Tag: drawing

Inktober Is Here! Pen and Ink Sketching Challenge | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 42

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Hi there, Liron here! And today I wanted to talk to you about the Inktober 2018 challenge!

What is Inktober Challenge

Every year during October, many artists and creators take part in Inktober. This is a pen and ink sketching challenge.

The goal is simply, for the entirety of the month of October, you produce a sketch every day.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be simple, small, or whatever you want.

The goal is to produce something every day.

The challenge was started by an artist and illustrator called Jake Parker, as a small initiative. With time it grew in popularity – it’s huge now!

If you search for #Inktober2017 on Instagram, for example, you’ll find over 3 million posts.

Inktober Prompts

Every year, a list of prompts is posted. These are ideas meant to ignite your creativity.

You can look at it either as a crutch (for getting ideas), or as a handicap (“making” you do something around a specific idea).

I like to look at it as an added layer of challenge. It’s another thing to be creative about (:

Additional Benefits to Doing Inktober

I think what Inktober does really well, is force artists to create FOR CREATIONS SAKE. Or even for THEIR OWN sake.

It’s so easy to get caught up in our work. For me that’s creating content around watercolor painting, mainly. Or marketing my products, books, courses etc.

Doing this challenge is a huge opportunity of creating and enjoying it to its fullest.

When art turns into your career, it can take away some of the magic. This is a tremendous opportunity to get some of it back (:

My Plan for Inktober 2018

I’m planning on leveraging the challenge for multiple purposes.

1. As I mentioned – creating for myself and my own enjoyment.

2. Sharing more about myself, by doing art you aren’t used to seeing from me.

So for example, yesterday I posted a manga style sketch of Reiju, a character from the manga series One Piece. This is the type of work you won’t normally see from me!

3. I’ll try leveraging the challenge to reach more people. The challenge’s hashtags are quite popular, so perhaps my work will get to more people.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this episode. I will probably do a summary podcast at the start of November, concluding my Inktober experience.

Stay tuned!

And now…

Artist Corner

Today we talked about Eiichiro Oda – the mastermind behind the manga One Piece!

This is the first time I talk about a manga artist and creator, and this man is incredible.

He sleeps 3 hours a night (yes yes, highly not recommended by the way), and he created what’s currently THE MOST popular manga and anime series in Japan and worldwide.

I highly recommend you check out his artwork. And if you are into manga and haven’t read One Piece, I would highly recommend taking a look.

It’s wacky and very unique, but it’s one of the best stories I’ve read / watched, and it has a lot of DEPTH.

You can read more about One Piece here: One Piece

And about Eiichiro Oda sensei here: Eiichiro Oda

And again, I really hope you enjoyed this episode, and I want to send you my complete gratitude for watching / listening / reading my stuff

Here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

– Liron

The Secret Mindset for Painting Beautifully | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 35

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Hi there, today I want to talk to you about a magical mindset for heightened creativity.

I’ve been painting for 3 years now, and I noticed that whenever I produce beautiful results I like – I find myself in that state.

The Child-Like Creativity Mindset

It’s worth mentioning this state of mind had nothing to do with outside inspiration.

In fact, it felt like the opposite most of the time. It felt insular. Almost like it was BLOCKING outside inspiration, in order to self-generate it from the inside.

When I hit that mindset, it feels like I’m slowing down naturally. I’m focusing more on the small space where I’m working. I’m very present, and enjoy the movement of my brush across the paper.

It truly is magic, so let’s talk about how to generate it!

How to get into the Child-Like Mindset

Here are several things that work for me. Try them out and see what happens (:

#1 – Developing your skills.

This is probably the most important stage. You want to have mastery over the basics of the medium. If you can hit that intermediate level, it makes things much easier.

I had this happen a few times when just starting out, but it’s not the same. Having skill and knowing what you’re doing is actually VERY important.

#2 – Embrace freedom.

This involves understanding that you don’t HAVE to do anything. You don’t have to paint things exactly as you see them, or use one technique only.

You can “re-invent” yourself every day.

#3 – Let go of the outcome.

A well-known concept. This dictates that whenever you are able to let go of the outcome, it becomes better.

If you can avoid obsessing over a specific result, or trying to control every step of the way, you can become much looser, and have a lot more fun when creating.

This one and #2 are easier said than done, but that’s life (;

#4 – Paint what you love.

This isn’t a sure-fire way of “triggering” that state of mind, but it can surely help.

#5 – Patience.

And that’s the real key. Building skills take time. This is especially true with watercolor. It has so many “moving parts”, and things you need to do in a certain order, and sometimes FAST.

So have patience and keep working on those skills, and applying the rest of the advice here. With time you’ll see that occasionally you start hitting that mindset / state of mind.

I hope this helps. Now let’s move on to the Artist Corner!

Artist Corner

Today I talked about Ray Balkwill.

I highly highly HIGHLY recommend you check his work out in these APV video:
1. Capturing Coastal Moods
2. Capturing Estuary Moods

Ray is a British watercolor painter that works in mixed media. He has this incredible technique of working with graphite for preparatory sketches.

And then he works with watercolor, chalk and gouache for final paintings. The results are stunning and realistic too.

You can read more about him here: Ray Balkwill

And Here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

And this is it. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I’ll talk to you again real soon!

– Liron

How to Become Super-Creative Using Frequency | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 19

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Hi there! Liron here. In this episode I want to talk to you about how to become much MUCH more creative using frequency.

Creativity and Frequency

I slowly learn more and more how creativity and frequency of creation are intertwined.

And I’m not talking about the obvious “more frequent practice = getting better faster”. I’m talking about how practicing more frequently improves you in the SHORT TERM as well.

I noticed my brain is a magician. The more ideas I ask of it, the more ideas I get. The more frequently I publish videos, the more ideas my brain produces.

This is quite different from the mindset I had in the past. I was afraid to post things too frequently, so that I don’t “run out of ideas”.

That’s just the opposite of what really works!

How this can help you

Whatever you are doing on a regular basis – I would suggest playing around with its frequency.

Do you sketch once every few days? Try sketching EVERY day. See where it takes you.

This really is all about experimentation.

I find this to be true about ideas as well. The more I sit down to think about video, podcast or painting ideas – the more new ideas I get.

Exponentially!

The more you give – the more you receive

I really think of this as a law of nature.

The more courage you have to share more and more, and work on your skills more and more – the more you are rewarded.

The more you give courageously, the more the world gives back to you (:

Artist Corner

In this episode we talked about Gregory Packard.

He is an amazing American impressionist artist. What immediately caught my attention with his works is how COLORFUL they are!

If you’ve been following me for a while you know how I’m attracted to colorful and realistic artworks.

You can see more of his work in his website.

 

Conclusion

And this is it for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it!

Here’s where to find me:

Here you can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3.

The Products I’m Working On | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 18

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Hi there! Liron here. In this episode I want to talk to you about the products I’ve been working on during the month of February 2018.

Courses

I’m working on 3 new course I intend on publishing on the Udemy platform. This is where I currently make my courses available (together with my website).

I’m close to finishing 2 out of the three:

  • Portrait painting in watercolor
  • Landscapes in watercolor

Because I’m working on so many things simultaneously, this has been quite the challenge. I really have to work hard to be able to devote large chuncks of works to these products.

They involve recording, and then A LOT of editing work.

Book – How to Sketch People

I’m working on a book on how to sketch people in pen and pencil. This book is meant to be a “twin” product to my video course on sketching people.

This is a topic I’m trying to tackle from a rather unique angle, in my opinion. I try to provide students with a loose and fun method, that still preserves the accuracy and realism of the sketch.

I think this is an incredibly challenging topic that deters many from tackling. With this book, just like with the course, I wanted to turn it into a fun, light-hearted experience.

Increasing My Income

As an artist that is trying to build a business around their art, I have to be proactive. I always have to take care of my own income and earnings.

I have no boss, or salary. This is a huge challenge, but also a great freedom.

My goal with producing so many products is mainly helping as many people as possible, as well as MAKING MORE MONEY (:

I think this is also a uniqe value I bring to the table when it comes to helping other artists. I’m very business-oriented, and hope to inspire other artists to proudly create and charge money for their creation.

I want to use this opportunity to thank you. Yes – you! My listener, viewer, reader and follower.

Without you, all of this would have been impossible.

Artist Corner

In this episode I talked about no other than Paul Cézanne.

He doesn’t require too much introduction (;

Cezanne was a French post-impressionist painter, who is widely-known and highly-regarded.

Both Henry Matisse and Pablo Picasso have remarked that Paul Cezanne “is the father of us all”.

You can read more about him in his Wikipedia page.

Conclusion

And this is it for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it!

Here’s where to find me:

Here you can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3.

 

Creating With Complete Immersion | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 17

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In this episode we’ll talk about immersion, and being immersed while you are creating. We will see how this can actually help you make better art!

I got this idea while working out…

So a few weeks ago I was working out, and I noticed I wasn’t really into it.

I noticed my thoughts go somewhere else, and I’m not really focused on the exercise I was doing.

And then I suddenly though – why?

I mean, this is so stupid! I already scheduled the workout session, and I’m already working out.

So why am I so unfocused?

Painting and art making is the same

From there, it was an inevitable connection.

I immediately realized this was also (occasionally) happening to me with painting.

I would sometimes feel unfocused. Like i just want to get it done. Kind of like washing the dishes or brushing your teeth.

And the difference in results shows.

Working while in that headspace leads (at least for me) to mediocre art.

Why do we loose immersion?

I think this can happen for multiple reasons.

For me, this mainly happened as I was detached from the overarching goal. I wasn’t seeing how what I’m doing RIGHT NOW, helps me attain my goals.

This is lack of clarity, and from my experience it isn’t ideal.

So I worked on building up my clarity, writing and figuring out the exact connection between what I’m doing and the end result.

And lo and behold, it worked!

(how I built my clarity is a topic for a future podcast, but brainstorming, writing, asking the right questions and visualizing were a major part of it)

As soon as my clarity increased, I was able to understand why a single rep of a single set of a weight lifting exercise – produces strong ripples into my future.

I was also able to understand how with every brush stroke I improve a certain technique.

Artist Corner

In this episode we talked about Eudes Correia, a Portuguese watercolor artist and instructor.

His work consists of people and figures for the most part. He has an incredible sense of light, shadow and movement.

You can check out his website here: Eudes Correia

And his Instagram account @Eudes_Watercolor

Conclusion

And this is it for today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it!

Here’s where to find me:

Support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3.