As an artist, it seems like the landscape is ever-changing from simply the tools, to the aesthetic. I intend to be an artist that never wants to stop learning, and as such, I find more and more interesting artists every day. Each artist has a unique insight and point of view, no matter the experience level. New views help open my mind and teach me there are many ways to utilize my skills and I hope that sharing our stories will help others in the same way. I believe there are many paths on an artistic journey, and each interview will help to show the stories of the artists that tread them.

Today we'll be interviewing Zuzana "Zue" Ferková.

Kaminski: My first question is typically the same: What got you into doing art in the first place and what KEEPS you doing art?

Zue: I actually got and stayed in the arts mostly because of the people around me. The first piece that I "made" was short lyrics when I was five year old that my cousin had to write down for me because I couldn't back then. I got into writing because I always kept coming up with alien words that helped me understand what was going on around me, but I was never any good with drawings and this was the only way I could express them. I ceased doing any kind of art several times over the years because of lack of time and commitment to other things, but I always came back.

Right before I started college I decided to commit to game development and bought myself a copy of Dragon Age: Origins with intention to create mod content for it. That was the first time I ever got to combine things that I loved to do, e.g. playing games and writing. There's still a challenge and certain pressure with every new game project or task I get to do and it really helps my drive knowing I get to improve this way.

After earning my bachelor and masters in computer graphics, I got myself into coding visual effects, discovering it's something that allows me to use a wide range of knowledge combining coding, art and science (maths and physics). It was bit like a dream coming true!

Kaminski: Too cool! I've never actually thought about art in that way - blending multiple disciplines together. You're the first person outside of the typical realm of 2D art that I've had the pleasure of interviewing! It might sound like I'm hitting the nail on the head here, but what exactly does a 'shaders' person do? What's a typical day in the life of your job? 

Zue: I'm actually a hobbyist in both writing and shader coding, as I'm still studying at university at the moment. I work as teacher's assistant at the university and this is a relatively common question.


Simply put, shaders are just pieces of code that run on graphics cards (GPUs). It's funny to think people are not very familiar with them even if they can be found pretty much anywhere. They are used in different industries, but I get to meet with them most commonly in games. If you ever created a 3D model or 2D sprite and put it into a game engine, shaders would be something that would tell the engine how the light should reflect from your model, or how the 2D sprite should be rendered. Some shaders try to mimic the way physics behave in real world and give you the most realistic looking scenes. Others, that I focused on the most as of now, create stylized graphics, such as Toon shading, Oil Painting effects, or help to enhance the experience from games - motion blurs, depth of fields, film grain, etc.

Kaminski: It's really interesting, because at one point, I was considering doing game design myself, and I had this grand idea of making basically a living painting. I always thought that it was down to the way that the animators rendered the characters and things, come to found out that - while not simple by any means - it was shader coders that dealt with this! Amazing! So then, I have to ask, what's it like working in the game industry in this way? Did you have any sort of requirements to get your position doing this?

...[shaders are] a bit like trying to explain art with math. 

Zue: Where I live there's a relative large number of really good game development studios that are looking for all different kinds of people. I started to keep a blog with tutorials that would show the shaders I created and shared it in a local gamedev group. To my surprise it got quite a feedback and I discovered there is a relatively small number of people around who do things like these. The nature of the position makes it quite interesting, in my opinion, because, especially with non-photorealistic effects, you are trying to somewhat quantify and automatize what art is and write a piece of code that would be able to create this effect. So it's a bit like trying to explain art with math. Yet once you start it's still inherently a technical discipline, where you spend two weeks looking for a bug, to find out you are missing a semicolon at the end of a line. The usage of shaders in real-time rendering also requires the math to be as fast as possible. There is a strong demand to always learn new things and to improve.

Kaminski: Oh wow! We're kind of remote from the industry where I live, so it's good to know that perhaps gamedev groups might be a way to go.

On a completely different note: I love that you're so multi-faceted as well. Some artists forget that all creative endeavors should be included. What brought you into the realm of creative writing? What kinds of writing do you prefer to do?

Zue: That is a tough one. I remember lot of cool little things we were doing with my friends that really showed me how amazing writing can be. It started small, just writing down random adjectives and changing every adjective in a story (poor Cinderella's story got all sorts of weird), even if it doesn't seem like much, it made me feel like I made the story mine a little bit.

In high school we started making a Harry Potter parody based off a first book just by pretty much turning it into a play. This was all fun, but I think what really got me going and where I started to improve as a writer when I got Dragon Age: Origins, even if this had little to do with the game itself. This is where I first decided to write in English and it was one of the best decisions I made in my life as of now.

Personally I love to write fiction, mainly fantasy, or technological fantasy (if not necessarily sci-fi). I've been trying to find a path for myself for a long time and I think I'm finally attaining it! I had the fortune of growing up with both fantasy stories from English speaking countries, but also stories from Central and Eastern Europe. Even if it took me a while, I eventually understood that what I love to write are the stories that are rooted in my historical and cultural heritage, but are still heavily influenced with events all around the world, but put in settings that allow for my own rules. 

Kaminski: The other writer of this blog, Ashley, is also a writer - it might be great for you two to maybe talk some to get some feedback on each other's work. With the ability to creative write as well, do you find that one ever wins out over the other? For example, do you find that you're drawn to writing over drawing / painting? What's your preference? And why?

Zue: I take both shader coding and creative writing as a hobby and whichever I go for is influenced by many factors. I am currently doing PhD in Computer Science, so as one would say I make living with my brain! So it's just amazing that I get to do something that releases my creativity when I get back home. I enjoy shader coding, but often it's issue driven for me, meaning that I create shaders if there's a challenge posed. For example, if I'm helping out with a game project and there's a requirement for a shader, it's very likely going to win out because I hate unresolved things (looking at you people telling me "I tried creating this but it didn't work").

Creative writing is more about creating a routine. 

Creative writing is more about creating a routine. When I write a story I try to sit down every night and write at least a little bit, whether I feel it's good or bad. Eventually it's very easy to get discouraged by your own process if you look at it and feel it's horrible, even when you spent days or months on it. This happened to me a lot and I always got frustrated feeling I should be better than I am. Thankfully I managed to grow up a little and realized, with a lot of help from my friends, that you have to finish things first if you want to fix them!

Kaminski: That mentality of having the ability to take feedback and apply it was something that most creatives have to learn over time. I'm sure it wasn't a small task for you, but it's nice to see that you seemed to have learned it relatively quickly.

Switching gears: Do you have any projects that you're currently working on that you'd like to promote? I'd love to hear about a current work in progress or completed project that you recently worked on!

Zue: Absolutely! I always like to share. Since this is an art channel I can't help but mention the first game I ever created, where I made everything from the story, to art, and even the coding. It's a small story about a guy who tried to be a rebel and managed to erase all colors from an imaginary world, save for red. The game itself takes you through four game screens and tells you of efforts of Mr. Painty (link is below, if you'd like to try the game out) who attempts to fix his errors. I was told it contains a very unique sense of humor!

The first one is a Cyberpunk ARPG Deicides by indie team Hardwired with a lot of very talented and experienced developers involved in the project. The game will have a unique way to modify and develop your characters that should make for a lot of interesting gameplay. I'm actually really excited about the project and encourage everyone who is into the ARPG genre and cyberpunk to pop into the discord server and join the conversation.

The second project that I'm currently working on is a novel of my own, thanks to the NaNoWriMo challenge, the first draft is currently nearing its completion. The story itself takes you into an imaginary world that was ravaged by a war between humankind and slogs - massive and strong, if brainless, beasts - that seem to be set on wiping out everything that stands in their way. It follows stories of three main protagonists both inside the city heavily protected and secluded from the outer world, where people willingly trade their freedom for comfort, and outside of the city where morality civility are second to survival, as they try to own up to their previous decisions and mistakes, and reclaim their lives. The story brings up several issues ranging from environmental problems, adjusting to conformity, even issues between morality and progress! There is a heavy focus on creating a morally grey world as well as characters. Where personal experiences and small acts of courage that will never end up recognized can still influence the fate of the world.

Kaminski: My god! You're busy! I can share this sentiment 100%. And I have to say, you're kind of entering into my dream territory of working on a cyberpunk IP. Speaking of, what's a dream job or IP for you? If you could work on any project, past or present, what would you work on and why?

Zue: Dream job? I'm still trying to figure that out, to be honest. But when it comes to IPs I'd love to work on, whether it'd be a game, or a movie, I'd have to say the Witcher, obviously. I've been a big fan of the world since my teenage years and it'd be great to help contribute to building the universe. Some of the less obvious ones would be the Nightwatch series by Sergei Lukanenko that may not be as famous in western countries, or being a part of a Star Wars game that doesn't revolve around being a Jedi or a Sith (I always root for underdogs).

Kaminski: You have such good taste!
The last two questions are typically the same: what goals do you have set for yourself in the immediate? What about long term?

Zue: I don't think I have any long term goals in general, I'm a bit impulsive and I tend to decide when the opportunity arises. For right now I want to finish my PhD and see where to life leads me. Being a part of game development community has always been a rewarding experience for me, so this seems like a very likely course of action. In the short term, I want to finish my novel that I'm very excited about and finally get a bigger game project under my belt, although I guess the latter is really a long term plan.

Kaminski: And the final question... what's the best piece of advice you can give to fellow creatives OR what's the best piece of advice you've received thus far?

Zue: Pheeew, which one to pick? I've been given so many good pieces of advice over the years. I think one of the most important lessons when it comes to anything in life that I managed to understand is that everything is a process. Even if you hear all the good pieces of advice in the world it doesn't mean you will instantly become a great artist. For me, the opposite was actually true, I had lot of people trying to help me and I tried to listen, but the lessons never quite settled in until I managed to fail on my own. So my advice would be, don't to be afraid or discouraged to fail, as it actually helps you grow as an artist. But learn to fail fast!

Kaminski: That's some pretty sound advice!
Well, you've definitely given me some awesome insight into what it takes to be a part of 

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Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed this interview with Zuzana "Zue" Ferková.

If you did, please give it a SHARE via Facebook or Twitter, below.

You can view this interview, and many more, HERE.

You can find view more of Zue's work at:

https://www.deviantart.com/ponozsticka/
You can play Mr. Painty for free here:
 https://gamejolt.com/games/paintaria/17652
Also, the indie game studio, Hard Wired, has a link to the game here:
http://deicides.com/

If you would like to be a part of my interview series, simply fill out the contact form HERE and I'll get back with you as soon as possible!

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THANKS FOR READING, AND UNTIL NEXT TIME!

Every once in awhile, I'll be roaming the digiscape, and a ludicrously good tid-bit of advice will show up. An artist that I'd only just met on Twitter managed to give some of the best advice I'd seen in some time to artists, newbies especially. I thought this was worth a good share, because I couldn't have said it any better myself...

@Twitsareangry on Twitter

That is not a good investment. You can try to justify it by hoping that in that single year, you'll make some really big sales, but that's about as likely as winning the lottery - it can happen, but the reality is, it probably won't. We do what we do because we love it, but that is not a reason to endure abuse or scorn from other parts of society. Art is a skilled trade that takes a long time to learn, and often requires expensive equipment and personal risk. 

So how do we get the respect that warrants?


1. Stop undercharging for your work. 

It may be fine to get $5 for an avatar when you're 15, but what do you expect to do when you're 30 and paying a mortgage? There's a very big distinction between pricing your work accordingly, and knowing what your audience demand is. Here's an article from muddy colors that might help to sum up this issue in a much more concise way: http://www.muddycolors.com/2015/09/pricing/

2. Don't unfollow people. 

It takes a little time for people to get around to following back, stop being spastic about it. Instead, take some time to maybe get to know them. Ask them questions, INTERACT. I think that quite a few people forget that the point of social media is to be, well, social.
Now, this is not to say that you need to maintain your social outreach in the exact same way all of the time - like I can find unfollowing okay if they are either being offensive to you personally OR not interacting in any way for quite an extended amount of time.

3. Take your gender out of your bio. 

Frankly, you just have better uses for that space. Put a link to another account or something in there instead. Some social medias require this space to be used, but I have to agree that I find it a bit useless. I don't see what the difference is, ultimately. 

4. Never go full hippie. 

Sorry, it's gotta be said - don't swap wives or join communes. Treat other artists like coworkers. This one is a bit difficult to get over for some people, keeping things professional, but I highly suggest that you treat every interaction as though this is someone that you could potentially work for. That's not to say that you can't be goofy, or have fun about things, but try to maintain some semblance of professionalism, especially if the situation warrants you to be.


5. When you have a bad day, get it out, but then get over it. 

My own little sister is also a painter, and she's not bad, but she's so constantly negative, I can barely stand spending time with her - and that's not a great way to convince people to support you.

6. Organize yourselves. 

Don't stand alone - find the people near you who are like-minded, and work with them. If you're a musician, you need album covers, posters, bartenders, bouncers, roadies, etc. If you're a painter, why not serve food and hire a quartet for a show? If you're an illustrator, join a creative group. There are TONS of them. No matter what you join up with, inspiration will ooze from your co-members if it's an active group. Check Facebook, check twitter, check blogs, really check wherever you regular to see if there are any available.
If you want to go the physical route, I suggest - especially as a creative - to search out locally what kinds of groups there happen to be local to you. As a painter, you might benefit from doing plein air groups. As an illustrator, you might have a local comics guild to try your hand at that type of creative outlet. The point is to just start trying to join up with fellow, like-minded folks and constantly push each other!


7. Ask. Just ask. 

Stop being so scared of your own shadow, and tell people what you need. Not everyone will like that - that's fine, those people will go away. This isn't even an art thing - it's true everywhere. No one ever asks for things, they just assume and give up.

I've never been ashamed to ask anyone about anything myself, even to the point of getting myself in trouble because I have no filter. But that's simply to say, if you're uncertain... ask! Typically if someone is receptive enough to respond to your question, if they don't know, chances are someone they might know has the answer to your question. This is what I believe the true meaning of social media is - people helping each other figure out things that they might not know.

8. Keep personal beef personal. 

You're not going to get along with everyone, that's impossible- but you can decide not to scream about how awful they are from every rooftop. I haven't seen it in visual arts yet, but look at the dumpster fire that is YouTube, if needed.

9. Stop trying to be someone else. 

I get it, I really, really do - you see something you like, and you want to emulate it - and that's a good way to learn. And I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem likely that every artist dreams of someday working in an anime mill. The main point here is that everyone is simply an emulation or combination of things that came previous. Take even what we assume to be the great masters, they are emulating even older artists. Everything in the art world APPEARS to be cyclical, so I'd suggest find things that you enjoy, subject matter that really speaks to you, hell, even find artists that are similar to what you are trying to achieve, and simply learn everything you can from them until you have your own voice.


10. Finish your work. 

The longer you look at an unfinished work, the more you grow to dislike it. Don't let that happen - my best work is finished in one sitting, because my mind doesn't have time to second-guess it. If you finish something and it sucks, just move on.

While I can't agree with the part about finishing a project in one sitting, because mine tend to take multiple sittings over weeks-on-end, I can highly recommend that you work on multiple pieces at a time and only work in small spurts on each project. This way it keeps you fresh on each piece.
For example, I think at any given moment I'm working on about three to ten individual pieces. It helps to vary subject matter, vary size, vary composition, etc. That way each piece feels unique in it's own way.

Either way, at the end of the day, whether you like or hate a piece, ultimately, is of small concern. In my experience, the pieces that I've absolutely loved, didn't have much impact on any audience, and the opposite of course held true in different situations. The main thing is - make work, and then finish it to work on more work. Keep moving forward, and don't dwell on what you did in the past.

If nothing else sticks, just remember that with each piece you work on, it'll always be a little bit better than the last.


11. Work with others. 

One person alone has to fight the world, but many hands make light work. Be the person that volunteers, and shows up. One day, you're going to want to retire - give people a reason to come visit you when you're old.

12. Form trade guilds. 

I'm gonna catch hell for that, but especially in the US, it's really the only option we have to ever get decent healthcare or retirement packages.

In the good 'ole U.S.of A. this unfortunately isn't a thing - GOD I WISH IT WAS. But I can commend this ten-fold. Artists need all of the things mentioned too!

13. When someone cries for help, answer. 

Don't make me smack the dumb outta ya - if you're a creative, you know exactly what those times are like. Lend a hand, so that when it's inevitably you later on, others will return the favor.

Much like the statement up above about communication - it's important to lend a hand as often as you can. And this can be something as simple as just telling someone that seems like they're having a bad day, that you believe in them. If absolutely nothing else, find something that they said somewhere via social media, and just comment or share it. That way they know that their words are being appreciated.


14. Stop believing dumb things. 

I don't know how much more plainly I can put it. If someone tells you "Armageddon is upon us!" but it just looks like any other day from your window, it probably isn't. You can't create truth if you live in a delusion.

And who am I to be saying these things? Well, that's easy - I'm the guy that took the time to write something down. If you don't think that's authoritative enough in and of itself, you clearly have not been paying attention. If you disagree, you can do that same thing.

As an artist, it seems like the landscape is ever-changing from simply the tools, to the aesthetic. I intend to be an artist that never wants to stop learning, and as such, I find more and more interesting artists every day. Each artist has a unique insight and point of view, no matter the experience level. New views help open my mind and teach me there are many ways to utilize my skills and I hope that sharing our stories will help others in the same way. I believe there are many paths on an artistic journey, and each interview will help to show the stories of the artists that tread them.

Today we'll be interviewing Jose Alvarez.

I don't want to have something and have people go, "Oh, that's just a copy of 'x', with a different coat of paint."

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Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed this interview with Jose Alvarez.

If you did, please give it a SHARE via Facebook or Twitter, below.

You can view this interview, and many more, HERE.

You can find view more of Jose Alvarez' work at:

http://grieverjoe.com

If you would like to be a part of my interview series, simply fill out the contact form HERE and I'll get back with you as soon as possible!

----------------------------------

THANKS FOR READING, AND UNTIL NEXT TIME!

(This is a continuation of the previous post - A Bit of Advice About: Getting Critique)


(Artwork: Adam Paquette)

Establish Objectives

First and foremost, what is the person getting critiqued trying to learn? I find if you don't really lay down these ground rules from the get-go, the person getting critiqued may or may not get what they want to learn out of the critique. This is not to say that you can't give an all-over or all-inclusive critique about each aspect of a piece or body of work, just that you should establish some goals to your critique. Doing this will help you keep track of your timeline, especially if you have multiple critiques back-to-back or to really help one person get the most out of your advice.

Establishing Objectives can also help narrow your focus and keep you on task just as well. It's easy for a critique, especially midway through, to start to get very conversationalist, or even attack-and-parry. I've been privy to critiques where the entire body of work was needlessly prodded at to simply make the critiquee simply go away. This is the exact opposite effect you want to achieve by the end of it. Couple this with the fact that narrowing the focus up front can help the critique from going unnecessarily long as well. Sometimes a well thought out - but brief - critique is the best approach. Going into it with a clear goal in mind for the person and then sticking only to that criteria, especially if there are multiple critiquers present is extremely effective.

Overall, it's very important to be clear and up front about what kinds of things the person getting the critique wants to gain from you, and for you to approach it as though you have something to learn from them as well.

Leave Opinions at the Door

"Attack" the Work and NOT the Creator

Use the "Flip/Flop" Technique

(Artist: Andrey Surnov)

Remember: Growth is Key

I remember in those days thinking about how long this took, how I could easily work faster in traditional versus digital. I would constantly question what the point of working digitally was and why I wouldn't just jump off that bandwagon and just push pencils and inks - not realizing that these two could be done in tandem. I was pretty naive in those days compared to now.