David Luong has been working in the visual effects industry professionally since 2005. He is currently a Senior Cinematic Artist II at Blizzard Entertainment, doing lighting, compositing, and digital matte painting for Blizzard’s cinematics on games such as Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch.
He has previously worked on films such as Night at the Museum, Superman Returns, and Underworld Evolution at Rhythm & Hues, Luma Pictures, and Disney Toon Studios.
David also teaches for CG Master Academy and has his own art gallery, Photonic Playground.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/davidluong
In this episode, David discusses:
-How he began his creative journey by teaching himself Photoshop.
-A summary of his creative jobs at Disney Toon Studios, Luma Pictures, and Rhythm & Hues.
-What it feels like to be at the “pinnacle” in working for Blizzard Entertainment, one of his dream jobs.
-The feeling of being in “two worlds” in the cinematic department of the games he is a part of.
-ILM’s work on Jurassic Park and how their visual effects still hold up to this day.
-The experience of viewing other cinematics with a critical eye, and even his own past work.
-How he finds motivation to work on his own personal work away from Blizzard.
-His newest potential distraction from his personal work: Breath of the Wild.
-How and why he and his husband started their art gallery, Photonic Playground.
-The self-doubt that he experienced before putting up his own artwork in the gallery for the first show.
-The experience of seeing your own artwork hanging up in the physical world when you are so used to seeing it on a computer screen.
-His experience working on promotional posters and materials for Blizzard, including on the side of a 747 for Korean Air.
-His advice to new artists just starting out – to use the internet to its full potential.
-Details about his course on CGMA and his upcoming talk at IFCC in Croatia.
David's Final Push will encourage you to embrace the things that inspire you, no matter what kind of discouragement you get from the people around you.
Quotes:
“I think slowly tinkering away at it -- just a couple hours here and there -- is the way to do it.”
“I think it’s a lost opportunity to not have more digital artists out there being represented in a physical space.
“That feeling that you get as an artist seeing your digital work in the physical realm is very transforming.”
Links mentioned:
StarCraft II Korean Airplane Unveiled
Mike Azevedo on Your Creative Push
Connect with David:
Website / Vimeo / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Gallery
On the next episode:
Audra Auclair : Website / Instagram / YouTube
How have you/will you bring your art into a different realm? Join that discussion at the Facebook group!
Martha Beck is an American sociologist, life coach, best-selling author, and speaker who specializes in helping individuals and groups achieve personal and professional goals.
Her books include Expecting Adam, Leaving the Saints, Finding Your own North Star, The Joy Diet, and her newest book, Diana, Herself: An Allegory of Awakening. She has also been a columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine since its inception in 2001.
Her newest project is a revolutionary writing workshop called Write into Light.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/marthabeck
In this episode, Martha discusses:
-The birth of her son and her decision to pursue joy no matter what the circumstances and no matter what anyone else thought.
-The comparison between a destructive tsunami destroying long-standing buildings and structures and a surfer taking the ride of his life.
-The frightening, but profound decision that people can make to take risks by following their joy.
-The “Man Cage” and how men are heavily socially pressured to do what worked before.
-The importance of finding balance through joy.
-How difficult it can be to let go of the “factory mindset” of society and to trust that magic will guide you.
-Making sure to rest your body, otherwise you will lose touch with it.
-Why she started Write into Light.
-The responsibility that artists have to change culture when the culture they are living in is unsatisfactory.
-The idea of using writing to heal yourself, and then to spread that healing power to the rest of the world.
-Her newest book,
-How she spent all of her money on a ranch in California and became immersed in nature.
-To prepare yourself for criticism from the people around you when you go against culture, and to try to surround yourself with supportive people who understand where you are coming from and what you are trying to tap into.
Martha's Final Push will inspire you to ask yourself (without judgment) what you were meant to do with your life and then find a way to do that thing.
Quotes:
“It unfolded because I was on this hell-bent path of pursuing joy.”
“There is a magic in the world, and I found that when my son was born.”
“If you can align yourself with what wants to happen, things will be done through you that you cannot do yourself.”
“It’s freaking scary. What we are basing our cultural models on is a factory that never stops working. To let that go and say that I’m going to trust that magic will do things through me if I just relax…. Phew, that is not for the faint of heart.”
“Culture doesn’t actually come from laws. Laws may reflect culture but they rarely create culture. What creates healing in cultures is new idioms, new language, new ways to talk about what’s happening to us, new perceptions, new insights, and new ideas. And those come from creativity.”
“It’s not easy because we have to go beyond culture because our culture is screwing us up big time. It’s not a recipe for happiness.”
“Ask yourself two questions: How do I want to be different because I lived on this Earth, and how do I want the Earth to be different because I’ve lived on it?”
“Your people are here. We may be in virtual space but we are all around you and we all feel it. There is something moving and changing in the world and you are meant to be part of it. So jump.”
Links mentioned:
Diana, Herself: An Allegory of Awakening (Bewilderment Chronicles) by Martha Beck
Martha’s Ted Talk: "The Four Technologies of Magic"
Connect with Martha:
Website / Facebook / Vimeo / Twitter / Books
On the next episode:
David Luong : Website / Instagram / Vimeo
Join our community on our Facebook group!
Aunia Kahn is figurative artist, photographer, creative entrepreneur and inspirational speaker. She has created a hybrid art form combining many disciplines. She designs, builds, and executes characters, non-existent places, dreams, illusions, fears and fables into creations, melding elements of classical and contemporary art.
Aunia also runs/hosts the Create & Inspire Blog & Podcast where she helps and inspires creatives to follow their dreams!
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/auniakahnreplay
In this episode, Aunia discusses:
-How and why she started the "Create and Inspire" blog and podcast.
-How John Lee Dumas of "Entrepreneur on Fire" inspired her to start a podcast (just like Youngman Brown with "Your Creative Push").
-How most artists don't realize that their art can be a business and many of the mistakes they make when trying to sell their work.
-Her first creative moments with a Kodak Fisher Price camera as a child.
-How even though we are the most photographed era in time, we are going to be left with no actual photos.
-Her journey through various forms of art, and how she wanted to be a painter, and a surgeon, and a veterinarian, amongst many other things.
-How health issues inhibited her from being able to sing, and how that led to her beginnings as an artist.
-How art was therapeutic to her and gave her the feeling of having a purpose.
-The story of what made her start to share her work and the unlikely person who encouraged her to do so.
-Her advice for people who might be afraid to share their work because they are embarrassed or shy about the content or subject matter that they create.
-The importance of just messing around and experimenting, not worrying if it is good or bad, and just learning from it.
-How you shouldn't base your progress on the amount of Facebook likes that you get.
-The value in aiming to affect one person as opposed to appealing to a broad audience.
-Details about her gallery
Aunia's Final Push will inspire you to keep getting up and never giving up.
Quotes:
"Music is where I cultivated a spiritual and artistic vibe within myself."
"The art itself was never supposed to be shown to anybody. It was, "I am suffering so tremendously that if I don't do something, I don't know how much longer I am going to be here."
"When you are sick and you are bedridden and you can't leave your house, you feel like you don't have a purpose."
"For some reason, I felt like the camera was a sketchbook for me."
"Everything feeds itself. It is like a self-generating greenhouse of creativity."
"I went to the show and I actually saw a woman cry in front of my work. After that, I had to go home and think about this."
"Maybe this is how I'm supposed to help people, by using my own creativity to help myself and indirectly helping someone else without getting too close."
"You don't need to make this for anybody but yourself."
"For one person who tells you that they like what you're doing or appreciates you, there's a dozen more that are maybe too shy to say anything."
"We can literally do anything that we put our minds to. Our minds are amazing. They are so strong and vast."
"Life is too damn short not to go for everything you've ever wanted, even if it seems ridiculous."
"If you can see what you want to do and it seems like you could reach that, you're not reaching far enough. If you want to do something and its ridiculous and crazy and amazing and "I can't believe I could ever do that," then you need to go for that."
Links mentioned:
The Artist's Way Workbook by Julia Cameron
The Best Motivational Video Speeches Compilation - Youtube
Jim Carrey's Secret of Life - Youtube
Connect with Aunia:
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Create & Inspire / Alexi Era Gallery
On the next episode:
Martha Beck : Website / Write into Light
Share what you've been creating this week on the Facebook group!
E.W. Harris and Jo Kruger have come together to form a new ensemble, Caves & Clouds, a collaborative outgrowth of the Big City Folk collective in New York City. They are currently raising stake funds with Indiegogo for their debut record, The Winter of Our Discontent and the follow-up touring schedule.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/cavesandclouds
In this episode, E.W. & Jo discuss:
-Jo’s story growing up as a musician and how she got connected with the Big City Folk collective.
-E.W.’s experience moving to New York, living in Central Park, and meeting new people like Niall Connolly, the founder of the Big City Folk collective.
-How each of them has been trying to work with the other for a long time and how excited they are to finally get a collaboration going.
-The importance of collaboration in an uncertain political climate and artists’ responsibility to bring something new or positive to the table.
-The inciting incident that sparked them to finally collaborate.
-Some of the pitfalls and stereotypes of the acoustic singer/songwriter.
-Some of the reservations that came before launching their Indiegogo campaign.
-How backers of a project feel as if they are a part of the project as it is created.
-Dealing with the inner critic, especially when the creative process starts to flow so naturally.
-Taking your life-long battle with Resistance one day at a time.
-Dealing with hyper-focus on certain things to the extent that other important things lose all of your focus.
E.W. & Jo's Final Push will inspire you to just do it, in all aspects of your life, to embrace and welcome failure as a part of life, and to trust the people inside of you and out who believe in you.
Quotes from Jo:
“I’ve been running around the scene here, admiring E.W.’s projects for a long time, and there are very few people who are hailed with as much respect in that songwriting scene.”
“It made it a really optimistic endeavor in a pretty nihilistic time.”
“We are not a team to be sneezed at when it comes to the kitchen.”
“It’s almost like antibiotic resistance. When you start to find ways to evolve around that silly voice, that silly voice finds a way to evolve too. It finds new dick moves to get in your way. And for me it comes when I try to do something new, because it can put a new face on old doubts.”
“Do what you can do to get past it for the day. It’s just a matter of one day at a time. It’s almost twelve-steppy in its zen-ness.”
“There are so many ways you can do the thing. There are so many ways that you can second guess yourself. There are so many ways you can push yourself through. Do one of them.”
Quotes from E.W:
“I feel like the only thing within my power to do is to cooperate with people. To try to participate in ideas rather than just do my thing.”
“You’re throwing us a Hail Mary, it’s the least we could do to catch it.”
“I wouldn’t find any value in this thing that I was doing if I was living in a cave on my own.”
“Coming out of your own fantasy and trying to find that Venn diagram where it meets everyone else’s fantasies. Reality is that sliver in-between.”
“Some of my harshest critics have been some of my greatest teachers.”
Links mentioned:
Caves & Clouds: The Winter of Our Discontent Indiegogo
Connect with Caves & Clouds:
Bandcamp / Indiegogo / Facebook
What horror movie (or awkward comedy movie) or character do you liken your Resistance to? Is it Michael Myers relentlessly coming to get you, even after you’ve chopped his head off? Is it like having an awkward weekend with your father in law? Join that discussion at the Facebook group!
Brian Abbott is a Boston-based writer who has found his stronghold in the world of social media under the moniker of High Poets Society. His poetry is most recognized for its mesmerizing rhyme scheme and clever wordplay.
Brian has recently published his first book, titled “High Poets Society.”
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/brianabbott
In this episode, Brian discusses:
-His history of writing and how he used to hide it from the world, only showing it to his girlfriends.
-Using the identity of High Poets Society as a way to give him the courage to post and show a different side of himself that most people in the “real world” don’t get to see.
-How your own perceived prediction of what people are going to think about you and your creative passion is always much worse than their actual reaction.
-How the validation from the masses helps him to gain the confidence to talk about his poetry and to share it.
-The initial experience of amassing a large following on Instagram.
-How the number of followers you have has nothing to do with the talent that you have.
-The importance of writing ideas down the moment you get them.
-His method for organizing his ideas in Evernote.
-His mantra, “ambiguity and continuity,” and how he embraces the fact that his writing will take on a new meaning to every person that reads it.
-His admiration for Charles Bukowski’s advice: “Don’t try.”
-How he pushes through his laziness when he has things he needs to get done.
-The importance of deadlines, even if they are self-imposed.
-The experience of seeing his poems on Instagram in comparison to seeing them in the book.
-The story of how he quit his job on a whim.
-How not everything will be a success, as evidenced by his failed food blog.
-His advice for gaining followers on Instagram: use 30 hashtags, be consistent, take advantage of demographics, and make friends in the community and reach out to other people.
Brian's Final Push will remind you, "Don't try."
Quotes:
“For a long time in those thirteen years, I hid my craft away. I didn’t really show people or try to publish it anywhere.”
“It’s tough to open up.”
“I think the validation from the masses helps me get the confidence to talk about it and share it.”
“The numbers have nothing to do with the actual talent.”
“Thoughts would come into my head and I would lose them. Those are poems and thoughts that are gone forever.”
“When I’m writing, I like to tell myself ambiguity and continuity. Those are the two matras I yell to myself in my head while I’m writing.”
“Love is universal. It doesn’t have any constraints or rules to it. You love who you love.”
“I can’t control what I write, but I can control what I post.”
“Those deadlines light a fire under my ass and says Okay, make a decision. Stop messing around a pull the trigger.”
“It’s definitely a choice. And especially in this world where money and your status in society means a lot, it’s tough to give up what you worked for and live that starving artist life.”
“If you told me three years ago that a couple million people a week are going to read my poems I’d curl up in a ball and die.”
Links mentioned:
youusedtobemuchmoremuchier on Instagram
Connect with Brian:
Website / Facebook / Instagram
On the next episode:
Caves and Clouds : Website
Thomas is a visual artist and photographer based out of Atlanta, Georgia who has developed a style that he calls "painterly photo montage" - a method he employs in editing software in which he crafts elaborately textured pieces that have a very organic, non-digital look to them. Although his artwork resembles paintings, his pieces are entirely photographic in nature, fusing many images into a cohesive whole.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/thomasdoddreturns
In this episode, Thomas discusses:
-Why he started doing animated photos.
-His recent year-long creative block and what caused it.
-How he got out of his creative block by trying something completely new and unexpected.
-The danger that many successful artists encounter in which they become a “one-trick pony.”
-How to know when it is actually time to move on to something else as opposed to self-doubt.
-The importance of choosing to fill your time with positive messages rather than getting involved in negative, time-consuming arguments on social media.
-His decision to make the relationships between people the theme of his new work.
-The inspiration that you can get by going back to your previous work and realizing what stones you haven’t unturned yet.
-Some insights behind The Inquisitor.
-The lessons that he has learned from working with people with disabilities.
-The profound joy that comes when you can get into a flow state and how to put yourself in the best position to achieve it.
-Addictive personalities and how that relates to a creative endeavor.
-The idea of writing an addendum or an explanation to a piece.
-Facebook and the differences between his personal page and his professional page.
-The importance of bringing your fan base with you off of social media sites.
-The power and deeper value that can be gained by artists when they begin to concentrate on concepts and philosophies.
-How Joseph Campbell was a consultant to George Lucas for the original Star Wars trilogy.
-Understanding critics, trolls, and people who just want to see the world burn.
-Snarky criticism he once received that had merit.
-How to find the positivity in negative people or negative comments.
Thomas's Final Push will inspire you to ENJOY your creative passion!
Quotes:
“I found that I was stuck. I was looking at my work and being hyper-critical of it and not feeling like I could continue in that direction. Like I needed to blow it up and try something new.”
“You have much more power as an artist than the average person does because images transcend words. They transcend propaganda.”
“We’re more than our physical condition. We’re more than our body. We are our spirit. We are what we create.”
“I don’t know where it all comes from, but I know there is something magical about the creative process. There is something really deep about it.”
“As long as you’re still alive, there’s always a way of getting your message out there. Of getting who you are out there and creating, touching people’s lives, and making a difference in the world.”
“Being addicted to creating art is a very healthy addiction.”
“You should use everything. You should use all your talents.”
“Concepts. Ideas. These are most important things for artists.”
“Our role as artists is very important. We can really reach people and show them that this is something we all share. This is what it means to be human. This is what it means to be alive and to be on this planet. To make the world a better place, just one creation at a time.”
“Sometimes a snarky comment directed at your work might actually be something that you can learn from.”
“The most important thing that you should do as an artist is enjoy what you do. Every step of the journey. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing. Don’t do things for money. Do them because you love them, and then the money will come.”
Links mentioned:
Jordan Peterson - Reconciling Science and Religion [Youtube]
The Duncan Trussel Family Hour Podcast with Dr. Raymond Moody
Beautiful Dust Specks by Alex Hofeldt
Connect with Thomas:
Website / Facebook / Personal Facebook / Workshops
On the next episode:
Marty is the creator of the blog Spaghetti Toes, which has been featured on sites such as the Huffington Post, The Today Show, Buzzfeed, and the Daily Mail. His first book, I Love You with All My Butt: An Illustrated Book of Big Thoughts from Little Kids comes out on April 4th, 2017.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/martybruckner
In this episode, Marty discusses:
-The very moment that sparked the idea for Spaghetti Toes.
-His feature in Pleated Jeans and how that helped to spark his journey.
-The importance of the name, Spaghetti Toes.
-The actual process of creating an image once a quote has been uttered into existence.
-The story of when he tried to push Harper into saying something profound for International Women’s Day.
-The process of creating the book I Love You With All my Butt and working with Workman Publishing.
-His advice to walk away from a project when you are experiencing a creative block.
-Some of his other strategies for overcoming creative blocks.
-The creative help that he is able to find from his wife and daughter.
-Dealing with not seeing his family while thing were taking off with Spaghetti Toes.
-His advice for deciding to stick with a current project or to abandon it.
-How he balances his time with all of the various projects he has going on.
-The importance of realizing how good you have it.
Marty's Final Push will inspire you to start something, because you never know where it will take you!
Quotes:
“I’ve been so lucky my whole life that I create and do artwork all day every day.”
“I thought, I have to do something to make this work.”
“I think perspective is so important.”
Links mentioned:
I Love You With All My Butt by Martin Bruckner
Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein
Harp and Squirrel Designs on Etsy
Connect with Marty:
Head to the Facebook group to share what you've been working on this week!
Jon deMartin is among the leading figurative artists working today and has taught life drawing and painting for more than twenty years at the most prestigious academies and ateliers in the country. His work has been reproduced in many publications, and he has exhibited at Hirschl & Adler Galleries, the John Pence gallery, and the Beijing World Art museum, just to name a few.
In his book Drawing Atelier – The Figure: How to Draw in a Classical Style, Jon does just that by sharing techniques and approaches for drawing the human form.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/jondemartin
In this episode, Jon discusses:
-His artistic history, which included a mixture of graphic design, fine art, and baseball.
-How he began to create a path for himself to be a fine artist while he was a graphic artist.
-Why fine art was so attractive to him and why he always kept that passion throughout his life.
-Some of the initial Resistances that he faced when starting his figurative drawing.
-How teaching was the thing that helped him to transition from a graphic artist into a fine artist in terms of making money.
-His advice to not have any expectations of the amount of time it will take you to achieve your grand goal, but to be patient and stick with it.
-How he balances his time, especially when his own work can’t happen fast enough.
-Keeping journals as he creates his work to help him determine what works and what doesn’t work.
-The importance of analysis in a creative endeavor.
-How he tries to teach his students the importance of conceptualization before the technical aspects of a project.
-The idea of becoming closer to the master that you have been striving to become.
-The importance of not deleting or erasing your old work, so that you can have something to compare yourself to in the future.
-How he started writing his book, Drawing Atelier – The Figure: How to Draw in a Classical Style.
Jon's Final Push will inspire you to keep your dream alive, no matter what is going on around you!
Quotes:
“At some point the interest of drawing reawakened in me.”
“I always had that dream of being a fine artist and I think that’s why I was always doing it on my own. It’s important to keep that dream alive.”
“If you really feel that passionate about something, I think it will happen. Whether or not it will be a full-time career, who knows?”
“Don’t have any expectations of time or deadlines, just keep doing what you like to do and it will happen.”
Links mentioned:
Drawing Atelier - The Figure: How to Draw in a Classical Style
Connect with Jon:
On the next episode:
Martin Bruckner : Website / Facebook