It’s great if you’re talented, but what if you aren’t? Did you just miss out? Or maybe this idea of ‘talent’ doesn’t exist at all.
Author: Matt Shanks
Picture books should be a collaboration, not a negotiation
Picture book making is a bit like improv theatre. You have actors working in an open, trusting way, to create something more than the sum of it’s parts.
Art is an infinite game
How do you ‘win’ at art? More likes? More followers? Better reviews? What about if the point of Art is to keep playing the game and not to win it?
Everything is a draft
No matter what you do, today’s best work is tomorrow’s stepping stone to even better work. This means everything is a draft. Over and over and over again.
Which medium should I use?
Watercolour, acrylics, crayons. Different mediums produce different results and the potential can be overwhelming. So, which one should you stick with?
Conclusions aren’t endings
When I ask myself, does this story have a conclusion, what I’m asking is, have I encouraged the reader to decide something? To form an opinion. That’s very different to ‘have I ended this story’.
Book editors do much more than ‘edit’
When you see the word ‘edit’ it evokes small-scale changes like typos, corrections, and grammar. But editors are invaluable to better storytelling.
What are you doing with all your extra time?
With a supercomputer in our pockets now, we’re supposed to have extra time to do all things that we love – family, friends, art. But is this what we’re doing now?
Give and get better feedback about your work
With so many people will to give you a critique and share an opinion, how do you know what to listen to, and what to ignore?
People grow so passions and purpose change
Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Follow your passion. Find your purpose. What were you ‘passionate’ about at five years old. How about ten years old? 20 years? 30? 45? 60? I’m guessing that at every stage of life, you, like me, were probably passionate about different things.… Continue reading People grow so passions and purpose change