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Digital Painting: Not Quite Blood, Alchemy and Ritual
Years ago, I used to do digital painting. It was a satisfying way to work, but eventually I eschewed it in favour of returning to my traditional painting practice. The motivation behind this was a general dissatisfaction with not having a tangible end product. Eventually, the conventional painting style took over completely, and I packed away my little Wacom tablet,…
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Creative Ideas As Currency: Growth for Artists In The Digital Economy
If content is currency, then artists, you are already wealthy. You have enough unique, interesting and useful creative ideas to turn into a wide range of quality output. In the newest incarnation of our evolving economy, content creation is the most valuable currency. Artists are the original content creators, and you are sitting on a potential gold mine. Today, we’ll…
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Seize the Now: Adapting the Business Model Canvas for Creativity
Here is the problem: you create great work, but it doesn’t gain any traction. You put it out into the world, and most people seem indifferent or simply ignore it. Of course, there are a few potential causes for this that may be unrelated to the work: incorrect audience targeting, a general lack of visibility, and a lack of a…
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Better Creative Process Will Triumph Over Setting Goals
Do you set yourself creative goals that you never achieve? If you can answer an honest ‘no’ to this question, then you are a very rare commodity. Part of the human condition in modern life is the drive to achieve by setting milestones. This might not be the best way to progress. Let’s consider why you need to stop focusing…
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Visual Artists Should Learn to Love AI: Here’s Why
So no one (almost no one) really expected AI to impact on art and artists so quickly. In all honesty I have to admit that I was complacent about the impact and potential of these technologies for my own practice. Then I stopped using it to create photorealistic dogs in space helmets and started using it as part of my…
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SCAMPER Your Way to Creative Excellence
Creative practice is pure problem solving. The process of taking an observation, thought or emotion and making it communicable to an audience is a problem to be solved. As visual artists we often lean into the intuitive to the detriment of process. This is a shame because there are so many great tools and techniques from other disciplines that can…
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Power Up Your Creative Problem Solving: Overcome Obstacles with Confidence
As visual artists, we face challenges every day that require critical thinking and creative problem solving. Whether it’s finding inspiration for our next project, dealing with the technical issues in our artwork or navigating the competitive landscape of the art world and the dreaded spectre of self-promotion. Despite all of this you might not recognise when you are problem solving.…
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Generate More Satisfying Art Ideas: How to Start Today
Are you a visual artist struggling to find ideas for a new piece of work? We have a five step formula for you that is guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing and kick-start your imagination in a meaningful way. Use this formula to generate more creative and satisfying art ideas from today forwards. Ready to beat the starvation of art…
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Ideation Drawing -The Route to Better Composition
Do you want to maximise the potential of your ideas? Ideation drawing is the answer. It involves quickly sketching out initial concepts for a project without worrying about perfection. The emphasis is on generating a variety of first concept ideas and exploring different compositional possibilities. I’ve learned that this method can lead to more fully realised and successful artwork. By…
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10 Personal Sketchbook Themes to Inspire New Artwork in 2023
The sketchbook is a versatile tool. I’ve seen individuals utilise it in countless ways. It’s crucial to recognise that there is no one “right” way to use a sketchbook. If you have honed your creative process, you may already have integrated sketchbook usage into it. If not, then this post aims to assist you in incorporating more productive sketchbook usage…
David Herds Night Studio
Creativity and Self Development
