Birthday Brrrraains!

Recently I was asked to do a very special commission which I'm excited to finally share with everyone!



Like me, Asher is a huge Plants vs Zombies fan! His favorite zombie from the game, produced by PopCap, is the elusive and mysterious Yeti Zombie. I was asked to draw the Yeti Zombie for buttons in time for his birthday and right away I knew I had to make brain ice cream!

I enjoyed everything about this request, but when I received the photo this morning I was on top of the world. There's nothing like drawing for kids!

Artist's Block

For five issues Dr. James S. Payne has been writing about Writer's Block on WritersNewsWeekly.com. Writing is an art, so Artist's Block and Writer's Block go hand in hand. Artists of every medium get stuck from time to time and often for the same reason.

Most people who draw "get rusty" from not drawing often enough. We get "stuck" or "uninspired" when we can't think of what to draw. We often say we're "in a rut" when we can't seem to produce anything for an extended period of time. These are all excuses we use when we can't get around the block.

So what is the Block, anyway? I think Dr. Payne explains it best in his second article on Writer's Block:

"When an author experiences writers block, he or she is imagining failure. The more one imagines failure, the greater the anxiety..."

As artists we put pressure on ourselves to perform. Every piece that we produce is a reflection of us, so we want them all to be something great and the fear that the next piece won't be great can be devastating. I can't tell you how many pages of my sketchbook I've torn out and thrown away over the years because I didn't like what I was producing and I didn't want anyone else to see it. Embarrassment, or the anxiety and fear of being criticized for or embarrassed over one's artwork, is the basis of Artist's Block.

So how do you get over it? I think one of my professor's said it best, or maybe it was passed on from one of his professors:

"You have a lot of bad drawings in you, it's best to get them out now..."

Not every piece you produce is going to be a winner and that's true for every artist no matter what their skill level. Artists suffering from the Block need to accept this. It's okay to "fail" but artists should not look at bad drawings or bad criticism as failures. Learn from a bad gesture and start over. It's okay to throw away that sketchbook page as long as you try again. If you get bad criticism, even if it's nasty, try to take something positive from it. If you feel "burnt out" take a break and it's okay to pick up a crayon, magic marker or pen and doodle something silly. This can be a great way to relax and have fun! FUN! Remember? Drawing is suppose to be fun! So put down that professional piece and scribble out some fan art with your little sibling's jumbo crayons!

You can read Dr. Payne's articles here. He is one of my favorite columnists on WritersNewsWeekly.com and the author of the PeopleWise series which was published by SterlingHouse.

The Pro's of Fan Work

Recently a colleague of mine spoke of her friend, a "brilliant writer," who used her talent to write fan fiction based on her favorite TV series. "What a shame." my colleague said.

For the most part, artists and writers see fan work as flattering tributes to the original. Inspired by the original work, they often share their inspired creations with friends and online fandoms. Some critics may look at this and say, "What a shame. They should be doing their own work!" Others see it as a flattering tribute. I see it as a potential promotional tool for the young artist or writer.

This week I wrote an article for WritersNewsWeekly.com about the Pro's of Fan Work (primarily fan fiction) and how the growing artist or writer can benefit. You can read the full article by clicking here.

Here are a few examples of successful fans who's fan work gained them the attention of some big industry names:

N. Matsumoto (aka spacecoyote)'s Simpsons and Futurama fan art that she shared on deviantart.com earned her a job with Bongo Comics, a company created and owned by Simpsons creator Matt Groening. She will be working on a short Simpsons manga and has been contacted by 20th Century Fox to potentially work on the relaunch of Futurama. You can read the full article about Space Coyote's success by clicking here.

Harry Potter fan, Francisca Solar, wasn't happy with Rowling's fifth book in the popular series so she wrote her own sequel "Harry Potter and the Decline of the High Elves." Published on fanfiction.net, her story received positive reviews from all over the world and was viewed more than 80,000 times. Harry Potter publisher, Random House, took notice. The company liked her work so much they offered her a contract to write her own original trilogy. You can read more about Francisca and her series by clicking here.

Writing fan fiction or drawing fan art can be a simple labor of love, fun hobby and a way for a fan to give back to their fandom or express their inspired fantasies. In many cases, fan work serves a more professional service, acting as a form of practice for the growing artist or writer. Fan work can prove to be a fun exercise in emulating existing styles in drawing or writing. This can lead artists and writers to branch off and create their own original pieces. Fan work also makes great online portfolio bait. Think about how many people Google search their favorite books, shows and characters. Lure viewers to your portfolio website with fan work of a popular subject, and you have a better chance of getting your original work noticed.