MATS Bootcamp recap!

Hello!

It's been ages (as usual) from my last post :) It's always so challenging for me to juggle with client work, courses, motherhood, exercising and a whole other bunch of things! It's all in balance & making priorities :)

But, what I wanted to share here with you today is the recap of my Bootcamp year in 2015!

It's been another great artistic year with Lilla's assignments. I always tend to look at those as my Portfolio pieces 1st and foremost, cos they all end up on my site. I also always end up discovering my strenghts and weaknesses thru her courses...some areas I've improved a lot and some areas were new to me this yr but I handled them better than some we've repeated. I guess we each have areas in which we are more relaxed and more, well, 'ourselves' ! :D

So, this is how my Bootcamp year started:

Our 1st Bootcamp assignment this year-Journal

So our 1st assignment this year in Bootcamp started off with creating an illo for a Journal and our inspiration was 'Edwardian brooches'. This was my version. I went for the feminine central character wearing typical Edwardian hair ornament. She herself was a brooch or a placement within a brooch :) And I went with the dark velvety bckg so my diamonds could really pop from it. I loved this assignment and I think I did quite well.

Our next assignment was:

2nd Bootcamp assignment- wood art

Wood art! We were prompted to actualy paint on real wood...and since I couldn't get a hold of a wooden slice for this assignment, I got myself an actual log :D So this here is gouache on wood. I did an entire new illo for my online portfoilo inspired by this piece here that I love dearly, so I was mega happy with this assignment's outcome!

Next:

3rd Bootcamp assignment-Poster art

It was a real assignment for 'Global Art Gathering' which was held in Brighton, UK this month (June). Mine didn't get picked but I really was happy with the outcome of my poster. I invested a LOT in lettering making sure it relates well with the topic. I love clean design and love using shapes in my lettering like in 'GLOBAL' for an instance the 'O' is actualy the globe (stylized) and then the 'A' is a person, in this case Lilla :) I wouldn't call my Poster design unsuccessful just cos it didn't get selected as winner-the work from everyone was extremely awesome!

May assignment:

4th Bootcamp assignment-Homeware

My most favourite assignment of all-homeware! And our inspiration were crustaceans and colourful patterns! I love Interior Design, Homeware, Furniture Design etc. Loved it since I was little! It fascinates me and I love how things have more than just a decorative purpose, they are functional! It might be cos of my enthusiasm over Homeware or I don't know what else, but I really felt a surreal atmosphere while working on it-as if I'm doing this forever. So natural. Needless to say I ADORED this assignment. Loved working on my pattern and the plate designs!

And finally:

5th Bootcamp assignment-Editorial

Editorial based on an article on how to succeed at being a digital nomad. I've never heard of this calling before but when I read the article I wished I could be one :) My dream was always to live on some tropical Island and work remotely from there...surf the waves in between jobs :) I loved creating my person, I loved drawing the scene but I dreaded the composition!!! I dread editorial in general. I just don't feel at ease at all....haven't a clue why! I have no idea if this illo of mine is successful at all, but at least I know I'm comfortable drawing people, to me that's a great plus!

And with this I'm wrapping up this MATS Bootcamp 2015! It's been a great year, filled with great assignments, new awesome friendships, and some cool new jobs in between :) Now I'm turning to my new adventure and hopefully I'll have more great news in my new post :) 

Hugs from me from a very windy place today! :)

xox

Ant

MATS Bootcamp is back!!!

Hello lovelies!

It's been almost a year since Lilla's 1st Bootcamp in 2014 and I was so happy I was part of it cos it brought me nothing but good stuff-and I really mean good, it changed my life arround!

And at the begining of January this year MATS Bootcamp started again-of course I've signed up again! :)
Our very 1st assignment was Edwardian brooches, that is, diary inspired by Edwardian brooches.
I didn't have time to start on my sketches until the 2nd week of Bootcamp, and I was really trying to stay away from checking all the work others were posting, it was very hard but I think the good thing was that I was swamped with client work so I kept myself busy :) These were just some of my inspirations for my final piece:

I wanted my diary to be feminine, classy and sofhisticate. I have been doing my 'cute' stuff for far too long and one of the things I wanna explore and get in touch with in this Bootcamp is exactly that-my feminine side! I don't want people to just think I can do cute stuff I wanna dig deep and be able to deliver strong, feminine, delicate and sofhisticate art too!

Now I know this takes practice like anything else but I'm willing to learn, to explore, and to work hard but also to have fun on this journey!
Whether I was successful you can judge yourself. I'm very happy with my end result. For now, that is :) It could always be better...but like I said, the most important thing is that I've had fun creating this piece (after a day of headache and feeling non inspiration on the matter) LOL

I knew I only have 2-3 days to start and finish my diary cos a lot of client work was awaiting me and I was even a bit behind on things. So the piece I submitted was not exactly perfect. I knew I'm gonna want to revamp my work later when I had proper time. I still think it's not that bad but little details were bugging me-like the layout of my floral pattern. It was a bit off in some places...the lady wasn't quite finished. The colours were a bit too pale, I wanted to make them even more bright since my bckg was dark. The gems were just a tiny bit smaller that what I wanted and the details in general...LOL

So here's my piece I submitted:

©Antoana Oreski

And here's my re-designed diary :)

©Antoana Oreski

Sending you all hugs from afar!

xoxoxox

Ant

Global Talent Search-Wall art ''Little Terrariums''

So, I'm writing this post on a night before the big reveal of Lilla's top 50...I know I wouldn't be able to do this 2moro. Why? 'Cos I'll be too nervous to even check the list, let alone write a post. A part of me says (the cool part) -'' so what, just chill, it's not like it's the end of world or something! You've never been one of those who panic and act silly!'' and then another part of me says-'' yes but this isn't just some competition, this is more than a competition!'' But you know what, neither is true...after all it's a competition which for it's goal is searching for a unique artist who's gonna be a great addition to Lilla's Studio. She knows what she's looking for but the road for so man of us doesn't end there!

I had to remind myself that I have some goals for this year and that entering GTS was something I didn't even know I was gonna do. But here I am, and doing it, no matter the outcome I know I have given above what I thought I could give for this specific brief and had I the chance of redoing it, I'd change nothing about it! It's the 1st piece I did that as the time is passing by I keep falling in love with more than in the beginning...usually I see stuff I'd love to change and I could have done it better...you know how the story goes!? :) But with this one I love it the way it is! The lettering part could always be better...but not talking about that now :)

I have already shared my process of how I got to my idea what I'm gonna create...and in my world of ''all things are possible'' I decided to put in a small terrarium an elephant! Elephant is huge, so this alone makes things without any sense, but not in my world...In my world I'm riding on an elephant who is my best friend and my place of comfort and peace.
This part was inspired greatly by Antoine de Saint Exupery's 'Little Prince' and the relationship little Prince had with the fox. There's a line there where the fox says to him:

“I am looking for friends. What does that mean -- tame?"

"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties." 

"To establish ties?" 

"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world....” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

I thought that's so beautiful, cos ecpecialy in todays world people don't want any ties...people are afraid of relationships, of getting hurt. But the relationships are the most essential part of our existence! 

So I have tamed in my terrarium garden an elephant and I've become responsible for him and he is unique to me in all the world! :) Also it's our little world within a world...which leads me to my inspirational quote by E.A.Poe- ''everything we see or seen in but a dream within a dream..'' I thought this is so appropriate for my piece...a dream within a dream! 

Each day when I sit before my sketchbook or my comp. and I draw and paint I embark on a voyage which is far, far away, yet still here, part of this world. It's possible to do that, to be here but also to be present somewhere alse...I live a dream within a dream-every single day, and I LOVE IT!

''Artists arround the world'' blog hop!

So I was asked by my super sweet and talented blogger buddy Shirley Ng-Benitez to participate in the blog hop. I was just so honoured to be picked by her for I hold great respect and  admiration for her art and her as persona! Shirley was amongst one of my very 1st friends I met online in a community of illustrators. I 1st saw her work on TDAC site arround Xmas time back in 2008/9 not sure about the exact yr :) They had a competition and she was their weekly choice and I fell in love with her cute little characters the moment I saw the recipe illustration she made:

Aren't these super cute!?
 Shirley is also a very skilled letterer and I have admired her work in that domena as well:

This was her work for our last month's assignment over at Lilla Rogers MATS Bootcamp-favourite beverage :)

Her images are always so tender and hugable...I have a feeling they are super soft and I can touch their soft fur!

I always admire Shirley's brushstrokes in watercolour-she's a genious!

She's also a creator of her very cute mouse character called Monsieur Olivet and you can follow his adventures on his own blog here!

Thank you Shirley for your lovely blog hop post on your blog and wonderful introduction to all of us represented there! Please visit Shirley's sweet blog here and discover so many more of her sweet little characters!

So as part of the blog hop I'm to answer a few questions about myself, so here goes!

1. What are you working on?

Well this year I participated for the 1st time in Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search (GTS) so I was diligently working away on the wall art piece for the assignment. Also I love participating in other competitions like the ones from Tigerprint and Hallmark, it keeps my momentum going and I always end up with a great additional piece for my portfolio. I just finished one of my 2 pieces for this months 'cute character' competition.

Also I'm in the process of making a few artwork for a potentional client, so fingers crossed. I recently started to have fun with my gouache and loving it!

                  2. How does my work differ from others in your genre?

Well, to me this is a very tough question cos I'm never able to view my work objectively, I guess I did manage to find my own voice in this world, I certanly hope so, but what others see when they see my work I have no idea :) I was told my work is whimsical, quirky and clever-HA! The nicest compliments to me were always those saying my art brought a huge smile on their face-what a great reward for my hard work! And I really do believe in all that 'people buy your joy'-cos it's been proven with my work too...people notice the sentiment behind your work and I really do have the most fun when I create, it brings me such joy!

             3. Why do you create?

I create cos it's who I am...seriously, when I don't create for a few days (and I mean nothing, not even sketching) I feel depressed, it's like someone told me I can breathe, but not fully with depth, just a sniff here and there. A funny thing to say, I know, creating is just who I am and not what I do, and those are such different things to me. It's in my blood and part of my persona...I've heard some who also like creating that they couldn't do this for a living cos they would prob. get bored with it then...I don't understand that term cos the more I create the more I'm hungry for more...I'm like a cookie monster execpt I'm an art monster! LOL I don't associate making money with me creating, I would create even if I didn't get paid to do so, but having the privilege to live off my art is really a true blessing and nothing less fun cos I get paid to do so! I'm very thankful to God for placing those talents in me! Maybe it's all in how one perceives life and their attitude towards making money, I don't know.

           4. How does your creative process work?

Well my process has changed dramatically since attending MATS Bootcamp. I completely forgot how to use sketchbook and after turning in all digital I see now that I have really damaged myself by doing so. There's just something about the smell of paper and holding an actual pen, pencil, brush in your hands! Breaking my work into small mini assignments, something I've learnt in bootcamp has really elevated my work to higher standards, at least that's my belief. I put a lot of thought now into sketching the actual concept, texture, decoration and patterns...my lines became stronger and smoother, I can feel more confidence and less frustration in fearing to err! So now, I sketch out rough ideas, it's always messy...then I do a cleaner version, then I trace it in ink by using my light box (made by my hubby) and then I scan the elements and get them to photoshop after which I start adding colour and then texture and everything else. Sometimes I don't scan my sketches, I just take pics and load them to ps...depending on the complexity.

this one was just taken as a photo and opened in ps...and a lot of details were changed in the end...the lettering of course, cos this was just a prompt of what's gonna be my line.

So that concludes a story about me, sorry for the long sentences and if I bored you, you can stop yawning now :) 

I want to introduce you to my two artists for blog hop, both are my new friends found thru the amazing MATS Bootcamp community we have on fb. The 1st one I want you to meet is Antonija M.!

Antonija is an art director in branding and marketing world. She's also a fellow croatian which means I can actually look forward to meeting her in person very soon! 1st time I've heard of her was when MATS started last yr, I wanted to enroll but couldn't cos I was prego and had to protect my pregnancy due to complications...anyways, I saw her name and went to check it out and viola-she was from Croatia! I don't know why I was so happy to hear that, maybe cos I didn't think any croatian designer/illustrators even knew who Lilla is and about MATS and stuff..I was always the only Croatian in our small community on internet-haha! I immediately loved her unique characters. She says about her work that it's Japan meets Sweeden. Kawaii merging with classic harmony!

Her characters are always sophisticated and cute.

I love discovering little treasures in her work, there's always so much to see...like here-look at that cute hedgehog and these jars and the perfection of the jar filling, looks so real and yummi!

I admire her personality which I believe shines thru her work too, she's dedicated, full of positive energy, wise and insightful. Having her in my life as a friend really blesses me and I feel richer. She's been my hero in distress many times and she's always there to help!

her design is always backed up with a great story concept and I love this one here! What a great message!

Antonija's video for MATS also won the 1st prize. You can check it here! No wonder, right!?

Love her quirky characters!

And her awesomeness in creating patterns-simply genious!

Here's some of her recent work!

Her entry for GTS last year that got her into top 50 and landed her 2nd brief from Lilla :) I'd love to have a journal like that!

Antonija also participated this year in a very worhty cause and she created this little dude for it! OMG-how adorable is he and those snails!!!!???

And this Sept. Antonija will be one of the exhibiters at BLE in London, so wish I could be there! I'm sooo convinced she'll just do amazing there! All the best dear Antonija!!!

And for the end my most favourite work from her...and her brand lil ledy!

You can find more of Antonija's awesome work here and follow her on fb here!

Now my 2nd artist is lovely Kelly Angelovic from Colorado. She's a very talented and sweet person, a bit quiet sometimes :) but has some really awesome blog post I love reading on life in general and her take on it. She's a mommy of 2 of which her youngest is just a few months old but she still finds time to do gorgeous work! I met Kelly in MATS Bootcamp but have heard of her as I was following the GTS competition last year and she made the top 50 with her gorgeous entry!

 

I love her colour palettes and strong expression! Her work is very whimsical and cute but also I admire her ability to create awesome pieces of art that are non kid oriented, but have a very modern and fresh look.

Aren't these awesome!? This was Kelly's work on our last assignment at bootcamp-favourite beverage wall art. I would buy these in a second!!!

Here are some of her newer pieces also done in bootcamp...I'm just loving her style, and her bright and vibrant colours, always so well balanced against some dark elements with gorgeously renedered line work. Her characters look so serene and peaceful. Her art is something one can view for a long time and I would say about Kelly that she's a well rounded artist!

And some of her mocked up work, the plates are just too gorgeous! You can visit Kelly's shop here.

Here's some more of her beautifully created pieces. When I look at her work it stirrs dreams inside me, they are very dreamy like, aren't they. She really manages to convey this little dream world of hers. She's truly is inspirational! Kelly I cannot wait to see your work for this year's GTS! It'll be a feast for the eyes, I'm sure of it! You can see some more of Kelly's work here and follow her on her fb page here.

Thank you girls for accepting to be part of my little blog hop, it was a true honor and thrill to be able to share a bit about you and your work. And all of you, hope you had a great read and have enjoyed all the gorgeous work from my fellow artists and friends. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

xox Ant

MATS Bootcamp summerized!

So our fabulous course came to an end...it's been crazy 5 months of emotional rollercoaster but I've enjoyed the ride like nothing before! It's good to get balance in our lives too and to break the restrictions of our limited perspective on things, that being said, I've really just soaked the whole thing in. There were days when I thought 'what am I doing here' and it would usually happen after everyone would start posting their gorgeous work in our group, but it wouldn't last for long and as the time passed by I've really learned to enjoy my art as well as art from the others...and then one day I've just decided to let go and have fun-something Lilla's been trying to teach us from day 1. And you know what? It really does work...cos when you have fun you create your best pieces and others notice too so while you watch all the incredible art flowing in from others you learn to relish in their art but also still loving your own and be comfortable in your own skin.

The most precious thing I've learned in Bootcamp is the importance of 'doodlin', drawing, sketching in my lost forgotten sketchbook...I've taken things way too far with digital, and there's nothing bad in being digital but doing stuff freehand in your sketchbook 1st is something I would recommend to everyone. It's liberating, therapeutic and it raises your drawing skills to a higher level...you gain so much in return. The pleasure of creating something with your own hand and the smell of paper is really something I've missed, and also by doing Lilla's mini assignments you really do stay open to a variety of ideas rushing into your head while you're drawing. It gets your creative juices going and you do create better art. I will never do things the same in my work :)

Of course there are a lot of other things that brought good stuff to me, and some precious nuggets of wisdom Lilla passed down to us, but the main part really is to HAVE FUN! 

It was an incredible journey I would gladely repeat again, so in light of those words I've signed up for Lilla's GTS (Global Talent Search) :) I am very aware it's something of a looong shot for me, but I wanna get the momentum going and just being the part of that buzz gets my juices going :) You can check out here all the goodie prizes awaiting the GTS winner, aren't they AMAZING?! It's beyond amazing, I know!

Now going back to our last July assignment...we were told to create art we would love to hang on our wall or give to a dear friend as a present...basically it was all about making art for ourselves and our soul as I would say, so we were asked not to post any of our work and progress in the group to stay true to ourselves so to speak. And I really loved that! I was more focused and I found it easier to just make art for myself...I was so inspired I was done in 4 days with it...usually it would take me 3 weeks :) lol And don't get me wrong, I loved seeing all the work in the group from the others on regular basis but it was really great to have the last month for myself creating what I really loved and not be worried if anyone else is gonna like it. And the unveiling of the gallery was super sweet and special too, cos it was the feast for the eyes to see art from others I haven't seen before! And what amazing job everyone did...I found that a lot of my fellow bootcampers did better job in this last assignment than in all the previous, but that's just my opinion :) You can check all the gorgeous work from my classmates here!

Here's my work for the last month below:

Antoana Oreški ©2014

I truly am coffee kind of girl all the way! :) lol I had several sketches going on and ultimately went with this simple but down to the point one. After I finished it I got the funny idea to turn this into a 'family portrait collection' :) Cos my hubby is a coffee freak too so I've made one of him too:

Antoana Oreški ©2014

I liked this outcome so I'm currently brainstorming ideas for my kids too...I have a few ideas already so working on how to execute those now...will post updates here so you can see.

And voila, this would be all from me for now. Looking forward to GTS, working on some gouache drawings at the moment...I got drawn by the blueish palette so I'm experimenting with that now too. Will post updates on those too.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

xoxo Ant

Updates :)

Antoana Oreški ©2014

OMG, where do I start from?! It's been way too long since my last post and I've been soooo mega busy with, well, life in general, that I've just had not time to blog as well :( This illustration you see above was done months before for my dear friend's wedd as an invitation...she's getting married this Sat. on the 28th so 'will be thinking of you Ivana and wishing you and Hari an abundance of love and kindness towards eachother in your mutual life!!!' xoxoxox

She had me design a tank top design for her maid of honour too and so I wasn't able to show that one to anyone before the maid of honour has seen it this last Fri. :) so here it is: 

Antoana Oreški ©2014

I've been entering some competitions too and to my most utter astonishement won 2 competitions...the 1st one was the Hallmark's Competition called 'COOL 4KIDZ' where I've entered my jelly characters from Lilla's Bootcamp only redesigned so they are more suitable for the brief. Here's my winning piece-yay!

Antoana Oreški ©2014

and here are my other 2 entries that were more card oriented:

Antoana Oreški ©2014

I have to admit I was beyond happy for these guys to have won...I love the strawberry gang and am glad they received the love back :) lol 

Then I've entered another competition from Tigerprint with the similar brief and it was called 'Kids Character Design' for Marks & Spencer this time and I won-again! 

Antoana Oreški ©2014

Now I was over the moon, not being able to believe it, cos let's be honest...c'mon 2 competitions in a row (ok 2 months apart)...no way!!!?? Those who know me know I'm too honest and too naive like a child to pretend being 'surprised' by all this! I NEVER won competitions before! Apart from Epicase, back in 2012 but I was not the winner, I was the 3rd place runner up. My major concern was-I hope this is not my peak!?! I wanna continue to grow and learn and build on my unique style...so I pray this is just a begining and an opportunity for me!

Also I wanna share the work from MATS Bootcamp May and June assignment...the May one was about Editorial design on Meditation and people who have an issue meditating. We were given an article and this was my submision:

Antoana Oreški ©2014

I really had fun doing this one...my prof. or how my fellow Bootcamper Petra calls him Dr. Freud is one of my fave new characters! I'm begining to really LOVE my pieces and that's something I've learned to do in Bootcamp. Like Lilla always says-people buy your joy! I guess it really is the truth! :D

Antoana Oreški ©2014

And this is my June submission for Wall Art! I know it's not a proper wall art per say, but I had tons of fun creating it and have come to love it also in the end as I played a bit with the letters size as suggested by a fellow Bootcamper Kelly :) You can tell how much I appreciate our Bootcamp community and just love being part of it-it's priceless!!! And I feel so blessed :)

Hope I didn't tire you with so much catching up :) Hope there won't be ages till my next post!

All my love to you! xoxoxo

Ant