Behind the Hustle with Shaun Evaristo

Shaun Evaristo is an accomplished choreographer whose credits include Big Bang, 2NE1, Taeyang, and Omarion. He owns a company called "Movement Lifestyle" - which is actually... one of my inspirations for this "Artist Lifestyle" Blog. Earlier this year, I worked for Shaun to build a trade show booth for his company (I made the ML prop that you see at 1:58 in the background of this video).  What really impressed me about Shaun was his humility!  He has such a humble attitude, he doesn't have a big head at all and is really positive.

This guy is so dope. He used to sleep in his car overnight just so he could take classes or ask for jobs!

He gives some pretty good advice for young people:

1) Surround yourself with good people. People you can identity with, people you can relate to, and keep them very close to you, because this industry WILL tear you down.

2) Constantly look around and being inspired by different things. And then, at the end, making sure your business is tight. Really making sure your network is up and being able to utilize all the social networks necessary to build your brand and market yourself.

3) Lastly, focus on the craft itself. If your craft is what it is, it's unique, its right, then everything else will come and follow and gravitate.

This is Shuan's commercial reel. It's so sick. Look how cool it is! It's not just him dancing around with funny camera angles. It's a bunch of people he taught how to dance around at funny camera angles with millions of people around the world watching!

Something like this is what I aspire to do. Not just be an "artist" - but some sort of artistic/ creative director. Traveling, meeting people from all over the world... that would be cool.

Get in Your Base Mileage!!

Robh Rupple is an amazing artist. His blog (http://broadviewgraphics.blogspot.com/) is amazing. I used to be like "this is so stupid, why did he upload a photograph to his blog. Oh shit... that's not a photograph."



Rob's advice to students...

There is no secrets and there is no shortcuts. I like to use the analogy of bike riding. If you want to be a professional cyclist you have to do your base miles. And you have to ride 100-200 miles a week... before you can even think about technique! Before you can even think about.. you know.. "how can I  improve"? You gotta get that base mileage done!

Same thing for making art. You don't just do a little bit on the weekends.
Everyday you're drawing.
Everyday you're painting.
Everyday you are using the drawing as a process to understand structure.

You know... there are no secrets and there are no shortcuts.  There information is no obscure, it's kind of easy. It's the application, it's having the discipline and the will, and the interest to do it every single day and not get tired. You might get discouraged, but the next day you are gonna wake up and be like "alright - I'm gonna do better, I'm gonna work harder."

Dice Tsutsumi

Why does Dice Tsutsumi wake up at 5am to go painting even though he is already so good?
Watch the video to find out! (topic starts at 7:00 link)

Will Smith - Inspiration words of Wisdom

This video has a lot of positive energy. I used to watch this video every single day. I put this video on my bookmarks bar, and labeled it "watch this everyday." It helps. A lot.

Character Matters

I recently came across an article titled "What if the secret to success is Failure?" (article link)  The article is about an educator who teaches "character" in schools, and it's long term effect on students.

If you read Malcom Gladwell's Outliers (book), you know the theory that if you spend 10,000 hours doing something - you will become really good at it. Spend years practicing something, pull a bunch of all-nighters, get good grades and success right? NOOOO!

The article talks about this school called KIPP. Crudely put, the school takes a bunch of poor kids from the cities, and make them super smart by having them study all day- ASIAN STYLE! The teachers are like - holy crap - we made these kids super smart and they are all gonna get great jobs!  But as it turned out, a bunch of their kids started dropping out like flies when they got to college.  Then the teachers were like - ah shit! wtf happened?!

They started investigating and apparently... the kids who were optimistic, able to persevere and had strong "character" were the ones that graduated college and found good jobs. These select kids didn't necessarily have the scores in high school. But they were just more hardy and able to surmount difficulties, and they ended up surpassing their other classmates from KIPP who may have even had high test scores.  So the educators were like...  let's teach character in schools!

You see, just working really hard isn't enough. You can get 2400 on SATs, 4.5 GPA, President of this club and captain of sports team. You think those kids are smart right? Yeah, but they might also be weak. They are like a character in a video game that does 2000 attack damage and has only 20 hp. They can dish out, but they can't take it. They can kill anything that comes near them, but once they get hit, they are down. Those kids are so used to success, but they break down when they know they have failed. I know.. I was one of them.

My boy Rocky.. used to say "It's not how hard you can punch, but how hard you can get punched."

The artist lifestyle beliefs are able building character to become a successful artist. Yes, art and design techniques and principles are important. But it's also important on the holistic nature of yourself as an artist.

Read the article! (article link again!)

Intro to the Artist Lifestyle

It's about time I did this.  I'm an artist. I believe learning in art form, whether it is painting, dance, music, cooking, fashion - all share similarities. These principles I developed are meant for painting and drawing, but I believe it applies to many art forms. It's a way of living your life. It's the artist lifestyle.

Why?
These certain beliefs and values that I hold. They are kind of old fashioned and aren't popular in today's society. However, I want to express them in the event that you are a person who shares my beliefs or would like to share them - we can stick together and help each other out.

Artist Lifestyle Beliefs

1) Do what you love. Don't adjust to the market. There will be someone out there who appreciates your work.

2) Practice. Practice. Practice your CRAFT. Don't be afraid of hard work. Push your boundaries and be disciplined.

3) Don't be afraid of failure or rejection. Just go for it.

4) Be humble. Don't reside in past achievements or failures. Keep moving forward. Know that there is always someone out there working harder than you.

5) Help each other! We are in this together.

6) Respect other people's perspectives and opinions. There is not only one way. Learn and understand other people can better oneself.

7) Make the world a better place. What kind of impact does your artistry have on the world?

8) The only person who can make it happen is you. No sissy talk. Just do it. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

9) Be respectful of teachers and peers. Learn to appreciate even the smallest things. Be positive. Expect NOTHING, be grateful for EVERYTHING.

10) You cannot learn if your cup is full. Empty your cup constantly to continue to learn.