Friday night... still doing revisions

Whoever said that illustrators don't live glamorous lives? Like right now for example, I'm sure you're all wishing you were modifying your illustrations and redrawing your sketches. Unfortunately not everyone can live this life: only the elite survive. I feel sorry really for all those people at parties, dancing in the clubs, and drinking away their worries. They really wish they had my life (can you taste the sarcasm yet?) Well happy editing! Hope you are all having a wild and crazy Friday night like I am having right now ;)

Next step is to colour it digitally...

Band Poster (line work)

CD cover

cd cover for Amos Lee: keep it loose, keep it tight

A morning with Pascal Milelli

If you're an illustrator like myself, you're probably familiar with that need to burrow and lock yourself in your home studio and just produce work without a care about the outside world. The good news is that this is a completely natural feeling! Not to worry – unless of course you've become a hermit and lost all contact with the real world, stopped showering and are living off of scraps... then we might need to have a chat. But as many successful people in the industry will tell you, it's important to "surface" every now and then. Gaining insight from your peers and professionals in the industry is extremely valuable – especially when you're just starting out. I had the pleasure of listening to Pascal Milelli speak this morning and I must admit it was extremely insightful. It's important to realize the role of quotes and invoices and that 'money' isn't a dirty word. It's great to see how other illustrators work too. For example, when I was in Brooklyn I found it comforting to learn that Sam Weber transfers his sketches by using graphite on the back of the paper (something I do as well). And today I learned that Pascal uses the grid system. I don't know why illustrators as a group seem to doubt their talents a lot of the time; perhaps because we're such an introspective group of individuals. Whatever your method, realize you're talented and that your work is worth a lot!

A new project started...

Here's a new project I've just started this evening. I'm pretty psyched about it already. After looking through my portfolio I realized I'm lacking some work with a more 'sketchy' feel. So here is the main image for a cd cover I'm working on.

Working in a style you're not comfortable with

Undoubtedly you will encounter a job where the art director is asking you to work in a style you don't normally work in. Ideally, the art director would review your portfolio and hire you based on your style. But sometimes you'll come across a job where you are required to work in a specific vein. Often times you will receive reference material. So how do you resolve this disconnect between the project requirements and your "comfort zone". Research is often the first step. Don't let the word research discourage you. This research is often just looking for visual inspiration: what does this style look like? Who is working in this style? And then thumbnailing comes into play. Sometimes this is the most tedious step. You may need to leave and come back to your work station many times. It can be a discouraging process, but eventually you'll give into the style and let go of the resistance. This is where you'll finally enjoy working in the style: by finding your own way to interpret the project. If you haven't got to this step yet – carry on. You'll get there.

I will post more blogs on my progress soon.

Selling out? or becoming successful?

close up of Hosta leaves in oil;
a work in progress...

Today I spent the day working on an oil painting series which I am hoping to take to a fine art publisher. When painting for this sort of market, it's important that the content appeals to the masses. The more prints sold = the more royalties you'll make. Of course this sort of income is limited since it'll take about 3,000 prints to make you $300. That's why it's also a good idea to think about a theme that is broad enough that you can continue to pump out fine art to add to the collection.
I must warn you though, there are people out there that will tell you that artists who paint for this purpose "sell out". I know because I've seen this sort of attitude in my prior studies when I was in a liberal arts program. However, I'm here to argue that without making money – you're not really in the industry are you? Money is what fuels our jobs (ANY job really). It's a reality. When art isn't a hobby, it's important to remember this. So be courageous and ignore the nay-sayers. 

The influence of music

Studies have shown that music plays an important role in creativity. It has also been said that when you fall in love with a new song – levels of dopamine increase. Proof that I need music in order to function properly. Typically my mornings start off with a big cup of coffee, soon followed by cranking up the stereo. Finding great music to work to is important. Thankfully I often work from home, or with my earbuds in - so I don't need to worry about pleasing others with my music selection. Every project will have its own mood. Generally when I start out on a project I need some music that will energize me and get me pumped up. But if you're looking for a more mellow sound I recommend Amos Lee. I've recently discovered his music and I love it. Check it out for free on grooveshark.com http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Freedom/1RPozn?src=5

Take advantage of sunshine

View from the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge.
Copyright 2011. Vivian Gerber Creatives

I once heard somewhere that it's a good idea to change your clothes after you get home from work. The thinking behind this advice is that your mind-frame changes once you're out of your work clothes and then you can finally relax. Oddly enough this random fact has stuck with me. Which brings up an interesting dilemma when you're doing freelance work... but as most artists will tell you: they eat, live, and breathe art – so separating themselves from work isn't actually an issue. But I think even if you are working in an office, or at school (like I am currently) it's important to take some downtime to clear your head. Take today for example: after two lectures this morning about business practices I had a 2 hour window for lunch. Instead of sitting in front of my iMac, I opted to go out in the sunshine and take a walk around the cemetery (no judgments please... it's actually quite peaceful with a view of the mountains... in case you were wondering) and the equestrian center. Even though you're not being productive at this moment doesn't mean that you won't be later on. Sometimes the best thing to do is to take a break. So wherever you are at this moment, take a moment to glance out a window, or leave your computer for a bit and take a walk around. You never know when and where inspiration will strike... sometimes when you least expect it.

Illustrator woes

This project is proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated. People often warn you that you will become trapped within the computer... (think TRON). So it always is a good idea to start out on paper. Keep your ideas fresh and just get them down on paper, refine them to the point where you're happy with them and then scan and import them. However the catch is that it's much easier to move things around once you get into Illustrator, so you may want to start out there... and this can be your downfall. You can spend hours moving things around and still be no further ahead at the end of the day. I read an interesting section in Foote's The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business. If you're looking to read it, check out chapter 7: Dodging the Ten Pitfalls of Preparing Estimates. I'll save the rest of you the read and summarize for you. Basically one pitfall that any artist (illustrator, fine artist, or graphic designer) can fall into is trying to achieve perfection. Welcome to the downside of being a perfectionist! I'll include a quote here cause this guy knows what he's talking about: "The closer we get to perfection, the more time and expense is involved in attempting to achieve it, and the more elusive it becomes... As an example, let's say that giving a client a creative solution that's 90 percent of "perfection" (your definition) will take ninety hours. To go from 90 to 95 percent won't take a proportional five more hours; it will probably take ten. And to go from 95 to 97 percent of perfection will probably take an additional twenty hours! And so forth."

Notice how throwing mathematics in the mix makes for a more compelling argument? Let's remember that when we're writing up project proposals and job estimates... we'll get into that more later. For now it's back to the drawing board for me... let's see if I can figure out some sort of creative solution on paper and give this laptop a bit of a rest.

Trying to get back into the swing of things...

I thought I would share with you a picture of my workspace (notice the tall mug of coffee... looks like I need a refill). You can see one of my b&w prelim sketches  (along with some inspiration reference). These sketches will eventually be applied to in-flight packaging for a northern airline... I'm hoping to get these scanned this weekend so I can start working with colour and vector images. 

Working from home: a blessing or a curse?

Now many people will tell you that working from home isn't a good idea. Too many distractions they say. They also say things like "you need an environment where people will motivate you to do work".  But if you're like me, home is where the creative juices flow. You'll have to make this decision for yourself. It helps to do a SWOT analysis... plus then you can say things like "according to my swot analysis I work better if I sleep in..." and things like that :D So it helps to know how you work best. What are your strengths and weaknesses? 

a little take-away gift from Topos Graphics that sits on my desk:
a great reminder that money doesn't grow on trees.

Since it is cloudy again today I am going to try and simulate sunshine with my daylight lightbulbs... turn up the space heater and drink some iced coffee. I'll update you on my progress. Stay creative and I shall post another blog soon.

Sunshine on my window makes me happy

I feel like I am a solar powered illustrator. There has to be such a thing right? Or perhaps I'm the first. I feel energized and motivated to get work done when the sun is shining, but when it's cloudy out - beware! Well it's not that I turn into a werewolf or anything when the sun goes down. I guess the sunshine just fits in with my idea of the ideal work day: hot cup of coffee in hand, tunes cranked, and the sunshine flooding in through the windows. Perhaps I will need to invest in some UV lights for my work space or buy some minutes for a tanning bed - though I'm kind of opposed to the orange type of people that seem to emerge from those things (they should really come with a warning that you may be transformed into one of the characters from Jersey Shore... or so I hear – I've never actually watched that show).

It was sunny this morning so I managed to tweak my website a bit more and format this blog to match the same aesthetics... and now? Now it's cloudy... so instead of starting sketching my next illustration here I am writing another blog. Fingers crossed for some sun rays to peak through the clouds.

From sketch to completion...

Sea Change
Short story illustration
Watercolour & Prismacolour
Vivian Gerber 2011

Welcome to the random thoughts of Illustrator Vivian Gerber

If you find yourself reading this then you must have some sort of curiosity or odd fascination with what goes on in an illustrator's head. Well I can't speak for all artists out there, but I can share with you my insight, thoughts, and frustrations. So grab a nice hot cup of coffee, crank up some tunes and enter into my world. Enjoy!