Way late but here's a process that's been helping me lately: If you're having trouble focusing, draw a 4x7 chart representing 4 weeks. For each row assign a set amount of Focus/Rest, for me it was 15-5/30-10/45-15/60-20. For the first two weeks, set aside an hour of your time, choose a task that will take at least an hour or more (I'm working on a comic) and work on that task for the focus interval, stopping only for the break interval. This rhythm MUST BE UNBROKEN for the hour. If completed, mark off the day, either continue working at your own pace (keep the focus interval unbroken, but take breaks as long as desired.) the third week, increase to 1:30 hrs, for the last week 2 hrs. In less than a month you will have trained yourself to put in two hours of focused work! You can continue this like I am and working toward 5-6 hours, which I hope to maintain daily.
Been trying to start my own project for years. If I'm honest I'm just full of excuse's and I'm lacking on confidence. I just hate my art work so I stop drawing, but I won't get better if I don't keep practicing.
it's better to have a shitty finished project than a perfect incomplete one. You'll learn soooo much by finishing the project. You encounter so many unexpected art challenges when you jump into making a comic. It's the best classroom for expanding your skills. This is not your masterpiece. This is just the warm up.
This was something I really needed to hear right now. The first thing I struggle with is the size of the project, because I really like to push myself and challenge my abilities. But the hardest thing was putting away other projects for the sake of this and only focusing on this, putting all my creative energies into it. I think having someone else give me permission to focusing solely on my project is helpful, so thank you. 💓
I know the feeling. I always want to make some huge epic thing. Simplifying is always better. I'm actually in the midst of having to put aside and sacrifice other projects for the next project I'm working on, so the process never stops. It's hard and it def. helps to hear that others are making the same choice.
Great video, I've been working at an animation studio for the last two years. I find it really hard to come home and do personal work after drawing for 8 hours. The tip about "just do it for 10 minutes" is really good, the hardest part is starting, 9 times out of 10 once you start, you have no problem going for a couple hours.
Dude, making art after a full day of making art is tough. I know the struggle. A little everyday is a big accomplishment, but yeah, if you can do 10 minutes, most of the time you end up doing more.
I liked the advice, but its tough to get a decent price printing only 100 books. May be try to run a kickstarter or indie gogo at the end of the project to sell more books, print more books and get a better price per book.
That's true. You kind of need to accept that the idea is to test the process, not necessarily to make much money. Once you figure things out better you make bigger print runs.
Thank you for your passion in making this engaging. Great storytelling! I loved how you presented this as something sacred that completing it thrashes and wails the demons in hell. Which I can dare say is true! Haha. Thank you for changing my perspective on project management, showing me a side different from the dry courses I usually resist.
I read green monk on tapas and loved it. The dream sequences were such a trippy and visceral way to tell the story that it's really inspired my own work. Love the sketch!
Thanks! My list of faves is always changing. Some of my faves recently have been Christophe Blaine, Urasawa, James Harren, and Daniel Warren, but so so many great illustrators out there.
Its not that i don't know how to start a project, (im even editing audio and video while im typing this), its that I've started a project and its one I've been working on for a good portion of my life. My current personal project is to grow my channel so i can help other artists and to help people rediscover the the artist in them that they may have given up on. My goal as an artists is far beyond self interest. But i seem unable to grow my channel much. I have made 204 videos in 5 months. All videos have Closed Captions,tags,descriptive titles and descriptive video descriptions that match tags and video title,custom high quality thumbnails,high quality audio in WAV format at 96,000 hz,1080p hd video (many at 60fps),timelapse drawings,tutorials,reviews,life advice for artists,commentary/me talking while i draw/timelapse,live streams and some humor in videos. I share my videos on Facebook,Reddit,Twitter,StumbleUpon,Tumblr,Linkdin,Blogspot and more. I Share my artwork on Instagram and facebook. I have a Patreon and Paypal account. I've been working on uploading artwork for Society6 and Redbubble. I make videos all relevant to art. All videos have good lighting,i don't read from a script,i talk as if i would talk to someone in person if they were in front of me. I don't talk to fast or slow in videos,i try to collaborate with other artists,I upload regularly (204 videos in 5 months),i reply to all subscriber questions and comments in detail and quickly.I have video playlists organized by video type (timelapse,art supplies,podcasts,etc). Descriptive "about" section on channel,channel verified,custom channel art, custom channel logo,custom channel subscribe button. Videos all have end screens,Annotations and cards. I have selected my "new visitor" and "returning subscriber" video on channel.I have links to all of my social platforms on all videos,on my channel and in corner by channel art. Last month i had a video of me drawing that was edited and shared on facebook by a large facebook page "George Takei".(wasn't one of my you tube videos as it was edited and shared as a facebook video so i didn't get view count). The video got 1.5 mill views and they shared link to my channel. After 1.5 million views on that video and a link to my channel i only gained 10 subscribers. My question is,what am i doing wrong or what else can i possibly improve to increase subscriber count? I want to help other artists,work with other artists,do drawings with other artists and improve as much as i can.It baffles me how i find videos that say "drawing bored.." with no Closed captions,in 240p,low audio quality,no tags,with copyright music,no annotations,no cards,no end titles,no subscribe button during video,no video description,short irrelevant video title,thumbnail that is 240p,no channel art,no links,they don't respond to subscriber comments and everything opposite of what helps improve views and subscriber count.Yet the video will have 40k views and they have 5k or even 20k subscribers. Any advice?
Not sure what to say. I feel like I'm trying to figure out the same questions as you. I make videos that I spend a lot of time on that don't get any viewers and then I throw something together with a crappy mic and that's what gets the attention (most of my subs are from 1 video that blew up). Sometimes I think that I should just focus on making art. I know other artists that spend little to no effort on social media, but they still have a great following, just because they make awesome art. Maybe this is an issue of expectations. With a comic project, success for me is finishing the project. I can control that. Whether or not people read my stuff is much more of a crap shoot. I've made LOTS of stuff people weren't interested in, and then a few successes that connected. Maybe refocus your definition on success on something that's within your control. Make the stuff that you like, take pride in it and let the dice fall where they may. Also, consider that there is some trial and error in the process. It may just take some time to figure out what connects. I'm 40 years old. I've been trying for a long, long time. Whatever the case, be patient. You are doing the work. The pay-off will come eventually.
I cant even get views at the moment with good or bad equipment,haha. I wanted to test TH-cams algorithm by removing all tags for a video,giving the video a one word title,not having Closed captions and making the thumbnail low quality. The video did the same as my other videos (30 views). Friends,family and people i meet in person outside of social media all ask me how i draw,what i use and general questions someone would ask any well known artist. But i'm mostly unknown and the people that see my work think i make a living as an artist. When i tell them I've only sold 2 drawings my entire life they don't believe me. Which brings me to my question about modern art. I can understand art that is beautiful,that makes you question,requires skill,effort and is interesting. Yet i can't understand why/how artwork in museums,online,prints,etc that require no skill,effort or time and lacks any beauty could be of any value or interest to the general public. About 5 years ago i went to an art museum and brought with me a few drawings to see if they were interested in displaying the work. They said my work wasn't of their interest. Frustrated,i would return again to show them more of my work. This time i handed in 2 pieces of art that required no skill or time and was horribly framed. They told me they loved it and said they would consider putting it on display. Baffled,i ended up just taking my artwork back and not putting it on display. (although i was finally able to get some art displayed at a different museum Locally recently) But maybe its because times have changed,people have changed. Most people these days want instant gratification and dont understand the concept of hard work. So when i tell them a drawing is $100 they tell me they would never pay more than $10. (even though it cost me $30 to frame it,150 hrs to draw (depends) and archival ink and paper was used) But thats enough of my rambling for now, haha,if i don't stop ill end up writing 50 paragraphs. Thank you for replying,all of your hard work and reaching out to other artists to help and inspire.
@@JSheetzArtwork This is unrelated to the questions you have asked but FB works very differently from TH-cam. If I am scrolling through my feed on fb and I happen to stumble upon your video, it'll count me as a viewer even if I quickly scroll down. If any person watches that video for 1 second, that's counted as a view. That's why you only gained 10 subs because most of the people just scrolled through your video and fb counted them as a viewer.
Really interesting to hear about your process Brandon. I've been working on my project for about 5 years now and I'm finally about to complete book one of a 3 book series. I found routine was one of the most vital factors in getting this far. I have a full time job, wife and kids so finding the time to dedicate to something so grueling was a big challenge. Setting aside set time on set evenings is the only way I have achieved what I have achieved, but it has been far from easy (as you know). Keep up the good work mate, your content gives us creative masochists the drive to keep going!
Sounds like you're on your way. Anyone that completes a comic deserves a medal, but doing it with kids and a job is even more impressive. Please share when you finish!
Thanks for the great advice! I just got the first printed copies my first book (I wrote it, not drew it) and I'm hitting the convention circuit starting next month. I have been trying to practice drawing for a while and I hope to contribute at least some art to my next book. My process wasn't the same as yours - in fact it was way more hectic and scattered, but I got it done. I'm going to try to hew to a more regimented schedule for the next one.
That was some awesome tips. I'm pushing back some projects, but after this video I want to reorganize my time to start one of them (maybe a comic, simple and training my storytelling). Keep doing this videos =)
Brandon Dayton Thanks for the support! I've been delaying that for too long. Your videos really inspires me to be a better artist. I'll start to read the green monk, really sick art in there. See ya :)
I'm doing my final project for this year at university. I want to do a sculpture and link it to interior design. But we have to create a substantial amount of work for this project. I don't even know how to start putting my idea down.
I've been grappling with Tim Ferriss' advice to ask yourself "how would this be if it where easy", and I had a hard time adapting it for creative work, because I don't want to dumb things down or do some watered-down version of what I think it is that I do, but it seems that you figured it out for me, with the added bonus of making it cheaper as well! Now, if I could somehow also translate that to my music-making interests too, that would be perfecy: Watch this space! Edit: of course I managed to spell 'perfect' wrong
Brandon Dayton well in that case it's probably a stick, a plot of sand or dirt and any camera l :) as for my music, I'm now on the lookout for recordings of great arrangements that feature as few instruments as possible, and little to no flashy playing. I thought the reason that my music pieces often get out of hand was that the song structure, chord sequences, etc. where too complex. That’s not the problem: the problem is 1) that I map out an arrangement for 8+ instruments in addition to possible vocals 2) that I try to make the performance more technical, nuanced and idiosyncratic than it needs to be. To be clear, this is before I ever do one complete outline of the music piece from start to finish. My approach to drawing is exactly the same, which is why I have a drawer full of unfinished drawings or comic strips that never get to the last panel. And no, as it turns out, I’m really not a perfectionist, I’ve just completely misunderstood how a creative project should be done
I know you probably meant it metaphorically, but your description of completing a project as a sacred task that the demons (whether inner demons or otherwise) wail about is interesting. Being religious myself, I often wonder when you create something that truly means something to you, that you feel compelled to create, that it could be an act of realising your destiny, an act of worship even.
just found you! i literally watched the vid 3 x's and took notes lol :) your tips are gold, I am a terribly distracted person, it's taken me several years to get serious about making organized plans, I was making the mistake of making the plans too big, instead of small chunks at a time. I have 2 manga in the works, your vid was very helpful for me. thanks for taking the time to post this 😁
Congrats on your success. I first encountered Green Monk on Tapas and somewhere there commented that it reminded me of Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, which I later saw u mention was an inspiration. I went to a "good" art school - finished even - initially with goal of drawing comics but ended up in film, with a great career but always wondering about what could have been, bc I deeply love comics as a medium. I really enjoy your channel, even if I don't always agree with your assertions, but know well how your openness can be so influential to people at the start of their creative journeys. The death bed experiment was one I encountered in a book called The Tools, and it was the only true takeaway from that one that stuck with me. I liked the line at the top of this vid... "... well, before I had kids at least." Wondering if younger viewers will get how big a deal that element is! lol. I struggle completing personal projects... few get finished, others dont make it, as I balance work, parenting, and the reality I'm sure you understand about the bigger forces in film that make project completion all the more unpredictable. Always on my mind to get a comic made. Thanks for everything Brandon, I hope u realize how big an impact you are making here. Sidebar but as an artist, if you haven't seen it, I suggest u check out the IDW Eurocomics release of Alack Sinner. The evolution of the art across the stories is astonishing, and is some of the most unique I've seen since Lorenzo Mattoti's Stigmata book.
Thanks for the thoughtful comic and kind words. I studied film and ended up making comics, so I guess I kinda know how you feel. I'll check out the recommendations! Always looking for good stuff to read.
This is perfect. Black and white. I think I’m ready. Very useful advice! My favorite part is that you finished your advice in one video. I’ve looked up artist advice on this stuff and usually find videos divided into parts without truly answering the question. So I so highly appreciate your concise advice. I wrote a script already. But ,really, I need to complete the design of my characters. New question: if I’m writing a story about another culture is it important to include facts like names of places, proper names for people and objects etc. or can I just make it fictitious while using the culture like Avatar the last air bender? Sorry so long winded but for instance if I have an Asian man react in a way that a True Asian man wouldn’t due to his cultural upbringing is that bad writing? I guess I’m wondering how much research should I give to the culture? Just some thoughts. And thanks for answering my question!!
In this case, I would try to be strategic about keeping the research from slowing down your project. There are so many historical details I probably got wrong with Green Monk. I had to focus on the most important and fake the rest. Particularly like figuring out how people thought and acted, is a huge undertaking. There is wisdom in creating a culture from scratch in this regard. A deeply researched story is a great project, but not a great first project. The most important things is that you create a story people want to read.
Great thoughts! Very straightforward; I definitely imagine I will come back to review these steps. I'm currently in the process of creating an illustrated book; it was going to be a comic, but as I had the whole story written out in novel format, and I liked the wording of it, I decided to do illustrations instead. But I want to incorporate them with the text to make each page one artistic statement, like with the Books of Hours. But anywho, a thought I wanted to share is that I so wish I could be consistent with my process of working on it, but as I work retail, my schedule is constantly inconsistent, and so there is no set time I can guarantee to work. Instead I try to seize every present moment I find that I can work on it. It's a struggle, but I'm making progress, and it's exciting. You are so right about the importance of choosing a project that you really want to work on. And I can feel it influencing my style as well. Thanks for the inspiration!
That's great. Your situation is why persistence is such an important part of the equation. Even with an erratic schedule, if you stick with the project, you'll finish eventually.
On top of a mountain? I love how you go to such extremes to film these for us lol. On a serious note... the death bed experiment sounds really good. It sounds hard, but I think this weekend I'll really set some time apart and think of things that way. I have the problem of wanting to do too many things at once, so hopefully that'll help with sorting out which is the most important. Thanks for all these tips, really appreciate it. BTW, I used createspace to self publish my comic book. 240 pages long and it didn't cost me anything (no inventory at least). Createspace is owned by amazon, so you'll even have a link for people to buy it off there. I recommend this route for people that, like me at the time, don't have an audience or the skill set, but are still determined enough to just get a book out there!
I literally live in the mountains. I should be able to get off my butt and show some real mountains in a video. I like the idea of create space. I just found a traditional printing press for mine. Inventory can be a total hassle. I'm guessing they get more of the cut though. Can you order wholesale if you're going to take books to a convention?
I believe it costs me somewhere around 3.70 per book, regardless of quantity. 5.1 x 7.8 inches, 11.4 ounces. The quality is pretty good though so it's still a relatively cheap method in terms of having it on a massive online marketplace. Not sure I'd go that route again, but I would still consider it. At the time it was a personal project that I knew had no audience, but I still wanted a book to hold. Having other people be able to hold it was just a big plus.
Thx for this vid Brandon. It will help me for my project even if it has nothing to do with comics. Looking foward summer sketch book challenge which somehow could help me to achieve my project. Btw, your french is perfect, i can tell you :). Cheers AH
You can also use scribus instead of indesign, it'S free and I use it. Thank you for recommending "The Now HAbit"! (I dont need that drawing...just commenting!) Keep it up Brandon!
Thanks for the recommendation. Come to think of it I might have actually used scribus for the Green Monk mini! I also hear that clip studio can do the job.
hey, i think i never commented on one of your videos, so i will pass on the price. But if you haven't already, can you maybe make a video about storytelling for comics? My Problem is: While i have a lot of grand ideas and worlds in my head, most of the time i have problems writing stories that are short but still have a satisfying ending. I know that a lot of written short stories have an open end and i wrote a lot of them too, but i have a feeling that this doesn't work so well for comics.
I just signed up! I will probably be doing the Lil'l Tamale since I don't want to have to put my personal project to a side. BTW you mention so many books in your videos, it is hard to keep track. It would be cool if you had a reading list section in your website so I can keep track of them all and catch up on my reading :)
Hi Brandon. I really like the varied line weights achieved with the pen you're using in the video. I looked for Calligrapher on Google and Amazon and couldn't find it. Do you mind sharing where you got it from?
Are there any boundaries for pages when it comes to content? I don’t want to fill a sketchbook of just junk drawings I didn’t learn anything from. Or is that the point? Just getting mileage and technical skills?
I tried to answer some of those questions with this video: th-cam.com/video/ZJEgcTEZx_M/w-d-xo.html The drawing you do should really fit the challenge. Not junk, but it should be fast, loose and experimental. I'll be showing lots of examples and demonstrating specific exercises throughout the month of July.
This one is going into my favorites! I'm also going to try this summer sketchbook challenge. I wanted to ask, I have a sketchbook that I do draw in everyday. Should I stop drawing that and use a new one? Or can I just begin from that last page til I finish it?
Way late but here's a process that's been helping me lately:
If you're having trouble focusing, draw a 4x7 chart representing 4 weeks. For each row assign a set amount of Focus/Rest, for me it was 15-5/30-10/45-15/60-20. For the first two weeks, set aside an hour of your time, choose a task that will take at least an hour or more (I'm working on a comic) and work on that task for the focus interval, stopping only for the break interval. This rhythm MUST BE UNBROKEN for the hour. If completed, mark off the day, either continue working at your own pace (keep the focus interval unbroken, but take breaks as long as desired.) the third week, increase to 1:30 hrs, for the last week 2 hrs. In less than a month you will have trained yourself to put in two hours of focused work! You can continue this like I am and working toward 5-6 hours, which I hope to maintain daily.
I really like the sound of this. I'll have to try it out sometime.
It worked pretty well, I actually ended up skipping to 60/20 in the second week and I'm now just ramping up to 6 hours.
Been trying to start my own project for years. If I'm honest I'm just full of excuse's and I'm lacking on confidence. I just hate my art work so I stop drawing, but I won't get better if I don't keep practicing.
it's better to have a shitty finished project than a perfect incomplete one. You'll learn soooo much by finishing the project. You encounter so many unexpected art challenges when you jump into making a comic. It's the best classroom for expanding your skills. This is not your masterpiece. This is just the warm up.
@@BrandonDayton hey can you pls pls pls tell me what happens if you exceed the deadline of project by 3-5 days
This was something I really needed to hear right now. The first thing I struggle with is the size of the project, because I really like to push myself and challenge my abilities. But the hardest thing was putting away other projects for the sake of this and only focusing on this, putting all my creative energies into it. I think having someone else give me permission to focusing solely on my project is helpful, so thank you. 💓
I know the feeling. I always want to make some huge epic thing. Simplifying is always better. I'm actually in the midst of having to put aside and sacrifice other projects for the next project I'm working on, so the process never stops. It's hard and it def. helps to hear that others are making the same choice.
Great video, I've been working at an animation studio for the last two years. I find it really hard to come home and do personal work after drawing for 8 hours. The tip about "just do it for 10 minutes" is really good, the hardest part is starting, 9 times out of 10 once you start, you have no problem going for a couple hours.
Dude, making art after a full day of making art is tough. I know the struggle. A little everyday is a big accomplishment, but yeah, if you can do 10 minutes, most of the time you end up doing more.
Great! Now I just have to finish my not drawing project. But I will get to it!
I liked the advice, but its tough to get a decent price printing only 100 books. May be try to run a kickstarter or indie gogo at the end of the project to sell more books, print more books and get a better price per book.
by the way, don't include me in the drawing for the drawing. I just wanted to comment, let some one else have it.
That's true. You kind of need to accept that the idea is to test the process, not necessarily to make much money. Once you figure things out better you make bigger print runs.
Thank you for your passion in making this engaging. Great storytelling! I loved how you presented this as something sacred that completing it thrashes and wails the demons in hell. Which I can dare say is true! Haha. Thank you for changing my perspective on project management, showing me a side different from the dry courses I usually resist.
I read green monk on tapas and loved it. The dream sequences were such a trippy and visceral way to tell the story that it's really inspired my own work. Love the sketch!
Thanks!
Excellent finished illustration. Love the way you shape your lines and the details. Would like to know who your favorite illustrators are.
Thanks! My list of faves is always changing. Some of my faves recently have been Christophe Blaine, Urasawa, James Harren, and Daniel Warren, but so so many great illustrators out there.
Its not that i don't know how to start a project, (im even editing audio and video while im typing this), its that I've started a project and its one I've been working on for a good portion of my life.
My current personal project is to grow my channel so i can help other artists and to help people rediscover the the artist in them that they may have given up on. My goal as an artists is far beyond self interest. But i seem unable to grow my channel much. I have made 204 videos in 5 months. All videos have Closed Captions,tags,descriptive titles and descriptive video descriptions that match tags and video title,custom high quality thumbnails,high quality audio in WAV format at 96,000 hz,1080p hd video (many at 60fps),timelapse drawings,tutorials,reviews,life advice for artists,commentary/me talking while i draw/timelapse,live streams and some humor in videos. I share my videos on Facebook,Reddit,Twitter,StumbleUpon,Tumblr,Linkdin,Blogspot and more. I Share my artwork on Instagram and facebook. I have a Patreon and Paypal account. I've been working on uploading artwork for Society6 and Redbubble. I make videos all relevant to art. All videos have good lighting,i don't read from a script,i talk as if i would talk to someone in person if they were in front of me. I don't talk to fast or slow in videos,i try to collaborate with other artists,I upload regularly (204 videos in 5 months),i reply to all subscriber questions and comments in detail and quickly.I have video playlists organized by video type (timelapse,art supplies,podcasts,etc). Descriptive "about" section on channel,channel verified,custom channel art, custom channel logo,custom channel subscribe button. Videos all have end screens,Annotations and cards. I have selected my "new visitor" and "returning subscriber" video on channel.I have links to all of my social platforms on all videos,on my channel and in corner by channel art. Last month i had a video of me drawing that was edited and shared on facebook by a large facebook page "George Takei".(wasn't one of my you tube videos as it was edited and shared as a facebook video so i didn't get view count). The video got 1.5 mill views and they shared link to my channel. After 1.5 million views on that video and a link to my channel i only gained 10 subscribers.
My question is,what am i doing wrong or what else can i possibly improve to increase subscriber count? I want to help other artists,work with other artists,do drawings with other artists and improve as much as i can.It baffles me how i find videos that say "drawing bored.." with no Closed captions,in 240p,low audio quality,no tags,with copyright music,no annotations,no cards,no end titles,no subscribe button during video,no video description,short irrelevant video title,thumbnail that is 240p,no channel art,no links,they don't respond to subscriber comments and everything opposite of what helps improve views and subscriber count.Yet the video will have 40k views and they have 5k or even 20k subscribers.
Any advice?
Not sure what to say. I feel like I'm trying to figure out the same questions as you. I make videos that I spend a lot of time on that don't get any viewers and then I throw something together with a crappy mic and that's what gets the attention (most of my subs are from 1 video that blew up). Sometimes I think that I should just focus on making art. I know other artists that spend little to no effort on social media, but they still have a great following, just because they make awesome art.
Maybe this is an issue of expectations. With a comic project, success for me is finishing the project. I can control that. Whether or not people read my stuff is much more of a crap shoot. I've made LOTS of stuff people weren't interested in, and then a few successes that connected. Maybe refocus your definition on success on something that's within your control. Make the stuff that you like, take pride in it and let the dice fall where they may.
Also, consider that there is some trial and error in the process. It may just take some time to figure out what connects. I'm 40 years old. I've been trying for a long, long time.
Whatever the case, be patient. You are doing the work. The pay-off will come eventually.
Jesus Christ, I don't know how to make a line-break.
I cant even get views at the moment with good or bad equipment,haha. I wanted to test TH-cams algorithm by removing all tags for a video,giving the video a one word title,not having Closed captions and making the thumbnail low quality. The video did the same as my other videos (30 views). Friends,family and people i meet in person outside of social media all ask me how i draw,what i use and general questions someone would ask any well known artist. But i'm mostly unknown and the people that see my work think i make a living as an artist. When i tell them I've only sold 2 drawings my entire life they don't believe me.
Which brings me to my question about modern art. I can understand art that is beautiful,that makes you question,requires skill,effort and is interesting. Yet i can't understand why/how artwork in museums,online,prints,etc that require no skill,effort or time and lacks any beauty could be of any value or interest to the general public. About 5 years ago i went to an art museum and brought with me a few drawings to see if they were interested in displaying the work. They said my work wasn't of their interest. Frustrated,i would return again to show them more of my work. This time i handed in 2 pieces of art that required no skill or time and was horribly framed. They told me they loved it and said they would consider putting it on display. Baffled,i ended up just taking my artwork back and not putting it on display.
(although i was finally able to get some art displayed at a different museum Locally recently)
But maybe its because times have changed,people have changed. Most people these days want instant gratification and dont understand the concept of hard work. So when i tell them a drawing is $100 they tell me they would never pay more than $10. (even though it cost me $30 to frame it,150 hrs to draw (depends) and archival ink and paper was used)
But thats enough of my rambling for now, haha,if i don't stop ill end up writing 50 paragraphs.
Thank you for replying,all of your hard work and reaching out to other artists to help and inspire.
@@JSheetzArtwork This is unrelated to the questions you have asked but FB works very differently from TH-cam. If I am scrolling through my feed on fb and I happen to stumble upon your video, it'll count me as a viewer even if I quickly scroll down. If any person watches that video for 1 second, that's counted as a view. That's why you only gained 10 subs because most of the people just scrolled through your video and fb counted them as a viewer.
Really interesting to hear about your process Brandon.
I've been working on my project for about 5 years now and I'm finally about to complete book one of a 3 book series.
I found routine was one of the most vital factors in getting this far. I have a full time job, wife and kids so finding the time to dedicate to something so grueling was a big challenge. Setting aside set time on set evenings is the only way I have achieved what I have achieved, but it has been far from easy (as you know).
Keep up the good work mate, your content gives us creative masochists the drive to keep going!
Sounds like you're on your way. Anyone that completes a comic deserves a medal, but doing it with kids and a job is even more impressive. Please share when you finish!
Will do, thanks Brandon.
Thanks for the great advice! I just got the first printed copies my first book (I wrote it, not drew it) and I'm hitting the convention circuit starting next month. I have been trying to practice drawing for a while and I hope to contribute at least some art to my next book. My process wasn't the same as yours - in fact it was way more hectic and scattered, but I got it done. I'm going to try to hew to a more regimented schedule for the next one.
The most important thing is persistence. A more regimented schedule is nice, but as long as you stick to a project, you'll wrap it up eventually.
Yay I signed up for sketchbook summer, can't wait! :D
That was some awesome tips. I'm pushing back some projects, but after this video I want to reorganize my time to start one of them (maybe a comic, simple and training my storytelling). Keep doing this videos =)
Will do. Would love to hear how it goes.
Brandon Dayton Thanks for the support! I've been delaying that for too long. Your videos really inspires me to be a better artist. I'll start to read the green monk, really sick art in there. See ya :)
Great advice! And perfect timing for me because I'm working on outlining my story right now.
Perfect. Please keep me updated on how it goes.
Yo Marshall. You go the art. Send me your address and I'll send it out to you: brandondayton@gmail.com
I'm doing my final project for this year at university. I want to do a sculpture and link it to interior design. But we have to create a substantial amount of work for this project. I don't even know how to start putting my idea down.
I've been grappling with Tim Ferriss' advice to ask yourself "how would this be if it where easy", and I had a hard time adapting it for creative work, because I don't want to dumb things down or do some watered-down version of what I think it is that I do, but it seems that you figured it out for me, with the added bonus of making it cheaper as well! Now, if I could somehow also translate that to my music-making interests too, that would be perfecy: Watch this space!
Edit: of course I managed to spell 'perfect' wrong
Dude, I'm the king of typos. My brother calls it "minimum viable product". What is the minimum you need to prove or test the idea.
Brandon Dayton well in that case it's probably a stick, a plot of sand or dirt and any camera l :) as for my music, I'm now on the lookout for recordings of great arrangements that feature as few instruments as possible, and little to no flashy playing. I thought the reason that my music pieces often get out of hand was that the song structure, chord sequences, etc. where too complex. That’s not the problem: the problem is 1) that I map out an arrangement for 8+ instruments in addition to possible vocals 2) that I try to make the performance more technical, nuanced and idiosyncratic than it needs to be. To be clear, this is before I ever do one complete outline of the music piece from start to finish. My approach to drawing is exactly the same, which is why I have a drawer full of unfinished drawings or comic strips that never get to the last panel. And no, as it turns out, I’m really not a perfectionist, I’ve just completely misunderstood how a creative project should be done
I know you probably meant it metaphorically, but your description of completing a project as a sacred task that the demons (whether inner demons or otherwise) wail about is interesting. Being religious myself, I often wonder when you create something that truly means something to you, that you feel compelled to create, that it could be an act of realising your destiny, an act of worship even.
I feel the experience so deeply that calling it metaphorical feels insufficient. Creating art is a deeply sacred process to me.
loving these videos brandon. i work for marvel and dc and want to develop my own stuff in-between projects! really great advice
Thanks!
just found you! i literally watched the vid 3 x's and took notes lol :) your tips are gold, I am a terribly distracted person, it's taken me several years to get serious about making organized plans, I was making the mistake of making the plans too big, instead of small chunks at a time. I have 2 manga in the works, your vid was very helpful for me. thanks for taking the time to post this 😁
I've been there! I should have written the steps down in the description too. Sorry to make you have to rewatch to take notes.
Thanks so much for this video! I'm on vacations, doing nothing, so I wanted to start a comic but didn't know where to begin. This is really helpful!
Perfect. Just keep it simple and stick with a consistent schedule. Keep me updated too. I want to see how everyone's projects go.
Congrats on your success. I first encountered Green Monk on Tapas and somewhere there commented that it reminded me of Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, which I later saw u mention was an inspiration.
I went to a "good" art school - finished even - initially with goal of drawing comics but ended up in film, with a great career but always wondering about what could have been, bc I deeply love comics as a medium. I really enjoy your channel, even if I don't always agree with your assertions, but know well how your openness can be so influential to people at the start of their creative journeys.
The death bed experiment was one I encountered in a book called The Tools, and it was the only true takeaway from that one that stuck with me.
I liked the line at the top of this vid... "... well, before I had kids at least." Wondering if younger viewers will get how big a deal that element is! lol.
I struggle completing personal projects... few get finished, others dont make it, as I balance work, parenting, and the reality I'm sure you understand about the bigger forces in film that make project completion all the more unpredictable. Always on my mind to get a comic made.
Thanks for everything Brandon, I hope u realize how big an impact you are making here.
Sidebar but as an artist, if you haven't seen it, I suggest u check out the IDW Eurocomics release of Alack Sinner. The evolution of the art across the stories is astonishing, and is some of the most unique I've seen since Lorenzo Mattoti's Stigmata book.
Thanks for the thoughtful comic and kind words. I studied film and ended up making comics, so I guess I kinda know how you feel. I'll check out the recommendations! Always looking for good stuff to read.
This is perfect. Black and white. I think I’m ready. Very useful advice! My favorite part is that you finished your advice in one video. I’ve looked up artist advice on this stuff and usually find videos divided into parts without truly answering the question. So I so highly appreciate your concise advice. I wrote a script already. But ,really, I need to complete the design of my characters.
New question: if I’m writing a story about another culture is it important to include facts like names of places, proper names for people and objects etc. or can I just make it fictitious while using the culture like Avatar the last air bender?
Sorry so long winded but for instance if I have an Asian man react in a way that a True Asian man wouldn’t due to his cultural upbringing is that bad writing? I guess I’m wondering how much research should I give to the culture? Just some thoughts. And thanks for answering my question!!
In this case, I would try to be strategic about keeping the research from slowing down your project. There are so many historical details I probably got wrong with Green Monk. I had to focus on the most important and fake the rest. Particularly like figuring out how people thought and acted, is a huge undertaking. There is wisdom in creating a culture from scratch in this regard. A deeply researched story is a great project, but not a great first project. The most important things is that you create a story people want to read.
Just sketch each morning with coffee for 40 mins...or stop being an artist.
Great thoughts! Very straightforward; I definitely imagine I will come back to review these steps. I'm currently in the process of creating an illustrated book; it was going to be a comic, but as I had the whole story written out in novel format, and I liked the wording of it, I decided to do illustrations instead. But I want to incorporate them with the text to make each page one artistic statement, like with the Books of Hours. But anywho, a thought I wanted to share is that I so wish I could be consistent with my process of working on it, but as I work retail, my schedule is constantly inconsistent, and so there is no set time I can guarantee to work. Instead I try to seize every present moment I find that I can work on it.
It's a struggle, but I'm making progress, and it's exciting. You are so right about the importance of choosing a project that you really want to work on. And I can feel it influencing my style as well. Thanks for the inspiration!
That's great. Your situation is why persistence is such an important part of the equation. Even with an erratic schedule, if you stick with the project, you'll finish eventually.
On top of a mountain? I love how you go to such extremes to film these for us lol.
On a serious note... the death bed experiment sounds really good. It sounds hard, but I think this weekend I'll really set some time apart and think of things that way. I have the problem of wanting to do too many things at once, so hopefully that'll help with sorting out which is the most important. Thanks for all these tips, really appreciate it.
BTW, I used createspace to self publish my comic book. 240 pages long and it didn't cost me anything (no inventory at least). Createspace is owned by amazon, so you'll even have a link for people to buy it off there. I recommend this route for people that, like me at the time, don't have an audience or the skill set, but are still determined enough to just get a book out there!
I literally live in the mountains. I should be able to get off my butt and show some real mountains in a video.
I like the idea of create space. I just found a traditional printing press for mine. Inventory can be a total hassle. I'm guessing they get more of the cut though. Can you order wholesale if you're going to take books to a convention?
I believe it costs me somewhere around 3.70 per book, regardless of quantity. 5.1 x 7.8 inches, 11.4 ounces.
The quality is pretty good though so it's still a relatively cheap method in terms of having it on a massive online marketplace. Not sure I'd go that route again, but I would still consider it. At the time it was a personal project that I knew had no audience, but I still wanted a book to hold. Having other people be able to hold it was just a big plus.
Thx for this vid Brandon. It will help me for my project even if it has nothing to do with comics. Looking foward summer sketch book challenge which somehow could help me to achieve my project. Btw, your french is perfect, i can tell you :). Cheers AH
Great to hear. I think I'm actually going to do some thumbnailing for my next project during sketchbook summer.
this was incredible, thank you!
This is some great advice!
You can also use scribus instead of indesign, it'S free and I use it. Thank you for recommending "The Now HAbit"! (I dont need that drawing...just commenting!) Keep it up Brandon!
Thanks for the recommendation. Come to think of it I might have actually used scribus for the Green Monk mini! I also hear that clip studio can do the job.
hey, i think i never commented on one of your videos, so i will pass on the price. But if you haven't already, can you maybe make a video about storytelling for comics? My Problem is: While i have a lot of grand ideas and worlds in my head, most of the time i have problems writing stories that are short but still have a satisfying ending. I know that a lot of written short stories have an open end and i wrote a lot of them too, but i have a feeling that this doesn't work so well for comics.
Great questions. Been meaning to put together a video for this. I'll put it in the queue.
I just signed up! I will probably be doing the Lil'l Tamale since I don't want to have to put my personal project to a side. BTW you mention so many books in your videos, it is hard to keep track. It would be cool if you had a reading list section in your website so I can keep track of them all and catch up on my reading :)
Great to hear your joining the challenge. Been thinking of adding a reading list. I might just link my goodreads page.
Hi Brandon. I really like the varied line weights achieved with the pen you're using in the video. I looked for Calligrapher on Google and Amazon and couldn't find it. Do you mind sharing where you got it from?
All my tools are right here: th-cam.com/video/0aQUEZiHa3E/w-d-xo.html
Listening from Utah! Cheers 🍻
What pen is that?
6:50
Are there any boundaries for pages when it comes to content? I don’t want to fill a sketchbook of just junk drawings I didn’t learn anything from. Or is that the point? Just getting mileage and technical skills?
I tried to answer some of those questions with this video: th-cam.com/video/ZJEgcTEZx_M/w-d-xo.html
The drawing you do should really fit the challenge. Not junk, but it should be fast, loose and experimental. I'll be showing lots of examples and demonstrating specific exercises throughout the month of July.
Loved how almost half of the video was advertisement
This one is going into my favorites! I'm also going to try this summer sketchbook challenge. I wanted to ask, I have a sketchbook that I do draw in everyday. Should I stop drawing that and use a new one? Or can I just begin from that last page til I finish it?
Start with a new book and then go back to your current sketchbook when the challenge is done.
Brandon Dayton Thanks, I'm hyped now!