I do hope to have something worthy to post to Manga Studios’ website, but for now with my first attempts, I’ll just show them here. When I started drawing these pictures, I didn’t intend on them to be for anyone but me and my own practice. However, after seeing the growth I (believe I) achieved in less than an hour, I thought it would be worthy to share. What do you think? Do you have a favorite?

What do you think you could do or learn in 15 minutes?

More Manga Studios

I’ve been working again in Manga Studios 4 (teaching myself how to color again). I came across something that Smith Micro is putting out to support Manga Studios and thought you’d like to see it. There are now webinars for Manga Studios on their website. Yea!

When I was working in MS3 I kept hoping there would be more content available. I got really disappointed when there wasn’t. But they seem to be doing more to support this product now. I really do feel there is a need and a market for it. So many artists right now have tutorials for Photoshop or Painter, but I always felt there should be something better. That’s why I was originally so happy to find Manga Studios. I knew that it would make my life easier as I got started in comics. Version 4 with the ability to color is an absolute godsend!

I recently sat down to read Ghostopolis, but I learned through the webinars that it was done on Manga Studios. Now I need to go back and reread it. It just shows how far Manga Studios has come. I can’t wait for the day I feel worthy to show some of my MS4 art on their site.

Chose talent

The other day I had the opportunity of hearing a friend discuss my book with someone. She started talking about the painting on the cover of my book which I also did. Repeatedly my friend kept saying, “Yes, she is very talented.”

About the third time I heard my friend say “talent,” and mind you that she didn’t know I was overhearing this, I had to laugh to myself. How often do I say that everything we do in life is a choice? Here I was listening to a conversation I’ve had in my own art show booth with that word sparkling in the air all around. Talent.

Go on, say it. Talent.

Even the word feels good on your tongue. We often heard it said that artists and writers are born. How many arguments have you come across where the discussion of being born with talent is true or not? Do you believe it? Do you feel talented in your own art?

Here’s what I came to realize in that moment. Talent is not in question. We all know that if you work hard enough at something, you can learn how to do it. To someone who doesn’t know how to do it, it will appear to be talent. What it is is work at craftsmanship. I have chosen to put in the time in a certain area. To my friend, it looks like talent.

Even more, one step beyond that, why shouldn’t I chose to be talented? I have and I do put in time towards mastering my craft. I know I have a lot to learn, but to someone who has never stepped on this path what I do now already seems good. I look up to other artists and hope that I can someday reach their level. They have chosen talent too and worked for it.

Whatever art form you have decided to take on yourself, you have chosen talent. No matter where you are along that path, beginner, intermediate, advanced, or master, you are already talented. Hurrah!

Now, keep your feet moving.

Moving through

I think back to when I started writing. Right now, the best thing I’ve ever done has got to be my Sacred Knight series. Even still, I know that it’s not nearly as good as I wish it could be. I have come to realize that what I’m in is, as Seth Godin calls it, The Dip. What I feel coming on with this dip is a certain amount of fear.

Godin’s solution is simple — just keep moving forward through it. Reality plays a different part and causes havoc on the mind.

But even in walking through the dip, it’s important to remember how I got here. I didn’t start off writing Sacred Knight. No, I started off writing about cats and dogs. I tested horror tales, love stories, and young adult novels. I put twists on words of other writers. I’ve seen myself improve as I’ve learned the craft.

Now, as I realize I’m also in a dip with my painting and illustration, should I expect it to be any different? Just recently I’ve been sketching faces a lot, trying to really memorize the structure. I realized that I wasn’t really challenging myself at the moment. I was trying to master a learned skill. Is that really the action of a newbie? No, I was trying to move to the next level — I was working through the dip. I realized that I have actually hit an intermediate stage of my art. I am no longer a beginning and more importantly I no longer feel like a beginner. I once posed the question of when does one feel like an artist. I do believe I’ve found that moment.

Strange that I never had a moment where I never didn’t feel like a writer. That may be the blessing a being a child though. I was merely following a passion and too naive to know any differently. I, however, also do know what it feels like to not be a writer, but it was more like a light switch being turned off.

Seriously, where ever you are at, you must just keep moving forward and keep working at what you love. This is not about could or should, need vs. want, it is only about the doing which you either are or aren’t. If you “aren’t” then you are stopped — game over. If you are, then you will see improvement. It may not be the great leaps and bounds you wish you were making. I know that for my so-called illustration skills it isn’t (and it shouldn’t be since a majority of my time right now is going into writing). What has become important is that I can now look back and see my progress. I’ve come a long way. Someday I’ll look back on my face sketches and compare it to my current “masterpiece.” It’ll still be far from where I want to be, but at least I’ll see where I once was. Then I’ll be able to look forward again and continue through the dip.

Or maybe a negative attitude is good…

Funny how simple little things can change your mind if you’re open to them.

Just last night I was reading Barbara Sher’s Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want and she’s got a chapter on negative thinking and how to use it as a positive tool. I really like her explanation of Hard Times. Basically it states that we ought to complain about the negative things we know stand in our path to a goal, exaggerate them even, then get down to work. In fact, I think it’s something I’ve been doing a lot of without actually realizing it. For example, when I have to fix a computer, I want to bang my head against the wall, I gripe, I complain, then I get to work and get the project done. I’ve been using it in all facets of my life except for art — after all, the art is my passion so shouldn’t it come without me grouching about it? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I will have to try the Hard Times technique the next time I sit down to draw or compose a painting.

Actually, there is one time I know I use this technique. Every morning when I drag myself out of bed. I lie there and complain about having to get up. I curl up with my Merlin puppy and try to go back to sleep. Alarms keep going off. I sulk. I want just a few more minutes of sleep. Soon, I’ve complained myself awake. At that point I decide to get up and get to work because no one else will write the story for me (ooh, pity party!). Once I’m at my desk, I lose myself in another world and the complaining falls away. Now that I’ve realized I do this, hopefully it’ll be easy to transfer it to other aspects.

Try it. I dare you. Walk around the room, fume, complain about your project. Especially if it’s a project you feel is larger than you. Let me know if it helps.

Don’t just intend to commit!

Commit.

Seth Godin recently wrote a blog about commitment. Very insightful, so I thought I’d share it. Especially following my last blog about intent (update: due to issues, this did actually come out on schedule- it will be released tomorrow, I hope!). My “intent” is his “commit.” I especially liked his last line.

To me, this makes a lot of sense. In fact, I’m currently listening to Chris Oatley’s ArtCast where he talks about goal setting (or not) in the new year. He talks about not setting goals, but rather deciding on what projects to finish.

I’m joining the band wagon. Don’t just make a plan to get more done (and this isn’t a once a year kind of thing either – I believe this to be ongoing). Don’t weight yourself down with guilt you don’t need. Don’t stress because you want to be better and therefore you get nothing done while waiting to be better. Set up a project, something you’ve really wanted to get done and commit to doing it. Have a deadline if you really want to push yourself. I have a publication date in mind for Sacred Knight book 2. I even have a schedule of milestone completion dates that I’d like to hit. I’m afraid I’m going to miss the first milestone date because it’s coming up far too quickly! Am I worried? No, not really. I will have to make it up somewhere, but I know my main commitment is to the publication date. I see the steady progress I’m making. Even I’d I took some time off to work on another project or because life happened, I wouldn’t panic. I am committed to making the project. It is, as Seth Godin would put it, my project I’m going to ship. I don’t need more of a plan. I don’t need to write 10 pages a day or bust. I just need to commit to ship!

So what projects are you going to commit to this year? What will you ship?

Who’s breaking eggs now?

I’m currently sitting at Barnes and Noble reading the new issue of ImageFX. What lovely art they have in this issue.

Something interesting that has caught my eye is the Editors’s Letter. Editor Claire Howlett writes about doing what you love in this issue. She also mentions to readers that might find themselves letting lack of confidence or life get in the way. Of them creating art that they should pick their art tool and start creating, allowing themselves to learn from their mistakes and refers to the old proverb of needing to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

It gave me pause to wonder if I’ve been making an omelette this year or allowing myself to fall back on easy habits because it’s easier than expanding myself.

I look at the art in the issue and see these artists on a totally higher level than I am. I wonder if I didn’t get my children’s book finished this year because I’m scared the art won’t come out as well as I want. Have I expanded my painting? Okay, I can answer this question easily enough! No, I haven’t. I know what I’d like to paint, but I haven’t allowed myself to grow and make the mistakes that I need to in order to take my art in the direction I want to go. I talk and I think and I talk some more about it, but in the end I don’t actually sit down and allow myself to make composition pieces or studies for this direction. It’s easier to sit down and write. After all, I have a book due out next year that I need to get done. Writing is easy. Even when I’m neck deep in getting myself out of a plot issue, the writing is still easier than trying to do something new with my art. Not only have I not broken eggs this year with my art, but they’ve been rotting on the stove.

Am I being too hard on myself? Possibly. But if I don’t push myself to work, no one else will. Trust me. It’s one point the editor forgot to mention — you can let yourself be a victim of life’s circumstances and call it lack of confidence or the trials of life, but in the end if you don’t take 100% responsibility for your life and the time you’ve been given, then you are allowing yourself to live a life that doesn’t matter to you. Is that really what you want? Is that really what I want?

Go break a few eggs.

Sometimes I wonder if this blog is a pep talk for you or if it’s really for me. Hmmm…

Sacred Knight reading tomorrow

I’ll be reading a selection of The Three Books – the first story in the Sacred Knight series tomorrow October 1st. Check out my Sacred Knight blog for more details.

Where Change Begins

I received a scary email this morning.

It said that someone I know of (I can’t say I know him personally, but I do know his children) is going to run for president. Believe me, knowing his children, this is not a man who you want running the country. But he says he’s tired of complaining and wants to change the corruption taking place in D.C.

Okay, it’s obvious right from the beginning that this man isn’t going to make it far. Why? He’s bitten off more than he can chew. He wants to jump right into the top position without “taking care of his own back yard.”

We all know there’s no such thing as an overnight success. Even people that find themselves suddenly famous have worked for hours before the world finds them. No one shoots to the top of the best-seller list without first writing the book.

As artists, we have something we want to say to the world. Are you building this in your own backyard first? Remember, you are the change you want to see in the world.