The horse says goodbye // Hästen säger hej då

Aight, signing off for the year. 2014, the year of the horse, eh?


Got some stuff to do now, like getting my new camera lens that I bought to give my photos a boost. Also need to prepare myself for New Years Eve :)

I'm thinking about making some posts about my goals for 2015 later on, so stay tuned.

Take care in the meantime!

Happy New Year! :)

- Andrea


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Svensk översättning :)

Good night internetz

Wohoo heyy all!

Signing off for today, it's late. My sleeping routines are way out of balance nowadays, since the holidays and stuff. Been trying to get some work done today though. Still being a bit slow but I guess I'm kinda excused, since it's still "Xmas break" for moi.

Managed to focus a bit more today too, baby steps... Also, thanks a lot for the comments on my previous post :) Nice tips, I'll have a closer look at everything.

But for now, good night amigos!

Btw, any plans for New Year's Eve?

- Andrea

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Svensk översättning :)

Night thoughts // Natt-tankar

Sitting here thinking. It's currently nigh time as I'm writing this.

Daydreaming about summer again hahaha. Ahh, gotta make the best out of it again, I'm def a summer-person if I'd have to choose. Even though winter is kinda cozy too, I still miss summer and the blackbirds and all the green colours and... :c

I'm also thinking about other stuff...

Every year that's been. I'm actually never satisfied with what I accomplish. Don't get me wrong, of course I'm satisfied in terms of accomplishing many things. Proud even! But I always feel that I've been too lazy. Or distracted... Yeah distracted.  I consume too much and produce less. Simply put, too much internet when I'm supposed to do other stuff. I'm actually having a terribly hard time to focus on one task nowadays, and it's really hard to get started once I sit down to draw.

I'm a junkie when it comes to social media. A real slave to it. DAMN.

I think I need to cut some of that for real. Turn off that damn modem and have scheduled online-time. Flush my phone down the toiled or something. I mean, I'm constantly available right now. It's starting to show.

The question is how much I should cut back. How many hours per week.

What are your thoughts?

Do you feel the same way?

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Svenska :)

How to repair your damaged paint brushes

 
Here's one way how I repair my ruined or deformed brushes. You are welcome ;)

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Ett av sätten som jag lagar mina halvt förstörda eller missbildade penslar på. Varsegod ;)

- Andrea

How I sketch in Photoshop // Hur jag skissar i Photoshop

Woop woop my second video is up! This was fun, but sooo time consuming GHAH D:
Hope you like.

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Svensk översättning :)

Calender for KP // Kalendern för KP

Speaking of seasons - I actually had the opportunity to illustrate next year's calender for KP! As I mentioned, I rarely paint winter subjects so now I had to make some for a change. This one was obviously for February :) The calender is a bit like a series of images, showing a boy and his puppy through out a year. And as the months go by, the puppy gets bigger and bigger...

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Svenska :)

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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Svenska :)

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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Svenska :)

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 :)