Concept Art 101

2013 is a day away and it s time to hit the refresh button. Most of us will set new goals which will help set us off to a new direction for a new year.  Goals can be short term and long term. Short term goals are mile stones that help you reach your long term goal. This post focus on short term goal. One of the best way I learn to establish and reach a goal is to set smart goal that are  S pecific, M easurable, A ttainable, R ealistic, and T imely. Specific -  For instance, ' I want to draw better, ' is not specific enough. " I want to design 4 new characters by next month, and I will set aside 4 hours each day for this task," is more specific. The more specific your goal is, the directions you ll be able to get to that goal. It 's like a mailing address, you need to have the address number, street name,city, state and zip code.  Put down what you want to accomplish, when you want to accomplish it by, and how you will do it.  The more detailed and specific y...

Setting goal is quite easy, but reaching a goal can be quite daunting depending on how big your goal is. Once you have figure out what the outcomes you want, you have to reverse engineer and plan out a course of direction which act as a map to help you get from point A to point Z. The following are some safe guards to help you jump over hurdles in your path and  help keep you on track and focus to reach your destination. Milestones - you should have weekly checkpoints and review on your task and performance. You can break down larger task to smaller chunks.. For instance, you may say, " I want to design a new sci fi concept matte painting per week." The milestones for that task can be broken down to research, rough sketch or composition study, value block in, color study, collect photo textures, apply photo textures, adding finishing touches and so on. Then slowing chip away each little task everyday.  By breaking down large task to smaller chunks will help you ...

If you ever wonder why some of your fellow classmate or friends seem to improve faster than you, there are logical factors that can help explain this.  The following are a list of factors I will highlight Time factor - This one is a no brainier. It s common sense that the more time you spent doing an activity the better you will be at it. But time spent without intensity and intention will get you only to a certain level. Intensity factor - It s like building muscle for strength, the harder and more intense you push in each workout, the more result you will gained. One way to gauge your intensity level is if what you are doing is too easy, then maybe you need to increase your intensity level and push harder.  If your not pulling your hair out, throwing your pencil on to the wall, and shouting in frustration at your monitor, then maybe you aren't challenging yourself enough. Intention factor - Working with intention is like understanding what your weakness is and knowing...

The following are topics that I will cover due to demand, in the next week or so. -How much to charge -How to be more efficient -How to find work -Why do one person improve faster than other -How to stay focus and stay on track of your goal Cheers!

I m going to start doing a weekly photoshop trick of the week soon when I get some more free time away from work. I going to break down the common tool and trick I use in my work flow. I will demonstrate how to incorporate the tool into your work flow through examples in my work. Stay tune! :)

Learning how to edit your own work is one of the most important thing every artists need to develop if they want to get to the professional level. You have to be your own art director and the artist in one package. When I was a student, I learn the most from work critique by the instructors  Especially, when they drew or paint over my work. It helped me develop an eye on how to recognize mistakes and edit my piece to make it more interesting. The problem can be anything, it could be the color schemes is off, or the composition doesn't feel right, or the design is not there, or your anatomy and perspective are inaccurate...it could be one or a combination of these issues that make your piece dull and boring! The only way to overcome this barrier is by seeing someone editing your mistakes. Making something looks unique and have a wow factor take experience and trial and error. I have not figured it all out, but I m definitely a lot better at looking at my work now and know ho...

There are some people out there that can draw from the day they are born. Then there are the rest of us who need to learn how to draw.  But like learning how to drive a car or ride a bike, there are steps along the way that you need to master for you to be able to perform those tasks effectively and efficiently. The act of drawing is no difference, it 's just a more challenging skill to acquire and require more time investment to develop. There is a science behind drawing and can be broken down to two major components. They are the physical and mental aspects. Physical: The act of sketching something require the muscles in your arm to extend in a specific direction to make a mark on the paper. Drawing for the first time can feel like writing with a left hand (if you are right handed). The lines aren't straight and your arcs are wobbly. But after a few days, you noticed your drawing hand is more steady and have more control over how you laid down the lines. This is caused...