{"id":9722,"date":"2017-02-09T19:48:23","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T19:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/leseanthomas-heres-some-of-the-most-amazing\/"},"modified":"2018-12-05T16:23:18","modified_gmt":"2018-12-05T23:23:18","slug":"leseanthomas-heres-some-of-the-most-amazing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/leseanthomas-heres-some-of-the-most-amazing\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-9722 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/leseanthomas-heres-some-of-the-most-amazing\/attachment\/9723\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"51\" src=\"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_nbgdcbWkMJ1rm4wgqo1_1280-100x51.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/leseanthomas-heres-some-of-the-most-amazing\/attachment\/9724\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-content\/uploads\/tumblr_nbgdcbWkMJ1rm4wgqo2_640-100x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/leseanthomas.tumblr.com\/post\/96740981551\/heres-some-of-the-most-amazing-and-invaluable\">leseanthomas<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Here\u2019s some of the most <strong>amazing and invaluable advice<\/strong> you\u2019ll most-likely ever get from one of my good colleagues and legends in comics\/gaming, creator <strong>JOE MADUREIRA<\/strong>. It\u2019s what i\u2019ve been preaching to you aspiring artists since i arrived on DA, but i think his POV says it perfectly:<\/p>\n<p><strong>*WARNING: SOME MATURE LANGUAGE*<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&ldquo;DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Or a successful <strong>WORKING PROFESSIONAL?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Believe it or not there is a difference.<\/strong> I\u2019m not usually a soapbox type guy, I don\u2019t like instructing people, and I think I\u2019m a terrible teacher. But hey, it\u2019s Friday and I\u2019m in a strange mood. So here goes:<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve noticed that a good number of my fans happen to be aspiring artists themselves. This is for all you guys. I get asked constantly: <strong>&quot;Where should I go to school?&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;What classes should I take?&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;What should I study for anatomy?&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;What pencils and paper do you use?&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;Should I be working digitally now instead of traditionally?&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;How do I fix my poses? Learn composition? Perspective?&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;When am I going to develop my own style?&rdquo; &ldquo;Who were your influences?&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;Teach me how to draw hands!&rdquo;<\/strong> The list goes on\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/onceuponasketch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/joe2.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the deal. All of that stuff <em><strong>*is*<\/strong><\/em> important, and it may nudge you in the right direction. A lot of it <strong>you will discover for yourself.<\/strong> <strong>What works best for one person doesn\u2019t work for another.<\/strong> That\u2019s the beauty of art. <strong>It\u2019s personal. It\u2019s discovery.<\/strong> DON\u2019T <em><strong>WORRY<\/strong><\/em> ABOUT ALL THAT CRAP!<\/p>\n<p>Instead I\u2019m going to answer the questions that you <em><strong>*SHOULD*<\/strong><\/em> be asking, but aren\u2019t. These are things that have only recently occurred to me, after doing this for 20+ years. These things seem so obvious, but apparently they elude a lot of people, because I am surprised at how many ridiculously talented artists are <strong>&lsquo;failing&rsquo;<\/strong> professionally. Or just <strong>unhappy.<\/strong> The beauty of what I\u2019m about to tell you is that <strong>it doesn\u2019t matter what field you\u2019re in or what your art style is.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/onceuponasketch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Ultimates-3-Volume-1-9780785136613.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In no particular order:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1)<\/strong> <em><strong>DO WHAT YOU LOVE.<\/strong><\/em> If you are passionate about what you\u2019re doing, it shows. If you\u2019re having fun, it shows. If you\u2019re bored, <em><strong>IT SHOWS.<\/strong><\/em> Some guys are able to work on stuff they have zero interest in, and still pull off great work, but I find that when I do this my motivation takes a huge hit. And Motivation is key. <strong>Money is not a great motivator.<\/strong> It\u2019s temporary <strong>like everything else.<\/strong> And honestly, I\u2019ve gotten paid the most money for some of the <strong>shittiest work<\/strong> I have ever done. That may sound awesome, but it\u2019s not. And here\u2019s why\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) <em>You MUST stay Excited and Motivated.<\/em><\/strong> Have you noticed that there are days you can\u2019t draw a god damned thing? And some days you feel like you can draw anything? It\u2019s 4am but you don\u2019t notice because you are in the <strong>ZONE.<\/strong> Your hand is racing ahead of your mind and you can do no wrong?! Maybe it\u2019s some new paper you got. Or a new program you\u2019ve been wanting to try out. Or you just found some amazing shit on DeviantArt, or watched some movie that just makes you want to run straight to your board. This relates to the above because while it <em><strong>is<\/strong><\/em> possible to involve yourself in projects you aren\u2019t excited about\u2014maybe you need the cash, or think it will look good on your resume, whatever it is\u2014<strong>it\u2019s not going to last.<\/strong> You need to stay fresh. Expose yourself to new things. New techniques.<strong> You should be getting tired of your own shit on a fairly regular basis. Otherwise other people will.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>3) Check your Ego.<\/strong><\/em> If you think you\u2019re the shit, <strong>you\u2019re already doomed.<\/strong> You may be really, really good at what you do, <strong>but there\u2019s someone better.<\/strong> Sorry. There\u2019s always plenty to learn, even for us old dogs. So when I meet young upstarts who have this sense of entitlement, or a know-it-all attitude, I just have to laugh. <em><strong>Some of the biggest egos I\u2019ve ever witnessed were from people who have accomplished the least.<\/strong><\/em> Meanwhile, most guys who are supremely talented AND successful, and have EARNED the RIGHT to have an ego and throw their weight around, don\u2019t. Why is that? It\u2019s because\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/onceuponasketch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/ultimates3_cover_5_by_liquidology.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>4) RELATIONSHIPS ARE IMPORTANT.<\/strong><\/em> This may be one of the biggest lessons I\u2019ve had to learn. Early on, I didn\u2019t value my relationships with people. Creatively or otherwise. <strong>I felt like I didn\u2019t need anyone\u2019s help and I could figure everything out on my own.<\/strong> Let\u2019s face it, <em><strong>many of us become artists because we are reclusive, social misfits.<\/strong><\/em> We\u2019d rather stay inside and draw shit than go outside and play. We like to live inside our own minds. Why not?! It\u2019s awesome in there! And sometimes we don\u2019t want to let other people in. But like I said\u2014<em><strong>you can\u2019t do it alone.<\/strong><\/em> I can honestly say that as much as I try to stay current, as much as I try to push my work and draw kick ass shit that will excite people, <strong>I would not be where I am today if it weren\u2019t for all the other people I\u2019ve met and learned from along the way.<\/strong> Guys who pulled strings for me. Took risks on me. Believed I was the right guy for the job. <strong>You need to manage your relationships.<\/strong> <strong>You need to network, and meet people.<\/strong> Drawing comics is still a pretty good place for reclusive types\u2014but if you want to work in big studios\u2014Making games, Films, animation, basically any other type of job on the planet, you\u2019d better start making some connections. <em><strong>Be likeable. Be professional.<\/strong> <strong>That doesn\u2019t mean be an opportunistic ladder climber. Fake people lose in the end. Be yourself, but be professional.<\/strong><\/em> It\u2019s no secret that when people are hiring, our first instinct is to bring in people we know. It\u2019s human nature. I don\u2019t like unknowns, even if their portfolio is awesome. If we have a mutual connection, if they have great things to say about you, you\u2019re in.<em><strong> If you have AMAZING artwork to show, and I call your last employer and they tell me what a pain in the ass you are to work with, you\u2019re done.<\/strong> <strong>Talent and skill only get you so far.<\/strong><\/em> I am literally amazed at how often I meet guys that are total assholes and think they are going to get anywhere.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>5) Here\u2019s the BIG ONE.<\/strong><\/em> <strong>The greatest obstacle you will ever have to overcome IS YOURSELF<\/strong>. And the Fear that you are creating in your own head. <em><strong>Stay positive. Stop defeating yourself.<\/strong><\/em> There are artists I know that are so damn good they make me pee my pants. I look up to these mofos. I study their shit and I want to draw like them.<em><strong> And they are almost NEVER working on their DREAM project.<\/strong><\/em> And\u2014big surprise, <em><strong>they aren\u2019t happy in their job.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cWhy NOT?! WTF is WRONG WITH YOU?!\u201d is usually my reaction. And the answer is almost always <strong>&ldquo;The market isn\u2019t great right now&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;Other stories\/games\/comics like mine don\u2019t do very well&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;The shit that\u2019s hot right now is nothing like mine, It\u2019s just going to fail.&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m good enough.&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;I need the money.&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;Too Risky.&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;I tried it before and failed. &rdquo;<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t matter what words they use, they are afraid for one reason or another. I know. I\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the deal. <strong>YOU NEED TO TAKE RISKS.<\/strong> Guess what? <strong>YOU ARE MOST LIKELY GOING TO FAIL.<\/strong> If you want it\u2014<strong><em>REALLY<\/em> <\/strong>want it, that won\u2019t stop you. <strong>You will learn A LOT.<\/strong> My good friend Tim constantly jokes about how I jump out of planes without a parachute and worry about the landing on the way down. You may think that I\u2019m lucky, that it\u2019s easy for me to say because I\u2019m already successful, that I\u2019m in a different situation than you all are. But it\u2019s not true. <em><strong>Risk is risk, no matter what level you\u2019re at. <\/strong><\/em>If you\u2019re already successful, <em><strong>you just take even bigger risks.<\/strong><\/em> But they never go away. <em><strong>Everything in life is Risk vs. Reward. Not just in your career. LIFE. You\u2019d better get used to it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t know what the hell I was doing when I got into comics.<strong> I left the #1 selling book at the time ( Uncanny X-men )<\/strong> to work on <strong>Battle Chasers<\/strong> during a time when <strong>&#8216;Conan&rsquo;<\/strong> was about the only fantasy comic people knew. And no one was buying it. I wanted to work in games, so I started a game company. <strong>I had NO IDEA WTF I was doing.<\/strong> I just wanted it, really bad. We tanked. It failed. No big surprise. <strong>But the people I worked with got hired elsewhere and rehired me.<\/strong> I started<strong> ANOTHER<\/strong> game Company. We had 4 people and a dream, and<strong> some publishers wouldn\u2019t even meet with us, because their \u2018next gen console\u2019 teams had 90+ people on them.<\/strong> I literally got hung up on. <em><strong>&ldquo;Stick to handheld games, it\u2019s smaller, maybe you can handle that\u2026&rdquo;<\/strong><\/em> one MAJOR publisher told us. <strong>I don\u2019t blame them. But we didn\u2019t let it stop us.<\/strong> Thank god we didn\u2019t listen to them. Vigil was born. <em><strong>Darksiders<\/strong><\/em> happened, AND we got to make a sequel. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the best games in the industry, and the most elite and experienced game dev studios in the world. How is that possible?!!! Hardly any of us had even worked on a console game before. I\u2019ll be honest, I was thinking we would fail the whole time. I just didn\u2019t care. If I had to play the odds on this one, I\u2019d bet against us.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/onceuponasketch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/joe.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Why am I telling you all this shit?<\/strong><\/em> This is not me patting myself on the back. It\u2019s just stuff that has somehow only dawned on me recently when it\u2019s been staring me in the face for so long. I feel like I need to wake you guys up!!! <strong>I\u2019ve been limiting myself.<\/strong> <strong>I\u2019ve gotten afraid.<\/strong> <strong>I\u2019ve taken less risks.<\/strong> I saw my career going places I didn\u2019t want to go. I wasn\u2019t happy and I wasn\u2019t excited. And I\u2019ve realized, that all that stuff I just talked about is the reason I am where I am today. <em><strong>Not because I have a manga style, or I draw cool hands, or there\u2019s energy in my drawings, or all the other things people rattle off to me.<\/strong><\/em> There are other guys that do all that same shit, <em><strong>and do it better.<\/strong><\/em> And amazingly, those same guys constantly tell me \u201cMan, I wish I could do what you are doing.\u201d<strong> \u201cSO DO IT!!!!!\u201d<\/strong> PLEASE listen to me\u2014because I want you guys to make it. <em><strong>I want to look to one of you people for inspiration some day when it\u2019s 2am and I need to keep drawing.<\/strong><\/em> Stop worrying about all the other stuff\u2014the pencils, the paper, the anatomy, all that shit. It will only get you so far. You\u2019ve already got most of what you need. I hope this helps some people. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the support over the years. You are all one of the greatest motivating forces in my life and my career. Sappy but true. <em><strong>Ok, let\u2019s go draw some shit!!!\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/onceuponasketch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/455.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>leseanthomas: Here\u2019s some of the most amazing and invaluable advice you\u2019ll most-likely ever get from one of my good colleagues and legends in comics\/gaming, creator JOE MADUREIRA. It\u2019s what i\u2019ve been preaching to you aspiring artists since i arrived on DA, but i think his POV says it perfectly: *WARNING: SOME MATURE LANGUAGE* &ldquo;DO YOU [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-words","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6PWot-2wO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9725,"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9722\/revisions\/9725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rafaelfajardo.com\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}