FROM ONE ARTIST TO ANOTHER...

Here’s the kind of thing I was creating back in 1996-97, very much under the influence of my favourite artist (above). Thankfully all of my influences have been absorbed well into my psyche and I’m now happy just being me. Most artists I’ve ever known started the same way, emulating their idols.

I’ll wager my story isn’t too different from yours...

I was born into a working class family in the South of England, was very shy and took to drawing pictures to bridge the huge gap between myself and my fellow human beings. As time passed, I became quite good at it. Then I discovered girls, joined a rock band, enjoyed playing live for quite a few years, and my art sort of took a back seat—until I befriended a very famous and well-respected illustrator who put me back on the path again. As this guy turned me on to a whole heap of great artists, my world was expanding (along with my ambitions). One of the artists he told me I needed to know was Charles Vess (a nice guy and artistic genius). I wrote Charles a very long letter telling him that I was determined to ‘make it’ (or words to that effect). I’m sure he received countless variations of that letter throughout his incredible career. I included a rather crudely drawn ink drawing of a castle (pretty much the best I was capable of doing at the time, I’m sure). Anyway, to cut a very long story short, while living in our little cottage in North Wales, in the middle of winter in 1996, I received a package from the postman. That package contained this letter, four of Charles’ new publications, some pages he’d ripped from a book, and a whole heap of photocopies containing the work of artists he admired. My path was set. This letter indeed changed my life, and I’ve since told him so.

From then on, I’ve spent almost every spare moment focusing on my art and have, over time, tried my very best to help those people who could benefit from any assistance I’m capable of offering. What’s that saying? Pay it forward? In short, I’ve made it my mission in life to make the world as creative a place as I can. My music is still inside me and I play as often as time allows. Creativity, to me, is as important as the air I breathe. More people could benefit from being creative, in my opinion. Creativity, in one form or another, is available to everyone. An artist is not born an artist—those skills must be developed. It doesn’t matter if you come to it as a child, or find it in your 50s; it’s there waiting patiently for each and every person.

So, if you’re holding this book in your hands, and it belongs to you, there’s a very good chance that you’ve been influenced by somebody or something, whether it be a successful artist or a painting you saw once at a gallery. At some point, a light flicked on inside you and you said (whether you remember it or not) ‘I want to do that!’ I remember being asked as a child what I wanted to ‘be’ when I grew up (I’m still waiting for THAT bit, the ‘growing up’ thing—which I hear is over-rated anyway). I replied, ‘I want to be an artist.’ I made that vow there and then and have followed through. Herein lies the lesson. Listening? Here goes, I’m only going to say this once. You can be anything you choose to be. However, decisions must be backed up by action. The amount of action required comes down to the effort you put in; effort usually goes hand in hand with time and with time comes maturity, peaks and plateaus. It’s all forward moving—you can’t possibly fail. It’s simply impossible to get worse at what you do, and if you back it all up with sheer LOVE for what you’re doing, you’re simply guaranteed to succeed. ‘Universal Law’ in action, see?

If you’ve chosen to follow the artist’s path, be prepared for a wild, exciting, emotionally-fueled ride into the unknown. Or simply set yourself a goal and stick to it unwaveringly, rigidly refusing to budge. Or open up to inspiration or ‘the happy accident’. Me, I’d say go for the former, but the choice is yours. Each path leads you to where you need to be.

Here are a few things I’ve personally learned along the way (feel free to add any I’ve missed)...

AIM HIGH

Easy, really. Aiming for the stars and reaching the clouds shows progress.

PLATEAUS

The Universe has a funny way sometimes of making you wait, I mean, REALLY wait until the lessons have sunk waaay down deep before it lets you have that ‘AHA!’ moment, you know, the one where you just ‘get’ it. I call these moments ‘plateaus’. It feels like you’re climbing and climbing, but you can’t see the top of the mountain. You know it’ s there, so you continue to climb, regardless. The Universe, in all its wisdom, gives you a plateau to break up your journey. A small success for your efforts—it keeps you going.

DEDICATION

There’s no shortcut. Not one. Someone else can do your homework for you, but then you miss the lessons you need to learn.

WANTING IT

How badly do you ‘want’ it? Do you really want it? I’ve heard it said, a million different ways from a million different people, ‘I wish I could draw. I can only draw stick figures’. You’ve heard that too, right? People also complain about the ‘lack of time’. Here’s the thing: when I began learning to play the guitar, I picked it up for a couple of hours before I started school. When I finished school, I ran home, often literally, to play my guitar for hour upon hour. I did the same thing when I was learning to draw, or paint. I still draw and paint for up to 8-10 hours a day, every day. I have a wife and children also, and I think I do pretty well, considering. I also know many people in a similar situation who do what I do and still manage. Love WILL find a way. Ever hear the saying ‘Time stands still’? Well it’s true. And it’s also true that you can ‘make time’. Do yourself a favour and every time that little voice tells you why you can’t do something, tell it to be quiet. Keep asking yourself, how badly do you want it.

TRY DIFFERENT MEDIUMS

You might find yourself at a point in your development when you feel the need for a change, or you feel as though you aren’t progressing as quickly as you would like. There’s a chance that you’ve hit a brick wall with the medium you’re currently using. Trying something new not only backs up your artistic arsenal, it can also offer you ways to implement new skills with the medium you’re used to using. For example, I learned glazing techniques by using transparent acrylic paints (as acrylic was my main medium for many years). I’ve since transferred this technique over to my watercolour painting process. See how one can aid the other? Glazing may well have been that very thing you were missing all along. Stay open, try new things—your artistic life can only benefit from it. I was well into my thirties before I gave watercolours a go.

PAINT FROM NATURE AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN

There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that you can add more realism to your art; this in turn will make your work far more convincing. Studying nature will help your fantasy artwork no end. Trust me on this (see here and here for my own efforts).

A WORD OR TWO ABOUT ‘INSPIRATION’

Inspiration: ‘sudden creativity in artistic production’—Wikipedia

To be inspired, you have to be ‘open’. Staying open can lead you to all kinds of wonderful insights. To have insight is an invaluable asset. You can apply these insights in many ways, for example, a surrealist or a symbolist might have a wonderful grasp of dreams, or symbols and concepts not available to the average person. When said insights are applied to artwork, the work then begins to take on a meaning of a more profound nature. Keeping an open mind allows subtlety to creep into your work, (often unbeknownst to you) and it will always give your work depth, and add layers. Inspiration can come from anywhere—from the sunset you’re looking at to a smile from a child. From a piece of artwork you admire to a dream you once had—and all points within and without.

Keep your mind open.

TWO WORDS TO DESCRIBE ‘AN ARTIST’S BLOCK’

Sheer nonsense.

Okay, I’ll elaborate. ‘Artists’ blocks’ are a figment of the imagination of those whiny, beret-wearing, wine-drinking, wannabe-arty farty types. All talking and no doing. If there’s something preventing you from working on your art, it’s a safe bet that there’s something going on in your life that needs looking at. Give it a name, and you make it a ‘thing’. Make it a thing and—like Victor von Frankenstein—you give it life. Bad move. Look at the problems he had!

What to do...

If there’s something you’re working on, and doubt has crept in, leave it for a while. Go away and sketch. Play golf. Wash the car. If that doesn’t work and the problem has deeper roots, take a few days off. Or simply sketch. You’re an artist, remember? If this is the case, I recommend stepping away from the serious stuff (that huge canvas you’re actually earning good money for) and keeping things lighthearted. Idly ‘sketch’ for a while instead. Sketching will open up your mind, take your mind off the problem, and allow the ‘issue’ to gently float to the top of your head and out of your ears, back into the ether where it came from—and where it belongs.

WHAT NEXT?

Now we’ll look at what steps you can take to being more pro-active with your artwork.

Okay. So you have artwork everywhere. It’s your life. Your room is covered with it; your drawers are stuffed full of drawings and paintings. What do you do with it all? I’d like to offer a few suggestions, if I may.

First, pick out your best work. Make a pile. Put the rest to one side or in storage. It served its purpose; it helped you to get to where you are now—with your best work in front of you.

Next, separate it into genres—you know, children’s illustration, Fantasy, Science Fiction, etc. Put them all into relevant piles. Weed out the ones that don’t look ‘quite good enough’. Trust me, if you’re honest, there will be a few.

Once you’ve separated your piles, have a good look at them and see which one sings to you the most. Do you like the children’s book illustrations you’ve worked on the most? The comic art? The Fantasy art? Okay, I’m going to go with the final option (as this is a book about Fantasy Art).

So, in your mind, you’ve just chosen your route: you’ve decided to become a fantasy artist. Put all that other wonderful art away—you won’t be needing it, unless you backtrack and decide to take another route.

Now, sit down and decide what it is that you hope to achieve with your art. To make money? To become a book cover artist? To produce large canvases for sale at conventions and to create prints of your work? The list is as endless as your imagination and I urge you to make a decison and stick with it—for a while at least. A lack of direction usually leads to a lack of results, and let’s face it, we want results. So, you’ve chosen to be a book cover artist? Great. How’s that portfolio looking?

You have some great artwork there—that’s for sure. Those pencil drawings of muscle-bound men and nubile women, wow! Perfect. What’s that? You want to paint light fantasy covers for the teen market? Okay. Out with those then. It’s time to work on some new stuff. Here’s what I’d suggest...

Have a look at the kind of work currently being produced in your target market. Is it rendered in a ‘painterly’ manner? Is the current look ‘slick’ and tightly rendered? Can you produce this kind of work comfortably? If yes, go ahead and work on maybe ten different samples that will show an art director that you, too, have what it takes. How to get the samples to an art director? Read on...

a) Go to conventions, have a chat and personally hand copies of your work over, along with a business card and contact details. You might just get a call. Make sure the copies present your work in its best light.

b) Send sample packs. I’ve received many commissions this way. Always mark it for the attention of the Art Director (it’s even better if you add the name).

c) Send email samples, if the company accepts submissions this way.

d) Build a website and create a blog. Art directors are always on the lookout for new talent. You never know... I picked up a great gig designing a set of six fantasy stamps for my country because I was fortunate enough to have had my work seen on my blog.

e) Network. Join social media pages such as Twitter and Facebook to get your work seen. I can’t stress this enough. It’s very important to have the right people on your side. Even if you aren’t quite ready, people love to see progress. You never know when they’ll be in touch. Build a fan base, accept criticism and keep an eye on the progress of other artists.

From one artist to another... I wish you the very best of luck!