Congratulations, your 2015 sounds amazing :) My goal for this year is to cut down on freelance work. Open up my etsy shop, manage to earn there what I cut down on FW as well as launch my website which is dedicated to helping others creating their own creative business and being successful with it! For that I broke down my big goals in tiny baby steps so they can be done in an hour or less and are less intimidating. Also I'm a big believer in routines as well, especially in the morning and at night. So I start the day off with a 20min walk through my neighborhood to get my blood pumping and being fully awake and energized, at night I read as soon as I'm in bed to cool down , relax and have a good nights sleep. I wish all of us here the best of luck, let's make 2016 our year! :)
Really great advice. My goal is improve on my drawing skills and share that journey with other people. I would set intentions such as creativity and discipline, as my main goal for 2016.
I relate to you wanting to "cut out the fat" like menial bs that people do all day instead of working, however it seems like a lot of what your saying is kinda unhealthy, no one should be focused so much on work that they cant enjoy stuff on downtime. Not everything people do needs to fulfill a goal. Sometimes in order to recharge and get your art to 100% you need that time off to watch stupid crap on tv or you need that time to read. Not everything is about micromanaging. You just have to do less of that a week, like allow it only in small periods like 30 mins or something. Cause in my experience, those who arent allowed candy for their diets, eventually binge and ruin their hard work. Whereas people who work and occasionally have sweets stay on track.
Calvin is SO adorable!!!! Thank you for the great tips! I need to watch, again, while sitting and focusing. Need to sit and figure out the vision, etc.
I finished up 2 novels this year. One is a 45,000 word book and the other is a 200 pages graphic novel. My plan for 2016 is to hire an editor for both and pump out the art work for each. Super Excited for the new year!
I really appreciated this video because, as most of your videos do, it put words to what I know I need to do. This year my goals are -Get an agent -Get a booth at a comicon. -Self publish several books through Amazon -Work in the "commercial" market, illustrating beginner books and magazine adds. I don't mind not making it big or becoming wildly popular, I just want to make a living really.
I always value your talks Jake, its very motivational to hear you talk about setting goals and executing those goals. We have similar ways of setting goals, that's very reassuring to me. I create a painting a day and a new youtube video each each week, so living a structured workday has helped me enormously. Although I do not take a sabbath day, usually I tend to break the sabbath day into a two days throughout the week where I stop working at 5 and go enjoy the company of others. But I think if you are disciplined in that it can be 6 of one, halfdozen of the other. I look forward to doing my year end review this month. Thanks so much for sharing, Jake.
I have a full time job, and I try to motivate myself to practice my art at night when I get home. And sometimes I do, but other times I don't. I feel tired and I just want to chill and don't feel like drawing, and then I feel guilty about it because I'm not gonna improve >.
HI Jake! Great video. I heard about you from the Oatley Academy interview you did with Shawna. I definitely agree with trimming the fat. I even go so far to say, "do chores, but do them kind of crappy". For instance, my sock drawer has socks in it, but now I own all white one so I don't need to ever find a match. They all match. I stop folding dish towels. We cut out paper napkins and other wasteful things but that leaves a lot of cloth napkins, which now live washed and unfolded in a basket. I only watch TV after I quit for the day, and I'm all about audio books too! I make a schedule every month in google calendar and I have a yearly schedule (which is mostly rough goals for the quarter). This helps me keep track of the day to day but also gives me the flexibility to move stuff up or down depending on how light or heavy my 9-5 job is at the time. Thanks again for the post!
This was SO helpful. Thank you Jake Parker. I was feeling sort of drained, and artistically parched, but listening to your youtube videos has really helped me out of it. You rock. Thanks for doing these videos.
Jake - Thank you so much for making these videos they are such an incredible help to me. I am a high school art teacher and have recently decided to start a side project writing and illustrating a children's book and possibly a graphic novel. It's a dream I've had for years - Your videos are so helpful in not only giving sound advice but in getting me motivated and stop getting stuck in the fear of starting a project - but instead to take the initiative in getting my dreams out of my head and into a realized form. I love your work - I plan on taking some classes at SVS as well. Thanks again you are truly inspiring.
Jake, I've been watching a lot of your videos lately and it's been helping me a lot. I'm a professional illustrator, art teacher and comic author. I get all you say inthis video, and I'm trying to organize my schedules and projects like you do. Also, I've been facing some creative issuesand I guess maybe my daily routine isn't helping, so I've been trying to organize. Thanks a lot for your insights and availability to make the videos. You rock.
Great video Jake! Awesome drawing and thanks for the tips. I always look forward to seeing your new work. I can't wait for Skyheart! I really hope you get the book deal you are looking for.
What an amazing year, man. Obviously your personal projects are on the forefront for your followers, but that's a ton of freelance work too. Well done! Really love your ethic.
Hey Jake. Just want to say thanks for all you've done this past year. Following your creative journey must have been one of the best choices I made in 2015. You inspired me to follow my dream of becoming a full time artist, and I am loving every moment of it. I managed to complete inktober for the first time this year and I can clearly see the results of it in my current work. My goals for 2016 are to launch my webcomic and have my art exhibited, but the list will keep growing as I progress. I wish you all the best for the festive season and a happy new year! Thanks!
My goals for next year are mainly the same ones I had last year: finally sort out those medical problems I have with my nerves and tendons in my arms and neck. Made huge improvements by having a fairly rigid stretching and exercise routine, but I have the occasional setback.
Man, Jake, this is exactly the video I needed. I really appreciate you laying out your goals, routine, etc for us. I've been struggling with my goals/plan being all over the place every day and didn't even realize that was what my problem was until you laid it out for me. I also definitely needed to be reminded about the day of rest thing too. I think God really blesses us when we honor Him in that...and I also think that He knew we need that as humans when He told us to take a day without work. So yeah, great vid! Gonna favorite and re-watch whenever I feel bogged down or overwhelmed again. And since you asked, my goals for this year are to...figure out what branch of the industry I want to get into. Which I know is against your rule about being to broad. I've narrowed it down to book illustration/comic work...or possibly animation concept stuff since I have a bite in that direction from Reel FX, which is sort of a childhood dream of mine to work in that field. But I just don't know if I'm ready/if my portfolio is ready so I'm doing freelance illustration at the moment and doing SVS to try and force myself into emulating the rigor of that industry to see if I can even hack it.
Your video just taught me a neat trick! I love the effect you're getting using that white pencil to go over the drawing for some highlights. Thanks so much!
My goals so far: focus on DOING art (gave that up for too long) then SHARING art on social media and my website - finally started an instagram :) also, complete SVS Learn's Third Thursday. Thanks for sharing with us, Jake.
Last year I kind of broke down totally after continually breaking and picking myself together every other year. This time coupled with several major hardships wound me up in a mental health ward during the holidays during that time. After that I've gotten a diagnosis. I'm getting help and my plan for the year past was to get things working again and it kinda holds together now. It feels like a kayak stapled together, but it's better than a broken kayak. My plans for the year to come? I don't know. I worked almost constantly through all of 2013 and 2014... So I guess it would be making things that drag me out of obscurity, something with a bit more status that one can tack on ones wall and go "yes, I did that!". But the things I tend to get the most invested in are things which doesn't matter to anyone but myself. So I don't quite know how to make it all work. Maybe I need more concrete goals,
Thanks for sharing your routine and how you plan your time. There’s so much I want to achieve (perhaps too much), but on top of my day job (teaching ESL in Korea) I’m already 35 but still trying to make illustration my main job (anywhere, not just Korea). I’m working to crowd fund a classic novel with my illustrations (at least 30), on top of doing 2 TH-cam channels (1 based on my illustration work and 1 on traveling and drawing at unique destinations), AND of course I have to set aside a good chunk of time learning Korean. I picked the wrong country to live in cuz I don’t really mesh well here but my wife is Korean and it’s cheaper than America anyway. Ha ANYWAY, your advice helped me understand how I ought to organize my time better. Thinking I should do a little of each every day but actually that’s burning me out. MUCH better to focus on one thing a day as you explained. Thanks for mentioning your faith too. God bless you bro.
Great insight as always Jake, this years a big one for me as far as goals go. I have 2 Graphic novels lined up, One's a pro wrestling comic called Blood Stained Canvas, the other is my own Personal Horror project called Welcome to the Freak Show. I'm going to finally start my own youtube channel! And this will be the first year I attend comic conventions as an artist, Last year I gave set myself the goal of attending NYCC 2016 as a creator! Plus a lot more that I can't remember right now. Can't wait to receive my copy of SkyHeart, Keep it up Jake!
This is super helpful! I'm recently graduated from high school so I'm still kind of in that between stage of not really knowing how to function without a school life that's been rigorously scheduled for me already. Feel like this advice will really help me feel that I'm actually accomplishing something in my goals and dreams.
Hi Jake! Thanks so much for pointing me towards this vid... it helped a loooot! It´s great to hear such enlightening stuff... (and beautiful illustration btw ;) )
Thanks for your advices Jake, they are great. I just got cut off from the agency I was working, I'm a graphic designer, and had this need to make myself the one and only agency to work for. Your videos have full me with things to consider and think about. I can't get rid off freelance, not right away. They will be the only income of money, but my time will be split between freelance and my own projects. What I can do, is to try to make this freelance projects to be related only with what I really want to do, that is motion graphics, and animation. Anyway, thanks again for your time.
Great video for the end of the year! Even though my year was no way close to yours, but it was still by far my most productive year artwise. - I made like 7 oil paintings on figure drawing classes I attend - since may I made regularly digital paintings and won SVS 3rd thrusday.. that was like from zero to hero for me :) - I quit playing video games - I have done Inktober I am still torn on what to do next year. I have to choose... either do project for my children books portfolio - try to illustrate a fake book assignment....or to try to prepare a fanasy illustration portfolio since I met some people and it seemed like there might be an opportunity. I also want to watch more SVS and Schoolism classes, hopefully I will somewhat incorporate it into portfolio making. The hardest thing will be to adjust my day-to-day routine and do instead of 1 digital painting per month I would need to do like 4 to have some bank of images to choose for my portfolio (or realize I am not ready yet :) )
Thank you for this and all of your videos. My goals for 2016 are to finish my creator owned series The Red Ten. It was a 10 issue series and I am putting the finishing touches on issue 9. So far I am on schedule to finish by the middle of May a full month ahead of schedule. I'll then be gearing up for a Kickstarter of the Second volume. All very exciting stuff.
Appreciate so much of what you're saying here, I'm gonna go work out my own version now, thank you! And congratulations on the bot and sparrow book! You did it!! 🎉
Hi jake!! Great video! this year i decided to make a daily drawing everyday to improve my drawing skills i plan to keep it up next year, at the same time i dedicate like 2 hours on a separated illustration (a big one) and have a new one every 2-3 months :D and i want to finish writing a story i already have a character and a little story i just need to write more, inprove it and skecth the book, is going to be my first childrens book so i need to make it good :D
Very motivating talk. This year i'm planning to subscribe to SVS Learn, which is where i got to know about you. I want to be an illustrator.. never been to art school but have a 'fluid talent' that need to get in higher 'channel talent' mode.. i'm lazy and unorganized.. too much intimated.. need some daily plans and cut the fat out.. no Facebook from now on.. Thank you for sharing this inspiring video.
Yeah Ditto for the audio books. I've stopped watching television a long time ago. Just because it's horrible. Became a lot more selective with video games. I still do play a few of them a year (I work in a video game studio so I have to stay informed about the state of the art). No TV shows that with an IMDb rating below 9. And if possible play them on the second monitor while drawing. The idea is if you're going to set aside time for films or shows or games, make sure it's the best shows or films or games. Things that will inspire you, give you food for thought, where you walk away with something you did not have before watching it. Don't involve yourself with things that just kill time.
Hey Jake, great and inspirational video as always! My main goal is to continue with good habits and cutting off all this fat that distracts my mind. It will make the rest of the goals, these more physical, much easier to achieve. I'm thinking about changing my email time as you said but I'm not sure if I want this. Having all the reading and responding done in the morning sets me free from worrying about it for the rest of the day and this is good.
I am glad to be getting wisdom about my future in kids books from Godly men like you and Ty Carter (had a mentor program). Do you plan on doing a mentor program some time? I would like to have a mentor for children's books specifically. Sundays off are biblical advice. Next I am glad to hear your routine. I am working on not wasting time on Facebook and e mails so much. During my creative time I plan to have a warm up doing a life drawing or Proko practice. During my 4 daily hours of creative time I plan to work on picture book online portfolio, a story I am writing and a fan art book in the works. I love the idea of departmentalizing time eaters like email. When I know I will get to it I will forgo doing it for the good of keeping time to creativity. I just graduated from a university with a BFA in Drawing. Now I can focus on drawing more since I do not have to spend it studying for an exam or such things. In one week I have been able to do 2 pages in my fan art book and outline my picture book and color two pieces for my website. Business wise I am going to a conference in the fall with Will Terry in Dallas and also going to do some research at a Fan Days con with my daughter. Going to combine family time with a little business. Also, at night I sit at a table while my family watches a movie and I get some drawing in. Thank you for the post, I needed structure and you gave me some. Love your work on SVS Learn. I am presently watching your series on creating picture books. Sorry this is a long post but I wanted to share. God Bless you and your family, Jake.
So at the end of year i will be a comic artist and i will start continue my comic art series and i will also get better at my foundations of art and make some sick character designs that i may or may not use in incoming comics
Thank you so much for this video! I've recently been searching for advice on exactly this topic to help me clear up my mind/schedule for the coming year, so the timing couldn't be better. And as a musician/teacher the advice coming from a fellow artist's POV was extremely insightful and on point. Really helpful, thank you!! Just a question concerning daily schedule. When you have multiple projects running at the same time and you need to do work on both daily, do you find yourself dividing it up more often by time or by small daily goals for each? Also, I'm just curious what time you usually start your work day?
thanks so much for the video, the technique shown is awesome and im definately going to try that! but certainly the way to increase productivity in a day is a really nice tip, thanks alot, mr parker!
Thanks! This was really helpful. I need to add more structure to my weeks to really push forward with what I want to do. My freelance work (totally unrelated to my illustration unfortunately) really gets in the way though.
Jake, are you still planning on releasing the commentary for the illustrations in the Drawings 3 book? I would really like to hear what you have to say about the sketches in this book. Also please, reprint the Drawings 1 book.
Great video once again! Everything I accomplished in 2015 was starting my own comic series and I got 4 issues under my belt too. Ontop of that, I did 200 days where I updated everyday about working on my own comic series. Looking forward to next year I'm hoping to get 5 issues done of my series AND put together a new comic for a friend. Going to be running a Patreon to show the whole process from start to finish as well so hoping for a solid year just like this last one! Of course Art Drop Day again and hoping to get out to the west coast and see the Pacific. Are you planning on keeping us up to date on the behind the scenes stuff trying to get the book series for Skyheart? I think that'd be immensely helpful. All the best for 2016 too, Jake! Cheers!!
A couple of years ago I sat down to write out goals and I ended up with 6 major goals. I eventually realised this was too much, I would never get anything done if I tried to maintain all 6 at once. So part of my cutting out process (after I uninstalled my PC games!) was to put most of those goals on the back-burner and just focus on my webcomic: making the pages, promoting, maintaining the website. Speaking of promoting: it's at www.tolcraft.com/ ! Great video as always, Jake!
This is what I obsess over, even after reading self help & think positive books, I'm not where I want to be. I want to move to Boston, go to Mass Art (not so much for art but to meet like-minded people) I live in a great place now but I don't relate to people around here. Mostly mainstream here. Anyway, thanks for the advice I found it very helpful
Hello Jake. Thank you for this video. I would like to know how many hours a day do you work on your own project ? ... and do you take time to relax (tv, reading, etc) at the end of the evening, before going to bed ?
Hi Jake, that's an amazing video that you've made. You're really inspiring and I really dig your art. Inking over the gradient is a really interesting idea, can you tell me on what kind of paper you printed it?
The sabbath day advice really rang true for me, especially the bit about those random, hard to measure rests you give yourself when you're trying to do all seven days. Do you find that just not being as scared of drawing, being less in search of your own offering helps these days? Or did Skyheart blow up any sense of safety? :D
jake, what is the name of that pentel pen? i went looking for it, but I didn't see one like it. also, I'm buying your comic book class soon. looking forward to it.
hey jake i am 12 years old and i draw every day on a routine. i also want to be a illustrator or artist. i am asking you from where did you start and how did you get to where you are now. thanks
Muito obrigado por esse vídeo postado, eu admiro o seu trabalho, o meu objectivo é tornar-se um ilustrador em 2016 Eu quero melhorar meus desenhos e trabalho no campo da ilustração. Mais uma vez, obrigado por me inspirar !!!
I want to finish writing and drawing at least 2 graphic novels this year and write a pilot script for a show/movie series... Any tips or sights for writing a story?
That part about cutting freelance work really struck home. It's good work, it's fun work, it pays money, but it sucks all your time and effort out of you.
hi jake, can i ask you a important question. i am planning on buying prisma col erase pencils and i looked on dickblicks .com and it said for the bulk kind for 0.86 a piece for 12 of them. do they come in all the same one color or do they come in different colors. and then there are ones that cost seprate that are 87 cents a piece that are the same color. my point is what would i get the better deal out of.thanks for taking your time to read this wish you and your family a merry christmas and a happy new year
Hi Jake, just finished watching this for a third time. I'm sure you are sick of hearing this but your videos are always so insightful, educational and inspiring (equal parts!) TLDR: Sorry for the long post. In a nutshell; what advice do you have for managing social media and your online following and expanding it? And can you give any insight on how you maintain your health whilst balancing your work load? Which do your prioritise? Thanks! My goals this year: 1) Complete an 8 issue comic series ( www.danleecomics.com/everland ) that I am handling all writing and art chores on as well as 2) finish writing a 5 issue series that is being drawn by someone else. 3) I would also like to do more non-project based, non-digital drawing and sketchbooking in general as I always seem to neglect just drawing for fun and 4) increase my online following. Although the above seems like a lot, I'm thinking of also trying to find time to 5) make more time for general study, wether it be to my craft, or research or just filling my head with cool ideas and imagery (the creative bank account!) though I'm not sure if this is stuff that will come along naturally whilst working on goals 1), 2) and 3). How I plan to achieve them: 1), 2) and 3) Mainly by scheduling and getting out of my own way, trusting my gut a bit more. Probably easier said than done. I've been working on the first issue of 'Everland' for several months now, fitting it in around studio jobs and freelance work, but now I am fortunate enough to be able to work on it full time, so there is really no excuse. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to getting started on work, beating myself up over every little thing which leads to slow starts. What I have found works best for me is waking up around 6am, going for a walk and having breakfast, then getting started drawing around 8/8.30am, working on comic pages until around 2pm, breaking for lunch and another walk, then working on script writing until about 6pm. At the moment, every day does NOT go like this, at least one or two days per week go sideways, but the pattern I've described above is what I've noticed works well for me, especially if I set up to work out of the house where there are less distractions. I hope I can make every Monday to Friday like this, with Saturday left for more leisurely drawing. As for 4), I have no idea how to achieve this without coming across as spammy. I have a core website which lists my projects, holds my comic work and links to all my social media outlets; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr which I try to post on 2 to 3 times per week. Twitter and Instagram seem to work best for me, but numbers are still low. I've recently set up a dedicated art page on Facebook which is moving extremely slowly, and Tumblr I've never been able to quite wrap my head around. Do you have any advice on managing and expanding your social network/online following? Perhaps it could be a topic for one of your videos. Trimming fat: a) Keep texting and social media interaction to break times only. b) Cut out general/rabbit hole internet browsing. c) Cut down on reading comics. I find I read a lot of full runs/story arcs just because I feel I have to start what I finish, and as a result end up reading a lot of mediocre, junk food comics (damn comixology app and it's never ending sales!) d) Probably the biggest one; general indecision. It's my biggest downfall. Making any decision is a huge effort for me, wether it be what to eat, what movie to watch, what to work on, etc. I'm working on it, and it seems to be getting better, but the battle that is always guaranteed to paralyse is Health vs Work. 'Do I go for a run first or do I work first?' I know it sounds silly, but it's exhausting and usually wastes a shocking amount of time. I'd be very curious to see how you balance your physical health with your workload and family time. I'm sorry for the length of this post, but it was really helpful for me to write and clarify these things for myself. I love your work, love your videos and if you get a chance I would love to know about how you handle social media as well as how you handle your health alongside your workload. Many thanks! Dan
Hey Jake (thanks for all these btw). Question: what song/artist are you using here on your intro/outro? I noticed this was the last time you used this Danny Elfman-esque song and wanted to listen to it in its original cut (if possible). Any way, keep these coming!
first i would like to say Great work ! second i have a few question as i want to start to do this kind of stuff to... what do you use for coloring (copics?) and what do you use for video editing and recording? Thanks
Hey jake, how are bro? you have any advice for me in matters of how i must create my graphic novel? in matter of character design, landscape design, history development, what should i do first? i have the history in my head but i don't know how to translate in chapters :S you have any advice for thi? thank for everything bro, remember always to be happy :)
how do you know when your good enough to make a comic? I feel like if I write my script it would take me a while then I would get to the drawing phase and lack skill to draw what I have in the script.
You need to draw comics to get good at it, so start drawing short 4-6 page stories, then do a 10 pager, then a 20. After you've drawn about 100 pages, you'll have it down pretty good.
Thanks for sharing! I always look forward to your videos! My goals for 2016 are to get at least 100 TH-cam subscribers, make enough money to re-subscribe to SVS, and maybe land some freelance work! I'm going to do this by creating something every day, and do some of that creating with my camera on!
hi jake where do you work. I am asking this because I want to perform at my artist level and I want to get better at my craft. I want to be a concept artist for animation.
I get money from my recent Kickstarter, and I've got money from a few book deals, and money from my online shop, and the online art school I helped create. (SVSlearn.com). I decided I wanted to be more in control about where my income came from so I try to create things that bring in income without having to rely on client work.
I noticed your mention of a day of rest and you mentioned "Sabbath." Not many denominations use that word. You wouldn't happen to be Seventh Day Adventist, would you? I don't meet many of us on the internet, especially in the art world. I apologize if this question is too personal.
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The opening music before every video instantly puts me in a happy mood. Reminds me of old adventure games in a fantasy world.
Omg the vehicle was recorded ! :D Thanks for making my Friday night !
Thank you for encouraging that positive voice in my head, Jake. Everybody needs one if they hope to ever accomplish anything creative.
Congratulations, your 2015 sounds amazing :) My goal for this year is to cut down on freelance work. Open up my etsy shop, manage to earn there what I cut down on FW as well as launch my website which is dedicated to helping others creating their own creative business and being successful with it! For that I broke down my big goals in tiny baby steps so they can be done in an hour or less and are less intimidating. Also I'm a big believer in routines as well, especially in the morning and at night. So I start the day off with a 20min walk through my neighborhood to get my blood pumping and being fully awake and energized, at night I read as soon as I'm in bed to cool down , relax and have a good nights sleep. I wish all of us here the best of luck, let's make 2016 our year! :)
Great advice!
Really great advice. My goal is improve on my drawing skills and share that journey with other people. I would set intentions such as creativity and discipline, as my main goal for 2016.
You've come a long way Keshav, For me personally, I find this really inspiring!
I love when a good man achieves his goals and THAN sets bigger ones. Salute good sir.
I relate to you wanting to "cut out the fat" like menial bs that people do all day instead of working, however it seems like a lot of what your saying is kinda unhealthy, no one should be focused so much on work that they cant enjoy stuff on downtime. Not everything people do needs to fulfill a goal.
Sometimes in order to recharge and get your art to 100% you need that time off to watch stupid crap on tv or you need that time to read. Not everything is about micromanaging.
You just have to do less of that a week, like allow it only in small periods like 30 mins or something.
Cause in my experience, those who arent allowed candy for their diets, eventually binge and ruin their hard work. Whereas people who work and occasionally have sweets stay on track.
I agree. I love watching cartoons and playing video games, because those things often inspire me to keep drawing :)
Calvin is SO adorable!!!! Thank you for the great tips! I need to watch, again, while sitting and focusing. Need to sit and figure out the vision, etc.
I finished up 2 novels this year. One is a 45,000 word book and the other is a 200 pages graphic novel. My plan for 2016 is to hire an editor for both and pump out the art work for each. Super Excited for the new year!
I really appreciated this video because, as most of your videos do, it put words to what I know I need to do.
This year my goals are
-Get an agent
-Get a booth at a comicon.
-Self publish several books through Amazon
-Work in the "commercial" market, illustrating beginner books and magazine adds.
I don't mind not making it big or becoming wildly popular, I just want to make a living really.
I always value your talks Jake, its very motivational to hear you talk about setting goals and executing those goals. We have similar ways of setting goals, that's very reassuring to me.
I create a painting a day and a new youtube video each each week, so living a structured workday has helped me enormously. Although I do not take a sabbath day, usually I tend to break the sabbath day into a two days throughout the week where I stop working at 5 and go enjoy the company of others. But I think if you are disciplined in that it can be 6 of one, halfdozen of the other.
I look forward to doing my year end review this month.
Thanks so much for sharing, Jake.
I have a full time job, and I try to motivate myself to practice my art at night when I get home. And sometimes I do, but other times I don't. I feel tired and I just want to chill and don't feel like drawing, and then I feel guilty about it because I'm not gonna improve >.
HI Jake!
Great video. I heard about you from the Oatley Academy interview you did with Shawna. I definitely agree with trimming the fat. I even go so far to say, "do chores, but do them kind of crappy". For instance, my sock drawer has socks in it, but now I own all white one so I don't need to ever find a match. They all match. I stop folding dish towels. We cut out paper napkins and other wasteful things but that leaves a lot of cloth napkins, which now live washed and unfolded in a basket. I only watch TV after I quit for the day, and I'm all about audio books too!
I make a schedule every month in google calendar and I have a yearly schedule (which is mostly rough goals for the quarter). This helps me keep track of the day to day but also gives me the flexibility to move stuff up or down depending on how light or heavy my 9-5 job is at the time. Thanks again for the post!
This was SO helpful. Thank you Jake Parker. I was feeling sort of drained, and artistically parched, but listening to your youtube videos has really helped me out of it. You rock. Thanks for doing these videos.
Hey! Glad the videos help.
Jake - Thank you so much for making these videos they are such an incredible help to me. I am a high school art teacher and have recently decided to start a side project writing and illustrating a children's book and possibly a graphic novel. It's a dream I've had for years - Your videos are so helpful in not only giving sound advice but in getting me motivated and stop getting stuck in the fear of starting a project - but instead to take the initiative in getting my dreams out of my head and into a realized form. I love your work - I plan on taking some classes at SVS as well. Thanks again you are truly inspiring.
Jake, I've been watching a lot of your videos lately and it's been helping me a lot. I'm a professional illustrator, art teacher and comic author. I get all you say inthis video, and I'm trying to organize my schedules and projects like you do. Also, I've been facing some creative issuesand I guess maybe my daily routine isn't helping, so I've been trying to organize.
Thanks a lot for your insights and availability to make the videos. You rock.
Great video Jake! Awesome drawing and thanks for the tips. I always look forward to seeing your new work. I can't wait for Skyheart! I really hope you get the book deal you are looking for.
I'm new here, You're becoming one of my role models. thank you so much for these amazing videos Mr Parker.
What an amazing year, man. Obviously your personal projects are on the forefront for your followers, but that's a ton of freelance work too. Well done! Really love your ethic.
Hey Jake. Just want to say thanks for all you've done this past year. Following your creative journey must have been one of the best choices I made in 2015. You inspired me to follow my dream of becoming a full time artist, and I am loving every moment of it. I managed to complete inktober for the first time this year and I can clearly see the results of it in my current work. My goals for 2016 are to launch my webcomic and have my art exhibited, but the list will keep growing as I progress. I wish you all the best for the festive season and a happy new year! Thanks!
This was an unexpectedly helpful viedo. Better than any goal-setting webinars and such. Thank you.
So impressed with your confession of faith & focus on your family!
My goals for next year are mainly the same ones I had last year: finally sort out those medical problems I have with my nerves and tendons in my arms and neck. Made huge improvements by having a fairly rigid stretching and exercise routine, but I have the occasional setback.
Man, Jake, this is exactly the video I needed. I really appreciate you laying out your goals, routine, etc for us. I've been struggling with my goals/plan being all over the place every day and didn't even realize that was what my problem was until you laid it out for me. I also definitely needed to be reminded about the day of rest thing too. I think God really blesses us when we honor Him in that...and I also think that He knew we need that as humans when He told us to take a day without work. So yeah, great vid! Gonna favorite and re-watch whenever I feel bogged down or overwhelmed again.
And since you asked, my goals for this year are to...figure out what branch of the industry I want to get into. Which I know is against your rule about being to broad. I've narrowed it down to book illustration/comic work...or possibly animation concept stuff since I have a bite in that direction from Reel FX, which is sort of a childhood dream of mine to work in that field. But I just don't know if I'm ready/if my portfolio is ready so I'm doing freelance illustration at the moment and doing SVS to try and force myself into emulating the rigor of that industry to see if I can even hack it.
Watching this in the middle of the year. Still is motivating and useful Information! Thank you Jake!
Your video just taught me a neat trick! I love the effect you're getting using that white pencil to go over the drawing for some highlights. Thanks so much!
My goals so far: focus on DOING art (gave that up for too long) then SHARING art on social media and my website - finally started an instagram :) also, complete SVS Learn's Third Thursday.
Thanks for sharing with us, Jake.
Yes! I saw that vehicle on tumblr; so glad you've got a video of the process. Everything you talk about is super useful.
If this video wasn't about drawing I would think you were an inspirational speaker. Great Video!!!
So great Jake!! Thanks for the tour!
Last year I kind of broke down totally after continually breaking and picking myself together every other year. This time coupled with several major hardships wound me up in a mental health ward during the holidays during that time. After that I've gotten a diagnosis. I'm getting help and my plan for the year past was to get things working again and it kinda holds together now. It feels like a kayak stapled together, but it's better than a broken kayak.
My plans for the year to come? I don't know. I worked almost constantly through all of 2013 and 2014... So I guess it would be making things that drag me out of obscurity, something with a bit more status that one can tack on ones wall and go "yes, I did that!". But the things I tend to get the most invested in are things which doesn't matter to anyone but myself. So I don't quite know how to make it all work. Maybe I need more concrete goals,
Thanks for sharing your routine and how you plan your time. There’s so much I want to achieve (perhaps too much), but on top of my day job (teaching ESL in Korea) I’m already 35 but still trying to make illustration my main job (anywhere, not just Korea). I’m working to crowd fund a classic novel with my illustrations (at least 30), on top of doing 2 TH-cam channels (1 based on my illustration work and 1 on traveling and drawing at unique destinations), AND of course I have to set aside a good chunk of time learning Korean. I picked the wrong country to live in cuz I don’t really mesh well here but my wife is Korean and it’s cheaper than America anyway. Ha ANYWAY, your advice helped me understand how I ought to organize my time better. Thinking I should do a little of each every day but actually that’s burning me out. MUCH better to focus on one thing a day as you explained. Thanks for mentioning your faith too. God bless you bro.
Great insight as always Jake, this years a big one for me as far as goals go.
I have 2 Graphic novels lined up, One's a pro wrestling comic called Blood Stained Canvas, the other is my own Personal Horror project called Welcome to the Freak Show.
I'm going to finally start my own youtube channel!
And this will be the first year I attend comic conventions as an artist, Last year I gave set myself the goal of attending NYCC 2016 as a creator!
Plus a lot more that I can't remember right now.
Can't wait to receive my copy of SkyHeart, Keep it up Jake!
This is super helpful! I'm recently graduated from high school so I'm still kind of in that between stage of not really knowing how to function without a school life that's been rigorously scheduled for me already. Feel like this advice will really help me feel that I'm actually accomplishing something in my goals and dreams.
Thanks for the inspiration and great tips, Mr. Parker.
Hi Jake! Thanks so much for pointing me towards this vid... it helped a loooot! It´s great to hear such enlightening stuff... (and beautiful illustration btw ;) )
Thanks for your advices Jake, they are great. I just got cut off from the agency I was working, I'm a graphic designer, and had this need to make myself the one and only agency to work for. Your videos have full me with things to consider and think about. I can't get rid off freelance, not right away. They will be the only income of money, but my time will be split between freelance and my own projects. What I can do, is to try to make this freelance projects to be related only with what I really want to do, that is motion graphics, and animation. Anyway, thanks again for your time.
Great video for the end of the year! Even though my year was no way close to yours, but it was still by far my most productive year artwise.
- I made like 7 oil paintings on figure drawing classes I attend
- since may I made regularly digital paintings and won SVS 3rd thrusday.. that was like from zero to hero for me :)
- I quit playing video games
- I have done Inktober
I am still torn on what to do next year. I have to choose... either do project for my children books portfolio - try to illustrate a fake book assignment....or to try to prepare a fanasy illustration portfolio since I met some people and it seemed like there might be an opportunity. I also want to watch more SVS and Schoolism classes, hopefully I will somewhat incorporate it into portfolio making.
The hardest thing will be to adjust my day-to-day routine and do instead of 1 digital painting per month I would need to do like 4 to have some bank of images to choose for my portfolio (or realize I am not ready yet :) )
Thank you for this and all of your videos. My goals for 2016 are to finish my creator owned series The Red Ten. It was a 10 issue series and I am putting the finishing touches on issue 9. So far I am on schedule to finish by the middle of May a full month ahead of schedule. I'll then be gearing up for a Kickstarter of the Second volume. All very exciting stuff.
Appreciate so much of what you're saying here, I'm gonna go work out my own version now, thank you!
And congratulations on the bot and sparrow book! You did it!! 🎉
Hi jake!! Great video! this year i decided to make a daily drawing everyday to improve my drawing skills i plan to keep it up next year, at the same time i dedicate like 2 hours on a separated illustration (a big one) and have a new one every 2-3 months :D and i want to finish writing a story i already have a character and a little story i just need to write more, inprove it and skecth the book, is going to be my first childrens book so i need to make it good :D
Very motivating talk. This year i'm planning to subscribe to SVS Learn, which is where i got to know about you. I want to be an illustrator.. never been to art school but have a 'fluid talent' that need to get in higher 'channel talent' mode.. i'm lazy and unorganized.. too much intimated.. need some daily plans and cut the fat out.. no Facebook from now on.. Thank you for sharing this inspiring video.
Yeah Ditto for the audio books. I've stopped watching television a long time ago. Just because it's horrible. Became a lot more selective with video games. I still do play a few of them a year (I work in a video game studio so I have to stay informed about the state of the art). No TV shows that with an IMDb rating below 9. And if possible play them on the second monitor while drawing. The idea is if you're going to set aside time for films or shows or games, make sure it's the best shows or films or games. Things that will inspire you, give you food for thought, where you walk away with something you did not have before watching it. Don't involve yourself with things that just kill time.
Shoutout to FHE.
As always, thanks man. These videos are incredibly inspiring.
Hey Jake, great and inspirational video as always!
My main goal is to continue with good habits and cutting off all this fat that distracts my mind. It will make the rest of the goals, these more physical, much easier to achieve.
I'm thinking about changing my email time as you said but I'm not sure if I want this. Having all the reading and responding done in the morning sets me free from worrying about it for the rest of the day and this is good.
I am glad to be getting wisdom about my future in kids books from Godly men like you and Ty Carter (had a mentor program). Do you plan on doing a mentor program some time? I would like to have a mentor for children's books specifically. Sundays off are biblical advice.
Next I am glad to hear your routine. I am working on not wasting time on Facebook and e mails so much.
During my creative time I plan to have a warm up doing a life drawing or Proko practice.
During my 4 daily hours of creative time I plan to work on picture book online portfolio, a story I am writing and a fan art book in the works.
I love the idea of departmentalizing time eaters like email. When I know I will get to it I will forgo doing it for the good of keeping time to creativity.
I just graduated from a university with a BFA in Drawing. Now I can focus on drawing more since I do not have to spend it studying for an exam or such things. In one week I have been able to do 2 pages in my fan art book and outline my picture book and color two pieces for my website.
Business wise I am going to a conference in the fall with Will Terry in Dallas and also going to do some research at a Fan Days con with my daughter. Going to combine family time with a little business. Also, at night I sit at a table while my family watches a movie and I get some drawing in.
Thank you for the post, I needed structure and you gave me some. Love your work on SVS Learn. I am presently watching your series on creating picture books.
Sorry this is a long post but I wanted to share.
God Bless you and your family, Jake.
So at the end of year i will be a comic artist and i will start continue my comic art series and i will also get better at my foundations of art and make some sick character designs that i may or may not use in incoming comics
Thank you Jake!. Your the best , bless you .
when I feel like I'm getting lost in the way you're there inspiring me to keep going! thanks A LOT!! blessings from Mexico :)
Thank you so much for this video! I've recently been searching for advice on exactly this topic to help me clear up my mind/schedule for the coming year, so the timing couldn't be better. And as a musician/teacher the advice coming from a fellow artist's POV was extremely insightful and on point. Really helpful, thank you!!
Just a question concerning daily schedule. When you have multiple projects running at the same time and you need to do work on both daily, do you find yourself dividing it up more often by time or by small daily goals for each?
Also, I'm just curious what time you usually start your work day?
thanks so much for the video, the technique shown is awesome and im definately going to try that! but certainly the way to increase productivity in a day is a really nice tip, thanks alot, mr parker!
Thanks! This was really helpful. I need to add more structure to my weeks to really push forward with what I want to do. My freelance work (totally unrelated to my illustration unfortunately) really gets in the way though.
Jake, are you still planning on releasing the commentary for the illustrations in the Drawings 3 book? I would really like to hear what you have to say about the sketches in this book. Also please, reprint the Drawings 1 book.
Great video once again! Everything I accomplished in 2015 was starting my own comic series and I got 4 issues under my belt too. Ontop of that, I did 200 days where I updated everyday about working on my own comic series. Looking forward to next year I'm hoping to get 5 issues done of my series AND put together a new comic for a friend. Going to be running a Patreon to show the whole process from start to finish as well so hoping for a solid year just like this last one! Of course Art Drop Day again and hoping to get out to the west coast and see the Pacific. Are you planning on keeping us up to date on the behind the scenes stuff trying to get the book series for Skyheart? I think that'd be immensely helpful. All the best for 2016 too, Jake! Cheers!!
A couple of years ago I sat down to write out goals and I ended up with 6 major goals. I eventually realised this was too much, I would never get anything done if I tried to maintain all 6 at once. So part of my cutting out process (after I uninstalled my PC games!) was to put most of those goals on the back-burner and just focus on my webcomic: making the pages, promoting, maintaining the website.
Speaking of promoting: it's at www.tolcraft.com/ !
Great video as always, Jake!
Very inspiring!! Thanks Jake!!
Thank you Jake! Very inspiring!!
This is what I obsess over, even after reading self help & think positive books, I'm not where I want to be. I want to move to Boston, go to Mass Art (not so much for art but to meet like-minded people) I live in a great place now but I don't relate to people around here. Mostly mainstream here. Anyway, thanks for the advice I found it very helpful
There are some really good tips here. thanks a lot man.
this was rely inspiring!! grate advice!! and cool drawing!
Hello Jake. Thank you for this video. I would like to know how many hours a day do you work on your own project ? ... and do you take time to relax (tv, reading, etc) at the end of the evening, before going to bed ?
this helped me alot thank you for being you, this whole video is so awesome!
Hey Jake! What pen are you using in this video? would you happen to have a link to it also? Great video as usual! keep up the work!
I am almost a year late but my Goals for the rest of the year are 1.) Do a full comic issue2.) Make my own book3.)Get better at Digital art.
You inspire me a lot. Thank you! From Korea 👍
Hi Jake, that's an amazing video that you've made. You're really inspiring and I really dig your art. Inking over the gradient is a really interesting idea, can you tell me on what kind of paper you printed it?
+Olivier Morissette This paper right here: amzn.to/1UKP2Jy
Hey Jake! Do you still have the PDF that you printed for this video? I'd be awesome to practice inking on one of your illustrations! Thanks
The sabbath day advice really rang true for me, especially the bit about those random, hard to measure rests you give yourself when you're trying to do all seven days. Do you find that just not being as scared of drawing, being less in search of your own offering helps these days? Or did Skyheart blow up any sense of safety? :D
jake, what is the name of that pentel pen? i went looking for it, but I didn't see one like it. also, I'm buying your comic book class soon. looking forward to it.
hey jake i am 12 years old and i draw every day on a routine. i also want to be a illustrator or artist. i am asking you from where did you start and how did you get to where you are now. thanks
Muito obrigado por esse vídeo postado, eu admiro o seu trabalho, o meu objectivo é tornar-se um ilustrador em 2016 Eu quero melhorar meus desenhos e trabalho no campo da ilustração. Mais uma vez, obrigado por me inspirar !!!
I want to finish writing and drawing at least 2 graphic novels this year and write a pilot script for a show/movie series... Any tips or sights for writing a story?
Thanks for the motivation!
Hi! Just found your TH-cam channel, really love all your videos! A quick question: what pen did you use to ink this? :)
what printer do you use?
I wonder if the printed lines wont smudge with the inks
Mine has been the same for 9 years, start making enough money to support myself. never quite works out..
That part about cutting freelance work really struck home. It's good work, it's fun work, it pays money, but it sucks all your time and effort out of you.
hi jake, can i ask you a important question. i am planning on buying prisma col erase pencils and i looked on dickblicks .com and it said for the bulk kind for 0.86 a piece for 12 of them. do they come in all the same one color or do they come in different colors. and then there are ones that cost seprate that are 87 cents a piece that are the same color. my point is what would i get the better deal out of.thanks for taking your time to read this
wish you and your family a merry christmas and a happy new year
Good words great drawing
Did you just print this out on regular paper?
Hi Jake, just finished watching this for a third time. I'm sure you are sick of hearing this but your videos are always so insightful, educational and inspiring (equal parts!)
TLDR: Sorry for the long post. In a nutshell; what advice do you have for managing social media and your online following and expanding it? And can you give any insight on how you maintain your health whilst balancing your work load? Which do your prioritise? Thanks!
My goals this year:
1) Complete an 8 issue comic series ( www.danleecomics.com/everland ) that I am handling all writing and art chores on as well as 2) finish writing a 5 issue series that is being drawn by someone else. 3) I would also like to do more non-project based, non-digital drawing and sketchbooking in general as I always seem to neglect just drawing for fun and 4) increase my online following. Although the above seems like a lot, I'm thinking of also trying to find time to 5) make more time for general study, wether it be to my craft, or research or just filling my head with cool ideas and imagery (the creative bank account!) though I'm not sure if this is stuff that will come along naturally whilst working on goals 1), 2) and 3).
How I plan to achieve them:
1), 2) and 3) Mainly by scheduling and getting out of my own way, trusting my gut a bit more. Probably easier said than done. I've been working on the first issue of 'Everland' for several months now, fitting it in around studio jobs and freelance work, but now I am fortunate enough to be able to work on it full time, so there is really no excuse. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to getting started on work, beating myself up over every little thing which leads to slow starts. What I have found works best for me is waking up around 6am, going for a walk and having breakfast, then getting started drawing around 8/8.30am, working on comic pages until around 2pm, breaking for lunch and another walk, then working on script writing until about 6pm. At the moment, every day does NOT go like this, at least one or two days per week go sideways, but the pattern I've described above is what I've noticed works well for me, especially if I set up to work out of the house where there are less distractions. I hope I can make every Monday to Friday like this, with Saturday left for more leisurely drawing.
As for 4), I have no idea how to achieve this without coming across as spammy. I have a core website which lists my projects, holds my comic work and links to all my social media outlets; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr which I try to post on 2 to 3 times per week. Twitter and Instagram seem to work best for me, but numbers are still low. I've recently set up a dedicated art page on Facebook which is moving extremely slowly, and Tumblr I've never been able to quite wrap my head around. Do you have any advice on managing and expanding your social network/online following? Perhaps it could be a topic for one of your videos.
Trimming fat:
a) Keep texting and social media interaction to break times only.
b) Cut out general/rabbit hole internet browsing.
c) Cut down on reading comics. I find I read a lot of full runs/story arcs just because I feel I have to start what I finish, and as a result end up reading a lot of mediocre, junk food comics (damn comixology app and it's never ending sales!)
d) Probably the biggest one; general indecision. It's my biggest downfall. Making any decision is a huge effort for me, wether it be what to eat, what movie to watch, what to work on, etc. I'm working on it, and it seems to be getting better, but the battle that is always guaranteed to paralyse is Health vs Work. 'Do I go for a run first or do I work first?' I know it sounds silly, but it's exhausting and usually wastes a shocking amount of time. I'd be very curious to see how you balance your physical health with your workload and family time.
I'm sorry for the length of this post, but it was really helpful for me to write and clarify these things for myself. I love your work, love your videos and if you get a chance I would love to know about how you handle social media as well as how you handle your health alongside your workload.
Many thanks!
Dan
Thank you for this video.
Hey Jake (thanks for all these btw). Question: what song/artist are you using here on your intro/outro? I noticed this was the last time you used this Danny Elfman-esque song and wanted to listen to it in its original cut (if possible). Any way, keep these coming!
+Pablo Agurcia here it is: www.premiumbeat.com/royalty_free_music/songs/easy-math
thank you Jake!! :)
first i would like to say Great work ! second i have a few question as i want to start to do this kind of stuff to... what do you use for coloring (copics?) and what do you use for video editing and recording?
Thanks
Copics, a canon s120, and adobe premiere.
omg that pen is so smooooth
Are you talking while drawing or is this a voice over? If you are...😳☺️ amazing work and advice!!!
+fluximagery Voice over, I'm no hero.
Oh btw, I just received the Drawings 3 book today. Thank you! :)
Hey jake, how are bro? you have any advice for me in matters of how i must create my graphic novel? in matter of character design, landscape design, history development, what should i do first? i have the history in my head but i don't know how to translate in chapters :S you have any advice for thi? thank for everything bro, remember always to be happy :)
how do you know when your good enough to make a comic? I feel like if I write my script it would take me a while then I would get to the drawing phase and lack skill to draw what I have in the script.
You need to draw comics to get good at it, so start drawing short 4-6 page stories, then do a 10 pager, then a 20. After you've drawn about 100 pages, you'll have it down pretty good.
not comparing yourself to others is a lot harder said than done
this was so inspirational
great video Jake!
I'd love to "meet" your wife. she sounds really awesome! Could you guys do a video together in the future? :3
Thanks for sharing! I always look forward to your videos!
My goals for 2016 are to get at least 100 TH-cam subscribers, make enough money to re-subscribe to SVS, and maybe land some freelance work! I'm going to do this by creating something every day, and do some of that creating with my camera on!
hi Jake, what do I do if my girl friend is my vampire in my life?
hi jake where do you work. I am asking this because I want to perform at my artist level and I want to get better at my craft. I want to be a concept artist for animation.
I used to work for Bluesky, now I work in the basement of my house.
+Jake Parker But you got to have some source of income, right? If you're turning down work, where does the money come from to pay the bills? :)
I get money from my recent Kickstarter, and I've got money from a few book deals, and money from my online shop, and the online art school I helped create. (SVSlearn.com). I decided I wanted to be more in control about where my income came from so I try to create things that bring in income without having to rely on client work.
+Jake Parker Ok. I get it now. Seems like a good strategy. Good luck!
God bless!
Good tips.
I was setting my goal to put a pilot on a new X Men series... Then I found out they were all going to die! Damn!
I noticed your mention of a day of rest and you mentioned "Sabbath." Not many denominations use that word. You wouldn't happen to be Seventh Day Adventist, would you? I don't meet many of us on the internet, especially in the art world. I apologize if this question is too personal.