Sparky Firepants’s posterous

In the wacky, weird world of illustration and animation, there's always someone who pops up and says, "Yeah, but the computer just does that for you, right?"
 
Contrary to the belief of a few misguided souls, the computer does not create the illustration (or animation) for the artist.
 
There is no "make this nifty" button in Photoshop.
 
The plug-in for making loveable characters come to life is still in development.
 
Instantaneous voice-activated children's book illustration does not exist.
 
Digital illustrations, like traditional illustrations, are created by people... with their hands.
 
On the other end of the spectrum, there are the artists who don't want to have anything to do with a computer when it comes to their art.
 
Something I've heard repeated in children's illustration circles (oh, there's a circle) is that some traditional artists who have tried using the computer to create their art have been frustrated and discouraged at the high learning curve of the more popular graphic applications.
 
It's no wonder, really. Every new version of Adobe's design suites has a bazillion new features added on. When you open up any Adobe app it can be... intimidating. There are so many menu choices, brush options, color swatches, magic wands, filters, and panels. It's like someone sitting you down inside a Boeing jet and saying, "Take me to Denver." Where would you start?
 
Here's a dirty little secret: I use the Adobe CS3 Design Suite. However, I use about 5% of the features available to me.
 
Five percent.
 
Of the other 95%, eventually I see something online or look up a tutorial when I really need it. BAM! New skill. I may be at 6% by next Tuesday.
 
Another fear-generating method of using a computer to create art is to sit down in front of a blank screen and make something magically appear. The fact that no artist I know does this with a clean sheet of Arches paper or illustration board doesn't seem to matter. Somehow, somewhere, there's an artist who's been made to sit down in front of a Mac and left to figure it out.
 
You know, just play around. Create something. Take me to Denver.
 
What artists new to the computer need to understand is that at the heart of all this digital ulcer creation is simply... art.
 
The way I create illustration hasn't really changed since I was using watercolor. The only thing different is that I learned a new tool.
 
I still create every illustration with a series of pencil or pen sketches on things like notepads, napkins, drawing paper, envelopes, and air sickness bags. You may have access to some this media yourself. I encourage you to exploit the paper technology.
 
In fact, I don't even sit down at my computer until the concept is clear and I have a layout. Take this sketch of a fish picking out his socks (it could happen).

I've already worked this thing over a few times. I'm ready to scan it in and get to work on the final art, but the conceptual thinking, doodling, and messing about took place outside the confines of any Adobe product.
 
There's also a lot of work between here and completion. The computer won't "make it good" for me. If it sucks here, it will suck when it's done.
 
My message to artists new to the computer:
A little fear is a good thing. It keeps you humble. Just don't let it drive you away from learning something new.
 
My message to the misguided souls:
I'm sorry, the awesome button on my keyboard is broken. I will have to make it awesome manually.

I'm a geek for digital technology and I love finding ways to work without paper. The less I use my printer, the better. In fact, every time I find a way to do something in my office that I would normally need a printout for and create a workaround, I get all happy and weird.

It's probably best that I work in here alone.

I've been trying to work around making revisions to client work without printing them. The problem was, I hated going back and forth between e-mail and Illustrator or Flash to make them (most clients just e-mail changes to me so we're halfway to Paperless Land already).

I always printed them out so I could refer to them just next to my keyboard, but I hated myself for it. Not because I'm a tree hugger (vegan is enough), but I knew there just had to be a paperless way.

Simple solutions are always the best (and come to me the slowest, apparently). Working in Flash, I decided to just create a new layer and paste the edits in from the e-mail right under my art board. Of course this works in Illustrator and Photoshop as well.

I just heard someone in the back row say, "Duh." Nice. Come on out and fix my Volvo blower motor, why don'tcha? Using only an iPhone for reference, of course.

If you follow me regularly, you may have noticed that I enjoy my work quite a bit.

I'm ecstatic about a recent client's project launch. They've developed a comprehensive and very cool web site and social network for moms-to-be and new moms called Womb to Bloom (http://wombtobloom.com).

Earlier this year I worked with the creators to develop illustrations and icons for the site that fit their web design and theme of Womb to Bloom. It was so rewarding developing those images, I just can't say it enough. I am PSYCHED about my work here.

Please check out the site. Send the link to your friends and family who are moms-to-be or new moms (or dads). Or, just browse the icons and illustrations and get a glimpse of the fun that I had creating all that stuff. I hope you can feel it. If I were a dog, my tail would be wagging.

*Check out the "Dealing with Discomfort" icon (below). Yes, I had way too much fun here.

Bye bye old studio. You were cozy but you smelled like a gas station bathroom.

Sent from my iPhone

So you're sitting there at home after a long day of working for the (gasp) Man, and thinking about how going solo as an artist will NEVER fly and you won't pay your bills because that blog said you should wait until the economy recovers.

You've got a kid or two and you're wondering how you would put them through college if you don't make a million dollars. Or even get their cavaties filled.

Hi there. I'm from the future.

I'm here to tell you that if you keep working at it, keep looking toward that thing you want to be and all that stuff you want to do, keep marketing your work, keep creating...

It will happen.

Don't quit even when somebody else tells you it's "for the best."

Don't hang up your brush, pen, or stylus because there are more practical ways of making money.

I'm from the future. I already saw your close-to-nervous breakdown next Wednesday. I saw that oil leak you had to get fixed. I totally saw that mustard stain on your portfolio coming and how you used your last $50 to get a new one before the FedEx cutoff.

Keep going. I saw that contract come in from that magazine and how you took the kids out to celebrate.

I was there. Don't quit!

I had an early meeting with one of my illustration clients at a local coffee shop. We've been working together for months on a few projects and meeting at this one place almost every time. Sometimes the meetings are short and to the point ("let's change this," "what if we do this?" "See ya." See ya.") and other times, like today, we end up chatting about our businesses, marketing, and personal projects.

Another client of mine works in a corporate environment but we connect on a non-corporate level throughout different projects we've worked on together. As projects move through various stages, our communication becomes more informal and jokes are traded easily.

Pondering my fortune to work with such easygoing people, I had a thought. The reason the projects I've been working on have been so successful and fun is because I've become friends with my clients through the process.

I don't mean to say that we call each other before bedtime, chat about our love lives, or sign e-mails "BFF." It's just a friendly way of working together and getting projects completed without a ton of stress.

It doesn't happen with every client. Just like when I meet someone new in a non-work situation we don't always hit it off. The projects still get done, but they're not as fulfilling as the ones I work on with friends.

The successful people I've observed and admired in the past have had this quality of being able to relate to co-workers and clients on an informal, friendly level. I believe that's part of what made them successful. It's as simple as this: you want to be around the contractor who seems relaxed, confident, easygoing. The stiff, formal ones make things feel very dire and difficult. See? Not a complex chemical formula there.

I had a boss who, as I moved into management, cautioned me (more of a stern warning) not to become too friendly with my staff. Huh? He wanted to take the rapport I'd built with these people and suddenly be "Manager Guy." Mistakenly I took his direction and needless to say I wasn't as effective as I could have been. Later on I gained enough confidence as a leader to go back to being myself, and it worked out fine. No mutinies or chronically disgruntled employees. It is possible to lead without fear.

Are you friends with your clients? How do you interact with potential clients? Do projects go smoothly for you with more on the way? Do you like working with the people who hire you or do you dread their very existence? Are you projects fun, even the difficult ones?

It's an interesting dynamic to observe. If you can step outside yourself for a little bit and truly see how you come across, you may be surprised. I always am.

*illustration from "Road Trip with Rabbit and Squash" ©2007 David J. Billings

Stay in school. You never know when those pasting skills will come into play.

Sent from my iPhone

It's a whole display of beef sticks. Think about how many displays of beef sticks there are at the many Fred Meyer stores around the country, plus the Costcos, Safeways, Ralph's, et al.

Any country that can display such a huge stock of preserved beef product just because it's a tasty treat is pretty wealthy.

Health notwithstanding.

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

A little Sinatra, a liitle soy. What could be more conducive to creating idears?

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