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E8: Creativity Unleashed: Bridging Art's Past and Future · The Creative Jugglejoy Podcast

• 0:04
  Delores Naskrent: Hey everyone.
• 0:04
  Delores Naskrent: It's Dlores and I want to welcome you back to the Creative Juggle Joy podcast.
• 0:09
  Delores Naskrent: I'm so excited to have you here because today I'm going to be diving deep into the world of digital art and you know I can't stop talking about that.
• 0:19
  Delores Naskrent: I can't wait to share some insights with you.
• 0:23
  Delores Naskrent: For those of you who might not know, I spent 30 wonderful years as a high school teacher right at the heart of the evolution of digital art.
• 0:33
  Delores Naskrent: Imagine this I got started with a Mac Plus, which feels like a lifetime ago.
• 0:40
  Delores Naskrent: I see pictures of them and I just remember that time so vividly because I felt so fortunate to have access to a Mac computer.
• 0:51
  Delores Naskrent: Even back then I knew that I would not have been ever able to afford to buy one on my own at that time, especially just having started teaching and raising a family and moving and all the stuff that came along with it.
• 1:05
  Delores Naskrent: So I feel really quite blessed to have witnessed and participated in the whole transformation of the art industry at that time.
• 1:16
  Delores Naskrent: So I'm talking about commercial art.
• 1:18
  Delores Naskrent: Of course I had been working as a commercial artist and even working as an artist at that time in the industry.
• 1:28
  Delores Naskrent: The computer really had not hit the mainstream yet.
• 1:32
  Delores Naskrent: So transitioning to online teaching in today's creative landscape felt like a natural progression for me after I retired from teaching in the high school era, especially now with all of the digital tools that are available.
• 1:46
  Delores Naskrent: I really love helping traditional artists, the people who work with natural media, who often feel intimidated by digital platforms.
• 1:57
  Delores Naskrent: I often hear it's just too hard to learn, but I am here to break that myth.
• 2:04
  Delores Naskrent: What I aim to do with my teaching is to simplify the experience so that my students can feel a sense of achievement right from their very first session.
• 2:13
  Delores Naskrent: Many people break into the industry or into the digital art world using a program like Procreate, and I totally understand how daunting it can be to shift from traditional to digital art and how frustrating it is when the tools don't respond as expected.
• 2:32
  Delores Naskrent: Of course, because they're digital, they may not necessarily work exactly the way you imagine them to.
• 2:38
  Delores Naskrent: I have definitely been there too.
• 2:41
  Delores Naskrent: I'm trying really hard to replicate the fluidity of a pencil and paper, but I'm doing it on a glass screen.
• 2:51
  Delores Naskrent: So learning to bridge that gap has been a journey for me, just like everybody else, and after working with thousands of students now I've just really discovered effective strategies to ease that transition.
• 3:03
  Delores Naskrent: Let's go back and talk a little bit about my first experience with digital art.
• 3:08
  Delores Naskrent: The first software I was given on that little Mac Plus was Adobe Illustrator.
• 3:13
  Delores Naskrent: So if you were around during the early days of Illustrator you will remember how basic it was.
• 3:22
  Delores Naskrent: The pen tool was practically our lifeline Picture trying to mold a piece of wire into your ideas.
• 3:30
  Delores Naskrent: So just think about that you have a wire in your hand and you're trying to do a beautiful line drawing with that wire Challenging right.
• 3:40
  Delores Naskrent: Well, that's basically what the pen tool was like in that first iteration of Adobe Illustrator.
• 3:48
  Delores Naskrent: So the first, I think the release of Adobe Illustrator was in 1987 or 88.
• 3:55
  Delores Naskrent: I really I could just picture the opening screen and I remember the Adobe Illustrator 88 program coming back.
• 4:05
  Delores Naskrent: So just do the math that was a terribly long time ago, like 36 years ago.
• 4:11
  Delores Naskrent: I hate to even admit that because that tells you how old I probably am.
• 4:16
  Delores Naskrent: So over the years, as tools like the pencil tool and blob brush were introduced, it became a lot easier, especially for me teaching high school students and I really appreciated that evolution.
• 4:29
  Delores Naskrent: The blob brush tool for almost everyone when they're first learning Illustrator is really probably the most intuitive tool to use for drawing.
• 4:40
  Delores Naskrent: So if you're a traditional artist and you're used to using a pencil or a pen to do your inking or drawing, the blob brush would definitely be your friend.
• 4:52
  Delores Naskrent: Now, in these days, digital arts are even more accessible than ever, and that's because there's a vast audience waiting to appreciate it.
• 5:02
  Delores Naskrent: Take Photoshop, for example.
• 5:06
  Delores Naskrent: What it did was open up a traditional way of painting digitally, which bridged the gap for many artists, as did Procreate, of course.
• 5:16
  Delores Naskrent: So within those programs there were specific brushes that could be used very much like you would in your natural media work, so you could do blending.
• 5:28
  Delores Naskrent: There were normal pencils, charcoal, all of the basics, and these, of course, were developed by very good artists, and I myself have created many brushes over the years, trying to emulate exactly the techniques that I used when I was using natural media.
• 5:52
  Delores Naskrent: I use natural media just as often as I use digital media at that time.
• 6:00
  Delores Naskrent: Now, personally, I love using my iPad for digital illustrations, so I don't do as much work on the desktop as I used to.
• 6:16
  Delores Naskrent: Once Procreate hit the mainstream, it didn't take me long to realize the power of working with it, and it's also just so incredibly comfortable to work from my big comfy couch, or even on a sunny day, I'll head out to my deck and sit in a soft club chair.
• 6:26
  Delores Naskrent: These spots have now become my creative sanctuaries.
• 6:31
  Delores Naskrent: Now, just recently, I had an inspiring conversation with Jennifer Nelson, who is a well-known artist's agent.
• 6:38
  Delores Naskrent: You've probably all heard of her.
• 6:40
  Delores Naskrent: You could definitely look her up.
• 6:44
  Delores Naskrent: We talked about blending traditional media with digital techniques, which is something I've always done.
• 6:50
  Delores Naskrent: So I love taking my traditional art, so that might be paint, it might be markers, it might be ink.
• 6:58
  Delores Naskrent: I do a lot of collage.
• 6:59
  Delores Naskrent: I combine a lot of the techniques.
• 7:02
  Delores Naskrent: In fact, I've carried an art kit everywhere for practically 20 years.
• 7:07
  Delores Naskrent: It's like a big old student's lunch kit and I've found some plastic dividers that allow me to stand my markers up within it, and it's so easy to carry and it's often at my feet when we're traveling in the car.
• 7:22
  Delores Naskrent: We do a lot of traveling and I have usually at least one or two sketchbooks or artist journals with me and I can draw and paint away while we are putting on the miles.
• 7:34
  Delores Naskrent: So that's something that I've always carried with me, but now I also carry my iPad with me, like for me.
• 7:42
  Delores Naskrent: Procreate has become my go-to for a lot of things natural media but then there's also Affinity Designer, which is a vector-based powerhouse, and that's totally competing for all my attention, and I am probably working with Affinity Designer now maybe three to one in comparison to Procreate.
• 8:06
  Delores Naskrent: It's nice to have both at my fingertips, so I do use both, but they each have their own strengths.
• 8:13
  Delores Naskrent: What I love is the flexibility that both of those programs offer, so they broaden the audience for all of us as digital artists.
• 8:22
  Delores Naskrent: Many people really shy away from traditional methods due to the cost or the convenience, and yet they're still curious about creating art that can earn them an income.
• 8:35
  Delores Naskrent: If you've been into an art store recently, you know the prices for anything.
• 8:41
  Delores Naskrent: Natural media has become very, very expensive, so to break into something like watercolor, you have to be prepared to spend quite a bit of money to just get yourself into a position to produce a little bit of work.
• 8:56
  Delores Naskrent: So I have definitely seen artists who kind of skip the whole traditional media methods and move straight into digital.
• 9:04
  Delores Naskrent: Now I'm going to talk a little bit about something that I call the gap, but I don't want to discourage you by talking about it.
• 9:13
  Delores Naskrent: In fact, these tools make learning how to create beautiful work much simpler than mastering the natural media.
• 9:21
  Delores Naskrent: So if your goal is to monetize your art, then jumping right into digital can streamline the process immensely.
• 9:30
  Delores Naskrent: But one of the things I would like for you to do if you are skipping the whole process of learning the natural media, media and the natural techniques, I think you could really learn a lot by watching a ton of videos about how that natural media is manipulated.
• 9:55
  Delores Naskrent: What I like to do is create brushes that mimic the natural media, so I have developed several brush sets.
• 10:02
  Delores Naskrent: One of them, for example, would be my abstract art.
• 10:05
  Delores Naskrent: I think I've got two abstract art brush sets, and both of those are great if you are looking to create something that's either oil paint or acrylic paints, because there's lots of brushes within the set that are really good for blending.
• 10:25
  Delores Naskrent: Learning about the blending and how to actually achieve some of those techniques is to actually go back to the natural way of doing them.
• 10:34
  Delores Naskrent: So watch people in action, and I think that would really help you a lot.
• 10:38
  Delores Naskrent: Now, if you're not comfortable yet selling detailed illustrations or elaborate patterns, I encourage you to explore simpler digital assets.
• 10:47
  Delores Naskrent: You could do a lot like creating textures or patterns or printables, and that can also be really helpful in a personal journey your own personal journey of self-discovery and opening the doors to new opportunities.
• 11:04
  Delores Naskrent: I know for myself that producing the brush sets and producing digital assets really helped me to sharpen my own skills and find mentors who guided me along the way.
• 11:17
  Delores Naskrent: And speaking of learning, I believe there's no such thing as a truly self-taught artist.
• 11:23
  Delores Naskrent: So I have heard many people who use that phrase self-taught and I think in this day and age, most people are referring or watching videos to learn what they're learning.
• 11:39
  Delores Naskrent: So every artist does this and everyone pulls from a collective pool of knowledge, whether that's direct from teachers or the resources shared by others.
• 11:50
  Delores Naskrent: I really don't like to say I'm a self-taught artist.
• 11:54
  Delores Naskrent: Personally, I owe so much to the wonderful educators that I've encountered over the years and I still encounter.
• 12:02
  Delores Naskrent: I'm still in my learning phase.
• 12:05
  Delores Naskrent: I've been in my learning phase for 40 years, I swear.
• 12:08
  Delores Naskrent: When I guide students in creating digital products, I emphasize the importance of really soul searching to discover their own passions and also in understanding what the market needs.
• 12:21
  Delores Naskrent: I have launched a ton of digital products over the years and really discovering what your market wants is one of the ways to become really prolific at creating, because you're going to be experimenting At this point in your development.
• 12:38
  Delores Naskrent: I think that the more you produce, the more comfortable you become, and that comfort will lead you to faster workflows and really better quality output.
• 12:49
  Delores Naskrent: Back in my early years, I found that craft sales were a fantastic way to gauge what would sell.
• 12:56
  Delores Naskrent: Today, digital platforms allow me to test my products quite easily.
• 13:00
  Delores Naskrent: I know how discouraging it can feel to see zero sales.
• 13:06
  Delores Naskrent: Trust me, I've been there too.
• 13:08
  Delores Naskrent: But now that I can look back at my experiences, I would say since probably like it's 30, maybe 35 years that I've been trying to sell, or selling my products in stores or wholesale or whatever honestly, I can say that persistence is the key.
• 13:29
  Delores Naskrent: You will eventually find your footing.
• 13:33
  Delores Naskrent: At first it doesn't seem like much, but every little bit counts, and the more you just keep plugging away at it, the better you're going to do in the long run.
• 13:44
  Delores Naskrent: I have the advantage of being able to look back at many, many years of experience.
• 13:51
  Delores Naskrent: Just to give you a little bit of background.
• 13:53
  Delores Naskrent: I do consider my online courses to be products in their own right.
• 13:57
  Delores Naskrent: In that recent interview with Jennifer Nelson, she asked me why I primarily teach digital illustration rather than my natural media techniques and it was a really good question actually I had to, you know, just take a second to think about it.
• 14:13
  Delores Naskrent: And I think it's just that once I created a class for Skillshare that showed my entire process with traditional illustration techniques it was a journal art girl.
• 14:25
  Delores Naskrent: If you guys are still on Skillshare, you could search it out.
• 14:29
  Delores Naskrent: It was my very, very first class on Skillshare, so I'm not super proud of it, but you know, I'd love for you to see it.
• 14:39
  Delores Naskrent: And, interestingly, at that time I was also starting to work in Procreate and I started posting a couple of classes in Procreate.
• 14:49
  Delores Naskrent: I may have, I think, at that point, also started posting some illustrator classes, and at that time what I found was that my digital classes were far more attended.
• 15:01
  Delores Naskrent: So at that time the market was just ready for that shift and, honestly, I just followed the money I mean I was earning, trying to make a living with my teaching, and so, of course, I wanted to give what was in most demand.
• 15:18
  Delores Naskrent: For you, I would say that when you're creating new products, I would suggest experimenting with different platforms to see what works best for you.
• 15:27
  Delores Naskrent: Initially I had tried various ones.
• 15:31
  Delores Naskrent: I still sell on them, actually on Zazzle and also on Art of Wear.
• 15:35
  Delores Naskrent: But I've gradually narrowed it down.
• 15:39
  Delores Naskrent: I think I have a Society6 store and I had a Redbubble store at one time.
• 15:43
  Delores Naskrent: Think I have a Society6 store and I had a Redbubble store at one time Gradually narrowed it down to my favorites and one of them is Cardisle and that's a card site for print on demand cards and that, as far as the online sort of POD sites that I work with, is the one that gives me by far the best return and, like I mean thousands of dollars difference.
• 16:04
  Delores Naskrent: It may not be that way for you.
• 16:05
  Delores Naskrent: I mean, I've also recently been involved with a focus group or a peer group where most of the money that a couple of the ladies make is on Etsy.
• 16:19
  Delores Naskrent: So it doesn't mean that Etsy is dead.
• 16:21
  Delores Naskrent: I do sell on Etsy and I also do sell on Creative Market and that's where I sell my digital assets and brushes.
• 16:30
  Delores Naskrent: So my Procreate brushes and so on are listed there and it's pretty decent amount of sales.
• 16:37
  Delores Naskrent: So you really have to do your homework and maybe not dive in too quickly with 20 different sites.
• 16:46
  Delores Naskrent: Try to focus on just a few to start out with and see how it works out.
• 16:52
  Delores Naskrent: You know, over the first few months, posting consistently seems to be the real secret behind it.
• 17:01
  Delores Naskrent: Another important aspect of starting to sell your work is evaluating your products.
• 17:06
  Delores Naskrent: I also don't want to discourage you, but rather to encourage improvement.
• 17:12
  Delores Naskrent: The more you create, the more your skills can be honed and you'll start noticing progress in the quality of your work.
• 17:19
  Delores Naskrent: I look back at some of my cards and I kind of cringe sometimes, but I leave the ones that are still selling on those sites.
• 17:29
  Delores Naskrent: I mean I can look back at my earlier pieces, but I can see that evolution has taught me what sells.
• 17:37
  Delores Naskrent: Every site will give you lots of insight into that and I mean we learned a lot by selling at in-person sales and we take suggestions from people and, you know, just try to cover everything that was asked for.
• 17:51
  Delores Naskrent: If they didn't pick up a card that they needed, they would mention it to us.
• 17:57
  Delores Naskrent: We had a special deal where you could buy 10 cards for I can't remember if it was $20, and they'd come with a handful of cards to pay.
• 18:04
  Delores Naskrent: But they would say, I wish you had a card for grandpas or I wish you had the serenity prayer in blue.
• 18:13
  Delores Naskrent: So we would start adding to our lines and, you know, just judging or learning from what was selling and what people suggested.
• 18:23
  Delores Naskrent: Now, the other thing I find about teaching online is that it has not only broadened my audience, but it has also allowed me to connect with an incredible community.
• 18:33
  Delores Naskrent: I find that community to also be a really great place to talk about the quality of the art that we're producing and putting up for sale.
• 18:45
  Delores Naskrent: As I've transitioned with my in-person teaching skills to an online format, I've learned a lot about how to guide my students in transforming them into professional illustrators.
• 19:00
  Delores Naskrent: In fact, recently this was so fun I was reunited with a former student from over 25 years ago.
• 19:06
  Delores Naskrent: She was the same age as one of my daughters, so I got to know her, and she was in my program for three years, so I knew her very well.
• 19:17
  Delores Naskrent: Now, recently, she shared with me how our lessons in Adobe Illustrator shaped her career as a laser artist, so she's creating intricate pieces from wooden materials.
• 19:30
  Delores Naskrent: It's stories like hers that warm my heart and remind me of the impact a teacher could have.
• 19:35
  Delores Naskrent: She now uses a different software program I don't recall the name of it, but it runs her laser cutting machine, so she produces some really fantastic work.
• 19:46
  Delores Naskrent: You could check her out.
• 19:47
  Delores Naskrent: Her Instagram handle is 5-1 Perspective.
• 19:52
  Delores Naskrent: Check out her site and you'll see what I mean.
• 19:55
  Delores Naskrent: Now currently, I'm working on developing a comprehensive foundational class for Affinity Designer.
• 20:01
  Delores Naskrent: In fact, by the time this podcast airs, I may have already released it into the world.
• 20:10
  Delores Naskrent: I find that one of the things that's super exciting for me, both in teaching and in using Affinity Designer, is that I can combine the best of both worlds of vector-based art and raster-based art.
• 20:26
  Delores Naskrent: So my new course does focus on both, which is really fun, and I have really gotten to know how to work with both sides of this program.
• 20:39
  Delores Naskrent: You never have to switch from one spot to another.
• 20:42
  Delores Naskrent: There's literally a button that you can touch and you're then switched into the pixel persona and you can do hand painting within your vectors, so it's like almost like having a stencil.
• 20:55
  Delores Naskrent: I really wished that had been available earlier on in my design career.
• 21:00
  Delores Naskrent: I wanted to create this complete standalone course that takes students from absolute novice never having used Affinity Designer or maybe even a vector-based program of any kind.
• 21:13
  Delores Naskrent: I want to take them all the way through to crafting intricate designs that combine both vectors and raster details all in one software program.
• 21:26
  Delores Naskrent: Honestly, there's so much to learn with that program and I've tied in learning repeat patterns as well as tons of different illustration techniques.
• 21:36
  Delores Naskrent: So you know, through teaching I've really come to understand that students struggle to see the big picture, and that's not a bad thing.
• 21:43
  Delores Naskrent: I mean, I have over 40 years of experience in art and education, so of course now I know firsthand how to help you overcome things like imposter syndrome and the fear of sharing your work.
• 21:57
  Delores Naskrent: It brings me so much joy really so much joy to witness my students testing the waters with selling online and in finding their path.
• 22:08
  Delores Naskrent: I have so many success stories that I could share.
• 22:12
  Delores Naskrent: I'm really excited about the five card challenge that we recently did, because I think that was one of the most rewarding experiences for me as a teacher to see the success so many of my students have gotten just from that five-day challenge.
• 22:30
  Delores Naskrent: So if you feel inspired to embrace digital art or you're curious about online teaching, I want you to reach out with your questions or experiences.
• 22:39
  Delores Naskrent: I am happy to answer them and, who knows, it might open doors for you, just like it has for me.
• 22:46
  Delores Naskrent: Now, before I wrap up, I'd love for you to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review.
• 22:52
  Delores Naskrent: It really helps to spread the word.
• 22:54
  Delores Naskrent: If you know anybody else who'd be interested, please let them know.
• 22:59
  Delores Naskrent: And, of course, if you are on my mailing list, you will be able to keep an eye out for upcoming courses and resources related to digital art and teaching that I'll be offering.
• 23:11
  Delores Naskrent: You definitely want to get yourself on that mailing list to help you enrich your creative journey.
• 23:17
  Delores Naskrent: Sounds so cliche.
• 23:18
  Delores Naskrent: Thanks so much for joining me today on the Creative Juggle oy podcast.
• 23:23
  Delores Naskrent: If you found some of this episode helpful, I'd love it if you'd leave a review or share it with a friend who might need some encouragement on their creative journey.
• 23:36
  Delores Naskrent: Don't forget to subscribe, because that way you'll never miss an episode.
• 23:44
  Delores Naskrent: Until next time, I want you to keep creating, keep juggling and, most importantly, keep finding joy in the process.
• 23:50
  Delores Naskrent: Remember there's joy in the journey, even on the craziest days.