A Creative Exercise Challenge

I cue up "Change the World" by Eric Clapton and Babyface on iTunes, and fire up a fresh TextEdit page because it's my favorite part of the week Sunday night... Blog time. What a week, my region of the world has experienced an earthquake and a hurricane. Frantic, trips to the supermarket on a quest for food and water, going to my 9 to 5, and doing my freelance client work. This weekend everywhere we went was out of water except for The Water Shoppe (thank goodness) but that's another story.

Ok enough of the update, now let's move to my recent imaginings, and thoughts. As my client base continues to grow, I am faced with the desire to create more work at a faster pace without compromising the quality of my services.

I think back to a time when I lived in Canarsie, Brooklyn. My long running partner-in-art Dwayne - RT, and I challenged each other to do one drawing a night, over the course of time our nightly drawing sessions grew to a 7 drawings per night standard. We worked diligently to have fresh ideas, execute them and have a strong sense of maintaining quality while meeting the quota. It was an incredible exercise. It eventually became natural, it was a place where the heartbeat and workflow sync up. Eventually, we moved too far from each other to continue the drawing sessions, but I never forgot the standard we had accomplished.

Now I try to channel that energy when addressing my latest design/illustration challenges. I want to work faster, more effectively, and at a high standard. I desire to be Bionic! (sorry, I grew up in the 70's watching "The Six Million Dollar Man") Lol!

The dilemma, I often face...
I have client work to schedule, and make happen in a timely manner, and keeping my clients happy. I have a promotion I am running on facebook, where two wonderful contestants get a chance to win a free portrait, it involves me doing 16 portraits in all (great project - but it requires time to complete). And last but not least, I need to continue creating relevant inspired art that will be made available in my online store (the really fun stuff).

The issue at hand is accomplishing all these things harmoniously. It's important as creatives that we take the time out necessary to do the personal projects that reflect the untamed inspirations when they come. That fiery Mexican muse, that has to be captured in an explosive illustration. That make-up artist from Chile who lives in Vegas that you must draw to survive. Those creative ideas that have to be explored, the list goes on. Its unhealthy for an artist to ignore creative passions. All work and no play... well you know the rest.

My new challenge to myself is to get one piece created from the heart per week. This project will be called INSPIRATA. It's not a collection, it's more of an incentive. The quality of my other works benefit from the existence of an exercise like this. I challenge other artists and designers to do this for themselves as well, you won't regret it. Create something weekly that stems from somewhere deep inside.

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JNESS GRAPHICS
Bigger Art Is Better!™
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Design Research is Key

I am finding more and more each day that thick skin, flexibility and a grain of salt are all necessary elements in the backpack arsenal of a graphic designer and illustrator. It's less complicated to work systematically, and do things in the same formula each time. But every client has different needs. What works for one may not work for the other.

The defining line between one project and the next is research. Research is key. Not just sitting down with the client to find out what they want, but researching the topic, competitors, and overall vibe. I know there are usually limitations mandated by time constraints, but the more energy placed on research the richer the resulting content will be. It's like trying to grasp the taste of pizza from the smell and look alone. The extra research is actually taking a bite. The people your project is communicating to can feel the difference, between a generic take on a topic, versus a thoughtful, well researched, first hand take on the design statement being made.

Quite often the time I spend in my sketchbook, is valuable research time. I pull from different elements, hashing them out, with lead / ink to paper. it helps me get my head around the topic at hand. The topic can be as calm as a kitten or as elusive as a squirrel. Either way I have to claim it and tame it into my realm of understanding. there is always the inevitable Google search. The short cut saving you a trip to the local library and that stash of aging magazines designers swear they will need someday. I refer to my Google image searches as going shopping. I download images on my computer, on my phone, take pictures as the unction hits me. What ever it takes to get the relevant visual data, that will enable me to meet the need of my client. Go the extra mile when you can. Do your research.

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JNESS GRAPHICS
Bigger Art Is Better!™
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To Blog or Not To Blog?

So the mad dash begins again. Hi Aja (this blog is the result of many conversations with my good friend) I used to blog feverishly in hopes of adding my experience to the table for designers, interested parties, and anyone who would listen. Then there was a brief hiatus...

Finally I returned posting as much artwork as I could muster (weekly). The only problem was, my voice was missing, I was just posting art. Ultimately it's six of one, half a dozen of another. But, I have decided to add my voice to the mix again. I have to mention my friend Chef Jeff Rogers who also shared in to...  "To Blog or Not To Blog" dialog. He is a caterer, restaurantor, and he is destined to become a monster at blogging!

Things have been really good, after the economy seemed to make art take the back seat to life for a minute, business has picked up again thanks to the contest I am running from my fanpage. It's good to be in the hustle and bustle of client related work again, along with its ups and downs. In regard to the question... To Blog Or Not To Blog? I havechosen to Blog!! And I plan to hit the ground running!

Thank you for looking
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All the best,
JNESS
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JNESS GRAPHICS
Bigger Art Is Better!™
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Commissioned Series...

This is part of a commissioned series. I am having a great time researching for them and making these creations happen. It's a welcomed change when a client ushers you into an area your work doesn't travel to often. The theme for these are African Queen, King and Prince. There are more in the works.

Enjoy. I am looking forward to reading your comments. Thank you for looking...