by Justas | Oct 20, 2015 | Articles
Did I tell you about the importance of taking your mind off work to have some proper rest and get back on track being way more relaxed and motivated? It is still true that to be the best at what you do you need to practice it every day, as is that with doing what you love it shouldn’t be too hard. However, other than amazing achievements, putting hours and hours into one field is likely to result into burning out. Regular breaks are the thing that helps me avoid it. During these breaks I try to get away from work completely. When recently the great guys from Iconfinder have invited me to participate in their Icon Salon conference in Amsterdam, I took this opportunity as a perfect getaway from the daily routine. Who wouldn’t? But instead of travelling straight to the conference and heading back home right after it finishes, I planned a one-week vacation in the beautiful Amsterdam. It meant no computer, no phone, and even no sketchbook! Only wandering around the city, discovering one amazing thing after another. You won’t believe how even short vacations like this can help you restart your mind. Running away from the daily work routine and avoiding checking your feeds and email every other minute eventually put you in a completely different mindset. After just a few days you feel how you stop rushing, and everything slows down, while your mind clears up. It feels as if you simply reload your brain. You have to do this every now and then to dump all the trash out of your mind and...
by Justas | Sep 29, 2015 | Articles
Hello guys! So something big and exciting happened today – I’ve launched my very first t-shirt campaign on the Cotton Bureau! I’m super ecstatic and I of course want to share it with you. Even though Cotton Bureau messed up a bit and haven’t launched my t-shirts on time.. Grumpy is finally here! And it’s grumpier than ever! Now it’s way easier to show your attitude towards Mondays without having to say a word! Just show up wearing one of these tees at the office, school or uni, and it speak out. Get your grumpy tees! And with the Christmas season approaching and all the buzz surrounding it, it’s better to start preparing the gifts for your best mates now, don’t you think? Do you play Secret Santa at your office or uni? Well, you can get a Grumpy t-shirt for those you don’t like that much and express your feelings without being caught. While you are making a list of people to gift the t-shirts to, I’ll tell you a little bit about the process behind them. Design Process Oh boy, it took me so long to make this illustration right! You can’t imagine. Sadly, I don’t have all the design steps, but you can take a look at my early attempts and awkward-looking deformed cats here. Truth be told, it was a real struggle for me to design Grumpy, as I was not used to working with the organic forms such as animals or plants. Nevertheless, I took this challenge because I believe in the deliberate practice. As you all know quite well by now, the quality of the practice is just...
by Justas | Sep 22, 2015 | Articles
When I first started designing icons, I never even for a second thought I could work as a full-time icon designer. My background is UI/UX design, and I haven’t been into icons that much, to be honest. The first time I bumped up against icon design was when I couldn’t get a proper fit for one of my projects. I had nothing to do but learn a few techniques, and I eventually came up with some shitty icons for the website I was working on. Right when I thought I was done with it forever, the company I was working for back then got a few icon design requests, so I had to do those too. Frankly speaking, I didn’t like it, and it didn’t seem like something important to me at the moment. But everything changed when one day I decided to create a small icon set just to get the feel of it. It was summertime, I wasn’t overloaded with work at my studio, so why not dedicate this free time to design practicing, I thought. I took a few icons from my previous web project, refined them and started building a travel themed set. That was the very first time I felt that creating icons could actually be fun. While making them just for myself, I was able to play with styles and choose only the metaphors I liked. That was also the moment I got interested in the passive income and selling my works on Creative Market. Even though I’d never tried anything similar before. Starting big wasn’t my intention, so I signed up and...
by Justas | Sep 15, 2015 | Articles
Today I woke up feeling tired and unmotivated. I know I have to prepare and upload a new shot to my dribbble profile everyday, but I just don’t feel like it. Maybe it’s the rain outside my bedroom window, or maybe that’s just the autumn blues. Days are becoming shorter, and I swear it gets darker every morning when I wake up. It might as well be the fact that I have been working until midnight yesterday. Or did I just run out of icon ideas? I reckon that is what they call the creative block. The state of mind when you feel unmotivated and idealess. So how do you overcome this creative block? I bet every designer experience creative block from time to time. I myself get tired of everything and sometimes feel unable to create anything decent and meaningful ever. Such doubts are natural, and creative blocks like that happen to all of us at some point. The important thing if you want to be the best one out there is to get over it and don’t give up to the creative block. Fight and demolish it once and for all. Becoming outstanding at what you do is all about constant hard work and daily publishing of the outcomes. You have to push yourself everyday, every minute, every second. Since I understood there was no place for creative block in my design routine, I’ve found some great tips on how to overcome it. So instead of lying in bed for half an hour, figuring how I could cheat this time: post some old icons or skip the...
by Justas | Sep 3, 2015 | Articles
There is a first time for everything Creating first icon set could be really challenging. There are usually lots of questions popping in your head, like “What should my icon set be about?”, “How many icons is enough?” or a classic “How do I know if it is good?”. Sounds familiar? Concerns like these prevent you from even starting an icon set. This has to stop. We all know too well that the hardest thing to do is to start. To make it easier – start small. Don’t make your first icon set for a client. Don’t make it for sale. Don’t even make it a freebie. Do it for fun! You will always have a chance to work for some scumbag who will try to kill your passion for the icon design. Starting your journey has to be nothing but fun and excitement, from the first sketch to the polished vector icons, ready to knock everyone off their feet. Here are a couple of things that will smooth your way into the icon design. 1. Choose the right theme for you first set Your first icon set should reflect something you’re passionate about. Otherwise, how are you going to enjoy the whole process of creating it? Forget about the boring basic topics like household items (unless they are your passion, of course)! Think outside the box and go for something that brings your joy in real life. Do you like skateboarding? Or is it painting that makes your heart skip a beat? Maybe reading? Riding a bicycle? Is singing your thing? Choosing the theme that excites you is...
by Justas | Sep 2, 2015 | Articles
So…you want to be an icon designer. You want to put sophisticated ideas into simple icons. Help lonely wanderers find their way through the jungles of the internet. Be able to talk to every person, regardless of the language they speak. And, of course, help foreigners find a toilet when they need it the most! But you still question yourselves “Do I have what it takes?” Am I right? Well, let me tell you. Yes, you do! I strongly believe that a person can be absolutely anything and anyone they want. Yes, for some people it would be much easier, while others will struggle to get what they want, but in the end if you are committed to something, if you practice, you will become a real expert in your field. You know what they say – practice makes perfect! So you want to create kick ass icons, huh? Get ready to try, fail and then try again until your icons are impeccable. To help you get there I’ve got some useful tips prepared for you. Jump in! 1. Pay attention to details Great icon designers pay attention to each and every small detail. If you want to become one, you must too. There is no such thing as an insignificant detail when it comes to small icons that carry big messages. Everything must be perfect, and everything matters. Period. With every single line or curve you can either make a message clearer or completely ruin it. I bet that’s not what you aim to, right? Be patient and take this piece of advice seriously. 2. Choose the right...
