February 2009 - Page 8 of 9

New feature!

Hi everyone,

One big item on my 2009 to-do list is to share more and to do more on Pikaland.

With this in mind, I’m doing a new column for the blog starting from next week, which I hope some people will find helpful. The new year has brought in a general feeling of uncertainty on all quarters, and I hope that this little initiative will bring us all closer together in a bid to weather the storm.

Every week, I’ll email out a short question on various topics for artists/illustrators and I will gather all your responses. One week after, I will put up the question and the feedbacks received on the blog to share with everyone.

To start it off, the first question is this:

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What is your biggest stumbling block to creativity (or expressing yourself artistically), and what works for you in overcoming these setback(s)?

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If you’d like to take part, all you need to do is:
1. Reply to this e-mail with your response; and also
2. Add in your name + link to your blog/portfolio/shop

…. and I’ll post it up the responses I receive on the blog by next week, how’s that? 🙂

Ready, set, and GO!

P/S : If anyone wants to submit a question that you want to pow-wow about instead, that would be great as well — just email me back to suggest a few.

big hugs and warm thoughts,
x
Amy
www.pikaland.com

Bobi + Bobi

Rediscovering and loving the work of Bobi+Bobi, an illustrator who works in print and publishing. Pop by her beautiful flickr stream while you’re at it and say hello. She’s really nice. 🙂

About not being able to study illustration

One of the biggest frustration for me sometimes is that I did not study illustration. Of course, I had no idea that such a subject existed, or that my random doodling every hour of the day when I was a wee one actually meant something. It’s not the paper chase that I’m concerned about, no, I can deal with that. What I obsess over is the lack of good teachers who give you feedback and let you learn more about yourself by doing, instead of rote learning.

I’ve been told by many teachers during my university days over here (which in my opinion are not even qualified to teach) that I should get with the program and just be like everyone else and stop asking questions. Heck, they even want us to write by using the same style of handwriting. Of course, often speaking out and challenging the thoughts of these “teachers” often earned me scores of B-, grades that I do not care about because I do not appreciate their standards at all anyway. So I am awed by the openess of teaching institutions that let the mind of the students wander.

In some ways, I do get a thrill out of reading Command & Save, the Portland State Graphic Design blog headed by the awesome Kate Bingaman-Burt. I sometimes imagine I am a student and soak all the wonderful information in — I particularly like their segment on illustrators like Meg Hunt and Ward Jenkins called “How They Do It”.

There’s also a good list of books to read (for students of the course), and so it’s a good resource overall on the subject. I wish the classes I attended before were this fun!