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samuelskanvis

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Sand Junes

4 min read
Puns XD

How is everyone? Another month starts, another journal from me. 

I've been awful at keeping up with this place recently. I don't give myself time to log on and browse people's art, which unfortunately has been happening for a long time so I'd be surprised if you're the slightest bit shocked by this point XD This inconsistency has run quite badly in other areas of life this past month, mainly art, and double-mainly because I'm doing another gift art that's way too ambitious... again. The last time this happened, it took me a YEAR to finish the piece, and I wasn't that happy with the end result. This current one has been going for about 6 weeks already, and I'm only looking at it once a week at the moment. Even then, I was finding it very difficult to work on, because I just didn't know where to start! I've managed to make a plan with my art teacher though, and I'm going to try and work on it for an hour a day - No more, No less. That way I should get it finished in a reasonable time without it overwhelming me. 

I am trying to apply this thinking to other things too, deviantART included. An hour of browsing, favouriting, commenting, and the like, every day if I can fit it in, a gap no larger than 2 days if not. That way I may slowly but surely clear my messages too XD

Whilst I'm not ready to show any finished work for Eimi and Akane's adventures yet, I am getting back in the mood to animate and make comics again. I've half-finished an animatic for a simple animation I would like to do with my OC Mirabelle, showing off her water abilities and a new physical trait I'm trying out for her... it's not sexual I promise XD

Annoyingly, I've only managed 3 poses from AdorkaStock 's Draw Everything June challenge this year, which is a bummer because I usually enjoy that one. I'm hoping there's enough of a deadline so that I can go back and quickly get them done and submitted. Again, this month has been a bit whack in the organisation department.

Life is life. Nothing much going on there. Saw Men in Black: International and Godzilla: King of the Monsters this month. MiB:International was kinda disappointing, it had a few too many 'Women are smart and Men are Dumb because they're born that way' jokes, which is an easy way to kill a film for me. Main character didn't have enough buildup to make her convincing, which was a shame because with a bit more time she could have been much more enjoyable to follow as a character. 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was exactly what I expected: Big Dumb Action. I loved it! The monsters didn't have as much raw weight to them as in the 2014 Godzilla film, but there was a heck of a lot more monster action this time. Same problem with the 2014 film though in that when people were on screen, you just wanted monsters back on the screen to punch each other. Films like this are exactly why I love going to the cinema: sitting in a big dark room with a tub of popcorn and enjoying a spectacle :D

Super Mario Maker 2 is a thing now, which has only increased the procrastination over the last week. It's great fun, there's so many more tools at your disposal to make a course now, and the stuff people are coming up with already is awe-inspiring. I think I've already past 15 hours on it and it hasn't even been out a week XD

There's a really good Manga exhibition on at the British Museum in London at the moment. I went over the weekend, and was thoroughly impressed at how much there was to look at! So many original pages from Manga comics, including some from One Piece and Dragon Ball! It was fascinating to see what techniques and tricks Manga artists use to put pages together. Also I learned that there is a Manga about Buddha and Jesus living together as college flatmates, and by George I really want to read it now XD 

Hmm, I think that's all I've got for this month. I shall endeavour to be around more in July, keeping to my hour-almost-every-day time slot. Got lots of life stuff this month too, including my Birthday! :w00t:
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There, have a May pun XD

So May was busy, in ways I didn't quite expect. I procrastinated A LOT on my art this month, but I also got some done to a calibre I've been aiming for.
In particular, this one:  
Princess Daisy - Peace! by samuelskanvis
Like...HOW. This totally came out of nowhere. I've had the Daisy sketch in my backlog to colour since December, and decided to use it as a warm-up session last week before working on the thing I was supposed to be doing, and then... Look! I love it! This is how I've wanted my work to look for so long! I remember feeling really good that morning, and I just went for it. A big thanks to Herebellama and LoomingColumn for the advice on digital techniques! Now I know partially what I'm doing I can actually create things :D

I'm still having issues getting things done for other people though. I have a bunch of Pokemon requests from six months ago I haven't finished, and a couple of more urgent pieces that I can't sit down and concentrate on, or don't get nearly as far with them as I want when I do. I am getting better at making myself sit down and work, though. Slowly working on avoiding distractions, but also getting better at making sure I get up from time to time to stretch my legs. Slow progress is still progress!

I've been doing some voluntary shifts at a local Cat cafe, which whilst fun to watch cats have antics, is kinda dull. I mainly wash up and serve tea, which isn't really the direction I'd like to be headed in life, and even as a voluntary thing it's not for charity (which I didn't realise until I started), and then they bought a dishwasher so I don't even have the main thing I did left to do any more! So I will be ending that in a couple of weeks time, and dedicating the time back to art. For real this time :D I did get to redesign their menu board though, so that was cool.

I did forget to check on DeviantART for the first couple of weeks. My bad XD But I have been remembering the last couple of weeks, although last week I was genuinely busy so haven't been about to reply to things. I'm glad that there's still a bit of a community I feel I can be involved with here though.

Apart from that, life is life. Not a heck of a ton else going on. I should upload more of the things I do in my art classes. I'd like to upload more writing too, but looking into publishing has made me hold back for now - did you know that publishers aren't so keen to publish a work if you've already posted drafts online? Makes sense when I think about it, but that's the main reason. I'll have to try and do some random idea pieces to upload instead :D

How's things with you?
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The trail was as dusty as he remembered. It led to a place people knew about; not the go-to hub for all things, but a place people stopped by if they knew it, or were curious. A place for like-minded folk.

The man rolled through the entrance without fanfare. One or two had seen him stop by for a night once in a blue moon, but hadn't stayed. Fewer still remembered that he was once a resident, a kind man trying to find his place in the world. That was a few years ago. 

He paced through the worn yet well-kept streets, his only interaction with people a quick glance. He didn't seem in a hurry; rather focused, in fact. His experienced boots thudded with every step, making his presence clear, but not intimidating. He wasn't really looking for attention, not yet at least.

He pushed open the door to the bar. People took a look at him as he stepped through the door, but few seemed to recognise him. They turned back to their drinks, conversations, or games of cards. The man walked on by to the bar itself, and sat on an empty stool, two in from the corner. The bartender turned from drying an empty glass as he heard the leather of the seat creak.

"Ah, I wondered when you'd be back," the bartender said. He put the glass on the bar in front of the man. "It's been so long I can't remember your regular. The note I kept wore out."

The man took a look at the range of drinks behind the bar. It hadn't changed much, as far as he remembered. It imbued him with a sense of home, feeling the warm wooden surroundings cuddle his breath.

"Rum and coke, Harry," the man said with a smile. He rotated the glass an eighth as the bartender fetched the coke. The man had heard it being poured many times, but something about the way Harry did it made his trip worth the aching legs. A good shot of rum sank into the drink, dancing around the glass. "Cheers," He said, picking up the drink and twitching it playfully.

"How long are you here for this time?" Harry asked. He lent on the bar with one arm, hoping the man had a better story than usual to tell. "One night? Two?"

The man took a good swig of his drink. The rum was still good. He made a satisfied sigh as he put the drink on the table. " I dunno. I was thinking maybe a week at least this time?"

Harry chuckled. "I'll hold you too that. Owe me a dollar if you leave earlier?"

"Owe me a dollar if I stay longer?" The man replied, and they both laughed. He downed the rest of his drink and handed the glass to the bartender, who took it back to the sink. The man slowly prised himself off the stool and onto his feet, still aching from his long walk. "Figured I'd take a look at the old place, see who's still there."

"You'd be surprised," said the bartender. "It gets more attention than you might think. Seems to have been kept somewhat."

The man felt a little hope well up inside his chest. "Well, that's a good start at least. Might mean I get to skip on the sweeping."

They both chuckled again, and the man waved as he turned around to leave. The setting sun beamed through as he swung the door open, a comforting warmth he hadn't felt in a long time.
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Here and There

2 min read
Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year. I've meant to write another journal for a long time. About a month before Christmas I was told I had to leave my flat due to my landlord having a friend who desperately needed a room. This has thrown things into disarray somewhat, having to move back to my mum's place just before Christmas, and in the process losing a lot of the space I had to work and relax. I'm a lot further away from my day job now too, meaning I have to commute until I can find something closer. I would have liked to have stayed near to where I was, but it is a very expensive area, and even talking to a couple of experts I knew I had been very lucky with how much I had been paying for my rent and bills.
My mum has been very welcoming of my return, and I am thankful for that, but right now I do not have access to my computer or my desk, meaning I am restricted to sketchbook work until I can make some space for my desk in the room I am staying in. Problem with that is that my brother, who himself moved out of my mum's place, hasn't moved all of his stuff out of that room, and getting him to do anything with it has proven somewhat difficult so far. When he does take it though, I'll be able to get things set up again. For now though, uploads will be sparse and sketchdumps will be on hold until I can access my computer and scanner again.
So yea. That's been me for the past couple of months. A lot of things changing at paces I can't seem to control. Christmas was nice at least, got to chill out with family for a few days. I hope you are all doing well!
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November 7th rolls around once again. It's a special day for me: My DeviantART birthday, and the day I claim as the day I started my journey into the world of art in general. I used to make anniversary artwork to mark the occasion, but I feel that's being a little arrogant now. I may do once I'm at a certain level I want to reach, but for now, I'd like to reflect on the last year. This is a long post, so strap in :D

Returning to DeviantART was hard. I haven't done much with this site for a long time, and coming back, I felt like the disowned son showing up to a family reunion much too late. But I have made new friends here - a special thanks to andpie who has been the biggest reason for me to stay. Your words have been so encouraging, and your enthusiasm for my upcoming work keeps me on-track. My uploads overall haven't seen many more likes and comments, but that doesn't bug me as much as it used to. I'm still rubbish at checking everyone else's hard work though XD

Next, what I've been calling the 'February Requests'. I've managed to finish them all now, but they took way too long. I procrastinated on them hard. You could say I even feared them at times. One of them was a huge undertaking, and took many months of chipping away to finally get right. But once it was finished, and going back to look at it, I'm really not very pleased with the result. It was a group illustration of a friend and his colleagues at work. My friend seemed to really like it, and he even shared it on his social media pages, but I saw comments from his work colleagues that seemed disapproving, only solidifying my disappointment with it. I feel taking so long on it was a mistake, but as an experiment or test, it showed me a lot of things - My self-organisation is weak, I am very easily confused by choice, but I can see a project through to completion when I'm in the right mindset. 

The last two 'February Requests' prove this: Judge Dredd  I Am the Law. by samuelskanvisand Nariko Nariko by samuelskanvis . Judge Dredd was done rather quickly once started, and I'm very happy with the result. Nariko took 7 attempts to get right, but once I got it, I loved drawing it. I tried to keep to the pose once I started it, and whilst I failed that with Nariko multiple times - I almost scrapped the final one! - with Judge Dredd I was able to stick to the one. I was more confident with myself with these too, and I think it shows.

I will take small requests again in the future, but I will push myself to keep to a strict deadline. I feel I still need to learn discipline to make Illustration work as a career choice, especially as it is majority freelance. Everyone says that being 25 is still young, still plenty of time, but I can't help but feel that I'm late to the party already. 

Estimating the time and effort needed for things is another skill I am working on. This year I have attempted no less than 5 challenges (not including the daily sketching), and I have succeeded in only 1 ( AdorkaStock 's 'Draw Everthing June'). I like to try them to keep me active, but also to gauge my self-motivation.
:bulletblue: The Weekly Illustration New Year's Resolution fell flat after about 10 weeks, but noticeably faltered after week 7. 
:bulletgreen: My April Character Challenge (not uploaded here yet) was a semi-success: I was managing one every two days.
:bulletblue: Mermay had some experimenting with mediums (also not uploaded yet) but again didn't do as much as I wanted.
:bulletgreen: Inktober, I tried to base all the prompts around the story I'm writing. I finished only 4 within the month. 

Some of those were down to me underestimating the work needed and me not being as good as I wanted to be (April), but others like Inktober I had some commission work to do. Which leads me into....

:star: I actually had people asking me to make art for them this year! And they wanted to pay me!! :star: :happybounce:

So far I've finished 2 of them, both logo designs. They were both great learning experiences in many ways: learning software, working on other people's projects, and above all being professional. I as well as the clients are very happy with the results. The second one also had animation work, which was hard because I hadn't animated in over 2 years. Honestly though, it's probably my best animation work to date, and the first time I've tried graphics animation! Here it is:
 
I've also got other works which have a less strict deadline in the works. I'm doing my best to keep on top of adding to them, although the lack of delivery date is a challenge for my self-motivation. I have unfortunately been dropped from 1 project too, and to make it worse, it was a task closest to what I want to get into: Book Illustration. That I only blame on myself though - I could not find the creative drive to work on it, and ultimately, I was replaced. 
I need to work on my self-promotion. Again, self-confidence issues have led to avoiding working on my own branding, pages, etc. I still don't know if I'm truly ready for it, skill-wise. But because I have been approached by people asking for my skills, that has given me some drive forward. I just need to believe in myself.

There has been more good out of this year too. My life drawing is getting slowly better. I reached 1000 days straight of sketching, and still going! But my favourite personal art achievement of the year, has been working on 'Eimi's Story'. I've discovered a writing class in town, and it has been the help I've needed to get the story started proper. I've been working on it a lot, and it has developed more and more over the last few months. I'm hoping it won't take forever to start showing some of it off XD

Overall, it's been another big learning experience for me this year. Despite the many trippings with the challenges and tasks, I have realised that I am not a machine - being human means getting tired, and I've come to accept that some days I need to rest, but also to take the energy when it comes to work hard on these things. Sometimes it requires a lot of effort to sit down and concentrate, and that I still have a hard time doing on most days. But when I'm in the right mood, I can do good work.  I just need to make sure I can do it even when the day is average. I've also noticed I've had a lot less anxiety attacks this year, I think because I'm not worrying so much about getting a masterpiece done every day. I've learnt to do my best, and to make my best better in a healthier way. The fact that other people have believed enough in my work that they want me to make things for them has been encouraging. I still have a long way to go though. Hold me accountable if I stop :star:
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Featured

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