Our Mission
Resolution Art is created by Chelsea Blecha and Dylan Choonhachat as a collective dedicated to helping artists navigate and succeed in the entertainment art industry. We offer classes, mentorships, and resources that focus on artistic development and empowerment.
Wisdom to Help You Succeed
Through our combined experience of working in the industry and coaching aspiring artists, we have developed a method that we believe is most effective in helping you break in. In order for us to support you in your creative journey, we need to be able to evaluate, comment, and critique your work freely and honestly.
While we try our best to be encouraging and supportive, there will be times when you will receive feedback on your work that may seem negative. We are aware that art is subjective.
However, we are only offering our most sincere assessment of your progress to help guide you to your vision. Growth can only happen when you examine your progress through a critical lens. Being able to see your shortcomings will allow you to learn more efficiently, and with respect and curiosity, we hope to work with you to see your goals come to fruition.
Understanding the Business of Art
If you are trying to work in illustration, games, animation, or live-action, you need to understand that the industry is a business, and a business needs to make money. Many aspiring artists may mistake that the entertainment art industry is solely a place for you to express your creativity.
However, as fulfilling as it is to draw, paint, design, create worlds, and tell stories for a living, employers and clients are paying you for your service, and they will expect a certain level of quality for their money. If this idea does not sit well with you, consider a different career.
While you may see many professional artists on social media post their personal work, it is not how most of them make a living. With the exception of a few who sell directly to their fanbase, most professionals have bosses and clients, and the successful ones understand their role and value in the business.
Portfolio Building
If you are looking for a job, your portfolio should show that you can do the work. While there are different level jobs, a job that pays enough to sustain a long-term career will require you to meet a certain standard. You must learn to objectively evaluate your skill level when you apply to jobs. Your portfolio should show that you understand the pipeline and have expertise in your field. Clients and employers want to know that they can trust you to deliver quality work. Some jobs are also harder to land than others.
For example, character design has fewer openings, but has many artists applying, so only the best of the best will be selected. If you are passionate about these jobs that are more competitive, you will have to put in a lot of work.
Improving Your Work
Every skill has prerequisites and those will have their own prerequisites. Improving your art is like building a pyramid. The foundation at the bottom supports every layer on top. The bigger the foundation, the taller you can build your pyramid. If you have a small foundation, and you only stack bricks on top made up of shortcuts and gimmicks, your structure will not be stable and you will eventually reach a limit. If you are struggling to design a background, ask yourself if you have a good grasp on composition, perspective, or set-dressing, and consider brushing up on those skills first.
It is also a misconception that foundation is something that only beginners have to work on – You can add to your foundation at any time to increase your ability to create. Even professionals are constantly working on their foundation to keep their skills sharp in order to consistently deliver work at a high level. We believe that a solid foundation is the key to your success.
How to Study/Practice
There is no single way to learn, but our experiences have shown us that deliberate practice and mileage are necessary if you want to see improvement in your art. If you are looking to see results, examine how much time you are spending on your art. While we promote healthy work environments and understand that burn-outs are real, learning complex skills like picture making takes a lot of hours, days, weeks, years, or even decades.
We can provide you with encouragement, support, feedback, and guidance, but you have to put in the work yourself. On top of putting in the hours, some methods of learning are more efficient than others, and being more strategic with your practice can help reduce the amount of time it takes to master a skill. Instead of spending most of your time fixing a finished illustration, consider spending some time to learn and master all the required skills first.
When a piece is not going well, most likely it is the foundation that is lacking. Even though it’s good to test your skills on a finished piece once in a while, the more complex concepts may be easier to learn when broken down into smaller exercises. A training regimen that leans heavily on isolated studying may yield faster results.
Disclaimer
Everyone has different lives, and not every solutions will be applicable to everyone's situation. The resources and advice we offer are based on our own personal experiences, and they are not meant to be universal. Art making is a life long pursuit, and your experiences make you unique as an artist.