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Case Study With AJ Nazzaro: Anatomy Of A Purple Cow (Part 2) :: EAJ #22

AJNazzaroCaseStudyP2_PostArt_1280wIn part one of our “Purple Cow” Case Study with AJ Nazzaro, we discussed how, despite getting a late start, his willingness to face any and every creative challenge is why he’s now working for Blizzard and Wizards Of The Coast – his dream clients.

In this episode, he paints a vivid picture of what it means to be committed to the craft…

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Comments

  1. noemi says

    November 29, 2016 at 8:57 AM

    This was soo so great!!! I was literally painting with my legs crossed and my back hunched over as I was listening to this lol!

    I’d always felt it was bad to stop in mid-painting because I was struggling, I felt I needed to keep going to get it done! After listening to this I’ve learned “No! It’s ok to take 8 hours to study a fedora for example!” If I’m struggling painting snow in my piece then I need to stop and just take a day to hone in on that.

    And when I feel overwhelmed with the awesomeness of others work the fact that drawing circles and lines to get myself going can definitely help, or focusing in on a skill like drawing eye lids can help is a great direction to not stop learning.

    Thanks for this guys!!! <3 P.S. Edge you are great at digging deeper with these questions!

    I used to just turn on Netflix when I got overwhelmed and I'd come back to it later thinking I was just overthinking it, and now I realize it's that I'm not thinking/studying enough!

    Reply
    • Edge says

      December 12, 2016 at 11:05 AM

      Hey Noemi!

      Woohoo!! That is SO awesome to hear! Thanks for sharing this with us 😀 I’m really happy to hear that this has been so insightful for you! It’s been so important tfor me to realise that it’s not a waste of time to stop and improve an area that’s holding meback in what I’m trying to achieve ^__^ (whew that was a long sentence!)

      And thank you for the kind words! I really appreciate that <3 😀

      Reply
  2. Victoria Phillips says

    November 30, 2016 at 3:57 PM

    AJ’s attitude is so inspirational!

    Reply
    • Edge says

      December 12, 2016 at 11:06 AM

      It really is! Interviewing him was such an amazingly motivating experience 😀

      I’m happy you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  3. ramyahegde22 says

    December 20, 2016 at 12:22 AM

    This guy is blowing my mind!!! Such intense focus and dedication. WOW! Thank you so much for doing this interview 🙂

    P.S.: I can’t get over the fact that he sounds so much like Andy Samberg 😀

    Reply
  4. Teresa says

    March 28, 2017 at 6:25 AM

    Oh, my!

    I lay on the floor too, when I’m doing commissions but I didn’t have enough sleep. Weirdly, I found that it’s rather good from my back.

    Personally, I really appreciated the bit about keeping healthy as I also have a fair few problems due to my previous, very sedentary job. I found a good balance that is slowly making me better by:

    – Alternating sitting and standing: I have a Cintiq on an easel and it’s really good to be able to use my whole arm to do lineart in particular.
    – I sit on an exercise ball rather than a chair: never been more comfortable. And I can bounce while I work! It’s important.
    – Take a break for lunch break and do stretches and use a roller (I do stretches before I work, too and a hot shower helps immensely, too).
    – Go for a walk any time I can, to get my vitamin D.

    These things all helped a lot. I also see a massage therapist every now and then and she really sets me straight, and also gives me exercises for a previous knee injury that is now on the mend.

    Reply

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Meet Chris:

Chris Oatley was a character designer and visual development artist at Disney for five years before he left to create The Oatley Academy of Visual Storytelling. Chris Oatley's ArtCast is the #1 illustration podcast on iTunes. He co-hosts Escape From Art Jail, The Paper Wings Show and is a frequent contributor for ImagineFX Magazine. At The Oatley Academy, he teaches composition, color theory, character design, storytelling and digital painting.

Meet Edge:

Ejiwa Ebenebe (you can call her “Edge”) impressed her peers and teachers at The Oatley Academy with her sophisticated artistic style and wisdom beyond her years. She is an alumni of The Magic Box, Painting Drama and The Spark. In 2015, she joined Team OA as an Editorial Assistant where she is currently working with Chris Oatley to develop new business strategies for visual storytellers. Together, they produce and co-host Escape from Art Jail.

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