My buddy Aaron Nace at Phlearn combined the concept of pinup girls and added in new technology. 

Check it out!

You can get the tutorial here: 
http://phlearn.com/pro/pinup-cola

It’s the last day to vote for artists in the [Framed] Show awards! Vote for those who you love the most, they deserve your vote. 

I am honored to be nominated in the retoucher category but would like you to vote for people like Sebastian, Aaron, Sean, Carrie and the rest. Aaron for example, has done a lot this year with Phlearn and it’s a huge undertaking. Sean is always giving with his knowledge and no matter where I go to teach, everyone mentions him. Sebastian has grown so much this year alone and he is becoming one of the best. And then there’s Chris, Carrie, and Amy who are all already very established openly giving about what they know. Everyone deserves it, they’re all so incredible and I am proud to call them my colleagues. 

Most important, is not even the award itself. We get to discover new talent that we may not have known. Framed has also brought a community of creatives closer together. 

No matter who wins, we all win.

http://www.framedawards.com/ARTISTS

Now that’s creative!

The Capes Times newspaper in South Africa took a different approach to telling their readers how they get their stories straight from the horse’s mouth via a first-hand accounts. 

(Source: lostateminor.com)

Ever since I’ve started in this industry, one of the most common negative feelings I’ve seen from a majority of my friends who are very driven is that they experience “burnout”. 

Burnout is basically when you are either exhausted creatively and do not feel inspired to do what it is you usually do. For some, it’s photography, for others, it could be painting, retouching, drawing, doing hair, or makeup. 

This past month alone seems to be busy season in my industry (fashion) and many of my colleagues are showing tell tale signs of it, many of which have even messaged me about it. 

It’s almost like a sickness to the creative soul. 

That’s just it, it’s a sickness, but it can be a good thing. Like a cold, you have to let it run its course. At the end of it, you will come out feeling better than ever.

Just like a cold, any medicine doesn’t cure it, it will just make you feel a bit better while it goes through the motions. So don’t try and fight it by trying to be creative, it won’t be as effective. 

The best way to think of any burnout is as though it’s a transformation period. It’s a cocoon for your creative soul. Once you’re done, you come out as a new and better you. 

It’s essentially like sleep, it’s your creativity revitalizing itself and getting to the next level that continually enables you to evolve. 

Look back at the last time you’ve had a burnout. Chances are your work has improved from it. If you’re like me, you’ll be in denial of that as well. Let’s face it, as artists we still don’t like our own work as much as others like ours. So there’s that, too. 

So while you’re going through this burnout phase, let the medicine of this illness be in the realization that it’s normal, natural, and a very positive experience based on how you will end up at the end of it! Don’t let guilt sink in, but be glad you’re going through it. It means you’re ready for your creativity to evolve into something much more than you can imagine right now. 

Burnout is a good thing, it’s like graduating and your creativity is just taking time to ‘stop and smell the roses’. It’s a time to relax for a moment before you become the better you that you’re about to be. 

You can never fight a burnout and the best way to get over it is to run its course. Hopefully next time, you’ll have a better outlook on it than you have before reading this.