#scrotespeak

— rocketpunchhh

I'm going to level with you, I wouldn't call myself a seasoned veteran by any stretch of the word! I feel like I'm always trying to assume the role of New Challenger... because whenever I let myself feel too pleased with my work I end up stagnating big time, haha! BUT! From my experiences, I guess this is the most valuable nugget that I have to offer:

(don't worry i'll link this back to your question) DRAW EVERY DAY, and have as much fun doing it as you possibly can! I know that this phrase gets tossed around a lot... draw every day, practice until every orifice bleeds, literally eat pencil lead, cybernetically graft wacom styluses to your hands like wolverine claws... i've heard it ALL BEFORE, a THOUSAND times over. The bad news is that there's no getting around this, sad fact of life. However, the GOOD news is that there is an endless amount of ways to make this very, very fun and exciting! 

Everyone's mileage varies, but personally, fanart floats my boat big time! There are just so many things that I really love, whether it's nostalgic games, comics, or work from other artists across the social mediaverse! I've realized that I get into phases that revolve around one or two artistic muses on a weekly, biweekly, monthly basis... My mind jumps around a lot, and erratically, more often than not. When this happens, I always try to emulate the styles of those muses - a few weeks ago, I went to a Kim Jung Gi live drawing event and I'm pretty much on Kim Jung Gi copymode right now. I'm trying to unlock how he goes about perspective, and how he does backgrounds, etc. This sort of brings up the subject of STYLE, specifically an original one.

I personally think there is a lot of wasted effort when someone embarks on a quest to develop a Unique And Personal Style. This might just be a personal point, but I feel like a dude's STYLE emerges as he or she tries out a lot of different techniques and processes. It sounds like an arduous task, but the realm of fanart always helps me bear the workload. It's always easier to draw things that you love! Additionally, I find that there's no greater catalyst for improvement and positive change than artistically chasing after all of the things that I love to look at... a firsthand deconstruction of the techniques that dazzle me usually leave me with a few more tricks in my art repertoire. well.. i THINK it does, anyway. Also, as an aside... I feel like you can really tell the difference between a person drawing something because they have to, and drawing because they want to. There's a bonus heart-factor that your art gets imbued with when you draw from the heart, fancy that! It's win-win!

The next thing that has helped me tons is really getting in touch with the community. Tumblr and Twitter have been so good to me, so so good. These sites spiritually nourish me on a daily basis, and it's full of people that are just like me! People that love to draw... silly shit too, more often than not! This is a continual realization for me, and it continuously makes me want to just talk to everybody and be friends with them. Again, probably a mileage may vary kind of thing, but it's just so easy to reach out! everyone, be friends with everyone!

So how does DRAWING ERRDAY, LOVING ERRY MINUTE OF IT, and becoming A FRIEND TO ALL help you GO PRO?? Welllllllll, you're basically already exhibiting a lot of great qualities that a potential employer would look for in a hire!

Drawing every day means that you're constantly building upon your visual library and aren't bound by just drawing 'when you feel like it' or 'when the inspiration strikes' or whatever self delusional handicaps that so many artists fall into. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TALENT, there is only HARD WORK. This is not debatable. Drawing every day proves that you can do hard work, and boy oh boy do employers love people who can work hard. 

Loving every minute of it shows PASSION and MOTIVATION, it's a very proactive quality and also something desperately sought after by employers. Showing that you know what you like and that you're willing to bend and be flexible & sensitive to other styles and bodies of work is a two-hit wonder combo. Not only does it ooze personality, but it also shows that you're able to commit to your own weighted decisions. Like I mentioned before... aimless and/or soulless art is incredibly transparent. pure technique is good, but pairing it with conviction sends it so much further.

Becoming a Friend To All helps open doors for you! Drawing the things you love every day will inevitably draw the attention of like-minded individuals.. Say hi to them, and be a pal! This is networking at its finest, imho. I feel like the term networking has a few negative connotations attached to it, but honestly, to me, all it really has to mean is just being a good friend. Do your own stuff, but don't forget to pay attention to yer friends! Say hi from time to time, really look at and comment on their stuff, share good things and good times, and then... kaBAM! You'll have a great network of solid friends in no time! And hey, I'll bet some of them can point you in directions that will lead to work! Personally speaking, nearly EVERY major full time job i've ever had has surprisingly happened because of my activity on deviantart! And people say that dA was only ever just a bunch of weeaboos! I've fostered friendships that still last today, and have gotten a lot of great leads on great jobs and projects for just being a friendly guy who likes to draw. Imagine that, haha! 

As for the specifics - what sites to check out, where to look for work, how to go about commissions... that stuff is a lot more subjective to me. I feel like certain places certainly work for certain people. I'd look to my own network of core pals for that kind of info? Also, I feel like it depends on what kind of industry you'd wanna work for... for example, CTN expo is happening pretty soon, and that's a really great mecca for animation peeps! TCAF pulls in a lot of the who's who in the indie comic circles, etc etc etc. I guess I'd just go through the exercise of 1. having a general idea of what I want to do, 2. find people to talk to in that industry and 3. emulate the work of people who are already successful in that industry?

Man I've been blabbering on for a while, i think imma cut it off here. I hope that this doesn't read as a giant pile of mindbarf and is actually helpful in some way, sorry if it's a cluttered mess!