Dude, I'm so stubborn // Jag e så sjukt envis

Ett foto publicerat av Andrea Femerstrand (@noukah) Aug 8, 2014 at 4:41 PDT

Ooooh check this out. Did you know that you can embed your insta photos? Interesting...

I'm unbelievable. You know that I ranted a bit about my blog design this other day.. My biggest concern was the totally messed up code. It was me who ruined it, since I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm too undisciplined to leave that damn code alone. But because of my stubborness and curiosity, I managed to fix some of it! Now it's more or less the way I want it to behave, I'm just gonna add some minor things and then I'll be happy yaaaay! In other words, I'll do that as soon as I have time again.

I'm supposed to be working right this moment... But I couldn't help myself,  derp derp ;)

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Svenska :)

Wordpress, CTNx and Horses

Wehooo amigos how are you today?

My wekend has been goood.. Been chillin', baking ginger bread(yes, I'm early haha) and tried not to think about that CTNx is happening in Burbank right now. Yeah you know that awesome animation expo, the whole area transforms into this magical artist-village and everyine's there. All the studios, online friends, cool people. Ghah..

Feels like all the cool kids are there. Except me. Usually I go every year, but decided to take a sabbatical this time. Just been out of shape so to speak. But I'll book as soon as the new tickets get released(in early 2015). There's no backing ut then. I'm pumped already!

Other than that, I'm thinking about whether I should migrate this blog to Wordpress. Frankly, I'm sick of this design.. So I'm currently looking into other solutions. Too bad I suck at designing blogs. Oh well, I'll have to do some more thinking on that.

Well, time to prep myself fo ze horsies, for an hour of riding. Still pretty cool that I'm back at Ågesta, my childhood stable :)

Laters!


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Svenska :)

5 tips: The perfect e-mail to a freelancing artist

There are plenty of blog posts and texts out there, that tell you how to write the perfect e-mail to clients. We're shaped and trained to become the perfect creative, to always be available, always be polite and clear.. And so on.

We need to talk.

I'm one of those who recieve tons of work-related e-mails, several ones per week. I'm super grateful and I've landed some really fun and exciting jobs. But some other ones get rather exhausting.

Most e-mails sound something like this:

"Hey, I'm looking for an artist for my project, what are your rates?
Best regards// Unknown"

Yeaaah awesome, good for you! :D :D :D
No, seriously though...

Creatives are not mind readers, and you didn't even introduce yourself. We're not supposed to pull if out of you. Sure, most creatives are very eager to help out, but there has to be some boundaries!

So I've done a list for you CLIENTS out there.This will make both your, and our lives so much easier. Feel free to share or refer to these if you get an e-mail from a client that's not clear enough.

1. Introduce yourself

What's your name? You don't have to talk about your whole background but at least let us know what your title is and the company you belong to/own.

2.  Describe your project in the first e-mail

This would save so much time on both ends. Tell me as much as possible about your project, and think about what's needed. How much work is actually needed?

3. When is the deadline?

This is super important. Most creatives have a rather tight schedule and we need to know whether we can plan your project in. The sooner you know this the better! Time is precious...

4. Do you have a budget?

What's your budget for the project? This is very vital since we can see whether it's doable or not. If it's way too low, then I may be open for discussions. Perhaps getting paid in both money + royalties? Never offer exposure though! Cause really, that's just a trap and creatives are worth way more than that. Period. So, royalties or other perks might work :)

5. Do your research

I call myself.. An illustrator, concept artist or a character designer. My portfolio is stuffed with work that's geared towards those areas. So it feels rather strange if you would ask me to design a new logo, which has less to do with the things I normally do. It's because I suck at logos :D No, but you know what I mean.

So, is this worthy enough, my fellow creative amigos? Should anything be added? What are your thoughts, and does this happen to you a lot as well?

 Sketch of "I love you, bro" Photoshop CS5 + Wacom Cintiq 12WX

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Svenska :)

I wasn't good enough // Jag var inte tillräckligt bra

Many people e-mail me nowadays. People from all over the world. You ask me for tips and advice. You want to hear my story and journey, give me compliments and sometimes even tell me that you're jealous of my "talent"(I don't really like to call it that way, as you may know).

I read everything and try to reply to as many of you as possible. Giving back is something that's important to me.

Also trying to motivate the once who may doubt. Cause you can always get better! I've been at the "bottom" too. I had to work my butt off, but it's been worth it. Actually, I wasn't that good at all in the beginning of my career. I wasn't fast enough, didn't have enough experience. I even managed to irritate some of my colleagues, they probably though that I was only in the way...(I don't blame them) I just smiled, kept apologizing and kept going. I was so damn frustrated on the inside though...


So yeah. I had to struggle a lot too. It wasn't easy at all, and making everything work perfectly from the start is very rare. Even though it may seem easy. Hopefully this are comforting news for some of you :P

Sometimes I still wonder whether the stuff I make is good enough. I often let everyone else decide that for me.

As long as you try your best! Maybe even get irritated and motivated at the same time, wanting to improve and learn new things. Just don't let sircumstances or people bring you down, ever. "No" doesn't mean "never".

Joined Sketch Dailies! The current topic is "Rafiki" ;) Photoshop CS5 + Wacom Cintiq 12WX

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Svenska :)

I'm never satisfied // Jag nöjer mig aldrig..

Unfinished version. Photoshop CS5 + Wacom Intuos4

Yeeaaah mm well, it happened again. I was half-way through another painting that I recorded the process of but... Nope, I didn't feel happy with the design overall. Both the fox and the "Dala- Horse"(It's an iconic figure here in Sweden, here's a link - click!) felt like mjeh..
Clearly, I didn't spend enough time on the design before painting.

So I decided to start over. Heh, typical me.. The one above is the older version. And here's the new version:

New version! Yay! Photoshop CS5 + Wacom Cintiq 12WX

It feels a bit better now. For me at least. So I'll go with this one. Shouldn't be a big deal, I mean I already picked a colorscheme and all. So I'll just have to hit "record" once more and keep going. Trial and error ;)


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Svenska :)

New video is up! // Ny video uppe!

It's done.
I'll leave you with this. What did you think?

Time to get going, I'm off to the stable to ride some horsie. Laters!

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Den är klar.
Jag lämnar den här med er. Vad tycker ni?

Nu ska jag pallra mig iväg till stallet å rida. Laters!


- Andrea

Video editing from hell

 Gosh I miss the way my hair used to look... This is the old me.

This is me right now! Happy puppy with sleepy kitty in the background :D I swear that wacom pen is like a damn pacifier for me.
I've been sitting here all day. I'm supposed to work but I've been so eager to do something else. I didn't wanna jinx anything but I'm actually putting together a new video for you!  Everything's done, except the subtitles, since I'll be speaking Swedish :)

 I've gained a whole new level of respect for all the vlogers out there, this is so effing HARD! Omg, just the fact that you actually sit alone in a room talking to yourself.. Weirdest thing ever, and you lose track so easily hahaha. But I think that I managed to put together something descent. It's good for a start anyway. Really hope that you'll like the result!

So have you been up to this weekend?


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Svenska :)

Freelance-Thursday // Frilanstorsdag

Photoshop + Wacom Intuos4. Yup, I'm a leftie!

Every Thursday is a day off from work for me. As some of you know, I work part-time at a games company four days a week. I spend the rest of the time on freelance work and own side projects.

And for once, I don't have any short deadlines this week, WIN! Been working on a new painting today, you'll see when it's finished.

What else... Gonna send some invoices, and gather some material for two magazines that I'll participate in. So insanely fun! I'm always flattered when I get asked.

And yeah, just like many other Swedes already announced - IT'S SNOWING! In other words, I'm gonna stay inside all day. Go out in the cold to buy food, or starve and cuddle up next to the kittehs? Those who know me can guess which one I'll pick.

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Svenska :)

Why talent is irrelevant

 Illustration for Kamratposten, made in 2013. Photoshop CS5.

This is a never ending topic. Most of you know this already, but not everyone does.. I often think, or talk about this. Or well, not all the time but it happens that I meet someone who starts talking about talent. Or says that I'm talented. It's pretty natural to me, but it often feels that it's not always that clear for others. That it's all about talent. "Of course they can draw well, they got so much talent!". Oh really?

I always disagree.

Nobody's born with super powers. We all start out as slow, helpess little blobs who need to learn everything from square one.

It was the exact same thing for me. I was just lucky. Lucky to discover drawing at a very early age. I mean, I've been drawing since I was 2. Nothing spectacular of course, and I've been hooked ever since. It became a part of me and it started to feel natural. And I know that many of you share a similar background. Then it just... Escalated. You develop a hunger for improvement. Learning how to draw better, how to express yourself. Then slowly but steadily, you'll become better.

I'm not that talented. If you only knew how many hours I've been drawing haha. Nerding away during my school years, while everyone else went out partying and so on. That's the only trick to it.. Persistence, stubborness and most importantly: having fun along the way.

Why did you draw as a little kid? Try to find that magic again.

 Approved sketch for the illustration. Photoshop + Wacom Cintiq 12WX

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Svenska :)

Gamex and Comic Con in Stockholm

Hellooo!

Ah, sitting here all tucked in under a blanket. I've finally had some time off between work and I'm ENJOYING IT! These past weeks I've been working like a maniac, but could finally take the weekend off and chill out. Went riding earlier today as well, so I'm le tired...

Yesterday I visited Gamex and Comic Con here in Stockholm(thursday to sunday). It's the annual game expo here in Sweden and this year they also launched Comic Con. It's nowhere near the original one(Honestly, I think it's just a knock-off...) and it was kinda poor to be frank. It has much more potential, and I was expecting more exhibitors and things to do... I guess it's still rather small here in Sweden. Nothing beats CTNx though.... :P

And the crowd was huge. Wasn't even worth standing in line for screenings or to try any of the games. So I was just cruising around, networking a bit and greeted people I knew. That's something that I really enjoy :) I feel the urge to exhibit there next year though, perhaps selling some prints and meet new people. If you're going next  year - GO ON A WEEK DAY! Cause after that, the place will be crammed.

The cosplayers were really cool too! I was impressed by the costumes, some people went all in with that.

Yeah, we'll see if you'll see more of me there next year... :)

Were you there? What did you think?


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Svenska :)