You want the truth about art skills?

It takes a lot of time to learn and it's not easy, but it is possible and everybody can do it!

Before I started my training at the film studio I was studying fine arts for six years in Munich. Yes, I was lucky enough to get my art school paid for by my parents. 

When I started at Han Film they just began production on "Asterix in America", hosting about 150 artists at their place from all over the world, as well as the Asterix & Obelix creator Uderzo himself. 

Because I spent several months in every department of our studio I learned everything there is to know about creating animations, feature films, TV productions, and

games, from script to final product. I scored the apprenticeship after a four-week work experience back then. They offered me what was called a "sorcerer's apprentice contract", which lasted for three years.

Working with top artists from Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, and alike made me learn the craft of filmmaking from a different angle than, let's say a more artistic approach one gets taught at university. I had the choice back then as a young man to pursue either way and after six years of basic fine art training, I decided to go for the three-year apprenticeship at Hahn Film. And I never looked back. 

Now that I'm 52 years old and have a lot of experience in the traditional as well as the digital creation of visual arts I decided to give this blog thing a go and combine what I learned with my love for teaching. I very much hope you will find some useful information here and I would also be very happy if you would drop me a comment or mail with your feedback and maybe even some requests on what you'd like me to write/teach about. 

One of my main mantras is, I believe every person can learn how to draw and paint, no matter how 'skilled' or 'talented' one may be.

Because in my humble opinion talent is nothing but perseverance. The ability to keep on keeping on even if what you produce is not satisfying to your standards. I have seen this many times. And most people who give up are people who don't even try properly. And this counts even more nowadays in the age of apps and computers doing all the handcrafting for you and neglecting the old hand-eye coordination and the time it takes for the brain to create the necessary muscle memory to do 'simple' things like drawing a perfect circle or even a straight line with a pencil on a sheet of paper. Nowadays those things are functions of most drawing apps, which are responsible for most newcomers being lost without their graphics tablet or iPad. This is also the reason why so many young artists are rather confused when they think all they need to do is a "Learn how to draw in 15 minutes" tutorial on youtube, but it ain't quite happening that fast after all and they get frustrated soon after and stop trying.

That's where my blog comes in handy and it will make you appreciate using the old-school way of art creation as a rock-solid foundation for your digital endeavors. 

Let's dive into it and have fun, shall we? :)