Copying as an act of self discovery
Pikaland
by amy
2y ago
One of the apps I’ve rediscovered during the lockdown is Pinterest. The unending scrolling of beautiful images offered a means of escape from life (as I knew it). With every flick of the scroll wheel, my mind would be filled with ideas of how I’d like my home to be, what new craft projects I can come up with, and also the number of tutorials that are on there is staggering. Don’t even get me started on those quick, bite-sized video/GIF tutorials – they’re a time suck, but I can’t seem to look away. There’s so, so many of these inspiring little nuggets, and so little time. I only have 2 hands ..read more
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What if every artists’ tools are made available to you?
Pikaland
by amy
3y ago
I might be exaggerating a little, but for a lot of people that works digitally, that’s exactly what happened when Kyle Webster’s brushes were made available for free for Adobe Creative Cloud users (the membership itself isn’t free though!) His brushes are loved the world over by artists and illustrators around the world like Christoph Niemann, Sophie Diao, Mark Conlan and Samantha Kallis. What if the tools that these artists use were now in your hands? What would you do with them? What would you hope you could create with it? Would you try your hardest to emulate the artists who’ve chosen cer ..read more
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Katie Vaz: My Life in Plants
Pikaland
by amy
3y ago
I love plants. They exist as personal metaphors for me; and as well, gardening is a hobby of mine, after studying and dealing with a fair bit of them during my university days as a landscape architect. Suffice to say, when it comes to plants, I do have a soft spot for them. So when Katie Vaz sent me an email to let me know about the release of her new book, My Life in Plants, I was curious. I wanted to learn more about Katie’s process and journey, and requested an email interview, to which she’s obliged! Read on to find out more about Katie and how a personal project that she started in 2017 ..read more
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How to overcome the fear of trying something new
Pikaland
by amy
3y ago
Credit: Dive by Madame Lolina Trying something new can be scary, and sometimes, there’s nothing that anyone can say or do to make those feelings go away. I have no magic answer that will make all those fears and insecurities go away, but only one piece of advice that has worked incredibly well for me: just jump right in. Imagine taking your first dive into a cold, icy pool when you’re shivering from the chill morning air. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather be in my warm bed, snuggled up in my blanket, instead of having to face that container of water that keeps lapping at my toes as I ..read more
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In the distance
Pikaland
by amy
4y ago
It’s been eight weeks since the lockdown. I’ve filled most of it through teaching online, cooking, gardening, reading, watching (Netflix and animation shorts, anyone?) and learning online (currently, I’m taking Patricio Betteo’s course on Digital Painting in Photoshop on Domestika), and not to mention copious sessions of video chats, texts and audio calls with loved ones. Hearing the soothing voice of the familiar is reassuring, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I yearn so much to be able to be near them again. I watched animation director and game designer’s Florian Grolig’s In the Distance ..read more
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How are you?
Pikaland
by amy
4y ago
It’s the third week of enforced movement restriction in my country, and I’m sitting at home alone, working on my laptop. From the outside in, things may look the same, because it’s a routine that I go through everyday. But it isn’t, not anymore. It’s like watching a horror movie slowly unraveling itself in real time. Thousands are getting sick, and it’s spreading like wildfire. Country and borders are on lockdowns (or movement restrictions, like mine), with extensive travel restrictions in place. Hospitals and health care professionals are working in overdrive to combat the first global pan ..read more
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How to create anything (even if you don’t know where to begin)
Pikaland
by amy
4y ago
The struggle to constantly create new things, is very real. Do you ever find that you’re so much more inspired when you get out of your normal daily routine? I do. When I went to that conference in Berlin last year, my neurons were firing around in my brain like it was the fourth of July. I was inspired. I want to do more. I want to be better. It’s all very subjective of course, how listening, talking and interacting with other people can have an impact on us. For me personally, it’s validating to talk to and discuss about an artist’s personal projects, and to see how it all comes together in ..read more
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Celebrating diversity through new creative directories
Pikaland
by amy
4y ago
https://www.womenwhodraw.com/ Illustration directories (or any other sort of creative directories, for that matter) have come a long way since the boom of the internet. It used to be that they were run by companies who would charge a sum for you to be included in their roster, along with other options such as appearing in their printed catalog/annuals, mailers, promotional items, etc. However, with the advent and freedom that the internet offers, anyone can start up a directory on their own, for very little. That’s all well and good, but what does this mean, then? It means that the barrier ..read more
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Drawing as a state of flow
Pikaland
by amy
4y ago
I didn’t know how to swim until I was a teenager. The only place I ever hung out in was the shallow end of pools. The area that when you stood up, the water would only reach your waist. The sissy end – my friends would call it. At first I didn’t want to join them at the deep end, but it got lonely (as it often does, on the shallow end). I asked myself – what was the worst thing that could happen? That I’d drown? There’s a lifeguard. Stick with your friends, hang on to the side of the pool and you’ll be fine. What if your leg cramps up and you can’t move them? Stick with your friends, hang on ..read more
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