Hi again! I thought it's time I would share something. 

I'm still very much active in Blender, but I wanted to explore a bit more what else I can do. So I tried some quick and dirty techniques to model an armored vehicle. Quite fun, and it definitely looks 'okay' in my opinion. It would definitely be a first version to work on further. Thoughts?

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of my career as a fulltime freelance artist! I don't really know what to say about it. It has been an eye opener for sure. For the last 10+ years I have been working day/night jobs while I worked on my craft. Ever building towards that goal. If you've read a bit more of my blogs, you might recall it was not without emberassing mistakes or painful regrets.  

In late December 2021, I was very fortunate to find multiple projects landing at my feet, while I was still working at the restaurant. Three very exciting projects, but only one that would truly be the best fit and the most promising. It was right during the last lockdown in my country. Business at the restaurant job was slow. The year was almost at and end, and here shows up an amazing opportunity. Somehow it felt like destiny calling. 

I called my dad and asked him what I should do. 'Buckle down and ride it out' he said. We bought a christmas tree together, and had a long overdue talk during that car ride. Man to man, not just father and son. He wanted me to know that, if I was really serious about my goals, it was time to look in the mirror and ask myself what I really wanted. Saying you want to become a fulltime artist is one thing, but doing it is another. I knew I had a shot of making it work, but I had to commit. 

So I followed his advice. I set up a schedule, and worked my ass off that month. However I learned a thing or two about crunch time. When the dust settled, December had flew by and suddenly it was 2022 - with two promising job offers. I weighed my options and made a very clear decision. And the rest is history! Bringing the good news to my family at the dinner table was the best feeling ever. I have proven I could do it!

Now, I work as a concept artist for their project; 'Wild Life'! Check out the cinematic trailer and their Patreon here The game is 18+ but don't let that scare you off. We're building some cool stuff!  Speaking of which, I added a sneak preview of some concept art I made. There are a lot more pieces coming soon. 

Sadly, my dad passed away in the summer of 2022. It hasn't been the same without him. Except that I'm now more close with my family than ever. I'm glad he got to see many beautiful things during his short retirement. Moreover I'm proud and happy he saw me grow out of my shell and find a home and a career. He never will have to worry about me again. Thanks dad, for all your love and care. 

I am uncertain where 2023 will take me. For now, I want to focus on learning from my current job. So far It's been a really exiting. Meanwhile, I'm also rebuilding my website. There's a bunch of new artwork coming soon! So stick around :) For all those that read my blogs,thank you for taking an interest in my little life. 

Every time I saw someone post a new tutorial or addon, I would get hyped and started experimenting in Blender. Eventually I got better at setting up scenes, and I picked up some handy new techniques ( QuickShape, QuickCurves, QuickTexture for example ) I also learned a bit about displacement techniques, by studying Florent Lebrun's tutorials. 

I had played with 3DCoat in the past, but they recently released a new version. It's definitely worth a try. I learned a bit more about sculpting, and even did some PBR painting. The voxel sculpting workflow is great when you switch back and forth between Blender and 3DCoat. And it works with the previous mentioned Quick addons quite well too.

I've taken an interest in texture painting, so I'm trying both Quixel Mixer and Substance Painter. Although Substance Painter seems way complicated to me. More on that later.

Here are some of the sketches and experiments I made over the year. Enjoy!

Posting some #Pleinairpril ( old and new ! ) 

I minted the artwork 'Heron' on Rarible. Find me there! My username is michielvdheuvel
https://app.rarible.com/token/0xd07dc4262bcdbf85190c01c996b4c06a461d2430:216766:0x32dc066524a9ec14d499e159256e625ed11bc9e3

These are some sketches I made for a unannounced animated tv show. Maybe I can show the finished results later this month, maybe not. Either way I had a lot of fun doing these sketches. 

Last month I was experimenting with some nifty animation app called Werble. Below are some experiments.. Currently I'm working on a different method which I will reveal at a later time. I've been researching a lot about creating atmospheric effects in After Effects and Photoshop, stitching gifs together and trying to composite them into Photoshop.

If you're reading this it means I have decided to bite the bullet and write a new blog post in my new website. ( Find my old one here )  It's been over a year since my last entry on my original blog, where I left off on a note saying that essentially  my ambitions to be a professional independent freelance artist in the digital entertainment industry were not going very well. I had made many mistakes, did not gave it everything I had, and was very much in conflict with myself. I had to take measures otherwise I would never grow and develop as a person.

That year I started working in a restaurant as a kitchen aid to pay the bills. I have been there ever since and learned a thing or two about myself and life. 2017 has flown by incredibly fast and a lot has happened in that time. So much in fact that I've been shying away from writing a proper follow-up post just because of it. A lot of things were lost to and there were also many things that I left behind. With relief, but with a pained heart.

I hope that what I'm writing will offer a little insight to my experiences and my beliefs in life. I have mixed feelings about putting certain things out on front street, but I feel that these posts act as  the cartilage of my sketches and paintings. For now I think it's better to keep it to the point : 

I am still working a day job and I'm fine with that for now. Yes there are moments where I despise it, but more importantly, I started appreciating my free time a hell lot more. I found out that I still have plenty of ambition and drive to become better as an artist. I have learned many things in 2017. It's hard to think of them on the top of my head but here are some of the more hardline advice I wrote down recently :

1) Don't chase the money - chase your whimsical ideas, experiments and do what you like to be doing regardless of payment.

2) Don't compete - Just 'do you' and show it to the right people

3) Put knowledge into practice - figure out what can help you speed up your process with accurate results when you're on the clock

4) Track your progress - develop a rhythm or pattern in your progress so that you may improve upon it

4) Keep an open mind -  try new techniques and different software to challenge yourself

5) Determine your worth - ask yourself if *your* work done for the month is a fair result against your minimum monthly financial needs and want

I'd like to go out saying that 2016 and 2017 made a real impact on me. I grew as a person and developped my ambitions, my passions. I feel very confident that I'm headed for a positive new year and I want to thank everyone in earnest for their patience and help.

Lastly, do enjoy some of my sketches and studies from this year!