To Maximize Your Talents You Have To Recognize & Acknowledge Where You Suck

Last week I mentioned that I had recorded new video tutorials for Layers Magazine & Psdtuts+. I have been creating videos for Layers Magazine for a while, and I was excited to have met Grant Friedman at Photoshop World. Our conversation at PSW Vegas led to the opportunity to create videos for Psdtuts+. My first tutorial Use Curves Adjustment to Turn Day to Night was posted last Friday and sent shockwaves throughout the community. Never before in the history of Psdtuts+ had such a horrendous-putrid-God-awful-stink of a tutorial ever been posted. At least, not until Saturday when my second tutorial Create a Planet Using Photoshop’s 3D Capabilities went live on the site…

*sigh*

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed with the outcome. No one wants to hear that their work isn’t acceptable. How could this happen you ask? Simple. I clearly didn’t know my audience before creating the tutorials. I have never claimed to be an artist, anyone who follows my work knows I’m more artisan & engineer. My talent lies not in what I create, but my ability to communicate & teach. I could argue the merits of both tutorials, but that would be like telling an Apple fanboy why they should by a PC. Bottom line, I missed the mark. I failed. I laid a big fat goose egg. Twice.

To Maximize Your Talents You Have To Recognize & Acknowledge Where You Suck

A colleague recently suggested I was living in a bubble of positive feedback where everyone kissed my ass and told me how wonderful I am. I can assure you, THAT is not the case. It would be easy to pass on creating future tutorials for Psdtuts+, but I’m not one to shy away from a challenge. The shortcomings in the videos I created were the final images. Can I create better images? ABSOLUTELY. Will all the readers on Psdtuts+ love my work? Probably not, but I’m willing to bet the positives results outweigh any negative reviews.

New Video Tutorials on Layers Magazine & PSD Tuts+

Good morning everyone!

It seems like an eternity since I’ve posted on the blog. Thanks for keeping up-to-date with events through my YouTube channel, G+ & Facebook. We’re still ironing out tech issues here, but I think it’s safe to start posting again. *crosses fingers & toes*

As many of you know I’ve been keeping busy creating content for a number of folks. This week I’m excited to share that I have video tutorials delivered to Layers Magazine & PSD Tuts+. You can catch my Illustrator tutorial on Pen Tricks which was posted yesterday, and I’ll be sure to link the other tutorials as they’re posted online. If you’re antsy for my latest YouTube video, don’t fret Episode #50 is coming soon. It takes more than a computer meltdown, leaky roof & water damage to keep me away from recording.

Thanks to everyone that has been submitting suggestions for tutorials. You can always post here, or leave me comments on YouTube, G+ & Facebook.