Project 365

       I've been thinking about trying it again for a while now, but it's been so cold I knew I wouldn't make it past a week. I started one in April 2010 - I did really well and made it to day 292 and then my camera broke =/ of course... SO CLOSE! But anyways, I've been wanting to try again but either I was working wayy too much or it was winter and winter is a terrible time for me to start anything. So; now April is here and it's [supposed] to get warm eventually... so bam, I'm starting it today.

And so here is Day 1: sugar cookies 

we made for Izzy to take to school for her share day. 

Her's were actually frosted yellow with each kids initial piped onto it in blue =P

WISH ME LUCK!

                 Also; rather than posting every day - I'll just post once a week with that weeks photos! I'm so excited!

And; of course if you decide to try it yourself now or later; check out Project 365 Survival Guide - which I wrote while doing it the first time!

#DrawingAlongMarch

       I finally went out and got a sketchbook yesterday, I was uploading a sketch to twitter with the hashtag #drawing and the suggestion #DrawingAlongMarch popped up, which seemed like perfect timing. When I clicked the hashtag everything came up in Spanish so with the help of some translation I found out what #DrawingAlongMarch is, and discovered something even more wonderful beneath the surface!

        First of all; what is #DrawingAlongMarch? Translated straight from this gonzoo page:

"Beyond creating a single virtual meeting point , ' Drawing Along March ' aims to encourage the creativity of Spanish society , ignoring for a minute the issues and concerns of everyday life . " The main thing is having a good time . I think people should draw more . And reading, knitting , writing or cooking . Things that help us to disconnect from the world and be a little happier. All that activity must seek to fill us , "says Marta." We are all creative in varying degrees . In addition , spending five minutes a day to do a scribble we can find much better. It is a moment to unwind, to have focus , discover our capabilities ...are all advantages ! "Added Gemma continuing with the main idea of ​​your partner. Losing the fear is to face a blank sheet is one of the main goals pursued this cyber meeting.There are no restrictions to join the project . Both girls have this very clear paragraph , like all previous structuring the initiative : " Any person , animal or thing can participate. The idea is to make a drawing a day, no matter the technique, while you devote , if you color it , or if it's a doodle done in thirty seconds. It just has to be related to the proposed topic , "explained ."

        So while I'm not Spanish and I'm not terribly good at drawing something stood out "It's a moment to unwind, to have focus, discover..." these words struck out to me, this is what art is, should be.

Each day does have a theme to go along with; which I don't know Spanish well enough and I know the translate isn't translating it all correctly based on what I do know, so if you can translate it, awesome! If not; the idea is still amazingly wonderful ❤❤❤ I'm definitely gonna give it a try myself (=

An Acrylic Adventure.

       First; a few words.
What I Know About Painting
1. you use paint

What I Don't Know About Painting
1. everything not listed above.

       I think this was probably one of the most peaceful, relaxing things I've done in a really long time. It was so nice to just sit there and paint, it's like my mind stopped wandering, worrying,analyzing and thinking about things and allowed me to just exist where I was.

 

artist's block - break it!

    The recurring question “how do I break this artist's block”, we’ve all hit that wall where we just can’t find a way to get anything out, and if we do it’s just rubbish we can hardly bare to admit we created. There are many causes of artist’s block, and luckily many cures!

     Sometimes we're not inspired, this is probably the hardest to overcome because you can't always just make yourself get up and go get inspired. Another reason people hit this block is because they're just bored with what they're doing. Below are a few ways to break either of those causes, use one method, use four whatever you want and whatever it takes. You can get through it.

• Take a break; seriously. This is my first suggestion give yourself a little bit to think, relax, rejuvenate and simply be blocked for a minute, hour or a day or two. Unless you’re in some rush to get it done take advantage of this step. Sometimes your brain just needs a minute to cool down before it powers back up and gets going again.
• Prompts: prompts come in many forms from themes, words/phrases, examples, visual pieces, music etc. They are used to inspire you and make you think about how to represent or respond to the given prompt. [you can google [art type i.e. writing, photography, etc.] prompts or you can use your own.
• Try something new: Think of something you haven’t done/tried before. Then go forth and find a tutorial and give it a try, you’ll create something from that tutorial AND maybe you’ll get inspired to use the method/style in a different way with something else.
• Previous Ideas/Art:
• in my opinion everybody should keep an inspiration journal [writing journal, thought journal, whatever you choose to call it]. We’ve all had those moments where we’re in class, at work, walking our dog, showering, whatever and we have a brilliant idea! Write it down, write it on your hand, write it in the steam on the mirror, write it on a scrap of paper just write it down. And when you get the chance add it to your journal [I do recommend keeping this on you, but it’s up to you. I also know people who keep their ideas in their phone notes because it’s easier to carry your phone then remember a journal] When you get a block, go back to this list and find stuff on there to start, work on or whatever.
• another option is to go back to an old piece of work; think of the ways you improve it and do again, branch off [start a series, make it bigger or even get an entirely new idea!]
• Start a project: Project 365, 52 week project, a monthly themed challenge [NaNoWriMo, 30 Days of Photos, 30 days, 30 sketches], even make one up! Make a goal/challenge to get yourself creating something, anything. It doesn’t have to be fantastic, it has to break that barrier between you and your inspiration. 
• Believe in yourself: if you believe you're never going to create art again, you're probably not. If you keep thinking it's only going to suck, it probably will. Believe in  yourself and your art! Take compliments! Let your head grow! Improve, grow and strive. You'll get through this block, we all have 

SUMMARY 
   ☆ Take a break
   ☆ Give prompts a go [music, words/phrases, visual, etc.]
   ☆ Try new methods/styles/techniques/etc.
   ☆ Go back to old ideas/art and try them [again]
   ☆ Start a project [daily, weekly, month long, etc.]
   ☆ Believe in Yourself

*** This is an older article I had written on deviantART in 2010, while updating my old posts/journals/articles, I decided to share some of them here. Maybe you'll find them useful as well ♥ ***

Penguin Nails

       I really have nothing special to say about them, other than they're pretty freaking awesome! *dances*

Surviving Project 365

The beginning of the year brings hopes, aspirations, resolutions and PROJECT 365. Here's some helpful tips to help you get through your project 365 a bit easier

What is project 365?
Project365 is originally the goal of taking a photo a day for a year [totalling in 365 photos]
BUT; you can do it with anything
write something every day
do a sketch/drawing a day
make a craft a day

With that possible question cleared up, many of us set forth on New Years day with the ambition of completing this project, but ideas do grow slim, creativity fades, time just simply doesn't allow it, ambition and excitement over the project grows weary... simply put; interest gets lost along the way here and there.

Thus, this year, armed with your fresh new, Project 365 Survival Guide, you are ready to start your project and FINISH!


Why do it?
There are many reasons to do it; the main two being
* to improve your art
*to keep a diary of your life


ALWAYS, always, always take your tools on you!
This is a pretty basic concept, but an extremely useful one. Keep your tools on you; your camera, pen & paper, pencil & sketchbook, tablet, whatever. This will be the most helpful advice I can give you.

Ever see something and think "I wish I had my camera?"
Or have inspiration to write hit you at the bank?
Maybe you see something while you're waiting somewhere that you want to draw?

Since you are now going to be doing it every day it's going to be a lot easier to have your tools with you wherever inspiration may strike.
Plus; this will fit into your daily schedule a whole lot better than setting time aside each day to accomplish your work.

If you forget your camera; use your phone camera. It may not be the best quality but it will be a photo regardless which will work if you don't find another opportunity that day.
Same goes for writing or drawing; you have a notepad on your phone and you can take a photo of whatever you want to draw.
Your phone will probably be extremely helpful in your project!


Have a goal & support
What's the point in doing a project this extreme without a goal? So you have a large collection of photo sitting around on your harddrive? Some do this to improve their skills and create a chart or meme [day 1, day 25, day 50, day 75...etc.]
Personally I did mine with the goal of turning it into a book. That way I can look at it sitting on my coffee table one day and say "hey, that was an interesting year".

I've heard of some people who say things like "for every month I get to..." and treat yourself to something. If you work better short term with a reward at the end go for it. At day 100 I bought myself something I had wanted and did the same following that.

Also; tell your friends and family what you're doing. It's hard to stay excited about something if you're the only one that knows about it and how hard you're working. Let them be your cheerleaders. Even if they aren't interested in your art most of the time they will still support your goal, and they probably wouldn't object to a quick overview every once in a while!


Don't wait until last minute!
Imagine this... it's 11:54pm and you remember you haven't done your project today. It's dark, it's almost over and you're potentially tired. Take something earlier in the day, if you find something better later then awesome, if you don't at least you have something to fall back on.
At least you won't end up with the case of in 6 minutes all you can find are your dirty socks, broken hair ties and a bag of stale chips.

Plans & Back-up Plans
I'm not talking Monday - this, Tuesday - that, Wednesday - this; that would make this incredibly tedious.
If you're a photographer get to know the area around you, plan some mini-trips, get a plan of things/places you can do/go to get different things. Do you really want to take a photo of your grandmas garden everyday? It gets old.

So; you're sitting there and your daily project is finished but: OMG You have a brilliant idea! Write it down! Seriously; write down all your ideas in a notebook, a memo on your phone, whatever. Just keep a list because there will be days you're not inspired and when those days come oh look, you have ideas!
[another suggestion is try the 100 theme challenge, you can complete two challenges at once!]
You can also join groups on dA that offer prompts, online groups, blogs, tweeters(?) that offer daily/weekly/monthly prompts


Experiment
Project365 is the perfect chance for you to experiment and try new things. You're in this for a year, so why not have fun with it? It is your perfect chance to try/learn new techniques, perfect old ones and work on something different you wouldn't normally do.


This is 365 pieces, NOT 365 masterpieces
This is a tough one for a lot of people, you're not going to get a perfect artwork everyday! Don't scrap everything because you didn't get a great piece for the day. One thing you'll notice through the project is the improvement you've made. What took you all day in the beginning may only take you a short time now.
Also you get to learn new things like mentioned above, if it's not perfect, oh well. You're learning! And by learning, you are really improving.


Promote your project
Let people follow your project. Create a folder in your gallery, make an album on Facebook, create a blog, a flickr account, etc. Let the world see what you're doing. Not only does this open the chance to share your project and perhaps get some feedback, it also keeps an organization of your project.


Be Organized
This isn't the most important, but it is very helpful. Create a specific folder titled 'project 365' and put your work for the project in there. It makes it easier to keep track of where you are and see your improvement than having them scattered about your computer. If you have a special folder for art, you can always move the photos into there later.


Other Stuff
    * Don't have time for project 365? try a 52 week challenge. A 52 week challenge is a less intense version of project 365. Instead of a project a week for a year
    * Pick a date that works for YOU - sure Jan. 1 is quite memorable, but, so is your birthday. Christmas when you got your new gear, ect. I started mine April 1. Spring reminds me of a 'fresh start'.
    * ENJOY THE RIDE! - this isn't supposed to be a chore, it's a fun project involving something you love. This is your project, your rules, your art!

selective color tutorial - GIMP

I don't write a lot of tutorials, mostly because my descriptions are often confusing; but I notice a lot on Facebook people wanting to do selective color on photos of their children and such; so here is an actual tutorial for you. I posted it quite a while ago on my dA page, but it works for the latest updates of GIMP as well.
If you don't have GIMP it is free to download and while it's not photoshop it is a decent equivalent of it.

Some photos I've done using this method: