Chairs? Normally this person greets with something like "realists" or "meme-crunchers" which usually refers to the topic they discuss in their post, but in this one they never talk about chairs. It made sense only when I saw the time this was posted at.
4:34 AM is when you should be asleep.
No, okay, seriously, actually I chose an artist who has a presence on Twitter. He was a convenient choice because I already had been following him for a few months now and so had a better grasp of what he is like.
Nicholas Kole is a US-based freelance artist who I got interested in upon hearing he was working as a concept artist for the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. His style is whimsical and colorful, and his disposition towards work is professional and intelligent so I followed him in hopes of learning something from him -- and also to get an "early access" to the designs he made for the games.
He's a friendly fellow who often interacts with his crowd of followers, and generously hands out helpful advice. From what I've gathered of his life story, he went through some kind of "enlightement" when it comes to his own art, so he encourages others to listen to their heart while also keeping their wits about them.
Sometimes his bitter cynicism rears its head and he writes pretty harsh things, especially when it comes to the field he works in. He seems to have no love for working for video game studios, who time and time again show to not really care about their workers (e.g. Riot, Rockstar, Telltale), and preaches working as a freelance artist as a better way of taking care of yourself.
From Nicholas, with the dash of cynicsm added, one can learn some insights of the real state of things. Video game industry especially in the US where they have no workers unions as a safety-net is a rough environment, and Nicholas takes an active role in routing out these evil spirits and raising awareness, yet often in an accusing and maybe even preaching tone. There seems to be a lot of work to be done before the industry can rid itself of exploitative workplace methods (e.g. crunch culture) and sometimes it honestly doesn't look all that appetizing.
It makes me think that eventhough his artwork is now very saturated with colors, considering the "enlightement" which completely transformed his art from the inside-out, and how he proclaims his love for the color pink, his work is at least to some extent fueled just by spite. Spite for all the gritty color palettes that surround us in games and movies, but also from genuine anger towards the industry. It makes an interesting juxtaposition when his work is so happy and cheerful.
It's impossible to separate the art from the artist, but I think Nicholas is fighting the good fight. It's very important to criticize and bring these problems to the daylight.
No kings, no masters, no tea, no shade, no anti-anime gatekeeping, no fear of furries, no such thing as cal-arts-style, no worries, no limits, no fear, no time wasted on other people's hangups.— Nicholas Kole 💜💛🧡 (@FromHappyRock) November 1, 2018
Draw more, draw better, draw anything, be voracious.
Keep calm and draw on.
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