Friday and xmas break!! // Fredag och jullov!

A photo posted by Andrea Femerstrand (@noukah) on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:39pm PST

Oh the Swedish blogosphere, I can hear you all cheering - it's xmas break!

Today is my last day at work before holidays, and I won't be back at the office until January. Ahh yesss.. I feel spoiled, that we have so many breaks/long vacations here in Sweden. I know that many of you have less weeks off during the whole year, and it gives me the creeps. I really wish and hope that you guys have the chance to relax and recharge anyway! You're probalby more fit than the rest of us softies ;)

Well, I will still be working though. Still got some own projects rolling and that book cover needs to get done. Plus some new videos for you guys. Allright, gotta go back to work for now, day's not over yet. Laters!

A photo posted by Andrea Femerstrand (@noukah) on Mar 3, 2012 at 10:48am PST

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Svenska :)

Seasons and inspiration // Årstider och inspiration

"Do you feel the seasons affect your choice of subject to draw, and if so, in what way?"

Nah, not really. I rarely paint winter-subjects, actually. I tend to get more inspired and motivated during winter though! I think it's because of the weather. I hate the cold so it feels more legit to stay inside and work all day. Guilt-free. I'm often more restless during summer and constantly feel the urge to go out and enjoy the summer while it lasts. 

What about you?

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How I became a concept artist - Part 2

After graduation, I started to feel really anxious and my motivation was pretty much down to zero. I felt absolutely knocked down by the rejections(I never had a plan B, because at the time, due to arrogance haha. In your face, ego..), and everything got uphill from there. At least that's what I started to feel like. 

I can tell you more about that some other time.

Back to my teens: I became more and more aware of  one thing - that all the animated movies being released every year are being made by real people. Somewhere out there, there are actually people working with this. They're actually doing thos FOR A LIVING! And their names appears in the credits in cinemas?! How cool is that.

Those thought started buzzing at the back of my head. I knew that I wanted to do this, but didn't have any idea how to get there. It felt like all those things happens in a land faaar far away. USA. Growing up in Sweden, that place felt just as surreal as Narnia. You kinda needed an enchanted closet to get there... We don't have that many studios here, or schools for that matter.

Then luckily, on a cold and rainy afternoom, I saw a billboard at the subway.

To be continued...

Part 1
Part 3

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Take me back to summertime

Yeeah well happy third advent to you! Hope you're having a nice time.

How is it for you, are you feel the x-mas spirit yet?  I'm kinda split. Nothing beats spring and summer. Looked around in my old folders and found these images. Ghah, take me back NOW. Non now now now noooow... Sit on a bench in the forst and sketch, long summer nights, warm air and blackbirds singing. I love blackbirds. X-mas is awesome too, but you know. You always want the things you can't have ;)

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Svenska :)

5 years on Twitter // 5 år på Twitter

Oh, Twitter just anounced that it's my 5th anniversary today. 5 effing years? Damn where did the time go. Feels like yesterday.

So much has happened. I created that account during the same time as I created this blog actually. I was 23, and had just got laid off from my first creative job due to downsizing. It was actually the best thing that could've happened to me at that time. I took it pretty well since I've already started to prepare myself mentally to escape for something else. So yeah. Perfect timing. I wish that you could go back in time though, and talk to yourself. Hah, I would've done that A LOT.

Dear 23-old me:

Relax, it's gonna be allright. I know that you've been feeling worried, sad and sometimes angry and frustrated, but it WILL get better. Sure, you may not be that skilled yet, and it may feel like everyone's against you, but it will change. Slowly but steadily. Believe me, all the hard work will pay off eventually. It's awesome that you're starting to get energized, and that you're taking this the right way, seeing it as your chance for something new and better. Yeah, lots of exciting things are awaiting so just keep going, and stop doubting yourself.

What would you tell yourself? And when?

A photo posted by Andrea Femerstrand (@noukah) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:40am PST

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Svenska :)

Still here

Heeeyy amigos!

Sorry for the slow updates this week. Just been busy, life happened as usual and sometimes it's tricky to keep up with everything. But I've got lots of stuff in the making :)

I'll continue posting the rest of my story about how I become a concept artist, and I'm also making new videos for you(ghah, never thought that it would be so hard to get satisfied with them though). And some other stuff as well.

There's a x-mas party here at the office today, so we won't get that much done today. I'll do some more work during the weekend instead  - yes, I'm a workoholic.

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Svenska :)

Inspiring artists, friends and links

I wanted to dedicate this post to inspiring, sites, artists and friends. I'll update it frequently, as soon as I find new gems :)

Clickety below for ze list:

My favorite pencil // Min favoritpenna

My favorite pencil for sketching is a MLP2 Square lid mechanical pencil(from Zebra). I absolutely adore it, and you can probably find the same model from other brands as well.

Why I think it's so awesome? It's because the lid is thick and kinda square-shaped. Like a carpenter pencil. It forces me to stay loose. I can sketch extremely fast with it and I won't get stuck with unnecessary details.  Super beneficial when playing around with ideas, poses, storyboards you name it.

I use it all the time, and it's almost as if my sketches turn out better when I use that pen.

What's your favorite tool? Give me some tips!

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Svenska :)

How I became a concept artist - Part 1

 

One of my readers asked me a long time ago: When did I decide to become a concept artist?

Hah, it's  a long story... It just kinda happened with time. I've always loved to draw(hehe, ask my teachers from elementary school ;) ) 

I wanted to be an artist in the beginning though. As a kid/teen, I thought that was the only way. It sounded cool, and I heard and read about people who could create art for a living... So I though to myself, why couldn't I do the same? If they can do it, then I should be able to do it too, right?

To this day, I've always dreamt big.

My problem though, was that I could paint and draw at an ok level. But doing it for a living? HOW the hell do you do that? I took the art-program in senior high school(gymnasium in Sweden) where we having many classes at the sudio. Messing aroung with oils/acrylics/clay/you name it. Exploring different techniques.. I really enjoyed those three years!

But we didn't really learn how to make it as artists.

I had to teach myself that, by trial and error. So you had to stay curious, ask the teachers questions and try to gain knowledge from their experiences. It's super important to actually do that.

Back then, I thought that Konstfack and Beckmans was the shit(flashy art schools here in Sweden) That you'll be all set if you got in to any of those two.

I applied. Luckily, I never got in :)

To be continued.... ;)

Part 2
Part 3

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Svenska :)

Speaking of girl crushes// Apropå girl crushes

Aaaah ok gotta tell you this while it's fresh. You know I mentioned yesterday that I have a girl grush on Jenna Marbles? Well I have one more crush - Marlo Meekins! And guess what, SHE FAVED ONE OF MY RETWEETS YESTERDAY! No seriously, what are the odds. She's insanely popular and doesn't follow me back on twitter or anything(we don't know each other). But by some chance, she actually stumbled upon my retweet. MINE! Haha. I kinda died.

I'm such a fan girl so I had to capture this moment on insta - what happened next is unbelievable(hahaha saw what I did there?)

Yeah that was it.

One day I' gonna meet them both and tell them face to face how awesome I think they are. I've such respect for both of them. Hopefully, I'll be less starstruck by then... I've become all paralized and shit on previous occasions, when meeting my idols so.. Kinda like a dog chasing a car - running after it like crazy but doesn't know what to do with it when catching it haha..


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Svenska :)