Vol. 1:002 Portfolio / Blog : Being Forged by an Eternal Flame 

ArtStation Summary for Christopher Stapleton: Past Version

I thought about the most important thing I wanted people to know about me, and that is I am honest in heart with a sincere desire to serve. 

It was most difficult to hear because I had just graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle in 2010 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Media Arts & Animation (which was obtained in 2018 much later due to having enough credits) and a Bachelor of Game Art & Design. I felt the weight of student loans over my head, and anyone knows who has attended a private institution that student loans are a heavy weight to carry, especially struggling day-to-day trying to challenge myself to draw, and move forward in my life despite my challenges. 

Here is a hallway fellow students from the Art Institute of Seattle created during 2005 (when I was rambunctious and came back to school on meds, slow as wax, and my life had turned totally upside down). 

I did a lot of pro-bono work and freelance work for very little pay and established an income based off of that small assistance. I learned to budget my time and use the assistance to strive to improve. 

I have no professional experience or no production work, but I do have a sincere heart—trying to put my best foot forward and take one day at a time. I was able to develop a portfolio over the years but was paid very little, and it was challenging.  

Since then, my life has changed and I am no longer in need of large amounts of debilitating medication, and out of the dear goodness of the Universe, Source, God; I have been changed, and I want to get my name out there and try and see if I can open a door or two to help others struggling in this industry.

Those struggling with mental illness in these entertainment industries are bright, capable, hyper-creative, and inspiring individuals who for whatever reason are struggling inside and one may not even know it, or afraid to tell another. I’m not sure, every case is different. I have struggled with many types of serious mental illness. If you are one of these people, I understand how you feel in some sense. 

I have created a business called Cold White Fire LLC, of which we will be reorganizing the business and website to teach those struggling in this fast-paced world (especially seniors, people with disabilities, accident survivors, and people who are going through life changing events—such as people who get out of prison after 30 years and have no idea what an iPad or Smartphone is) struggling to use the computer, mobile device, or a cell phone, and not able to check their voicemail because it's too hard to remember which button to push, (or not to push). I love learning, and I am inquisitive and will ask a question in any crowd. 

I mention seniors because I have been a caregiver for a family member for three years now, and I did it for a month all by myself. I understand how difficult it is to take care of someone who is not able to care for themselves. Yet while having the experience with mental illness and overcoming it, I feel I can relate to many individuals who are struggling. 

I'm also learning a lot about myself as an Aspy (Asperger's), that I don't mind driving with cruise control on while going to the speed limit, and it's super important for me to do the right thing always. 

I volunteered as a computer class teacher at a clubhouse for those who face terrible situations with mental illness. We did interpersonal group and one-on-one tutoring while I was attending the Art Institute of Seattle. I am happy to say those days were very satisfying to help another understand something they had never understood before, such as how a computer works internally. One individual asked me, “Are you from Microsoft?” I responded, “No, I’m just a regular person like you.” From that response, it helped me understand that I could accomplish things in life despite my limitations—even those challenging ones. 

I don’t completely know my mission in life or how much money I will make, or how much is in my bank account, but the important thing to me is, sharing what I have with others, and helping them succeed. Because when one helps another (no matter whatever their situation) the law of attraction helps the individual helping another. I just want my basic needs met, my family is taken care of, that's all I care about. 

I will be attending Utah Valley University this Fall 2017 semester to learn more about Architectural Woodworking & Cabinetry and Engineering Design Technology. Basically, I want to expand my design skills into 3D printing on wood with C&C machines and create 3D modeling from my environment concepts and graphic design experience. Wood is my new canvas. I believe this added dimension will bring more opportunities for work and creation.

I have also joined Learn Squared and Robotpencil communities where I will be practicing my skills and asking questions. I am excited to be a part of this ArtStation community, no matter what happens. 

Feel free to contact me, and ask me anything. I work at Cold White Fire (see the links in the Contact section) and I am willing to work contract or freelance on a win-win terms of service agreement. I may not be the fastest in the industry, but I am honest and sincere. 

I just want to be successful and build confidence in myself not based on how much money I make, but the level of sharing to me helps me feel cared for. 

I’m going to show the process of my work, taking screenshots of my weekly progression, and post them individually in separate projects or albums to keep the focus on the project at hand, and in context. 

I’m glad I’m here and ready to improve. Thank you!

Very Respectfully, 

—Christopher Stapleton

Being Forged by an Eternal Flame Vol. 1:001

Sometimes when looking at a blank white text editor, traditional piece of paper, new document in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and pretty much every other medium both traditionally or digitally, the white background, empty page can be somewhat daunting because depending on what goes on the page, how it’s designed, crafted, created, scraped, sculpted, molded, modeled, pressed, written, spoken, heard, read, thought, smelled, felt, or sensed all have tied connections about how ideas, thoughts, intentions, desires, and the execution of all those things combined, polished, finalized, and presented to the world for review has been very taxing.

One wrong keystroke, one wrong brushstroke, one wrong accident could be the thing one is looking for to give a complete twist on how the desired project may appear or be portrayed. 

I have been learning to let go of all the ways I think things should be, and try to just be. Just exist. We are loved. We are enough. 

My name is Christopher Stapleton, and this is a real-life story about my life as an artist, my life as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), my life as defined by me, created by me, and supported and forged by an eternal flame that radiates within. My life here on Earth being forged by Cold White Fire as a child of God, Source, the Universe. 

Cold White Fire is a personage of spirit that teaches, strengthens, magnifies, edifies, uplifts, comforts, chastises, rebukes, helps, calms, motivates, energizes, relaxes, redefines, blesses, protects, inspires, reveals, guides, directs, shows, radiates, instructs, warms, whispers, communicates, speaks, and has loved me for who I am. Cold White Fire is the name I have given the Holy Ghost, the Spirit, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Revealer, the sensation I feel within that has pretty much been following me and helping me in my life.

I never needed to pay any money for help or direction. The care, love, respect, and gladness has always been available without money, without price and without a need for me to give anything in return, that doesn’t mean I don’t try to do what I can to return what has been given to others.

Being forged in fire doesn’t sound very appealing. Yet I’m thinking that pretty much everyone has felt the refiner’s fire in their life at some point, if not every day of their life. For me, as I can only speak for myself and from my experience, being forged, has been a process of day to day learning, trials, challenges, and struggle. I haven’t been alone in this journey, but I have had to in some small degree walk the footsteps of my Savior. All of us will have to walk our own difficult paths that lead us to an eternal path. The direction from which we choose to walk is one’s choice. I have been through hard times, and many of you have been also, which is great to meet others on this eternal journey as a being of light, living on Earth, in a mortal state, developing oneself, and being developed into a great individual that will one day walk back into the presence of one’s Eternal Parents to continue their next timeline after we venture into death to live again.

I have been learning about how steel is forged, created, processed, purchased to be used as a stock medium in precision machinery, production, manufacturing, and an endless list of things metal is used for. The process I want to focus on is the forging of metal. The act of being refined through repeated intense experiences such as a metallurgist would do to make a metal piece of artwork. In a greater scheme of this Earthly life, we are clay in the Potter’s hands, metal in the Refiner’s Fire. If you are unfamiliar with a refiner, or The Refiner, this video will jog your memory. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIIgm6xABQ

I often wonder what the purpose of my life that has a lot of difficult challenges, could even be of benefit to another in this world, let alone what I could do to provide for my loved ones. I like in the video the woman talks about in paraphrasing, “when we increase our capacity for pain, we increase our capacity for joy.” To me that has given me a lot of peace in my life, when I struggle day to day, trying to make a difference for myself, have confidence in myself, trying to achieve a skill, talent, or learn what I can to apply it, and help another, even if that means serving others by first serving myself.

Life is very challenging. I have been in the mercy of God, Source, the Universe for helping me get through difficult challenges that have ultimately been blessings in disguise.

I attended the Art Institute of Seattle from 2003-2010. I obtained two bachelor degrees in both Media Art & Animation, and Game Art & Design, via graduating with honors. However I went through a period of my life after graduating, that felt like “Why try?”, “What do I have to give or even add to this life that will be of any benefit to raising a family, a benefit to myself, let alone benefit to society?”

My most sincere desire was just to be able to contribute something in whatever degree I could to society, to my family, to my loved ones, to myself, and to Cold White Fire. Everyone I have spoken to in my life has told me that I was special and talented but the problem was those special things about me or talented things about me don’t transfer into money to pay bills, make a paycheck, and provide for my family, and for myself.

I was able to keep a portfolio that I have tried to expand over the years, but I didn’t know the outlet to share it, advertise it, let alone was unsure if it would even help me. Over the years I’m glad I kept doing what I love, which is to draw, be creative, paint both traditionally and digitally, and I’m turning towards digital sculpture.

In the Art Institute of Seattle (AIS), I learned to be an artist, to be trained both traditionally and digitally. I have always been artistic and have been much of an observing artist, more than a performing artist. Observing meaning, being able to look at other’s work and be in awe, and wonder when that would ever come to pass for me, but everyone knows that being in school, you have to do the work, and make things happen, otherwise one’s grades fail, things don’t go right, that GPA needs to be at a constant to continue to get funding or be eligible for funding, grants, loans, etc.

I plan to have a series of blog posts here on Forged by Cold White Fire, which is my blog about my artwork, the struggle I have been through, experiences I have had with artwork, being an active member of the LDS Church, and my desire to contribute back to society. I hope you enjoy future posts and perspectives.

Thanks!
 

I have been taking some time to just get into the groove of drawing, and not trying to make things pretty. I feel like I have a lot of ideas that I need to express, and just get out. I like Jama Jurabev's approach to creating really interesting ideas.

It's really interesting because the approaches he identifies in this video https://www.learnsquared.com/courses/narrative-concept/1 help one understand the importance of abstract idea generation; which for me, with someone who deals with serious mental illness and autism is pretty profound because my life has lots of abstraction, so I resonated with Jama's advice.

He talks about putting the fundamentals and learning tools on pause and forgetting about them for the moment (however long that moment is, I guess is defined by the individual) and get into what I like to call a "testing phase." I feel like sometimes we get into this idea that everything has to look like a certain thing if you are a concept artist; which I agree with only partly. I will explain why.

I agree that there are specifics that companies are looking for such as spoken from this website http://onepixelbrush.com/hiring/ on what do's and don'ts should and shouldn't be, which I agree with if you want to work for those companies. Do companies hire those individuals because their stuff looks exactly like what they want their stuff to look like, or do they hire the individual based on their style?

I disagree because I feel like everyone is copying everyone else, a "me too, me too" mentality. There is no self-expression, or creating one's style if something has to look like something else, or someone else's stuff we see all the time on Gumroad videos. I got a comment from an individual from an online community in Discord after I showed him some of my work, and he said your shapes don't look like, (the example he gave was Eytan Zana https://www.artstation.com/eytan) because my shapes were not defined specifically.

I guess I don't understand why specifically defined shapes are important. From Jama's approach in the first link, he talks about how when he was learning, he didn't have people around to help him learn or give him pointers or tips like he is giving us now in the Learn Squared video lessons based on Narrative Concept Art. I haven't taken the whole class, as I only saw the Idea Generation in the Abstraction section for this course. I am in his 3D Concept Art course and Learn Squared has this new feature that allows anyone with an account to get a trial with free unlocked videos per section in the course.

I was the same like Jama, I didn't have people to teach me, only the Universe was teaching me, which didn't give me restrictions on why I should use a brush, or a shape the way I did. All I had was some of the early video DVD's from David Levy (Vyle) https://www.artstation.com/vyle, From Speedpainting to Concept Art who taught me about creating one's own brushes like an eagle or tree, or a brush he called the rooter of which I saw him draw the brush, so that was actually the first brush I created in Photoshop back in 2003, (because of David Levy), so I wanted to draw a similiar brush like his, so I drew my own, (seen below with examples of artwork I used the brush in):

Because this was the first brush I ever made, I used it a lot in the examples below: 

I learned from Dylan Cole http://www.dylancolestudio.com/ in The Techniques of Dylan Cole Introduction to Landscape Matte Painting and Intro to Cityscapes and Matte Painting Gnomon DVD, of which I haven't even finished yet along with Derek Thompson in Conceptual Storyboarding Storytelling and Struggle https://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/tutorials/conceptual-storyboarding-storytelling-and-struggle

and Jared Simeth https://www.artstation.com/jsimeth in Matte Painting for Production Gnomon Workshop DVD, taught me about using photos and photobashing within Matte Painting. I didn't like the idea of going online and just dragging anyone's photos from online so I took my own and added them into my paintings with my Canon Digital Rebel XTi DSLR I acquired from loan reimbursement money while attending the Art Institute of Seattle in Media Arts and Animation and the Game Art and Design programs. So I have been trying to combine all these things together to make these different kinds of paintings.

This is a photo I took during a sunset from Springville, Utah and applied it to the drawing above and the painting below.

This is a photo my sister took up in the mountains on a mobile phone, and I enlarged it in ArtRage.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Morrill. 

Photo I took off my back deck and applied it to the concept artwork below to make a new matte painting.

"You are never alone."
But I guess if you were like Jama and didn't have all of the tips and tricks and DVD's to watch, then it would be really challenging to get ideas unless the Universe, God, Source etc, which to me represent Cold White Fire would have to teach the individual trying to progress and learn the best they were able.

I feel really grateful to have a been able to follow and learn from many modern masters including the above on this post, Jama Jurabev, Anthony Jones, and many others.

I have been trying to follow Jama's advice about using abstraction with the rule of thirds; big, medium, small, and using zigzag. https://www.learnsquared.com/courses/narrative-concept/2 Design Principles: Composition within the following below:

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog post. This is work that I have been doing over a period of 2003 to present.
Sincerely,

Christopher Stapleton directed by Cold White Fire.
Peace!

This is the photo I took off my back patio with a Digital Rebel XTi.

I created this interface for a game concept using this iPhone template. This logo is actually a digital painting I created for a friend.   All of the photos here I shot myself along with the content in this flyer.