Hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but just want to add…artists should listen to their body. If you feel pain, STOP drawing for the day. Personally, I can’t do 10 hours everyday, my hand starts to hurt long before that. Nonetheless, still love the overall message of this video, of course.
IT shouldn't be hurting that easily, unless you have a prior medical condition. I have Myclonus, I actually cramp up after a certain amount of time and it takes a lot of focus to keep my hand even somewhat steady- and just changing positions and doing a few hand stretches every so often for a few seconds is enough to offset it- so someone whose body has no conditions shouldn't have much trouble. I would evaluate how you are sitting, your arm/hand position, etc...
I agree with you 100% We all have different bodies, and different responsibilities. I find family comes first to the point that i can only work 4 hours a day, if i try to push even more i start to get stressed which can lead to unhealthy habits, and then im unable to work at all cuz im not feeling well. But i am so grateful for this, for having a loving family, and responsibilities of caring for them, and im grateful that i am a successful artist that only works 4 hours a day! Im grateful that i am alive, blessed and able to accomplish twice as much as some artists in half the time. Learning how to listen to your body is a wonderful gift. and your advice is golden
Thank you for this video. Yeah, I'm a self-taught artist who never had the privilege to attend an expensive art school. I've spent countless hours watching veteran artists paint - even when I paint I have art tutorials running just to keep the motivation and momentum going.The only downside is that I must stop competing against other artists, or comparing my work against their work, who have decades of experiences. Needless to say, I've been painting for four years. It just opens the door to self-doubt and a crash in confidence. I must realise every artist has his/her own style; so competing against them is pointless. This is an awesome video! Thank you!
I'm trying to learn art but I keep feeling bad about the fact that there's a lot to learn and I'm just not talented enough, or it'll take too long. Yet, I can't ever abandon the desire to learn it because I always wanted to. Not to make money off of it, not to show off my skills to others (well, ok, maybe that point a LIL bit I'll admit) but most importantly so I could prove to myself that i have worth coz I learned a skill I deemed worth learning. IDK why I'm typing all of this out here but I guess I'm looking for some advice and your story of being a self-taught artist inspires me. Any tips?
@@clintthorpe9052 Hey mate! My advice is to learn from established or veteran artists. Watch as many tutorials or demonstrations as you can in order to learn the fundamentals of form, proportion, light & shadow. It availed me tremendously! Watch videos whilst you paint if you have a second monitor or screen available. You must remember you'll not become Albert Bierstadt or Thomas Cole overnight. It will take years to learn - some learn quicker than others - but you need not despair. Keep painting even if, at first, the work may suck, but that is to be expected as a beginner. Over time you will begin to see improvements. The key is to never give up or compare your work (a bad habit of mine) to veteran artists; it'll immediately put you off - thinking you're not good enough. However, those artists also started from nothing. Be willing to push yourself every day if possible and you will get there. If you'd like, I can drop a link to my Artstation account so that you can see my transition from bad to concept art. It may inspire you!
@@aethelwulf7819 Thank you so much for your response. I appreciate it. I'm so glad that there's so many people out there that share this good advice to anyone else suffering with this issue like myself. I'd like to be able to learn but the inner voice that always critiques me for either starting late or just not being smart enough to do it is what throws a wrench into any plans of mine. I think, above all else I should heed your advice and just keep at it, not focusing on the end goal, but rather the journey of learning itself.
Thanks Trent, I needed to hear this. I recently broke into the game industry as an artist, and I love my job. However, I find that most of my coworkers are 15 years younger than me with many years of experience, and it's hard to not feel inferior to them. I work at a company that is compassionate and mindful of my mental health, and they do everything they can to encourage us not to crunch- but I feel like I need to put in extra work to put myself back on the trajectory I want to be on to get my skills to a level I can be proud of.
Artists aren’t starting on a level field ever. You shouldn’t care about an age difference because some people around you don’t even need the paycheck. Imagine if you thought you should have been born independently wealthy 😂 It only holds you down.
You see, Trent, It is not about "taking it easy", it is about respecting yourself. About understanding that you are a entire living being for a limited period of time in this place called Earth. It is about being more than just an asset. About living for yourself. Absolutely, great rewards come from long-term undertakes-I do not contest that. But we should not push ourselves over the limit for exuberant amounts of time. Instead, if we can separate a good time for studying and some time for other things - be it a hobby, a special someone or just playing games/watching Netflix - we can achieve everything we want within a reasonable amount of time. Discipline is the word. It is not so much about endeavour as it is about consistent work. If you can spend 25 hours of thoughtful applied studies every week, you will get there, eventually. Then, we think about 40+ hours per week. Nothing comes easy in life-even more so if you are poor and self-taught aspiring artist living in a 3rd world country like me-but nothing should consume you whole. Do you want to draw 8 hours today? That is fine, but make sure to take some breaks throughout the day and be used to work for at least 6 before you begin-just like you mentioned later in the video, we shall climb up a step after the other, one by one
And all this may be perfectly fine for you. Trent clearly says he's happy to be doing what he's doing and frankly a lot of the top working artists are in the same boat, putting in serious hours but mostly loving every moment. You do you, but you need to also realize how much your willing to put in will directly influence where you end up. This isn't true for just art but everything we do in life.
@@fromash5289 Yeah, absolutely. Everyone has something they are willing to sacrifice themselves for. But there is a couple of artists who would apply this same crunch mindset and regret having done such-Anthony Jones is a really good example of this. Every person has their particularities that will change this, but being aware might help whoever reads this. Even if this is me, we are all sharing experiences and helping each other, right? Just trying to do the same. Thank you very much for reading and leaving the comment. Good luck in your journey-cheering for you.
Watching this video kinda made me remember why I stopped watching his channel years ago (though I now watch him again in some selected videos). Overall, he's an amazing artist and I appreciate all that he's shared and taught but I don't like the idea of never ending grinding while ignoring other stuff in life that are considered a "lesser priority". Of course we have different experiences so maybe while Trent's own methods works for him and others, there's also people who don't really improve through said methods and instead just suffer burnout--and burnout is one hell of a bitch. Taking small steps everyday is more preferrable than giant leaps in a couple of days and then no longer contuining the next days because you overworked yourself. Or something like that anyway.
@@bored_potato I don't think Trent ever said the grind was "never ending" , just that it comes with the territory if trying to achieve greatness--on a single project (for us non-prodigies) and I think he's right, just look at what George Lucas had to go through to make the original Star Wars movie a success, or Coppola with Apocalypse Now, Mitsuda making the music for Chrono Trigger...yes, some of them probably worked a little too hard, but just look at their results. Their health recovered and are now they are legends. I thought Trent made it fairly clear that he was very anti-crunch in his professional life, and respects his audience enough to trust that they know themselves well enough to know when to take a break (he even suggested taking a walk around the block, playing a few hours of games here & there, or calling a friend once in a while in this video). You're not wrong that burnout is a real danger, but most people aren't going to be able to break into the industry by putting in less than 50-60hrs a week, so I believe significant sacrifices are absolutely necessary, and that Trent is just being honest here, not advocating becoming an art hermit for life or anything.
I feel you there, Trent. I'm 32 here in Argentina and I could afford my first wacom tablet two years ago and a decent set of pencils and watercolor. It's true, you apreciate things much more when you have little. Thanks for the boost and your amazing art and experience.
After finding a couple of quick gigs, which in hindsight were rather predatory, I found myself wondering why my art was truly lackluster. At the of all the questioning it was just my drawing was lack luster. Didn't matter if my rendering skill or design skill was competent when my drawing was just lacking clarity and form. So now I'm about 6 months in and I feel confident enough in my drawing ability to go learn design and painting without fearing my drawing/line work would impede my clarity. Fuck that was a rough six months mentally. Even now when I realized my line work was similar to my peers who are all trying to become concept arts/illustrators I still have that overwhelming sense that it's still not good enough despite all that work and effort. Truly, if you're less "talented" then the feeling of never having to stop working on your skill doesn't go away. So, this video was incredibly relatable to my current struggles.
Honestly, to me the hardest thing will always be managing the balance between working enough to feed myself and still being able to produce what I want. I often find that I have to dedicate a day to either some sort of practice or producing actual art, and usually the art that I want to make is what wins in the end. Ultimately I just wish I'd gotten into art earlier. I only started once I got out of high school, and I'm already well into a career. With art it often ends up feeling like I shouldn't take this as seriously as I do, despite how much I really do enjoy doing it.
i wouldnt want to be born gifted or talented. Eventually you'd be in a perfectionist burnout nightmare because expectations would be crushingly high from the start
The best thing my father gave me as a child for my drawing was his old paints and a whitewashed wall in the kitchen in the tiny apartment where we lived. You're a great guy, Trent. And through the video penetrates this pleasure from everything you do. I guess that's why I watch them too, not just for the sake of the sunny personality behind the picture. Talent is rather sad. When it seems that everything is given too easily and when most of the time you don't understand HOW it turns out and from this, for example, I feel like a "fake". A skill built over years of work - it is stone solid !
Thanks for the video Trent! Especially sharing building up to crunch time/work time. When I put in 6hs a day practicing drawing + 8hs at my desk-job for weeks out of nowhere, I got a severe injury on my wrist which made me nearly unable to draw for over a year (I could do maybe half an hour of pencil + paper every other day before experiencing pain), and I am still recovering. Although a horrible experience, it thought me two things, work more efficient with my tools to relief wrist strain and also taking care of myself. If you feel like going crunch mode every day and you want to put in the time, make sure you look up/do wrist stretches and indeed build up your work time, don't start sprinting the marathon out of the blue.
Dude your stuff motivates me hardcore, been feeling super demotivated for a little while but this sparked something in me to push those bad vibes aside and remember why I draw and make stuff.
U know what.....this video ispires me to my core!!...ur realistic approach to personal and professional life really lift me up.....i also work in adverse conditions and non artistic environment....and i believe if an artist with such rough life can become so good and happy in this profession ,I can be too!! Thank you so much for this video!❤️✨
i wanted to be an artist at the young age of 8 thanks to the man who inspired me and the encouragement of my mom, when i was a beginner, i was lucky enough to have youtube as a resource, id look up many videos of tutorials to try to become better, i would practice alot even during class, i was raised in a not so good area with not alot of money, i would refrain from asking my mom for expensive art supplies because i knew she would try her hardest to get it despite our financial situation, im currently 13 and i now question wether im talented or if its skill, ive used over 49 sketchbooks/notebooks but i wonder if i just learned faster then my peers or if i just put more work into my goals as an artist, either way i know their is still so much for me to learn and im willing to continue to put in that effort, and i aspire to be a professional artist like you
@@ScilexGuitar That's the part that throws me off. It's always "it's practice" then when you say that doesn't work it's, as you said "focus" or "perfect practice", and just becomes a giant loop, and ends in "just do it" then nothing gets solved.
That’s how I felt during swim season in college. It was 6 months straight of swimming 7 days a week and centering my schedule and focus around practice, eating, and sleeping. And then a weird adjustment period after conference championships to re-figure out a balanced life
My dude... you are such an inspiration! You are so much of who I am striving to become! I can't thank you enough, I feel like I'm getting to know myself better while learning a ton throughout your content.
I’m on that side of, I don’t listen to podcasts / movies while drawing anymore, just instrumental music. If I don’t have my full focus on it, my compositions and detail go to crap. The more menial stuff like inking and cleanup, though, that’s when I listen to stuff.
I’d love to hear what your ergonomic/exercise routine is like (if you haven’t already shared). When I work 10+ hours a day, after about a week, I’ve ended up injuring my neck, back, and arm. So lately I try to keep my hours spent at a desk down to 8 a day, but it doesn’t feel like enough to accomplish what I want.
Personally I like to lift weights 2-3 days per week. I do muscle rotation so that by the end of the week, I’ve done a full body workout. I also walk and bike a lot for the mental rest, and get sunlight and time with my family and dog.
Hi Trent! Loved all your videos and Twlight Monk artbooks! I wanna share my experience about this topic. I've been in a relationship for a few years and I've always "held back" in terms of producing art because I was required to have a balance for it by other people. And talking to my partner I discovered that I'm "insane" about making art. It's all I want, it's what I love to do and if I could not sleep to make 3D, I would definitely do it. I used to work a really bad job back in the day and it was this production insanity that got me into the games industry. And that's what I love to do. And I want to be the best at what I do, to surpass myself every day. Today I embraced the lack of "balance" in my life, because I love this insane routine of producing for 12/14 hours a day. And that's what I want for myself for at least a long time. And as David Goggins said, "You'll never understand what's wrong with me, and I don't even want you to."
What helps me to work longer hours is streaming. I open up OBS and start streaming my work on Twitch. And occasionally someone comes in and chats with me a little bit. But just thinking to myself, that I already started the stream and someone might be watching (never look at the numbers) makes me just want to go a bit longer. One more sketch. One more hour.
Hey Trent I've been doing art for 1 and half year really liked it and trying to switch to full time illustrator to begin with to get some work and hopefully go into concept art BUT......am disabled with spina bi fida and everything whether it was uni or life in general I have always had to fight for it so really glad you shared this vid feels good when someone who struggled made it, helps to keep the grind up
I love these kind of videos! They really motivate me at work every week. I keep going back to them to get my mental boost and I am sure there are plenty of others who do so as well :)
It's always so reassuring to hear this. Learning art is so difficult and frustrating and it feels like I'll never have the answers. But reminding myself that I'm on the right journey allows me to calm my nerves and asses things rationally and enjoy my art. Also game looks like it's coming along so cool. Always excited :)
And this is the reason why i love your content ☺️ thanks for this video. I just turned off my system and i was thinking it's not enough, thinking i should work more.
Prop to you Trent working 10hours a day. My brain just farted after 4-5 hours of work, even if I try to do more the efficiency drop significantly, so I guess that's my cap for the day.
Hey man I honestly consider you my one of the people I purposely look for an advice when it comes to my art career. You just tell it how it is. Though I may admit that all that effort you gave just so you could get where you are, just from pure will alone is kinda intimidating. But Ill try my best either way. Thanks again for the solid advice here Trent!
I'm still transitioning from my art skills into concept art (which really isn't too bad but clearly I need to work on stuff still and build a good portfolio yet. I'm an advanced artist but always learning, always growing). I'm kinda glad you mentioned about how hard you work cuz just for fun, I will literally work 8-12 hours (maybe 15) on my own work but I'm also trying to convince myself like, let's try doing things to make production faster and easier. Either way I'm definitely with you on that, not afraid to put in the time 🤘
Wise words, sir. A very reassuring message for those of us who might not be natural virtuosos, but *do* have the determination to keep plugging away until we're reaching our artistic goals through hard work and extra hours.
Thanks for this video, it's truly inspiring. I was told all my life that drawing and doing art would never get me anywhere, but now I'm about to make my own videos and hopefully learn more about how to become a better artist. It's nice to know that not everyone was able to go to art school and was still able to achieve a goal of being better in life. Don't let life drag you down! Rise above every dark situation.
Hi Trent, congrats on your project, I hope you’ll be successful with your game when it gets released. Really hope you can have a tutorial compilation on how to make indie games and publishing ❤️ that would be interesting
The reason why many people become angry is they are scared and worried. it’s scary to think about the sacrifices you might need to make to get what you want me included ive thought about giving up and I’m still considering other artistic options such as tattoo artist because no doubt is it scary and hard to believe in yourself but that is the only way Also if you want to play video games implement exercise into taking do push-ups or exercises based on it or if you have enough money get an oculus it’s great cardio and a real good leg exercise
Oh god, you too do that of watching shows on the background while working to focus and time measurement?? I did that while watching Merlin when I was working an internship a few months ago to keep myself focus. And it works wonders somehow
Today an artist friend asked me about what my schedule looks like as a freelancer, and all of my healthy habits are things Ive learned from you. Thank u so much for these videos, I love reminding my friends that we need to go outside and get inspiration for our work and stay healthy 🔥🔥
I feel this to some degree i had the privilege of growing in a good environment and getting the family help but i just always been below avarage i had to go to writing therapy as a kid because my motoric abilities are shit, and i had to try twice as hard as anyone else to learn anything im not a master yet, but the fact im pretty good is a source of pride for me because of how hard i’ve been working for it people just dont like hearing that people who are capable could get there without the talent cause it means that their ability is fully dependent on themselves so if someone who feels insecure about their talent or ability, just remember that with some work you can get anywhere
This really calmed me. I always thought "Did I do something wrong in my live?" ... so many people where preaching it was so darn easy. I mean I am learning very fast and very easily so I have that advantage and I always say to others: "Pleas don't take me as a standart!" because I know how it feels to think you're just not enough. But I always lovet to work my butt of if the workenviroment and the work itself is somewhat rewarding for me. Some colleges looked at me in disbelieve or just didn't understood why I was so happy to work. It is not that I come from a poor family or stuff, but when I reached my study years the income of my parents shrinked due to my dad starting to retire. That was normal, that was ok and I learned that sometime you don't have as much, that you must save, that extra efford isn't deco, it is nessecary at times. I would by no means call myself a work'o'holic, but I love to work - if I'm not screwed over. I also love my breaks, my resting time just sitting there gaming. Right now I slowly work my way into a job that I love. I had bad luck with job search because I sucked in selling myself. I had low selfesteem and depressed - not the best base. Right now I know my worth, I know what I'm capable of and how to use it. My mum always said "I love the hard way" ... well I don't love it but maybe I'm just better in doing the hard way :D
Great topic! As an artist, I’ve never believed in talent and felt it was more dismissive than flattering. That’s why I now am writing my dissertation disproving the concept. If you ever want to talk about it I’d be happy to share my thoughts and findings with you!
Hi ! It's the first video I see on this channel. Honestly I'm thankfull. You promote some good message. Rock Lee was my favorite character in Naruto. He's just awesome. It's clear that for some people it's harder. Some have trouble focusing, some have struggle applying the theory. There's even people with aphantasia, where people can't visualize. Like you can imagine a scene and kinda see it in your brain, they can't. I'm slow to learn so I understand the struggle a bit. Anyway, I'm thankfull also because of the art. Just watching you made me understand how to do some things better. Like how you use symmetry and copy/paste, how you drew some clouds, the structure also. It's awesome, and the result is fabulous. To see this in a game is crazy.
I was working at a call center for 10 years when covid happened. during my teens I drew a lot, like, a LOT then stopped once life happened. I was convinced that growing up is to stop drawing and going into an office job to provide to your family. I was miserable and when covid happened I had to quit. First months were a struggle but I decided to draw stuff online and people actually like my art enough to commission me sometimes. It's not near my paycheck before but I'm getting by and I'm much happier.
Brilliant video, love the artwork….so great. I planned a career in fine art, but things in my life happened & I was not able to follow that path… I had to work 3 -4 jobs to take care of my family & I didn’t even have time to draw for a very long time. In my 30’s I got very sick & had to stop working & my life changed again…. There’s no cure, I’m in a world of pain every day… I lost everything, because I had no money & had to use all my super, sell my house to pay medical bills. I’m constantly in & out of hospital having surgery & treatment, & during one stay I decided to get back into doing some drawing… got some lovely new moleskins & pencils. I was sketching away, realising I couldn’t draw to save my life anymore…. I’d not drawn for so long I was virtually a total beginner. One of my nurses was a gamer, & his flat mate worked in gaming as a concept artist…. He showed me some of his work & omg! Sure I’d seen digital/ art in games, but It didn’t quite click that it takes wonderfully skilled artists to create this stuff. Seeing his artwork & videos of him creating it, I felt my passion for art come flooding back. I was still unable to work, so I borrowed a computer & saved up for little wacom bamboo tablet. The day it arrived, I was beyond excited, then I realised I had a very steep learning curve ahead…. I’m pretty good with technology, &as a graphic designer (one of my jobs) I used Quark & Pagemaker…. Yep, I’m sooo old…. & those programs were just basic paste up programs, I worked in printing, so used to also burn film, make plates etc (offset print, pre digital). So I muddled my way around & found Corel Painter, which is an amazing art program… still has a place in my heart, even though I use PS & Procreate more these days. I taught myself, with, youtube & later, taking classes when I could afford them (thankfully there are a lot of learning options for artists, you don’t have to go to art school). That was roughly 6yrs ago…. I’ve improved, & faced my biggest fear drawing people… I couldn’t draw a face to save my life, I generally stuck to landscapes & lots of wildlife. Anyway, I have worked really hard, & as I improved I started to see the rewards…. Little things like my art being featured by Corel & other sites, then being asked to Collab with other artists. Then bigger things, Corel awarded me as a Painter Master (one of their endorsed artist, I do artwork, make brushes & do webinars for them). During Covid when we were all in lockdown, I bit the bullet & started to put myself out there to get work… I now have a steady flow of work with some great clients, freelancing as an illustrator. Mostly in publishing (book covers), but also commercial work for various industries, I did some NFT’s for a high end watch designer for example. There’s so much artists can do, & if your willing to put in the hard work it’s so rewarding. For me, it’s not only that I’m working doing what I love, it’s I’m able to work. After not working for years, it’s given me back my dignity & I feel like I’m contributing to the community again. I still have much to improve on & I put time aside each day to work at it, & who knows I may even get some work in gaming one day. Thanks for I spiring artists such as myself to keep working, it’s great to hear about your journey, & I think most people have challenges they need to overcome…so to hear that from artists that you admire & learn from is wonderful.
I just finished an art and I was fighting with myself because I din't accomplished the result that I was looking for, and then I found this video, I dont know how, but it just appeared out of nowhere, thanks for you words, it helped me a bit.
When I'm doing my Krita or GIMP work, I'll put on movies or TV episodes I've seen several dozen times just to have it as background while I'm on a project: I don't have to get absorbed in the material and get distracted but it's still there and I can replay what I'm not seeing in my head as I'm doing the work. It's familiar and I know every nuance and every line of dialogue and I can just let it play out, and it's a cushion against stress and helps me flow along with the moment and what I'm doing. Oh yeah, and ALL of my work tools are freeware and compatible with Adobe so anything I do can go back and forth between platforms and apps. I used to have Photoshop and Pagemaker (also Quark) until Adobe started this cloud-based subscription crap which essentially meant I would have to rent the tools I use for my work so I said "fuck that" right off the bat and started looking for alternatives. I will NOT pay Danegeld for the privilege of using an app I need to be in business at all. And what I've got works just as well as anything I'd be paying through the nose for and does the job, and that's all I need.
I struggled for a long time because my version of "putting in extra work" was guilting myself over not working enough and becoming paralyzed over imperfections, anxiety and burning out very, very quickly. Might sound ridiculous to someone with a different temperament/mindset, but this was my reality. Now I'm coming around to your way of thinking, but this was only possible once I healed from a looott of trauma that I could even consider "pushing myself" in the healthy ways. This may be why people get upset and leave comments for you. They're not necessarily expecting something for nothing, it's just that their internal load is heavy and intense already, and being told you're not doing enough is truly exhausting and frankly unsustainable. I didn't grow up poor, but if I could have had your attitude without the anxiety problems when I was 15 or 20, I probably would have traded it quickly. I value those mental-emotional skills and now, every day, I'm grateful for what I've been able to heal from and am learning/improving on. That's my mindset and it helps me be more confident.
Trent i've been watching you for a while and one more time thank you. I'm a 22 year old guy from Greece and i'm trying to get into the industry, i've sacrificed every notion of social life because there is no gaming industry or any art school that teaches concept art so i do everything on my own but the worst part is there are so few people that get what i am trying to do and my only escape from this loneliness is my art and videos from artists like you. Thank you for educating and keeping me company !
@@creativebubblecat Your situation must be way more stressful than mine. Keep your head up, keep drawing, keep getting better and most important of all keep your hopes up. We will achieve what we want! Can't wait for the better days!
Man Been listening to you for a few years now. Love your vibe, I think. you are a total hip-hop hippie. Anyway I really enjoy they almost pep talks that you do. I find it very zen to listen to. I have def bought quite a few of your art tutorials and have learned allot from them. Thanks for all that you do.
I’m sure you know this but your videos are helping a lot of artists Trent. Thank you for building and sharing so much knowledge. I have been using your paid content and it’s worth every penny. Your prices are affordable and it’s like learning from a good friend. 🍺 Cheers!
honestly, I never went to art school, I am self taught and been drawing my whole life, just started to study basics not long ago because I thought I didn't need it, but after I did, my art had improve overnight, especially after finding your videos and found out about game concept art, after following your advices, I went from just someone who draws to paid artist, been non stop studying, practicing, collabing for 2-3 years and for the past 6 months, been working on 2 projects and a few commissions, mostly nfts but also game concept art, got lots of experience from that too and love watching videos and movies while I work too, I am used to multi task, will put them in the background while I draw or paint after the ideas has been laid down, been doing studies after some work and now that things slowed down and not much for me to do because the things I drew need to be developed, I feel odd not been constantly busy working, pulling all nighters, I feel burn out but not used to not work too, so I get what you mean, thoughts of watching some of your videos to start getting motivated again or remind me of things, but I am thankful that I discover your videos, I learn so much, there is a lot of video tutorials about drawing and things like that but only your workshops teach about how the industry works and what a concept artist work is, you literally change my life :)
In the same boat except I just now finally realized in my 30’s I want to support my family with my artwork one day. So I’m, the in between spaces at work or home, working on my art. Doing those artist workouts everyday. So thanks for those videos as well. YOU DA MAN!!!!
man as an artists with adhd ITS A STRUGGLEEEE SO MUCH STRUGGLEEE also with me doing college ... and trying to juggle that with my personal work is TIRESOME
I really love these kind of artists, they love to share their struggle and motivates people by their own experience since not everyone is born with silver spoon in their mouth not to mention people from 3rd world country like me where the life quality is low, thank you so much trent for making us feelings better and being wanted with what all we've had
hey, Im a jounior illustrator from iran, and I really needed the things that you said in your video....these days I was thinking to my self that I dont have a chance to be a high lever artist beacuse of the country that Im living in ...but Im so lucky beacuse of finding your video ^_^ thank you
I wish I could spend all my time drawing. What would I give to be able to do on nothing else but study and draw all day. To me it's understandable, that people don't want to work overtime, that they want to be able to treat this field like any other job. And it's none of my business if that works out for them or not! But that's not my goal. I want it, I want to draw as much as I can, because it brings me so much joy - and because I want to see just how far I can go.
You are the Rafael Nadal of digital art...the effort he puts into training for his tennis, I reckon you put into your art. Special effort man, congrats and keep going!
I have experience both worlds: having to teach myself how to draw and paint, look through UA-cam videos to learn how to learn new skills, saving up money from gifts to buy better art supplies. When I got to university for a bachelor's in fine arts (majoring in animation), the message was still: go to youtube to teach yourself how to do the assignments because we only teach "ideas" here, so forget about even learning any art foundations from us. So while unfortunately, I need to continue to finish my degree, it's not like I ever stopped teaching myself or practicing my skills in the pockets on time in between class. There's a lot of "hard work" that went to get to where I am today, but honestly I prefer to reframe it as apart of my lifestyle. Just as athletes needs to shape their lives to achieve their fitness goals and be ready to play, artists need to do the same to create artwork (including exercising as I've learned the hard way lol). So making the process as natural as breathing is what keeps the work fun for me even if other's see it as "hard work".
“War is the father of all things” - Heraclitus “Who is the happier person, they who have braved the storm of life and have lived, or the person who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed” - Hunter S. Thompson Thank you for the video Trent. I have never been a talent at anything I’ve tried my hand at. Never. So if I wanted to be good at anything, I had to work hard. Harder than those who seemingly had that natural talent I lacked. The first time I realized this was when I was in high school and got on the football team. I kid you not, freshman year I was bottom of the barrel, and I’m pretty sure I only got on the team because we needed the bodies. I couldn’t do a thing decently except running in a straight line. That following summer, I trained myself, and pushed myself hard to achieve what I wanted. Even trained to the point of throwing up once or twice. Let me tell you, it was worth it. I came back to summer camp outpacing most of my teammates, I was generally stronger, could cut better, and etc. I was even one of the few invited to join the varsity team as a sophomore. This small lesson taught me that if I work hard, I can indeed become better than those “geniuses” and/or those with the “natural talent”. Now, I try my best to constantly improve and work hard in my art, as well as the other ventures I pursue. I stumble. I make crappy work. I say things that make me sound foolish due to my lack of knowledge at the time, and many other things that just scream my lack of “talent”. At the end of the day, I choose to use that as a means to not give up, but to push myself to even greater heights. Not necessarily so I can prove others wrong, but because I am working towards something bigger than myself, and if I want to achieve those heights, I got to take my licks. I got to take on the hardship, the ridicule. For I know, so long as I look at things in a healthy manner (which can be difficult at times), it will all make me better and it will all be worth it one day. As Eintstein said: “I have no special talent. I am simply passionately curious” Only thing I’d like to add is that there are many folks who don’t care about how you got to your product, but there are many of those that do care as well. I mean gamers have been calling out crunch at companies for years now as poor practice. Don’t get me wrong, I also believe in “just needing to crunch” at times, but I also don’t think that’s a lifestyle meant for everybody. Some folks will really just be like “you want it by when? Na I’m good”. Which, in my opinion, is fair. Life has lots to offer. Not in terms of just distractions, but experiences that can also lead to fulfillment, so why miss out on such? Every day is a choice. So make the choices that are best for you, and ideally does not harm others in the process. Just my views. I hope folks have a beautiful day
I don't mind working 12 hrs a day every week if it's on my own projects. But unfortunately, for the moment I gotta keep grinding at the job where "Crunch" is a common thing and it even extends to the weekends. Working hard is fine, but it just worries that I'm running out of time while others keep getting ahead.
This video changed my life. I want to be a professional freelancer artist and because of this vid (And because I was already wanting to take a big leap in study/practice hours, I been thinking of changing my life to be more disciplined and working harder.) I went from studying 4 hours 5 days a week to 8 hours 6 days a week. Thank you very much Trent!, great tips and advices!.
bro you have me inspired to work harder because i love art, i know is hard work but i know wath it feels like because im a martial artis and thats hard work to, greetings.
You were definitely born at the right time. Late enough in history that you have all these nice digital tools, but early enough that A.I. doesn't do everything for us.
what can you do, when you know you are giving more than your peers, you get the praise, but still you don´t get the tittle? I feel like being pushing over or used by the places I work in, I'm really good I got the responsibilities, but they never recognizes me as senior or giving me the role upgrade, feel like going anywhere, my personality maybe is naive, not the usual leader type for them maybe but I can't help feel stuck and not welcome, start over again in a new job feel like a bummer.
I spent 8 years of my career without a promotion. So I can relate. But when I look back, I know that I truly would have struggled with more responsibility. Sometimes it’s a blessing to just have the work, and do it well. If you really need a fancy title, go to a new company that gives you that title.
Great videa, great advice, education can be free, education will lift you out of poverty. Always work hard, but work Smart, not just hard. Be critical, what you did right and what you did wrong. I'll be buying your workshops.
I am not in the industry, I am learning to draw and paint through your tutorials, which are superb. "if", in another life, I were to get hired by you/an indy it is in my nature to job out just as hard and long as you (my boss). I could not with conscience "leave early" if there were still work to do. You are an inspiration
After over a decade of making art and still suck i came to the conclusion one is either gifted or has to work 10 times as hard and still dont accomplish as much as others. And if one has like zero talent .. its unlikely they get anywhere in life with art. I guess accepting that harsh reality is the hardest thing in art at all.
I am very experienced with photoshop and do cinematic photo manipulations. I do all art on a computer with a large tablet. Would it still be worth it for me to buy your easy art lessons 1-20 course even though you teach everything on paper? I'm trying to learn digital painting to use in my workflow and possibly even transition into a concept type of artist in the future. I'm still 18 years young and disciplined :)
Hi I’m new to your channel, and have found a lot of your videos helpful and inspiring. I wanted to ask you how do you personally choose what colors to use when digital painting any of your drawings?
The only thing with working on productive drawing as much as you can is-- what if your workspace isn't that functional? Pounding away at the canvas hunched over glaring at a display is pretty grueling after the umpteenth hour as you watch the endless stream of mistakes in your mark making, people also don't really talk as much about the issue of joint and shoulder fatigue.
*_“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”_*
~ Bruce Lee
Hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but just want to add…artists should listen to their body. If you feel pain, STOP drawing for the day. Personally, I can’t do 10 hours everyday, my hand starts to hurt long before that.
Nonetheless, still love the overall message of this video, of course.
Try changing the way you draw. Maybe add an incline to the tablet, or push less on the stilus, or use your elbow primarily.
IT shouldn't be hurting that easily, unless you have a prior medical condition.
I have Myclonus, I actually cramp up after a certain amount of time and it takes a lot of focus to keep my hand even somewhat steady- and just changing positions and doing a few hand stretches every so often for a few seconds is enough to offset it- so someone whose body has no conditions shouldn't have much trouble.
I would evaluate how you are sitting, your arm/hand position, etc...
I agree with you 100% We all have different bodies, and different responsibilities. I find family comes first to the point that i can only work 4 hours a day, if i try to push even more i start to get stressed which can lead to unhealthy habits, and then im unable to work at all cuz im not feeling well. But i am so grateful for this, for having a loving family, and responsibilities of caring for them, and im grateful that i am a successful artist that only works 4 hours a day! Im grateful that i am alive, blessed and able to accomplish twice as much as some artists in half the time. Learning how to listen to your body is a wonderful gift. and your advice is golden
Thank you for this video. Yeah, I'm a self-taught artist who never had the privilege to attend an expensive art school. I've spent countless hours watching veteran artists paint - even when I paint I have art tutorials running just to keep the motivation and momentum going.The only downside is that I must stop competing against other artists, or comparing my work against their work, who have decades of experiences. Needless to say, I've been painting for four years. It just opens the door to self-doubt and a crash in confidence. I must realise every artist has his/her own style; so competing against them is pointless. This is an awesome video! Thank you!
I'm trying to learn art but I keep feeling bad about the fact that there's a lot to learn and I'm just not talented enough, or it'll take too long. Yet, I can't ever abandon the desire to learn it because I always wanted to. Not to make money off of it, not to show off my skills to others (well, ok, maybe that point a LIL bit I'll admit) but most importantly so I could prove to myself that i have worth coz I learned a skill I deemed worth learning.
IDK why I'm typing all of this out here but I guess I'm looking for some advice and your story of being a self-taught artist inspires me. Any tips?
@@clintthorpe9052 Just move. Dont think about how long it will take, think about how much u already did
@@clintthorpe9052 Hey mate! My advice is to learn from established or veteran artists. Watch as many tutorials or demonstrations as you can in order to learn the fundamentals of form, proportion, light & shadow. It availed me tremendously! Watch videos whilst you paint if you have a second monitor or screen available. You must remember you'll not become Albert Bierstadt or Thomas Cole overnight. It will take years to learn - some learn quicker than others - but you need not despair. Keep painting even if, at first, the work may suck, but that is to be expected as a beginner. Over time you will begin to see improvements. The key is to never give up or compare your work (a bad habit of mine) to veteran artists; it'll immediately put you off - thinking you're not good enough. However, those artists also started from nothing. Be willing to push yourself every day if possible and you will get there. If you'd like, I can drop a link to my Artstation account so that you can see my transition from bad to concept art. It may inspire you!
@@aethelwulf7819 Thank you so much for your response. I appreciate it. I'm so glad that there's so many people out there that share this good advice to anyone else suffering with this issue like myself. I'd like to be able to learn but the inner voice that always critiques me for either starting late or just not being smart enough to do it is what throws a wrench into any plans of mine. I think, above all else I should heed your advice and just keep at it, not focusing on the end goal, but rather the journey of learning itself.
@@clintthorpe9052 Precisely! Well said! Go forth and paint!
Thanks Trent, I needed to hear this. I recently broke into the game industry as an artist, and I love my job. However, I find that most of my coworkers are 15 years younger than me with many years of experience, and it's hard to not feel inferior to them. I work at a company that is compassionate and mindful of my mental health, and they do everything they can to encourage us not to crunch- but I feel like I need to put in extra work to put myself back on the trajectory I want to be on to get my skills to a level I can be proud of.
Artists aren’t starting on a level field ever. You shouldn’t care about an age difference because some people around you don’t even need the paycheck. Imagine if you thought you should have been born independently wealthy 😂
It only holds you down.
You see, Trent, It is not about "taking it easy", it is about respecting yourself. About understanding that you are a entire living being for a limited period of time in this place called Earth. It is about being more than just an asset. About living for yourself.
Absolutely, great rewards come from long-term undertakes-I do not contest that. But we should not push ourselves over the limit for exuberant amounts of time. Instead, if we can separate a good time for studying and some time for other things - be it a hobby, a special someone or just playing games/watching Netflix - we can achieve everything we want within a reasonable amount of time. Discipline is the word.
It is not so much about endeavour as it is about consistent work. If you can spend 25 hours of thoughtful applied studies every week, you will get there, eventually. Then, we think about 40+ hours per week.
Nothing comes easy in life-even more so if you are poor and self-taught aspiring artist living in a 3rd world country like me-but nothing should consume you whole.
Do you want to draw 8 hours today? That is fine, but make sure to take some breaks throughout the day and be used to work for at least 6 before you begin-just like you mentioned later in the video, we shall climb up a step after the other, one by one
And all this may be perfectly fine for you. Trent clearly says he's happy to be doing what he's doing and frankly a lot of the top working artists are in the same boat, putting in serious hours but mostly loving every moment. You do you, but you need to also realize how much your willing to put in will directly influence where you end up. This isn't true for just art but everything we do in life.
@@fromash5289 Yeah, absolutely. Everyone has something they are willing to sacrifice themselves for. But there is a couple of artists who would apply this same crunch mindset and regret having done such-Anthony Jones is a really good example of this.
Every person has their particularities that will change this, but being aware might help whoever reads this. Even if this is me, we are all sharing experiences and helping each other, right? Just trying to do the same.
Thank you very much for reading and leaving the comment. Good luck in your journey-cheering for you.
Watching this video kinda made me remember why I stopped watching his channel years ago (though I now watch him again in some selected videos). Overall, he's an amazing artist and I appreciate all that he's shared and taught but I don't like the idea of never ending grinding while ignoring other stuff in life that are considered a "lesser priority". Of course we have different experiences so maybe while Trent's own methods works for him and others, there's also people who don't really improve through said methods and instead just suffer burnout--and burnout is one hell of a bitch.
Taking small steps everyday is more preferrable than giant leaps in a couple of days and then no longer contuining the next days because you overworked yourself. Or something like that anyway.
@@bored_potato I focused on these small steps every day for about a month-my most productive day to date.
@@bored_potato I don't think Trent ever said the grind was "never ending" , just that it comes with the territory if trying to achieve greatness--on a single project (for us non-prodigies) and I think he's right, just look at what George Lucas had to go through to make the original Star Wars movie a success, or Coppola with Apocalypse Now, Mitsuda making the music for Chrono Trigger...yes, some of them probably worked a little too hard, but just look at their results. Their health recovered and are now they are legends.
I thought Trent made it fairly clear that he was very anti-crunch in his professional life, and respects his audience enough to trust that they know themselves well enough to know when to take a break (he even suggested taking a walk around the block, playing a few hours of games here & there, or calling a friend once in a while in this video).
You're not wrong that burnout is a real danger, but most people aren't going to be able to break into the industry by putting in less than 50-60hrs a week, so I believe significant sacrifices are absolutely necessary, and that Trent is just being honest here, not advocating becoming an art hermit for life or anything.
"be your best" also means recognizing when the effort you are putting in is killing your life and stopping to rest when you need to.
I feel you there, Trent. I'm 32 here in Argentina and I could afford my first wacom tablet two years ago and a decent set of pencils and watercolor. It's true, you apreciate things much more when you have little. Thanks for the boost and your amazing art and experience.
After finding a couple of quick gigs, which in hindsight were rather predatory, I found myself wondering why my art was truly lackluster. At the of all the questioning it was just my drawing was lack luster. Didn't matter if my rendering skill or design skill was competent when my drawing was just lacking clarity and form. So now I'm about 6 months in and I feel confident enough in my drawing ability to go learn design and painting without fearing my drawing/line work would impede my clarity. Fuck that was a rough six months mentally. Even now when I realized my line work was similar to my peers who are all trying to become concept arts/illustrators I still have that overwhelming sense that it's still not good enough despite all that work and effort.
Truly, if you're less "talented" then the feeling of never having to stop working on your skill doesn't go away. So, this video was incredibly relatable to my current struggles.
Honestly, to me the hardest thing will always be managing the balance between working enough to feed myself and still being able to produce what I want.
I often find that I have to dedicate a day to either some sort of practice or producing actual art, and usually the art that I want to make is what wins in the end.
Ultimately I just wish I'd gotten into art earlier. I only started once I got out of high school, and I'm already well into a career. With art it often ends up feeling like I shouldn't take this as seriously as I do, despite how much I really do enjoy doing it.
i wouldnt want to be born gifted or talented. Eventually you'd be in a perfectionist burnout nightmare because expectations would be crushingly high from the start
The best thing my father gave me as a child for my drawing was his old paints and a whitewashed wall in the kitchen in the tiny apartment where we lived.
You're a great guy, Trent. And through the video penetrates this pleasure from everything you do. I guess that's why I watch them too, not just for the sake of the sunny personality behind the picture.
Talent is rather sad. When it seems that everything is given too easily and when most of the time you don't understand HOW it turns out and from this, for example, I feel like a "fake". A skill built over years of work - it is stone solid !
Thanks for the video Trent! Especially sharing building up to crunch time/work time. When I put in 6hs a day practicing drawing + 8hs at my desk-job for weeks out of nowhere, I got a severe injury on my wrist which made me nearly unable to draw for over a year (I could do maybe half an hour of pencil + paper every other day before experiencing pain), and I am still recovering. Although a horrible experience, it thought me two things, work more efficient with my tools to relief wrist strain and also taking care of myself. If you feel like going crunch mode every day and you want to put in the time, make sure you look up/do wrist stretches and indeed build up your work time, don't start sprinting the marathon out of the blue.
Dude your stuff motivates me hardcore, been feeling super demotivated for a little while but this sparked something in me to push those bad vibes aside and remember why I draw and make stuff.
U know what.....this video ispires me to my core!!...ur realistic approach to personal and professional life really lift me up.....i also work in adverse conditions and non artistic environment....and i believe if an artist with such rough life can become so good and happy in this profession ,I can be too!!
Thank you so much for this video!❤️✨
i wanted to be an artist at the young age of 8 thanks to the man who inspired me and the encouragement of my mom, when i was a beginner, i was lucky enough to have youtube as a resource, id look up many videos of tutorials to try to become better, i would practice alot even during class, i was raised in a not so good area with not alot of money, i would refrain from asking my mom for expensive art supplies because i knew she would try her hardest to get it despite our financial situation, im currently 13 and i now question wether im talented or if its skill, ive used over 49 sketchbooks/notebooks but i wonder if i just learned faster then my peers or if i just put more work into my goals as an artist, either way i know their is still so much for me to learn and im willing to continue to put in that effort, and i aspire to be a professional artist like you
Trust me its the hard work. When people improve faster than other its because they put in more work, not only work but also focus
@@ScilexGuitar That's the part that throws me off. It's always "it's practice" then when you say that doesn't work it's, as you said "focus" or "perfect practice", and just becomes a giant loop, and ends in "just do it" then nothing gets solved.
That’s how I felt during swim season in college. It was 6 months straight of swimming 7 days a week and centering my schedule and focus around practice, eating, and sleeping. And then a weird adjustment period after conference championships to re-figure out a balanced life
idk why but I like hearing others share their experience
My dude... you are such an inspiration!
You are so much of who I am striving to become!
I can't thank you enough, I feel like I'm getting to know myself better while learning a ton throughout your content.
I’m on that side of, I don’t listen to podcasts / movies while drawing anymore, just instrumental music. If I don’t have my full focus on it, my compositions and detail go to crap. The more menial stuff like inking and cleanup, though, that’s when I listen to stuff.
I’d love to hear what your ergonomic/exercise routine is like (if you haven’t already shared). When I work 10+ hours a day, after about a week, I’ve ended up injuring my neck, back, and arm. So lately I try to keep my hours spent at a desk down to 8 a day, but it doesn’t feel like enough to accomplish what I want.
Personally I like to lift weights 2-3 days per week. I do muscle rotation so that by the end of the week, I’ve done a full body workout. I also walk and bike a lot for the mental rest, and get sunlight and time with my family and dog.
Hi Trent! Loved all your videos and Twlight Monk artbooks!
I wanna share my experience about this topic. I've been in a relationship for a few years and I've always "held back" in terms of producing art because I was required to have a balance for it by other people. And talking to my partner I discovered that I'm "insane" about making art. It's all I want, it's what I love to do and if I could not sleep to make 3D, I would definitely do it. I used to work a really bad job back in the day and it was this production insanity that got me into the games industry. And that's what I love to do. And I want to be the best at what I do, to surpass myself every day.
Today I embraced the lack of "balance" in my life, because I love this insane routine of producing for 12/14 hours a day. And that's what I want for myself for at least a long time.
And as David Goggins said, "You'll never understand what's wrong with me, and I don't even want you to."
What helps me to work longer hours is streaming. I open up OBS and start streaming my work on Twitch. And occasionally someone comes in and chats with me a little bit. But just thinking to myself, that I already started the stream and someone might be watching (never look at the numbers) makes me just want to go a bit longer. One more sketch. One more hour.
Hey Trent I've been doing art for 1 and half year really liked it and trying to switch to full time illustrator to begin with to get some work and hopefully go into concept art BUT......am disabled with spina bi fida and everything whether it was uni or life in general I have always had to fight for it so really glad you shared this vid feels good when someone who struggled made it, helps to keep the grind up
I love these kind of videos! They really motivate me at work every week. I keep going back to them to get my mental boost and I am sure there are plenty of others who do so as well :)
It's always so reassuring to hear this. Learning art is so difficult and frustrating and it feels like I'll never have the answers.
But reminding myself that I'm on the right journey allows me to calm my nerves and asses things rationally and enjoy my art.
Also game looks like it's coming along so cool. Always excited :)
I so appreciate your prep talks, Trent. 💛
this channel has been my motivational podcast recently and I enjoyed listening to it. it makes me push that boundary and laziness I'm having.
And this is the reason why i love your content ☺️ thanks for this video. I just turned off my system and i was thinking it's not enough, thinking i should work more.
Prop to you Trent working 10hours a day. My brain just farted after 4-5 hours of work, even if I try to do more the efficiency drop significantly, so I guess that's my cap for the day.
Hey man I honestly consider you my one of the people I purposely look for an advice when it comes to my art career. You just tell it how it is. Though I may admit that all that effort you gave just so you could get where you are, just from pure will alone is kinda intimidating. But Ill try my best either way. Thanks again for the solid advice here Trent!
It's hard to work hard until you learn how. Then it's hard to rest.
Thank you for posting your videos. I have learned more from your art videos then I ever did from art school!
I'm still transitioning from my art skills into concept art (which really isn't too bad but clearly I need to work on stuff still and build a good portfolio yet. I'm an advanced artist but always learning, always growing).
I'm kinda glad you mentioned about how hard you work cuz just for fun, I will literally work 8-12 hours (maybe 15) on my own work but I'm also trying to convince myself like, let's try doing things to make production faster and easier. Either way I'm definitely with you on that, not afraid to put in the time 🤘
Says something about the times we live in, people shaming hard work seems so bizarre to me.
Wise words, sir. A very reassuring message for those of us who might not be natural virtuosos, but *do* have the determination to keep plugging away until we're reaching our artistic goals through hard work and extra hours.
Thanks for the tips! Needed that extra push
Thanks for this video, it's truly inspiring. I was told all my life that drawing and doing art would never get me anywhere, but now I'm about to make my own videos and hopefully learn more about how to become a better artist. It's nice to know that not everyone was able to go to art school and was still able to achieve a goal of being better in life. Don't let life drag you down! Rise above every dark situation.
Hi Trent, congrats on your project, I hope you’ll be successful with your game when it gets released. Really hope you can have a tutorial compilation on how to make indie games and publishing ❤️ that would be interesting
The reason why many people become angry is they are scared and worried. it’s scary to think about the sacrifices you might need to make to get what you want me included ive thought about giving up and I’m still considering other artistic options such as tattoo artist because no doubt is it scary and hard to believe in yourself but that is the only way
Also if you want to play video games implement exercise into taking do push-ups or exercises based on it or if you have enough money get an oculus it’s great cardio and a real good leg exercise
I have questioned myself a lotta times, thank you for this video 🙏
Oh god, you too do that of watching shows on the background while working to focus and time measurement?? I did that while watching Merlin when I was working an internship a few months ago to keep myself focus. And it works wonders somehow
Today an artist friend asked me about what my schedule looks like as a freelancer, and all of my healthy habits are things Ive learned from you. Thank u so much for these videos, I love reminding my friends that we need to go outside and get inspiration for our work and stay healthy 🔥🔥
Thank you Trent!
I feel this to some degree
i had the privilege of growing in a good environment and getting the family help
but i just always been below avarage
i had to go to writing therapy as a kid because my motoric abilities are shit, and i had to try twice as hard as anyone else to learn anything
im not a master yet, but the fact im pretty good is a source of pride for me because of how hard i’ve been working for it
people just dont like hearing that people who are capable could get there without the talent cause it means that their ability is fully dependent on themselves
so if someone who feels insecure about their talent or ability, just remember that with some work you can get anywhere
This really calmed me. I always thought "Did I do something wrong in my live?" ... so many people where preaching it was so darn easy. I mean I am learning very fast and very easily so I have that advantage and I always say to others: "Pleas don't take me as a standart!" because I know how it feels to think you're just not enough. But I always lovet to work my butt of if the workenviroment and the work itself is somewhat rewarding for me. Some colleges looked at me in disbelieve or just didn't understood why I was so happy to work. It is not that I come from a poor family or stuff, but when I reached my study years the income of my parents shrinked due to my dad starting to retire. That was normal, that was ok and I learned that sometime you don't have as much, that you must save, that extra efford isn't deco, it is nessecary at times. I would by no means call myself a work'o'holic, but I love to work - if I'm not screwed over. I also love my breaks, my resting time just sitting there gaming. Right now I slowly work my way into a job that I love. I had bad luck with job search because I sucked in selling myself. I had low selfesteem and depressed - not the best base. Right now I know my worth, I know what I'm capable of and how to use it. My mum always said "I love the hard way" ... well I don't love it but maybe I'm just better in doing the hard way :D
I needed this, thank you.
Great topic! As an artist, I’ve never believed in talent and felt it was more dismissive than flattering. That’s why I now am writing my dissertation disproving the concept. If you ever want to talk about it I’d be happy to share my thoughts and findings with you!
Hi ! It's the first video I see on this channel.
Honestly I'm thankfull.
You promote some good message. Rock Lee was my favorite character in Naruto. He's just awesome.
It's clear that for some people it's harder. Some have trouble focusing, some have struggle applying the theory. There's even people with aphantasia, where people can't visualize. Like you can imagine a scene and kinda see it in your brain, they can't.
I'm slow to learn so I understand the struggle a bit.
Anyway, I'm thankfull also because of the art. Just watching you made me understand how to do some things better. Like how you use symmetry and copy/paste, how you drew some clouds, the structure also. It's awesome, and the result is fabulous.
To see this in a game is crazy.
Badass Trent, been a fan since CREED and Ghost Rider man.
I was working at a call center for 10 years when covid happened. during my teens I drew a lot, like, a LOT then stopped once life happened. I was convinced that growing up is to stop drawing and going into an office job to provide to your family. I was miserable and when covid happened I had to quit. First months were a struggle but I decided to draw stuff online and people actually like my art enough to commission me sometimes. It's not near my paycheck before but I'm getting by and I'm much happier.
Brilliant video, love the artwork….so great. I planned a career in fine art, but things in my life happened & I was not able to follow that path… I had to work 3 -4 jobs to take care of my family & I didn’t even have time to draw for a very long time. In my 30’s I got very sick & had to stop working & my life changed again…. There’s no cure, I’m in a world of pain every day… I lost everything, because I had no money & had to use all my super, sell my house to pay medical bills. I’m constantly in & out of hospital having surgery & treatment, & during one stay I decided to get back into doing some drawing… got some lovely new moleskins & pencils. I was sketching away, realising I couldn’t draw to save my life anymore…. I’d not drawn for so long I was virtually a total beginner. One of my nurses was a gamer, & his flat mate worked in gaming as a concept artist…. He showed me some of his work & omg! Sure I’d seen digital/ art in games, but It didn’t quite click that it takes wonderfully skilled artists to create this stuff. Seeing his artwork & videos of him creating it, I felt my passion for art come flooding back. I was still unable to work, so I borrowed a computer & saved up for little wacom bamboo tablet. The day it arrived, I was beyond excited, then I realised I had a very steep learning curve ahead…. I’m pretty good with technology, &as a graphic designer (one of my jobs) I used Quark & Pagemaker…. Yep, I’m sooo old…. & those programs were just basic paste up programs, I worked in printing, so used to also burn film, make plates etc (offset print, pre digital). So I muddled my way around & found Corel Painter, which is an amazing art program… still has a place in my heart, even though I use PS & Procreate more these days. I taught myself, with, youtube & later, taking classes when I could afford them (thankfully there are a lot of learning options for artists, you don’t have to go to art school). That was roughly 6yrs ago…. I’ve improved, & faced my biggest fear drawing people… I couldn’t draw a face to save my life, I generally stuck to landscapes & lots of wildlife. Anyway, I have worked really hard, & as I improved I started to see the rewards…. Little things like my art being featured by Corel & other sites, then being asked to Collab with other artists. Then bigger things, Corel awarded me as a Painter Master (one of their endorsed artist, I do artwork, make brushes & do webinars for them). During Covid when we were all in lockdown, I bit the bullet & started to put myself out there to get work… I now have a steady flow of work with some great clients, freelancing as an illustrator. Mostly in publishing (book covers), but also commercial work for various industries, I did some NFT’s for a high end watch designer for example. There’s so much artists can do, & if your willing to put in the hard work it’s so rewarding. For me, it’s not only that I’m working doing what I love, it’s I’m able to work. After not working for years, it’s given me back my dignity & I feel like I’m contributing to the community again. I still have much to improve on & I put time aside each day to work at it, & who knows I may even get some work in gaming one day. Thanks for I spiring artists such as myself to keep working, it’s great to hear about your journey, & I think most people have challenges they need to overcome…so to hear that from artists that you admire & learn from is wonderful.
I just finished an art and I was fighting with myself because I din't accomplished the result that I was looking for, and then I found this video, I dont know how, but it just appeared out of nowhere, thanks for you words, it helped me a bit.
When I'm doing my Krita or GIMP work, I'll put on movies or TV episodes I've seen several dozen times just to have it as background while I'm on a project: I don't have to get absorbed in the material and get distracted but it's still there and I can replay what I'm not seeing in my head as I'm doing the work. It's familiar and I know every nuance and every line of dialogue and I can just let it play out, and it's a cushion against stress and helps me flow along with the moment and what I'm doing.
Oh yeah, and ALL of my work tools are freeware and compatible with Adobe so anything I do can go back and forth between platforms and apps. I used to have Photoshop and Pagemaker (also Quark) until Adobe started this cloud-based subscription crap which essentially meant I would have to rent the tools I use for my work so I said "fuck that" right off the bat and started looking for alternatives. I will NOT pay Danegeld for the privilege of using an app I need to be in business at all. And what I've got works just as well as anything I'd be paying through the nose for and does the job, and that's all I need.
I struggled for a long time because my version of "putting in extra work" was guilting myself over not working enough and becoming paralyzed over imperfections, anxiety and burning out very, very quickly. Might sound ridiculous to someone with a different temperament/mindset, but this was my reality. Now I'm coming around to your way of thinking, but this was only possible once I healed from a looott of trauma that I could even consider "pushing myself" in the healthy ways. This may be why people get upset and leave comments for you. They're not necessarily expecting something for nothing, it's just that their internal load is heavy and intense already, and being told you're not doing enough is truly exhausting and frankly unsustainable. I didn't grow up poor, but if I could have had your attitude without the anxiety problems when I was 15 or 20, I probably would have traded it quickly. I value those mental-emotional skills and now, every day, I'm grateful for what I've been able to heal from and am learning/improving on. That's my mindset and it helps me be more confident.
These backgrounds are looking incredible, Im completely in love with them and the way you make it!
men, you are inspirational! I hope you never lose your passion for art
Trent i've been watching you for a while and one more time thank you. I'm a 22 year old guy from Greece and i'm trying to get into the industry, i've sacrificed every notion of social life because there is no gaming industry or any art school that teaches concept art so i do everything on my own but the worst part is there are so few people that get what i am trying to do and my only escape from this loneliness is my art and videos from artists like you. Thank you for educating and keeping me company !
@@creativebubblecat Your situation must be way more stressful than mine. Keep your head up, keep drawing, keep getting better and most important of all keep your hopes up. We will achieve what we want! Can't wait for the better days!
I am a web back-end developer and I can feel your pain.
Good luck man.
Trust me, you'nt alone.
I have never related to something more, thank you for this!
Man Been listening to you for a few years now. Love your vibe, I think. you are a total hip-hop hippie. Anyway I really enjoy they almost pep talks that you do. I find it very zen to listen to. I have def bought quite a few of your art tutorials and have learned allot from them. Thanks for all that you do.
I’m sure you know this but your videos are helping a lot of artists Trent. Thank you for building and sharing so much knowledge. I have been using your paid content and it’s worth every penny. Your prices are affordable and it’s like learning from a good friend. 🍺 Cheers!
Thank you!
dude! you're a very kind person. thanks for your advice
I've watched this video so many times... It's such an uphill climb! ... so much to it... but I am coming for it all!!!!
my favorite background show is mad men.
thank you for this men this give a motivation on keep doing art and don't lose hope
I think the biggest thing for me is just the fear of putting all the work in and still not getting anywhere
I agree. I might not be the best but I do love the process.
honestly, I never went to art school, I am self taught and been drawing my whole life, just started to study basics not long ago because I thought I didn't need it, but after I did, my art had improve overnight, especially after finding your videos and found out about game concept art, after following your advices, I went from just someone who draws to paid artist, been non stop studying, practicing, collabing for 2-3 years and for the past 6 months, been working on 2 projects and a few commissions, mostly nfts but also game concept art, got lots of experience from that too and love watching videos and movies while I work too, I am used to multi task, will put them in the background while I draw or paint after the ideas has been laid down, been doing studies after some work and now that things slowed down and not much for me to do because the things I drew need to be developed, I feel odd not been constantly busy working, pulling all nighters, I feel burn out but not used to not work too, so I get what you mean, thoughts of watching some of your videos to start getting motivated again or remind me of things, but I am thankful that I discover your videos, I learn so much, there is a lot of video tutorials about drawing and things like that but only your workshops teach about how the industry works and what a concept artist work is, you literally change my life :)
You're a G my friend. Love your mindset.
In the same boat except I just now finally realized in my 30’s I want to support my family with my artwork one day. So I’m, the in between spaces at work or home, working on my art. Doing those artist workouts everyday.
So thanks for those videos as well. YOU DA MAN!!!!
man as an artists with adhd ITS A STRUGGLEEEE SO MUCH STRUGGLEEE also with me doing college ... and trying to juggle that with my personal work is TIRESOME
This is a really powerful video for me thank you!!!
I really love these kind of artists, they love to share their struggle and motivates people by their own experience since not everyone is born with silver spoon in their mouth not to mention people from 3rd world country like me where the life quality is low, thank you so much trent for making us feelings better and being wanted with what all we've had
hey, Im a jounior illustrator from iran, and I really needed the things that you said in your video....these days I was thinking to my self that I dont have a chance to be a high lever artist beacuse of the country that Im living in ...but Im so lucky beacuse of finding your video ^_^
thank you
I wish I could spend all my time drawing. What would I give to be able to do on nothing else but study and draw all day.
To me it's understandable, that people don't want to work overtime, that they want to be able to treat this field like any other job. And it's none of my business if that works out for them or not!
But that's not my goal. I want it, I want to draw as much as I can, because it brings me so much joy - and because I want to see just how far I can go.
You are the Rafael Nadal of digital art...the effort he puts into training for his tennis, I reckon you put into your art. Special effort man, congrats and keep going!
I have experience both worlds: having to teach myself how to draw and paint, look through UA-cam videos to learn how to learn new skills, saving up money from gifts to buy better art supplies. When I got to university for a bachelor's in fine arts (majoring in animation), the message was still: go to youtube to teach yourself how to do the assignments because we only teach "ideas" here, so forget about even learning any art foundations from us. So while unfortunately, I need to continue to finish my degree, it's not like I ever stopped teaching myself or practicing my skills in the pockets on time in between class.
There's a lot of "hard work" that went to get to where I am today, but honestly I prefer to reframe it as apart of my lifestyle. Just as athletes needs to shape their lives to achieve their fitness goals and be ready to play, artists need to do the same to create artwork (including exercising as I've learned the hard way lol). So making the process as natural as breathing is what keeps the work fun for me even if other's see it as "hard work".
“War is the father of all things” - Heraclitus
“Who is the happier person, they who have braved the storm of life and have lived, or the person who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed” - Hunter S. Thompson
Thank you for the video Trent. I have never been a talent at anything I’ve tried my hand at. Never. So if I wanted to be good at anything, I had to work hard. Harder than those who seemingly had that natural talent I lacked. The first time I realized this was when I was in high school and got on the football team. I kid you not, freshman year I was bottom of the barrel, and I’m pretty sure I only got on the team because we needed the bodies. I couldn’t do a thing decently except running in a straight line. That following summer, I trained myself, and pushed myself hard to achieve what I wanted. Even trained to the point of throwing up once or twice. Let me tell you, it was worth it. I came back to summer camp outpacing most of my teammates, I was generally stronger, could cut better, and etc. I was even one of the few invited to join the varsity team as a sophomore. This small lesson taught me that if I work hard, I can indeed become better than those “geniuses” and/or those with the “natural talent”.
Now, I try my best to constantly improve and work hard in my art, as well as the other ventures I pursue. I stumble. I make crappy work. I say things that make me sound foolish due to my lack of knowledge at the time, and many other things that just scream my lack of “talent”. At the end of the day, I choose to use that as a means to not give up, but to push myself to even greater heights. Not necessarily so I can prove others wrong, but because I am working towards something bigger than myself, and if I want to achieve those heights, I got to take my licks. I got to take on the hardship, the ridicule. For I know, so long as I look at things in a healthy manner (which can be difficult at times), it will all make me better and it will all be worth it one day.
As Eintstein said: “I have no special talent. I am simply passionately curious”
Only thing I’d like to add is that there are many folks who don’t care about how you got to your product, but there are many of those that do care as well. I mean gamers have been calling out crunch at companies for years now as poor practice. Don’t get me wrong, I also believe in “just needing to crunch” at times, but I also don’t think that’s a lifestyle meant for everybody. Some folks will really just be like “you want it by when? Na I’m good”. Which, in my opinion, is fair. Life has lots to offer. Not in terms of just distractions, but experiences that can also lead to fulfillment, so why miss out on such? Every day is a choice. So make the choices that are best for you, and ideally does not harm others in the process.
Just my views. I hope folks have a beautiful day
I don't mind working 12 hrs a day every week if it's on my own projects. But unfortunately, for the moment I gotta keep grinding at the job where "Crunch" is a common thing and it even extends to the weekends. Working hard is fine, but it just worries that I'm running out of time while others keep getting ahead.
Thank you for your amazing and inspiring videos. I would like to see a updated sketch book pro workflow video 🙏🙏
This video changed my life. I want to be a professional freelancer artist and because of this vid (And because I was already wanting to take a big leap in study/practice hours, I been thinking of changing my life to be more disciplined and working harder.) I went from studying 4 hours 5 days a week to 8 hours 6 days a week. Thank you very much Trent!, great tips and advices!.
Every artist has at least said this to themselves once
Raw inspiration and highly motivating!
bro you have me inspired to work harder because i love art, i know is hard work but i know wath it feels like because im a martial artis and thats hard work to, greetings.
You were definitely born at the right time. Late enough in history that you have all these nice digital tools, but early enough that A.I. doesn't do everything for us.
what can you do, when you know you are giving more than your peers, you get the praise, but still you don´t get the tittle? I feel like being pushing over or used by the places I work in, I'm really good I got the responsibilities, but they never recognizes me as senior or giving me the role upgrade, feel like going anywhere, my personality maybe is naive, not the usual leader type for them maybe but I can't help feel stuck and not welcome, start over again in a new job feel like a bummer.
I spent 8 years of my career without a promotion. So I can relate. But when I look back, I know that I truly would have struggled with more responsibility. Sometimes it’s a blessing to just have the work, and do it well. If you really need a fancy title, go to a new company that gives you that title.
Great videa, great advice, education can be free, education will lift you out of poverty. Always work hard, but work Smart, not just hard. Be critical, what you did right and what you did wrong. I'll be buying your workshops.
Very inspiring! Rock Lee, my favorite character! Let's go!
This video is still so relevant!
Jesus Trent, I struggle with Adhd and right now your like my Illustration Jedi Master ...
I am not in the industry, I am learning to draw and paint through your tutorials, which are superb. "if", in another life, I were to get hired by you/an indy it is in my nature to job out just as hard and long as you (my boss). I could not with conscience "leave early" if there were still work to do. You are an inspiration
video was on 699 likes but i had to press the like ... great motivational video
Listening to this while drawing is great! haha
After over a decade of making art and still suck i came to the conclusion one is either gifted or has to work 10 times as hard and still dont accomplish as much as others.
And if one has like zero talent .. its unlikely they get anywhere in life with art. I guess accepting that harsh reality is the hardest thing in art at all.
I suck at art man. But I can't or am too stupid to stop. I enjoy art soooo much. I'll never stop. Whatever.
That was very inspirational. A lot more creators need to watch that video !
I am very experienced with photoshop and do cinematic photo manipulations. I do all art on a computer with a large tablet. Would it still be worth it for me to buy your easy art lessons 1-20 course even though you teach everything on paper? I'm trying to learn digital painting to use in my workflow and possibly even transition into a concept type of artist in the future. I'm still 18 years young and disciplined :)
Hi I’m new to your channel, and have found a lot of your videos helpful and inspiring. I wanted to ask you how do you personally choose what colors to use when digital painting any of your drawings?
The only thing with working on productive drawing as much as you can is-- what if your workspace isn't that functional? Pounding away at the canvas hunched over glaring at a display is pretty grueling after the umpteenth hour as you watch the endless stream of mistakes in your mark making, people also don't really talk as much about the issue of joint and shoulder fatigue.
The game looks amazing Trent! Will you have something xtra for early backers?
That is the plan.
I love you bro, I really I enjoy watching you and Enjoy your talk more