The Secrets to Work-Life Balance as an Artist in 2024

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00:00 Introduction
01:21 Overview
02:22 Self Management
03:46 Case Study 1: Alythuh
04:05 Technical Skills
05:57 Case Study 2: James Jean
07:16 Case Study 3: The Cottage Fairy
08:33 Recommended Software
12:12 Tourbox Lite, Neo & Elite
13:20 ???
13:36 Archiving & Bookkeeping
14:57 Soft & Social Skills
17:37 Make Time to Grow & Explore
22:26 Conclusion

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Check out Descript!
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My Instagram & Artstation Accounts:

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Tools that I use:

2TB M2 iPad Pro 12.9"
Apple Pencil 2nd Gen
Halfmoon/Moonlander Keypad
Tourbox Elite
OWC Go Dock
Sketchslate & Sketchboard Pro
M1 Max Macbook Pro 16"
Sony A74 Mirrorless Camera
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Sigma Art 24-70mm F2.8 Lens
Meike 85 mm T2.1 Lens

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"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain."

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#art #procreate #illustration #ipadpro #digitalart

[ergojosh]

TOURBOX ELITE GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment about what you do to make life easier for you as an artist! Winner will be announced on my Youtube community page and I will respond to their message confirming you won again - so keep your notifications on! Selections will be random by the way! Giveaway is (mostly) open worldwide! (EDIT: The promo code has expired and is NO longer usable.)
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[jaharitucker]

Best tip that’s changed my art was, making art should be fun for you. I hated making art that I thought others would like or would help me blow up on social media. I only make art I like or want to make and I now draw everyday religiously.

[kinkin]

I learned and allowed myself to take breaks from art. Previously, I was pushing myself too much.. thinking I had to do as much as I can each and every day. This was just stressing me out more and pushing me into burnout. For the most part, I draw every day, but now I allow myself to do other things (reading, cooking, exercising, casual gaming, etc.) at certain times so I can relax and reset.

[itsalwaysme]

Something I started doing that would seem like a no brainer, is drawing what *I* want to draw.

I've drawn and doodled my entire life, but have been actively studying art for 6 years now, and for the first 5, I was so concerned and eventually paralyzed by the business and analytics side of being an artist in todays age. With the intro of AI, I felt like making it as an artist just wasn't something truly realistic anymore and had a big long look at my priorities and focuses.

Deciding that I was just going to make my own stuff and be content with honing and improving my craft for me has lifted a weight I'd put on myself and my art and after the last year of imposter syndrome and setting goals instead of actively striving for them, I am finally making art again.

[gercabi]

I've started taking more breaks from the screen recently; my overall health the past couple of years--especially since last fall--has declined considerably and screen fatigue has taken even more of a toll as a result. I've also started taking breaks from everything, including naps--something I was previously almost never capable of doing (I suppose it's become possible as the exhaustion has just too much), which has made a great difference. Also, when I do use screens, I no longer mind messing with the settings (lowering brightness, changing color temperature) in order to reduce eyestrain, which I practically never did before because I felt the need to always have the best color accuracy and what-not that I could have--which wasn't even necessary a lot of the time--of course my eye health is more important. I'm slowly but surely starting to recover and excited to continue my artistic endeavors with more energy again. Thanks for the chance! And for these videos! 🙌💗

[travisbroneske]

To make my life as an artist easier, I've turned my lunch breaks at work into art breaks at work. It helps on multiple levels, as it gives me something to look forward to in the work day. But also, I can feel less bad if I'm "too tired" to create and practice art after work.

[marysharma]

What makes my life easier is to accept my production rate. Not every artist can produce at light speed, some of us (me) are more season oriented, I will have a season of high yield and a season of recharge. For me, it is directly tied to stress since I work a full time job in addition to making art, so I have time where I can give more and times when naturally, I have to give less to my art. ❤ thank you for your videos Josh!

[Blitzboy]

Honestly all i did was just took your advice and limit my time on social media, even going as far as taking a break from my channel(not this one) and learning to use the tools and assets I've had acquired over the years to 'improve' my skillset that was just on the side catching dust. I'm happy to make i feel less anxious and started drawing again, though not at the level i want to be, but i know i'll get there. It's a process after all. Excellent vid and Thank you again for more life lessons.

[CloverLinn]

One of the things I’ve learned to make my time making art easier I learned from my dad, who’s an artist I look up to.

Whenever I’d get artblock, he suggest drawing something that I know I’m good at. That way, I can really loosen up and draw something just for me.

[GodLovesComics]

I interviewed James Jean back in the early 2000's when he was still primarily a comic book artist doing exquisite covers for DC's Fables. He also provided my magazine with a stunning cover that he had repurposed from an illustration he had done for Men's Health Germany about bizarre maladies, of all things. Since then as you said, he's done so many different creative ventures including not only designing clothing for Prada, but having the face of a glass skyscraper in Tokyo wrapped with one of his paintings! He also linked up with another of my interview subjects, David Choe (before he became insanely rich and famous). James actually plays keyboards in Choe's band, Mangchi (and you can see James in some of the live performance videos). There are times where his art has evolved into some truly dark and bizarre hallucinogenic imagery that was too much for me, but the many evolutions within his art is I think the clearest evidence that the only one he panders to is his own id.

[dplj]

13:35 archiving each project to know what’s what or was or u
and bookkeeping.

15:09 communicating with other artists

15:45 mental health

18:00 continue to explore

19:36 a balance between the creative passion and living other aspects of your life from all senses.

22:38 times and respecting self

23:05 your skill sets are uniquely enhanced by seeking joy in all aspects of life-long learning.

Thank you, ergojosh

[ofejivigappolilloc]

One thing I did to help my pursuit of art is to start painting on my phone. I had for too long made it difficult to get set up and ready to draw/paint and it made making it a habit too difficult (particularly when I've been sick or injured as I have been recently); now that I've explored phone painting, not only have I realized that you can do a lot more than I thought possible on a phone, but it's so much easier to just make a quick sketch or doodle anytime and anywhere (I don't have a tablet, btw, so this as close as I can get), so it's easier to make this a habit. And I usually spend more time that I intend to on these doodles. Of course, there are limitations (my phone has no stylus support, so I always use my finger (not as restrictive as you might think!), and of course it doesn't have the overall capacity of a desktop or laptop, so when I do want to make something more finished (or continue something I started on my phone), it's easy to move to the computer to continue working on it there. I encourage everyone to give a try if you haven't, it's amazing what smartphones are capable of these days! 🤠

[StaticArt]

What has been helping me flow into my art is creating a 2nd brain. I use Notion but you can use a journal too. I basically create daily deep work schedule based on my annual and life long vision/goals. Now I have more intentionally and time to create art.
Everyday try to prioritize efforts in endeavors of :
Health
Relationships
Creativity/passion

[RobyLou]

Something I started doing when I first started art was watching an art timelapse or a tutorial once a day to get me into the habit of thinking about art, and seeing the process or learning. It helped me get past the 'nothing I make is good so I don't want to make' because I didn't feel like I was just drawing for the sake of it and not getting anywhere.

[killervanilla]

Life as an artist got easier for me when I finally clued in to the option to just not make the kind of art I don't enjoy making. I cut down on the amount of colours I use in a piece and put more focus on typography and fun graphical elements rather than toiling away at meticulous shading or dragging my way through background rendering.

[artemismauve]

The number one thing I learned is to listen to my body. Having gone to the point of burn out once, listening to my body has become one of my greatest skills, it lets me know when I can focus to achieve my creative goals and when to stop and recharge even when it seems like I can still keep pushing. Taking breaks and recharging is a big part of being productive and yes, it can be frustrating when you feel like you always needing extra time to recharge or that you need to take more breaks than most people. It is daring to want to push, push and push because you've been on a roll or because a deadline is approaching, but you can get a lot more done when you understand yourself, your limits and your strengths.

[creamsiclecat]

What helped me get back into drawing, was journaling with fountain pens. I had been practicing foundation drawing exercises and it caused me to dislike drawing and in turn gave me a very long artblock. I persisted because I thought it was what I must do in order to be a good artist. I artblocked myself so badly by making drawing tedious and boring. I hated it for a while haha. I stopped forcing myself to draw, and decided to focus on my journal, decorating it stickers and washi tape, and writing with very pretty pens in pretty ink, and naturally started to doodle and having fun again.

[bartoloesculapio]

Taking a break from social media (including youtube) has helped me feel less paralyzed and more willing to be creative--the anxiety of influence is real! Thanks for yet another inspiring video! :D

[christophercruzart]

What helps me is redrawing things I’ve done before. It’s a good reminder that I am growing as an artist especially on days when making art feels difficult.

[MugshotzAS]

Not only great tips for an artist, great tips for anyone who wants to be a more balanced person. I’ve enjoyed your content for quite some time now. Great to see you are getting more comfortable talking to the camera.