The Endless Possibilites of a Blank Canvas

How will you Express YourSelf?

What i have created here is a starting point. A blank canvas for you to take and run with. A blank canvas for you to take to the next level and reach into your own creativity. 

Everyone who paints or creates does so in their own unique way that cannot be replicated or copied

Everyone who paints or creates does so in their own way. Whether it be their mental tools and knowledge or the techniques they use. Everyone out there has their own personal views on style and feel that is uniquely their own. Something that can never be duplicated or mass produced. We are all unique in our own special ways, however not all of us are willing to tap into that.

But Why?

• Some people have trouble finding and searching for it.
• Some are afraid to share their true self and worry about the thoughts of others
• Some are too busy trying to duplicate someone else

Be Yourself

Find your own Voice

Be an Original

Everyone else is already taken, 

be the person you were born to be.

Below is a bust i created and here you can see the the changes the paintwork makes.

Take a look on my site and webstore at the blanks i have created. I would love to see what you can create.

www.alter-ego-dezines.com

alteregodezines.bigcartel.com

Thank you for reading and following me on my journey. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Also tell me more about what you would like to see in the future.

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The Importance of a Mentor and what i have learned

The Importance of having a Mentor and what it has done for me. 

 
 Having someone to look up to and guide me has been an integral part of my learning curve, especially recently. When your growing up you look towards your parent as well as your friends. You learn right and wrong along with how you should act. In school you look towards your teachers to grow as a person. Why does that change or stop after we become "adults." Regardless of our age, each one of us will constantly be in a state of learning.

Once that learning stops the brain shuts down and You STOP living, You STOP growing and You STOP expanding.

     Having someone to look up to that i can trust and share with is like having a coach. Someone i have respect for as a person as well as an artist for his view of life and his time management ethics. I have had numerous teachers and instructors as well as friends and fellow artists and i have learned a lot and have taken in a lot. However i have had the most help and insight in the last year with the Mentor ship from Noah. Noah and Terry from Noah University have been coaches that i look up to and respect for who they are. Noah has  an inspiring look on life, strong time management ethics, as well as amazing abilities in his craft. Terry has had some great ideas and the communication and management of Noah U has been amazing.
    At this moment i have been in this mentor ship for 11 months and it has been crucial in my learning curve. Noah has a way of teaching and inspiring creatives that digs into a  deeper purpose for creating and living. He has helped me dig into my childhood and learning where my sparks come from. What it is that gets me fired up. He has also helped me with my time management and facing my fears.

Standing face to face with my inner demons without flinching!

I have learned to keep moving forward and never stop.

A good mentor is a person you can look up to and be inspired from. They are also someone who will be honest with you and will not only compliment your strength but will also point out your flaws and challenge you to do your best. Not only in your art and creativity but in your life as well.

Look towards those around you and learn as much as you possibly can.

Don't forget to Dream!  _ Noah Elias

Thank you Noah and Terry for your support!

The images above are Noah's "Grab your crash Helmet" along with my fan art sketch.


For more art and information check out the links below

http://noahfineart.com/

http://noahuniversity.com/

http://terryweaver.com/

www.alter-ego-dezines.com

Thank you for reading and following me on my journey. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

For more updates please like my Facebook page and sign up for email newsletters here https://www.facebook.com/alteregodezines

A day where Procrastination Sneaks In

     Recently i sort of had one of those days. A day where my procrastination kicks in more than usual teaming up with my analysis paralysis and another personal demon which i still cant name or even picture. I had one of those days where you have plans but you seem to think about them all day. Not necessarily excited and giddy but just keeping them on your mind and making you watch the clock. I had somewhere i needed to be around 6 pm but yet it weighed on me all day and i got nothing done. Now i can usually fill in the gaps and do other things, but every so often i get caught in that struggle that pulls me down. I get stuck in a state where i constantly think about the time and the time i have left. My mind gets filled with "OK i have to leave in 5 hours, OK i have 4 hours left until i have to go."
     My mind seems to get so overwhelmed i cant even focus on anything else. When i try to take my mind off of it my mind just goes blank. Then later on i get a little upset and frustrated because i wasn't able to accomplish the things i wanted to.
     A constant struggle as i face my demons, but here are a few tips i try to keep in mind and put to use.

• Find that thing that you are crazy passionate about and just dive in and do it. For me when i get into the groove and start concepting i can drift away and live in my own peaceful little world.
• set a schedule or a time limit. Some of the big things that need to get done just set a  timer and work on them for 30 minutes to 1 hour

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Purpose of a Maquette (re-post)

Why would you sculpt a maquette. For us sculptors a maquette or clay sketch is a 3 dimensional representation to guide us when we work on our full size piece. Working solely from a drawing can produce some issues during the progress of the piece. Some 2D artwork doesn't transfer as easily to 3 dimensions so this is where a maquette comes in handy to save time making a smaller piece.

Maquettes also have many of uses and are only limited to your imagination. They can help with concepts, character  expression, pose, structure, etc.

When i worked on my Monster Squad Gillman piece i created a maquette for all of those reasons listed above. I made a 1:3 sculpture to show fans what i was planning on creating. I also used it learn how i would build up the creature, the structure of the character, the expression i was going to use (i tried out a couple emotions), the pose, and how he would look in 3 dimensions making sure he was interesting from all angles.

Here is the clay sketch i did for the Gillman. I tilted the head and shoulders to produce 2 looks.

Here is the final piece.

Thanks for reading and i hope this helps fellow artists out there. Please feel free to comment below or contact me with questions or future topic requests.

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A vicious mind cycle

   

     Have you ever had that problem where your mind just seems to run away from you. Like its running in circles thinking about a million and one things and you can't for the life of you grasp onto what your actually thinking about. Then as a result you automatically try harder to figure it out. Now your in a state of thinking hard trying to figure out what your thinking about and it gets you frustrated and upset that you cant figure it out. Its like reaching into a power ball machine and trying to grab a specific number blind folded.

This is a vicious cycle that unleashes in my mind and is a constant demon that i must face.

     A small section works with my analysis paralysis issues that reside in my mind. Teaming up for more strength to hold their ground! So key is really to try to pinpoint what is setting you off and what is the last brick that tipped you over the edge. (At least that's what everyone tells you right?) Well just think about the problem and take it one baby step at a time.

"HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING! I have been trying to figure that out for the last 3 hrs."

     I'm sorry but at this moment i still don't have an answer, so if anyone else is struggling with similar demons all i can say is your not alone. For me the best way to combat this evil within is to work on your passion. Use your strongest inner ally and stand him toe to toe with your fiercest demon. Find what it is that you are truly passionate about and just unleash it. For me that's sculpting. I will have to do something fresh and create a new character expressive character. A lot of moving the clay and discovering new monsters helps me to overcome my battles and release my mind.

Thanks for listening to my rant and please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
Also let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered or my opinions on.

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Finding the Value in every situation

Do your best to find that one small jewel in the pile of dirt or locate that one untouched piece of wood from a massive fire. It makes the whole event and time spent worth it.

     A few years back i attended a convention that wasn't "amazing". It had a nice look and decorations but the location wasn't fit for the show and the advertising was slim. Overall it wasn't looking good, with the table cost, an expensive hotel, more tolls tallied up (both too and from), plus the greatest part was only a few guests actually knew about it and showed up. It was one of those times when everything seems to be going down and the outlook isn't pretty.

It's in these times that we must focus more on that sliver of light when your locked in a dark basement.

     For me at this show, it was making some new friends. Jason and Alanna along with the Monster Dolls troupe made the show for me. They are an amazing dance troupe from Ohio led by Alanna with there masks and makeup by Jason at Killer Design. They were there to perform at the show and were having their own set of troubles because of the setup and schedule of the venue. Being in their masks and ready to go on time and then not going on stage until almost an hour later. Despite all of this we still had a good time and made the best of the situation. We were not going to let a bad show give us a horrible weekend.

Make sure to find these nuggets. The situation wont get better from complaining and  self pity

    Then take this into the future and it was from this meeting that i also spawned my line of Alter-Ego Portraits and have learned so much from doing them. Thanks to starting with Frankie Doll and creating a bust i was able to learn a few faults i have in my own work. My eyes were originally too large for a likeness piece as i normally have more of a cute and creepy style to my work. Frankie Doll also allowed to step away from the idea of "This is a Likeness" and allowed me to trick my mind into thinking "This is just another Monster."

A slight shift in my thinking and i was now allowed to cool down and let go of the stress of a LIKENESS

Then to take it a step further it gave me a base and a blank canvas to jump into other new and exciting ideas. So please take a moment and think about this the next time you are in a situation you are not completely happy with and instead of getting yourself down search for the beauty in the mud.

Thank you for reading,

More work and images are available on my site

http://www.alter-ego-dezines.com

My Monster Dolls are available here

http://alteregodezines.bigcartel.com/product/monster-dolls-series-1

More info on the Monster Dolls dance Troupe

http://monsterdolls.us/

More info on Killer Design

https://www.facebook.com/KillerDesign13/

For more updates please like my Facebook page and sign up for email newsletters here https://www.facebook.com/alteregodezines

Haters - Don't worry about the opinions of others - (re-post)

Why worry More about the opinions of others over your own? Is their reaction more important then how you feel when you look and create your art?
You are creating because it is your passion, you LOVE to do it. Create what you want and how you want it. If they love it great, if not it's ok. Keep doing your thing.

• what others think of you is none of your business
• If you let them determine and affect your thoughts whose life will you be living? Yours or Theirs?

I have personally learned over the years that there will be two types of people and each will have their yes or no mentality
There are non qualified viewers

• Their yes you should appreciate and take it as a fan who appreciates your work.
• Their no usually comes with a negative vibe. They don't appreciate what you can do and they will try to bring you down. These people are toxic, make sure to wear your protective gear around and don't get infected.

Then there are qualified viewers.

• These yes's will show that they appreciate your work and they will be able to tell you Why they like it.
• There no's will either be - its not their preference or style or there is something off. Again they will be able to tell you why or what they don't like about it. Listen to their tips then filter it for the meaning of the piece and work on it or keep it in mind for future work. 
• These kind of people will be open and honest and be able to point out specific issues. Also you will notice that most of them will have a motivation of helping you out, not putting you down and telling you your work is garbage.

In the end learn to identify these viewers and learn how to handle their views. You can't decide how the world will work, but you have total control over how you will react and let it affect you. Bottom line your art is about YOU. Do it for You and your cause.

Thank you for reading and if you would like to see more of my work check back often or follow me here http://www.facebook.com/alteregodezines