Hey, guys! In this episode, I am chatting with Lioba Brückner, a painter based in Germany, most known for portraying young women in a surrealistic manner superimposed by plants or insects. She runs a very popular art YouTube channel full of tutorials.
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Get in touch with Lioba
- Website: http://lioba.info/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdY_vZeVdjKmcDqdG2HtjlA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liobabrueckner/
Key Takeaways
“Listen to what you really enjoy the most and do everything you can to follow it”
- Lioba’s boyfriend had a great importance in her development as an artist. He guided her, taught her fundamentals, anatomy. She used to be very stubborn in the beginning but soon learned that feedback is a good thing and helped her to improve the most.
- What is more, Lioba got also a lot of feedback in different areas, personal, professional, e.g. how to present yourself, how to pitch/sell, etc.
- Lioba’s most difficult time was when she was in her mid-20s and she learned that every artist she followed had ‘huge income’, everybody was running Kickstarter and she was earning only $300/month. So she set a goal that she will start with selling 1 artwork per month in a gallery, once she reached that, she went to 2 artworks, etc. This step by step progress helped her build the confidence and grow further.
Resources mentioned
- Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf (in German)
- Books for professional development
- Dale Carnegie – How to win friends and influence people
- Michael Port – Steal the show – the art of presentation
- Art tools
- Oil paints – Schmincke
- Paper – Fabriano, Hahnemuhle
- Podcast – Waking up podcast with Sam Harris – political stuff – completely different from arts
- Lioba listens to audiobooks during painting time
Special thanks to Lioba for joining me today. See you next time!
All artworks by Lioba Brückner, used with permission
Episode Transcript
Announcer
Creative, artistic, happy! That’s you. There are endless possibilities for living a creative life. So let’s inspire each other. Art Side of Life interviews with Iva.
Iva Mikles
Hello everyone and welcome to the next episode of Art Side of Life where I chat with inspiring artists and creator is art related videos. My name is Iva and my guest today is Lioba Bruckner and in this episode, you will learn about her art process and how she generates income from her art.
Lioba Bruckner
Hmm seems to work. Instagram seems to work and YouTube seems to work, I will just pin down the income streams that can sustain me the most, and I would just focus on them.
Iva Mikles
Lioba is a painter based in Germany and she studied at Academia of art and disorder. And she’s most known for portraying young women in surrealistic manners superimposed by plants or insect LeoVegas art is influenced by contemporary artists, old masters, Japanese culture, science fiction, fantasy movies, and their admiration for nature. She runs a very popular art youtube channel full of art tutorials and traditional paintings. So please welcome Lioba Bruckner, and let’s get to the interview. So welcome, everyone to the next episode of Art Side of Life. And I’m super happy to have you over here. Hi. Hi, Iva.
Lioba Bruckner
So great to see you today.
Iva Mikles
I’m super grateful that you joined us today. And let’s share some of your background. And we can talk about themes and how you work. But let’s start with your background. And maybe you can share some of your creative outlets when you were a child.
Lioba Bruckner
Yes, sure. So I think I just never stopped drawing like every child, I would draw and paint. And yeah, I think I just started with manga, art, and just animals and monsters, and I was super into Pokemon and take him on. Like, I wouldn’t be crazy about these games. And I still like them today. But yeah, this was just the background. And like the most important thing, what really, like gave me the opportunity that it can be like a professional artist, when I met my boyfriend, and I’m still my partner. And yeah, he was at the time 18 or 18. And I was 17. So it was like in my late teens already, when I really learned it and when I pursued it because he did it already. And I was like I want to learn if so please teach me.
Iva Mikles
He was already like a freelance illustrator. Yeah,
Lioba Bruckner
absolutely was 18 I was so impressed. This was like, so amazing. And I never thought like that you could do it. I just thought it was a hobby or something. Yeah. And also, I was totally not into an internet ad community. I didn’t know if things existed back then. Like, I don’t know which year it was, but like 11 years ago or something like that. And I don’t know if there were Instagram or Facebook or something. I just nothing. I didn’t know anything. So this was pretty exciting for me to learn it.
Iva Mikles
So what did you started with? Was it already like traditional paints like watercolors? Or did you were like, Okay, I really want to try digital and combined with watercolors or what was your tool?
Lioba Bruckner
So So I was really young then and I just didn’t know what to do. And I was like, Okay, I just do everything that you do now. Because I just had no idea. I just wanted to learn it. And he was like, okay, then do still life and portraiture. And then I would just do what, what he would say to me like, Okay, now paint this portrait, or no painter still life. And then I would pretty much continue on doing it for I don’t know, five years or what? And then I would think, okay, and now actually like to be I’m more into people drawing people, especially girls, so it would develop after time. And the first year, I just didn’t know anything, I would just do what he would suggest. And I was just totally happy that I could learn from him. Yeah.
Iva Mikles
So I didn’t refer to did he gave you also like a feedback or where did you kind of learn, you know, like, maybe anatomy and color and
Lioba Bruckner
all? Absolutely, absolutely. So I was pretty grateful for that. I mean, it is I think it is difficult as a young person to receive feedback because you have to learn how that feedback is always a good thing. But I was pretty stubborn. I would be like totally, like angry like why don’t you like it or I write, criticize, criticize it but it was so Hopefully like it just as a process. After yesterday, I learned, and it’s so valuable. So yeah.
Iva Mikles
So while you were learning you were still in school, right? So you didn’t have to worry like, Okay, I need to find a job right away.
Lioba Bruckner
It was when I was 18. Like, my school ended, I finished school. And then I would study and we both he was a year. He’s one year older than me. So he studied one year before me. And we both applied to the Academy of Arts in Dusseldorf because we thought at that time, okay, we have to do it. When we want to be a professional artists, we really have to do it. So yeah, we were both would apply there. And we both got accepted with which is pretty, like it’s not hugely. So a lot of people get rejected. So this was so because I didn’t have any plan B, I was only right to that Academy and nothing. So if they wouldn’t have accepted accepted me, I would be probably like, devastated and didn’t know what to do. So I was lucky. Yeah.
Iva Mikles
And so how do you then find your first job? Was it already during the studies on the university? Or, you know, like, was it through YouTube or what helped you to start YouTube, what kind of the decision which was going on in your head,
Lioba Bruckner
so like, the online personality, or think that people like No, from me only happened in the last three years, like, but I learned art 11 years ago, like, that’s like a huge gap of yours, when nothing, were did nothing of it. So while my studies at the Academy, I would occasionally maybe sell a still life, or maybe sell a portrait. But after that, I just didn’t have the feeling that I could make a living out of my art, like, the art that my boyfriend does, for example, is a bit more modern, and more adult, whereas my art is very girly, and like joyful, and just very colorful. And like in the German art scene, like people like really the modern stuff more, and they would buy more of it. And so I never had the feeling that my friend could sell, like, I did have a gallery, and they would sell occasionally art from from me, but I would never say okay, I can make a living out of it. So I would go into web design. I was I programmed, like, as a hobby. website, and I would do that after style after my studies for I think, a year or two. And yeah, then after that, I want to say, Okay, I really liked this job. It’s amazing. But I kind of think that I waste my time was it because like, you come to programming and art at the same time, because programming, programming is art itself. It is it. It also has the same feeling. I liked it really a lot. And but it’s so complicated that you can’t really divide your brain into making
Iva Mikles
vividly but it’s so funny because I did that as well before. So I went to school, and I was like, oh, okay, so I think I would want to switch again to art. Programming, maybe it’s not the my thing.
Lioba Bruckner
It’s really, it’s so fascinating. Like, it draws you in, because you really want to solve these problems. Like, like, if you have, this is like so addicting. Like, you want to make something and then you try the whole day. And when it finally happens, you’re like, oh, yeah, it’s amazing. Like the reward you get. It’s like drugs. It’s really amazing. So I was really interested and I still like it. But you have to decide that you can’t do everything in life. So yeah, it’s it’s hard, but it’s yeah, I’m very happy with it. So I’m happy I did it.
Iva Mikles
So and now we’re because you didn’t mention what was then the your first job after then. So after uni, was it the gallery or the the Commission’s or no, that
Lioba Bruckner
my first job was in the web design course. So really traditional art. Well, I did have a gallery while I was working there, which could occasionally sell art from me. And after like the year I would do the programming job. Then I said, Okay, I don’t want to do it anymore. I do want to do art. But then I also said, Okay, I think I want to do a computer game. I want to program a computer game. So I think I spent like a couple of years doing that instead of focusing my art, so just didn’t really earn any money in that time. So I was like, mid 20s And I was thinking like, oh my god, I just didn’t do anything. I just did so many things like I didn’t earn really loved money except for the year I was in the programming company who paid me very well. Like it was like before that I would work in fashion retail, which I really love like all the people were amazing. I got a bit sense of fashion, which I wouldn’t have today. I would look so awkward if I wouldn’t have worked there because I could learn a bit there. Yeah, so I just spent like several years programming and just to think that I like and my boyfriend was working as a professional artist just to stay in me and would support me. So he would just do it. It’s okay. So really, I’m really thankful for it. Otherwise, I would probably have worked some job. So
Iva Mikles
what was the thing you kind of learned, you know, which helped you to progress the most in your artistic skills.
Lioba Bruckner
Being okay with criticism, this is so important. And not only criticism, concerning or regarding art, but also, like more general things, like, for example, how to present yourself while you talk with someone, like, not like talking all the time, but yourself, for example, like things, things like that, like being open to criticism, and just how to approach things. For example, you could say, Okay, I’m, I’m just doing only the things that I want the whole day long. But it is also important to to, to do the things that you have to do, even if you don’t want them, and just being open to people who just say, those kinds of feedback to you or criticize you of this way. But they want to help you, but not be a person who’s like, I don’t listen to you. I like how do you say it? Like, I’m a very stubborn person. And it just takes, I mean, this is good on the one hand, because not nobody can can really say mistakes, but on the other hand, just be bit a bit more open to criticize to criticism of all kinds. So I think this is the most important thing, because you can learn from so many people, and they can tell you so many different things. Because one can never be good at everything. I might be good at this certain thing. But so many other people are good at other things, and I can learn from them. And if they give me critique. This is amazing. Yeah. Yeah. And I think, from my boyfriend, it’s still like, when he criticism criticize me, or I criticize sighs Him we are both open trade. So you both think, okay, even if I might not like the critic, there must be something in it that is valuable. So this is very important to me,
Iva Mikles
which will help you improve for sure. So it’s yeah, for the future sense. And can you give us maybe some example of the maybe the critique like, Okay, I don’t know how to paint hair? Or how to use color? Or maybe what was the feedback which helped you to improve?
Lioba Bruckner
Oh, there are so many like, like, I, we we do criticize us every day. So I don’t know, like everything, I think, yeah, the most important for me is everything that is not related to art, because they are like, the general things that you could work on yourself as a person, and on your character. Just, this is, for me, the most important, for example, not being stubborn and defensive when critique comes into you. But instead, like thinking about it be open and just think on a rational and reason reasonable way about it, instead being emotional. Like many people, if I would tell them, for example, don’t be so rude. Try to be a bit more. I don’t know friendly, then people might become a bit more defensive instead of like, okay, maybe I was rude. But on the same hand, me as a critical or criticizing person, I have to also think about how to formulate late my critique, just instead of saying, Hey, don’t be so rude. I could say, maybe you might change the way how you would say things like that. So, yeah, like the basic things
Iva Mikles
are important. Do you also have like some favorite books on these topics? or something you know, you read recently, or you will give as a gift to some friend.
Lioba Bruckner
I have. I have a lot of books that I like, but there’s so many like I do have art books on art that I would recommend I think it is drawing anatomy and art burnt hoggers burn comics, he’s very famous. So this his book is probably classic literature if you would become an comic artists or something like that.
Iva Mikles
Okay, I have to put it on the reading list. I don’t think I read that one. But with the you know, receiving feedback or giving feedback, I read recently, quite a good book as well. It’s called the art of persuasion. That is also yes, yeah,
Lioba Bruckner
I have something similar to that. Like, how to it’s it’s pretty much horrible to be honest. It’s like how to perceive
Iva Mikles
influence people and when friends or something like that or make Yeah, yeah, that’s
Lioba Bruckner
pretty pretty, um, how to say it. Like something I found a bit despicable to me, because you know, that. But I think very valuable things were in that I didn’t read it to the end because it was made from a selling person was a professional seller.
Iva Mikles
This one was also interesting. And the recently I read also stand out, it’s like to learn about the presentation, how not to be nervous when you are selling a pitch or presenting your artwork or something like that. That is also quite interesting.
Lioba Bruckner
I just accept being nervous. This is my strategy.
Iva Mikles
No, but how to bring your strength when you are presenting something for your audience. But, yeah, let’s go back to art maybe, and you can share some of your processes, you know, like how you, you know, actually work on your artwork? How do you do maybe research or what goes into your whole thing when you’re starting a new project?
Lioba Bruckner
Yeah, I’m happy to talk about that. So I’m mainly a visual person. So this is, I think the most bad thing about my art is that I’m really only about the visuals, I’m not really about, like a heavy message behind my heart behind my art, because I enjoyed so much, just having something beautiful, and it’s terrible. And so I just go the visual way, mainly, for example, I would go through Pinterest or Instagram, and just have like, 10 images also, that I would save, and then or that inspire me. And then I would think, How can I create an artwork out of them? So I would maybe pick an eye here or face there? Or if I’m lucky, I could use the whole photography, because like many photographers don’t mind or something, I sometimes I asked them, and they say Sure you can use it. And yeah, I would put them together and then make an artwork out of it. I would put them together in Photoshop, and then I would make a traditional artwork out of it. So skip the important part.
Iva Mikles
So how do you okay go from Photoshop, we have an image, it’s kind of like a collage of images. And then how do you go to traditional from that,
Lioba Bruckner
I have two approaches to that. The one approach, the more fun way, which I can do was when I have time, which I haven’t any more, so I can’t do it so much anymore. This is I would just use the reference and draw it freehand on my canvas or on my paper, depending on what medium I use. The other one is that I would use either a projector or I would trace it directly that I have the outlines. And then I would fill every single color. This is like it saves the most time. It’s not the so fun, because you have like the joy of comparing the anatomy and the proportions. It just really feels more artistic to me, but I kind of need to pay the bills, and I have to see what I have to do. So
Iva Mikles
how much time do you usually give yourself for the whole art process? Do you limit yourself? Or do you just do like maybe one painting a day or per week? Or how do you kind of plan your time?
Lioba Bruckner
Oh my god, don’t get me on planning. I have a whole system on planning. Good. So but basically on the artwork like every artwork needs as long as it takes. So I don’t make any limitations there. Because I mainly think as an artist, like if my art has to suffer, I won’t do it. Like, this is hard. This would be horrible. I wouldn’t feel healthy. So yeah, if the Abra takes a week or two weeks, and it’s like a larger thing that I would do, okay, I have to go through it because I really want to do the best artwork possible. But in advance, I can see okay, when I do a watercolor piece, it might not take me longer than really three days normally they they take because they’re not so large, like this format. If I would do something larger, I would obviously obviously take more time. But yeah, I just plan beforehand. oil paintings take longer than watercolor paintings, mostly a couple of days for an oil painting. But for larger I paintings a month for example,
Iva Mikles
because they also need to dry and all of them
Lioba Bruckner
dry and all the details and like details on watercolor paintings are so much easier to do. This is why I just shifted over time to do so many watercolor pieces because they are so fast and I can produce so much of them.
Iva Mikles
Yeah, and because you like planning so let’s talk about that
Lioba Bruckner
as excited about it because I really love planning.
Iva Mikles
How do you then plan your week or a month you know, when you have like oil paintings or watercolor paintings, you need to also record the videos and do the voiceovers do the script and editing, the video uploading, rendering and all of that. So how do you do that?
Lioba Bruckner
So I do have a planner I have a monthly planning sheet. This is just something I got from Pinterest like the decorational flowers. And then I feel like Patreon that Apple Artists Collective where I’m in because I’ve dropped there to then galleries commissions stuff and Use your videos. And so I would I would write every month. And there are things that are already re occurring every month, like all my patrons who weren’t always the same, so I would print them directly out. And then I would, these are the monthly things that I do. And for the day, I usually have a booklet but it I lost it. So I just use paper for. So I would just write the things that I have to do every day on this paper. And then I would when I because I have to reward myself. And when I would have to something out of this task, I would use like here like little scraps, like scraps, nice. And then I would like paint the half of the scrap out if I would already did half of the task. Maybe it’s hard whenever do a third of the task. And so I just, it just helps me so much. And after every month, I would probably share this sheet on my Instagram story. And then I would say I finished the month
Iva Mikles
here, but then also this helps you with you know kind of being happy about your work because you see the accomplishments over the week month or you know, like some people do this, like Miracle Morning where you write down what you’re grateful for or what you accomplished. And that actually, that’s the kind of way to do it as well.
Lioba Bruckner
Yeah, that’s true. And I think also like annoying tasks. For example, I don’t know, shipping orders, but I write it down because it can take weeks, it can take like four hours because I have to print them ship them, then the tracking numbers, put them in my shop. And this takes a long time. So I write it down. And all the single things that this tasks can consist of, for example, like, do the prints, then embellish the prints, and then shipped them and then I’ve write the tracking IDs into my E commerce system. So these are like, Yeah, little things, but they eat up so much time.
Iva Mikles
And what do you have as an E commerce? Do you can you recommend maybe some error or something?
Lioba Bruckner
Absolutely. Squarespace is my number one to go it is the best I’ve have ever seen. Even if I’m I could do like the whole program and myself if I wanted to if I would be crazy. But why do it like Squarespace just makes such a great job. So I think it’s also different for how much you are already in your art career. So if you can spend 300 euros a year, which I invest into Squarespace, then it is okay. But at first we would say okay, this is so much money I wouldn’t spend so I would probably go for beginners I would recommend for example, Weebly or maybe store envy because Storenvy is completely free and you have a store so I would probably go for store envy or maybe even WooCommerce I think WooCommerce WooCommerce Yeah, this is what you have to do a bit of knowledge but I think this is a great thing if you have really a very limited budget and you Yeah, you want to save as much money as possible then I would recommend WooCommerce probably but you have it’s not so easy. So
Iva Mikles
you need someone maybe to help you to install it then or just have it running
Lioba Bruckner
just read read through the stuff I believe that everyone can do it themselves said just read enough on the internet. Just read follow the instructions you will make it and yeah,
Iva Mikles
definitely in when you mentioned as well that you have a Patreon and like we talked about YouTube so how do you kind of do you do process batching you know, like maybe like one day you work on videos and other day you work on shipments and the Patreon things or how does your normal day look like?
Lioba Bruckner
Oh yeah, this is depending on so many factors like most of the time, I want to create a YouTube video per week so I will definitely after a couple of days I will say okay, I have to do a YouTube video now. Even if I maybe don’t want to paint instead. But it is depending on how long everything takes. So if I have like little things I would put them all in one day if I have a large painting that I’m just painting today I’m not doing nothing else. And yes YouTube day is normally one day shipping days normally one bit per day but it really depends. It’s not like it’s very flexible. It really is what have what is what do I have to do now? And then what makes more sense and I also talk about was my boyfriend because he had arthritis also schedule so so we just talked to each other. Okay, I’m doing today this and maybe you use the whole studio space tomorrow, if you need more space than usually and so we just Yeah, organizing it.
Iva Mikles
Do you have a studio at home or do you have to travel somewhere?
Lioba Bruckner
We have the studio in the same house we are living it’s downstairs. It is very small though. Oh, yeah, but yeah, this is great. So we have their little studio.
Iva Mikles
Yeah. So it’s actually good that you don’t have to spend time traveling. And then yeah, just like because you still have special space. So it’s not like your bedroom or living room or something.
Lioba Bruckner
This wouldn’t be possible because my boyfriend paints large paintings just wouldn’t be. wouldn’t be possible we would have to rent something. If we hadn’t a studio here, but we would also always want to have a studio in the same space.
Iva Mikles
Yeah. Is your Freelancer right then how do you combine your income stream? So you don’t have like all the eggs in one basket, right?
Lioba Bruckner
Oh, my God, I think I have too many eggs and too many baskets, baskets. But it works right now. So I would, before that, if I couldn’t live for my app, I would try like every single thing out and then nothing would work. And then after, like a year, I would think okay, Patreon seems to work. Instagram seems to work and YouTube seems to work. And then I would just skip the gallery show. So I don’t do gallery shows anymore. I think I have like the one that I already accepted, I do. But I won’t accept any more, unless it’s like a super fancy gallery or something like that. But I would just pin down the income streams that can sustain me the most. And I would just focus on them. And these are like really Patreon. Instagram is for me, it’s for selling prints. And also artworks. I don’t gain like money from Instagram grant itself, but just the
Iva Mikles
Yeah, because you can have also sponsorships on Instagram if you pose different companies, but you do only mainly to sell your art prints.
Lioba Bruckner
That’s right. And and also original works, too. They sell mainly through Instagram, through Facebook and works too, but so less people see my extra posts on Facebook that it’s like, I don’t know, like luxury or something if they see my art though. Yeah, and YouTube, like over the last year, the income really grew. So I can say, Okay, this makes sense. If the income would grow more I could this would be amazing. So yeah,
Iva Mikles
yeah. And then so you’re still doing one video per week on YouTube, right? And for Patreon, you do like specific, like paintings per each, I don’t know, pier, or do you do one painting for them to learn.
Lioba Bruckner
So I do two videos per for my Patreon per month. And when I do an artwork, I would see okay, if this would be better for tutorial for Patreon, or maybe just a YouTube video, I usually it’s usually that I have my best artworks that I do for Patreon. And then I make for longer videos like real time videos, and then I would time lapse them. And then I would use them for YouTube. So I use the same artwork, for Patreon for YouTube and for prints. And I when I’m happy I can also sell the original. This is a way that works for me. Yeah, that totally makes sense. Yeah, it’s so much work to do it. But in the end, it makes I can then do artwork that is not so expensive. Because my art when you do when you would compare the prices of my artwork to prices that were selling art first. It’s like, they would laugh at me it’s like ridiculous because they sell like 1000s of 1000s of euros and 10 1000s of dollars and I maybe sell my artwork for maybe $500 Or maybe over 1000 sometimes, but very rarely. So this is a way how I can make it work for me because I still enjoy doing those pretty girls and small art rats. Yeah, but I still have to make a living out of it. Yeah, definitely.
Iva Mikles
Yeah. Because I mean, we don’t make art to make money but make money to make art. So it also you have to be able to live from something and yeah, yeah, so sometimes maybe people don’t realize it, but
Lioba Bruckner
that’s true. They don’t realize that sometimes. Yeah.
Iva Mikles
Is there something you wish you knew before you started the whole art career something you would advise yourself?
Lioba Bruckner
Well, I when I was when when you would have asked me the question like two years ago, I would say oh my god, I would have I could have spent all the time on Instagram earlier on Facebook earlier. But now, I’ve changed my mind about that. Because like all the time that led me to this place, I learned so much. I just I could own my skill. Not own, like practice my skill over the time without any distractions. I didn’t use Facebook. I didn’t use the internet like at all I just could paint. And this could help it just be like learn even better. Yeah. Like every artist has, has come to its place and I don’t think I think like in all these experiences and memories, there’s so many valuable things to learn and advices that you couldn’t say, like one thing that you had, would wish there’s so many things that come to the one point where you are. So I wouldn’t change our Yeah, anything, just.
Iva Mikles
But uh, yeah. Also, as you mentioned, I didn’t use Instagram what I think two years ago that was, when I kind of started I was like, Oh, Mr. Graham, okay. And if we, you know, when you mentioned also like, what do you would wish you knew in the past? What would you consider also the most difficult time because that’s where we learn the most.
Lioba Bruckner
Yeah, this was actually like two years ago, or three years ago, where I was, like, almost 30, or like, middle mid 20. And I didn’t have an income, and I feel so like, horrible because I couldn’t sustain myself. This was like, horrible for me, I would feel like so down, and I didn’t know what to do. Everyone had a huge income, they would have, like giant Kickstarters and patrons, where they would earn loads of monies. And I would be like, I don’t I earn like, $300 in a month, or something like like that. And this would depress me. So I just started, what helped me was, I started to think, okay, my goal is to sell one artwork a month doesn’t, it doesn’t doesn’t matter how expensive is, is just one artwork per month, and then I would slowly increase my goals. And yeah, this was the first time was horrible, because I just felt very bad about myself. But just over the time, I learned that first, I didn’t have a reason to feel bad, actually. Because you have to start somewhere you can’t just expect. And secondly, yeah, it will grow after time. Just if you put work into it, it will grow anyway, doesn’t matter what you do, if you do music, or art, anything will really work out if you put enough time into it. So it was a bad time. But I didn’t realize that I shouldn’t be that depressed at that time. So
Iva Mikles
do you have maybe something you do daily, now, which contributes your success, like the meditation or sketching in the morning or something like that?
Lioba Bruckner
I think like, the success that I have is just mainly that, like, my father was, give it to me. So they they choose, okay, they liked my art. So I have to thank them for my success. They supported me, it’s something
Iva Mikles
you do, like every day, you know, do you talk to your community, you know, every day or something, which helps you, you know, on everyday basis.
Lioba Bruckner
So, I now what happens now, because sometimes I still get like, depressed or jealous, or something ridiculous like that. What now helps me is doing exercises every day, almost every day. So I do it, like, since three months or so. And this really, it changed so much. Yeah, I can. And I recommend fitness blender.com for it because they offer like a program for a month, which costs like $9 and which you can use for your whole life. So
Iva Mikles
yeah, because I also do just like this, like half hour exercises, because but just because we are sitting the whole day right now it’s good to do something. Definitely enter you know, if we kind of think about like, Okay, how does your normal day look like? What are maybe the projects you’re working on now, or something you know, you would like to work on in the future, like five to 10 years, your dream scenario?
Lioba Bruckner
I don’t know. I just want to make the same thing that I do now. Just forever. Like, I don’t want to do anything big. I just want to continue doing my artwork. I want to continue doing my YouTube and my Patreon. I don’t want it’s, I don’t know, I don’t see myself into some big thing. I don’t know I just want to have maybe a larger studio was my boyfriend and that’s all
Iva Mikles
I do planning maybe some stories for your characters or specific you know, the background for I don’t know, like, why they were what they wear or different hair or I don’t know. Um,
Lioba Bruckner
well, I I like sometimes when I have time I like to buy dresses or just have models over there with that I would do makeup on and then I would put them and photograph them. But I’m I’m very bad at stories. I could never write an old story. I’m just so bad at it. I just really enjoy painting and just inventing the costumes and just looking at beautiful costumes and and try to work them into my paintings however like in Photoshop or in real life, this is just yeah, it just required.
Iva Mikles
Do you have like a favorite tool so you cannot live without you know, like a favorite paper or favorite paint
Lioba Bruckner
and put wouldn’t be married to my laptop because without that I couldn’t do anything.
Iva Mikles
But then yeah, but you do like mostly traditional art right? So do you have a also favorite sketchbook or it’s mainly like, Okay, this is my tool what I love is the computer.
Lioba Bruckner
Well, the computer this is only the tool for me to share it with the world and which is like my, the heart of my business, because without it, I would have to use my extra paintings go on the street and tell them to people. So if I want to have the, which I did, which I did when I didn’t have a following, I would take my painting, I would go to the next tattoo studio, and I would tell them, sell it to them. So yeah, um, yeah, I just like a various range of stuff like of course. My oil paints I use shrinker. Rembrandt, why don’t my wife my watercolors, they’re also from Sri Lanka. I have cheap brushes for like $1. But they are amazing. Yeah, paper, I use Fabriano paper a lot for my watercolors and tantanoola Britannia paper a lot. And yeah, of course, the good easel is important. Also my cameras to record it is important. A good smartphone is so important to take photos for Instagram. Don’t underestimate it. It’s so important. Yeah, so many things. Like, if one of it lacks I would, it would be difficult. So over the years, I could collect all the stuff. I would start with a bad smartphone. And and yeah,
Iva Mikles
so definitely you don’t need everything at the same time. But yeah, it’s just like, when you find one tool, which you like, it definitely helps in the process. Yeah. And yeah, because also just to record with your phone, the whole video process or take pictures that also works.
Lioba Bruckner
Yeah, I started with recording with my phone and it worked. It was “beep”, but it works.
Iva Mikles
Definitely. And I actually just got also the Fabriano paper, because I wanted to try it. So I haven’t tried it yet. But the texture looks really beautiful. So yeah, yeah.
Lioba Bruckner
This is so wonderful. Yeah, I would advertise it forever, because it helped me so much. Yeah, so hopefully it would help you too. It’s really it’s a good paper, the Fabriano one, I did receive like a bunch of other papers from patron of mine. She was super sweet. She sent me paints and papers. And they did review from from them. So I think there are other papers besides of the Fabriano paper, which I go to.
Iva Mikles
Definitely, but it’s the best thing. You can try different things and then decide for yourself like okay, I love this one. Yeah, this is true. And so I know when you mentioned like some of the books you like, do you also have like a favorite documentary or maybe a movie you like now recently or some other inspiration?
Lioba Bruckner
I think like TV series, for example, Stranger Things were a good one. Take me think they’re cute. Yeah, I watch a lot of documentaries, just while I paint. So I’m more or less listen to them. Yeah, so what I really find very inspiring is like a podcast. It’s called waking up podcast by Sam Harris. And it’s a lot about science and meditation, and also a lot of political stuff. And yeah, I really like it because it’s something completely different from the other stuff. And also like audiobooks while painting is amazing.
Iva Mikles
Yeah, so you you listen to all of it while you’re painting or, or also when you’re making breakfast maybe or it’s mainly the painting time
Lioba Bruckner
No, no only during the painting time because we only when I paint also when one paints you’ll get like some part of the brain that that has nothing to do. Where as if you would write something or you would do something off on the computer, all your brain would be used all your concentration, but when you paint, you have something left and and you could use it for audiobooks, just anything that you can listen to music to but I think like things where you can either listen to amazing fantasy story or just something scientific, like the podcasts. This is really wonderful. This is so just joyful to
Iva Mikles
because I also listen to podcasts when I go shopping, or if I’m, you know, traveling, if I’m in a tram or train. Yeah, that’s kind of good use of time because I’m like, Okay, I’m just sitting here. So that’s a good one. And so actually one of the last questions I would like to ask you is about far, far future and I would like to know what would you be like remembered for?
Lioba Bruckner
Hmm, I think for my art probably. So I think I do have a lot of people who really like my tutorials, so maybe when And people also remember that I might be good art teacher would be good, but also just my art in general like, yeah, this would be good. Perfect. Yeah, maybe that I’m not a horrible person would be good.
Iva Mikles
It’s definitely nice.
Lioba Bruckner
Good art but horrible person. No, it’s good to art okay person, it’s all I asked for.
Iva Mikles
Definitely enter before we say goodbye, maybe you can share last piece of advice or key takeaway and then we will slowly finish.
Lioba Bruckner
Yeah, I would say just listen to what you really want what you really enjoyed them the most, and do everything you can and don’t try to rely on other people and think that something happens without you doing it because you have to do it yourself would be one thing. The other thing is, of course, believe that you can do it, but also be open when other people want to help you and let people help us also important. Yeah, don’t be sad. If it doesn’t work. At the first time, it will take a lot of time and never stop believing in what you’re doing. Yeah, that’s probably what I would share.
Iva Mikles
So just basically continue and never stop and just don’t give up. And yeah, it will come.
Lioba Bruckner
It will definitely come. And if you suck at something, because I’m very bad at for example, yeah, English, like it’s not my natural language like it is okay. When people help you. For example, I have a person who’s not correcting my scripts for my video. This is great. Like, be okay, if you have like things that you’re not good, very good in and then let people help you on this. Yes, it’s important. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Just you don’t have to do it.
Iva Mikles
Yeah, perfect. I totally agree. And, yeah, thank you so much for being here. It was so nice.
Lioba Bruckner
Thank you too, because you’re so nice and so sweet out. So yeah, I really enjoyed it.
Iva Mikles
Thank you. Definitely my pleasure. And thanks, everyone who joined today as well and hope you’re inspired. And now you can go draw more. And yeah, just practice every day. So definitely. So thanks, everyone, and thank you as well again and Yes, see you everyone in the next video.
Lioba Bruckner
See you soon. Have a wonderful day.
Iva Mikles
Hey, guys, thank you so much for listening. I really appreciate you being here. You can find all the resources mentioned in this episode at artsideoflife.com. Just type a guest name in the search bar. There is also a couple of free artists resources ready for you on the website as well. So go check it out. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher so I can reach and inspire more artists like you. If you want to watch the interviews, head over to artsideoflife.com/youtube. Continue to inspire each other and I will talk to you guys in the next episode. Bye.
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Hi, I am Iva (rhymes with “viva”). I am a full-time self-taught artist behind Art Side of Life® and a Top Teacher on Skillshare. I have 15 years of experience in the creative field as a concept designer, illustrator, art director, and now freelance artist, content creator, and art instructor. My goal is to help you get your creative groove on with Procreate and make awesome art through practical classes, tutorials, Procreate brushes, and guides on art tools, supplies and resources. About me »
