Hey everyone! I think it's time for a decent update. I've been in NG for about a month now, and looking around and commenting on other artists' art opened up my eyes to a gajillion possibilities. I'm coming to realise that while I may be competent in one area (drawing females and HAIR), I seriously lack in several areas that I definitely need to overhaul STAT.

JIN'S GOALS FOR JUNE

1. Characters- I need to produce a bigger variety of characters, in particular Males and Animals. While woman are really pretty to look at, a story needs more than one character type to be interesting. Derp.

So! In order to achieve this I'm gonna need to sketch, sketch and sketch different subjects outdoors. I'm normally not outdoors a lot (maintaining a house requires me to be inside most times, and I work in an office 3 days a week when I'm not at home), so this gesture drawing tool is quite handy. And look, there's one for animals too. Sweeeet.

2. Backgrounds- Yes. I'm sick of plain, boring, and non-existent backgrounds. NO MORE FLOATING IN SPACE! I'm interested in lineless backgrounds that remind me of 1950's storybooks. I want to create a decent series of these. My inspiration will be Mary Blair. <3 Ain't she awesome? | Yes, she is. I don't want to just copy the world around me per se as practice, but I would love to incorporate a story in everything that I draw. That means that the character is not the only one that determines what's happening, but also the background.

3. Vectors! - Oh dreaded enemies of mine. There is just something about traditional medium that gives that human touch that I adore. The rough edges of pen/pencil, the inconsistent drying of watercolour/markers that give depth in a picture, you know what I mean! Even when I'm working digitally, I try to emulate as much "humanity" in my works through hand-drawn lines (no pen tool!), but I think it's time for me to really touch on the animation side, and we all know it's hard to animate pencil marks. From now on, I'll be practicing drawing in vector-based programs such as Flash and Illustrator. I understand Flash from uni, so I know how it works, but I don't think I'll be jumping to animating in like 2 weeks (possible goal for another month). Any help to get me started are welcomed though!

Now random question, is there a big advantage in using a tablet in Illustrator?

4. 3D - Oh yes. 3D. I'm gonna bite the bullet here and push myself to learn to make models in 3Dsmax. I'v actually applied to enrol in a Master of Digital Media next semester though I don't I'll make it in lol. My portfolio isn't very strong after all, BUT here's me trying to improve. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have another skill under my belt.

5. Collaborations - I need to experience what it's like to work in a team (team roles, client briefs, deadlines, that she-bang), so throw me stuff to do! I'd like to do something that isn't my original idea so that I could suck it up, step out of my comfort zone and still draw something great.

In the end, I really want to work either as a storyboard artist, an 2d/3d animator, or a concept artist in either film/animation/game industry (ROFL BIG DREAMS I NO RITE), so I really need a major makeover in my art practice. What better way than to set myself some goals and try to achieve them?

So let's get pumped and get crackin'!