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

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

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

 

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

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.

 

How to Master an Artistic Field | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 12

Episode Summary

In this episode of my podcast we’ll discuss how to master an artistic field or endeavor, using macro and micro skills.

Micro Skills – The How

Another word for these would be “techniques”. This is the technical know-how of your artistic field. In watercolor, this means blending edges, matching values and dry brush techniques.

In drawing, this can be properly holding the pencil, creating a gradual shift in values and so on.

Mastering these is pretty straightforward. You practice them until you are competent.

Macro Skills – The Why

This is where the challenge begins.

If the micro skills were the “how to”, the macro skills are the “why we do things the way we do them”.

These can include composition, color selection, arrangement, telling a story or explaining an idea through our art. They also include work-process-related ideas.

This is less of a thing to “work on” in a targeted manner like the micro skills. A lot of this comes down to lots of experimentation and being open and present during the creation process.

I want to emphasise once again – these CAN improve – by practicing correctly.

My Progress With Watercolor Painting

I feel like I’m at a spot where I’m very competent with the micro skills. I wouldn’t say I MASTERED them. But I’m pretty good.

And with the macro skills? I feel like I’m still learning. And there’s A LOT to learn. This pleases me, because it shows the huge potential I can still tap into.

And the way I see it – mastering both micro and macro is the recipe for magic.

I hope you enjoyed this one!

Show Notes

I mentioned Jack Hamm’s book: Drawing Scenery. Here’s a link to purchase it on Amazon (affiliate): http://amzn.to/2Au2VsP

Support me on Patreon

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Snapchat – @LironYan3