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Hanogan

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Hi everyone, long time no see. I've been on a bit of a hiatus when it comes to art (though I never stopped drawing), or at the very least when it comes to posting art online, but I'm happy to say that I've been getting moving again in the past month or so and I'm enjoying trying lots of things to get some progress going! For starters I'm going to be posting a few things here and getting stuff back in order, but I'll also be looking to post elsewhere to get some broad feedback.
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Well! Whilst 2015 may have been an horrendous year for me personally, 2016 seemed to be a bad one on a more global scale. Somewhat anyway. Despite that though I found that I made some real progress in the year in almost every aspect outside of art, so I'm not complaining in the slightest. 

After years of being a useless bum I successfully held down two jobs at the same time, one of which was temporary but I still do on occasion to cover holidays and the other an actual factual permanent role. In retail of all things. And bizarrely I really enjoy it too. Also money. So with that stuff finally in place and the dust settling I can art it up without the annoying buzz of guilt and pressure! Always nice. 

Mad Monster Month took way too long to get completed, but I did get there in the end and I'm extremely optimistic that it'll be back on track this year. I've made some small changes to my life beyond work, getting rid of some unnecessary crap and so on..so it's all looking good.

Oh, and I also got a paid commission a few weeks ago which I completed. And was paid for. In real money. Monopoly money counts as legal tender right? 

So, to my friends and especially my Gaian friends, I wish you all a productive and subtly sexy new year. Let's art.
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Well, it's been over a year since I last posted a journal update and it certainly feels like it too. Possibly the longest I've ever gone without updating? I'd have to check to be sure but I think it might be.

2015 ended up being a year that started full of promise but rapidly became quite a difficult year with a myriad of personal issues (all relatively minor, so no need for any concern) that made progress sluggish and forced me to question some of the things that had been core elements in my life up until that point. 

In terms of art productivity; 2015 was rather depressingly bleak on the whole and even Mad Monster Month took far longer than usual to complete with the results being questionable too. On the plus side I did get the first draft of my picture book completed and I'm hoping to push that forward soon to the second, more complete version. I've also been able to apply my skills to produce some work for other people too.

I've got a few art goals for the short term, but I won't discuss them here as I have so often done before. Instead I'll let you all see the results as they happen. 

Here's hoping you all have a productive and positive 2016.
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Brink

4 min read
I can't believe it's been a few months since I last posted a journal entry! Time for an update.

Following Mad Monster Month in October (which was immensely enjoyable as always even if it wasn't really viewed by many people despite my best efforts to get it out there on Tumblr and Deviant Art. Something I need to work on I reckon.) I was invited to take part in an eight week placement with a small local business. Well, small for now anyway..I dare say it'll soon be rather massive but more on that when it's more relevant. 

During the placement I was able to knuckle down as a full on illustrator in order to provide a mascot design and various other bits and pieces. As some of you may know I've struggled over the years to really find my focus (in terms of a goal as opposed to avoiding procrastination that is)..my head has often come up with a vast amount of ideas but that in itself has backfired more than once. At this point I've done professional work as an illustrator..I'm a qualified teaching assistant..I've even combined the two and acted as an artist in a school! Yet despite it all I've never really felt like I've taken a step forward from the starting block. If anything I've been standing on the starting block and running in adorable little circles. 

What my time with this local business has given me is perspective. I've yanked myself out of what was a relative rut and gone hands on into proper..9-5 work. I've been lucky enough to meet two wonderful people with a wealth of business and job related knowledge who aren't afraid to give me constructive criticism (the business owners). After a lengthy discussion with them I've started to nail down an action plan for the next six months and beyond. We decided that my focus would be 1. getting a job to get money and make it easier to find a better job 2. children's picture book illustration and writing. 

I'm hoping that this concise plan along with the opportunity to work on my art in an environment outside of my home will come together to finally get me to where I want to be. Of course, at the end of the day, it comes down to my own persistence and ability..so it's really too early to say anything yet..BUT this is a good start. And it's different..it feels different to other times and I feel like I'm not doing it all alone. Which is good, right?

I'm the sort of person who can be very hard on himself so it can be hard for me to acknowledge my own accomplishments and easy to focus purely on the things I've done wrong. When I was younger I would often feel like a burden on the important people in my life and had to overcome a thought process that told me people were only hanging around with me until they found someone better. It's the sort of things that come when you're a thinker..and add to that some other (relatively minor) issues and life hasn't always been easy. Of course, I'm well aware that many people..if not most people..have it immeasurably harder than I do and am eternally thankful for my life and what it provides me with. Everyone has their issues is all..and I don't think it's such a bad thing to share a few of them for once. 

Anyway, I've not had that much time nor inclination to work on personal art over November apart from a small piece for a Final Fantasy VII project. That should all be changing soon though.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance.
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June has ended and July has begun, and with it we wave goodbye to Bookworm Month. On the whole it was a vaguely satisfactory body of work that (for a variety of reasons) remains mostly unseen. And really, that seems about right. 

Mostly for my own sake I wanted to very quickly review/analyse the work that was produced and look to see where improvements can be made for the future. I will say up front that I think I've done better work in the past so I do not feel that this project represents my quality/progress as a whole.

One of the main things that has slowly been coming more and more to my attention is my lack of promotional skills. I don't get my artwork 'out there' enough..though I have made attempts..and this is certainly something that needs working on. 

Secondly I would argue that my work still lacks the full focus it really needs to truly shine. I've certainly improved and I'm good enough now that working as a professional is a realistic endeavour (please do tell me if you think otherwise, I could seriously use a wide range of opinions). And yes, I know that any good artist never stops growing and improving but I still can't shake off the feeling that I'm overlooking an obvious 'something' that I need to made a big step forward..right now and such. 

It's tricky, but above all else I want to be true to myself and my personal style. For example; I'll never be someone who is able to use digital painting techniques..I don't enjoy it and I'm not good at it. I could probably get good at it but it always feels like I'd be forcing it..and thus we come back around to staying true to who I am as an artist. I think that the use of more abstract or exaggerated shapes is a good start along with more interesting compositions and posing. And just drawing/creating/experimenting more can only help.

Oh and my business mentor thinks that by the next time we meet in a month or so I should be ready to start thinking about really moving forwards with my plans. We'll see how that goes..I still need to wrap my head around/get time for some questions/market research stuff. 

Anyway, back to the original point of this entry; the review.

001 - Dracula - 3/5
Dracula's appearance is relatively true to the source material and overall red hue conjures up a suitable atmosphere. Perhaps making Dracula so goofy wasn't that great an idea in the end..or if I were going to go down that route then I should have really followed it through in the rest of the image. It's hard to be too negative on the flat perspective because that flat, almost pop up picture book feel is kinda one of my things. Suffice to say this could use some more playing with at any rate.
002 - Treasure Island - 3/5
The main problem with this one is that it is a little difficult to tell what is going on..and more so that it doesn't really have the impact such a visceral scene requires. The decent colour scheme, fun layout and overall consistency make me rate this slightly higher than I probably should.
003 - And Then There Were None - 2/5
I think that this one is possibly a piece that you either love or hate. I was being very experimental with the entire thing and just went nuts with digital splashes and shapes. I still think the aim of the piece was solid but overall it remains too unfocused and unsatisfying to look at. 
004 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 3/5
I like the art of Harry..and I like the art of the dragon. I also like the simple background even. The problem here though is that's all there is to the piece..it needs a bit more to really excel. Good practice though and really boosted my confidence at the time.
005 - LotR The Return of the King - 4/5
I do like this one quite a bit but I could easily see other people disagreeing with me on that. It's not really true to my style..but it is a nice image and has some atmosphere to it. Competent line work and colouring. Funny thing is, a week or so later I did a sketch of the same piece and it looked so much better..so I know for a fact that this could have been a better piece if I'd just taken the time to really push it.
006 - Masque of the Red Death - 3/5
Putting aside the fact that the cartoon-ish look doesn't really fit the source material I think this is a good piece of artwork. I like the swirling, vortex like shape to the hands as they spiral towards the masked man at the centre..though this could have been emphasised more too. The clock in the background lets it down along with some empty spaces that really, for this piece, needed filling. 
007 - Macbeth - 4/5
Possibly my favourite of the project, though I'm thinking more and more that the distinctive colours on the witches were a mistake. Just a fun, competent piece that fulfils its aims. The unique shapes/designs of the witches work well for me.
008 - Inkheart - 2/5
I quite liked the line work of this one at the time but the finished piece if really a bit of a mess. Add to that the fact that almost none of the characters look how I wanted them to and we're left with not that much at all.
009 - George's Marvellous Medicine - 4/5
This felt the most like 'me' of the whole thing and it certainly ranks up there next to image 7. Not much to say on this one.
010 - Life of Pi -3/5
This is kinda the same as image 3 in some ways..something of an experiment. It comes across as more of a success than the other image though and I was tempted to rate it higher but overall I think 3/5 seems fair.
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