6 things I learned in my 14 year career
I hope this video will help someone who is just starting out, or wants to know more how it is really like to be a profesional artist.
2025-11-29 16:31:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Milica Mastelica posts
Fall walk
I am often taking walks on my lunch break, and the day I took this photo was particularly warm and sunny which is amazing for the end of October<3
Anyways, I disappeared a bit, but I really needed some time for myself- on previous post i said my grandpa passed away, and also I started client work. So I haven't really had time to sit with my thoughts.
So I wanted this painting to be one of the ways to slow down, and just enjoy the free time I have:)
My old village
This painting is emotional to me, because this is the village of my granmma and grandpa. Two days ago my grandpa passed away, so I wanted to honor him by making this painting.
While working on the painting I am remembering the times when I used to live here, and all of the precious memories I have. I used to go to school walking this same path. I think that living in this place as a kid made a lover for background paintings, because I was spending so much time in the woods, and the orc...
Limit your values ! Better shapes for painting<3
I recommend this exercise to anyone, I do it from time to time- and I am always reminded how helpful it is! To give myself the limit of only 2 or 3 values when establishing a scene, it gives so much clarity and shape definition to the final painting:)
Because it makes me focus on the bigger picture, rather than details !
Color theory for beginners
Hi Patrons! This video is covering the basics and everything that I know about color! Using color can be complex, because there so much variation and nuance to it. But with practise it becomes easer!
Color is an intimidating subject, so definitely feel free to ask questions in the comments or in the discord server:)
Still life study- for upcoming color theory video!
Today I finished the study of the random still life that I captured in my house:) I feel that this is the end of summer moment, since these rudbeckia flowers have been in the vase for two weeks now, and they are completly crumbling, but I thought they were beautiful so I wanted to capture them in a painting:)
I am gonna use this painting as an example for explaining color theory in my upcoming video!
Stay tuned<3
Golija mountain ref pack
In the previous post I shared the painting study process I did from one of these refs. So I want to share all the photos I took on this hiking tour, in hopes that it would inspire you too to paint something from nature<3
In last two photos some grandma in the village where we ended the tour had a gorgeous flower garden, I just had to take some pictures!
Golija mountain study
A week ago, I've been to hiking on the mountain Golija which is the south of Serbia:) It has been beautiful! I had the chance to walk next to the river, and it's many waterfalls. There were some challengings parts of the route as well, with the hill leaning pretty vertical, but it worth the effort<3
So today I wanted to paint it, to remember the experience!
I had an amazing time in nature!
Chateau Love story | Scene 2 painting step by step | overcoming difficulty
Hi Patrons! I am so happy to finally publish this one, since it's been a work in progress for a really long time!
I am also attaching you the PSD file of the final painting, in hopes that it helps you or inspires you:) I know that I like looking at other artist's PSDs, I always learn a lot!
Let me know your thoughts<3!
How to paint anything: Step by step guide
Hi Patrons! Today's video is a tutorial about the simple and beginner friendly painting techniques that can be applied to any painting.
I thought to share it, because we have a lot of new members, and I wanted to make an updated video of something like this, and for it to serve as a guide to an artist who is not sure where to start as a painter.
I recommend doing studies, anything that works for you, little paintings, sketches, drawing in your skechbook- essentially anything just t...
Chateau Love story final & and today's study!
Today I did a lot of painting! I revisited the scene 2 in my personal project, since now I saw some things more clearly, and just polished it more.
I am gonna publish the video on this one!
And also today, I made the little study of my coffee corner in the kitchen:) It is always nice to study materials and lighting- and also here it was interesting to have different shades of white present in the scene, even white on white in the wall and the counter.
It is nice to play with val...
Day to day life | slow mornings | cleaning the office | art career lessons
Hi Patrons! This time it is a bit of a different video, but the one with a very important message. Enjoy<3!
Black eyed Susan garden flowers
I finally painted for myself today! These are the black eyed susan flowers from my yard- I planted these from seeds, and miraculously they actually grew!
I am spending a lot more time outside, finding joy in gardening- it is nice to get my hands dirty, and just be. It is peaceful!
I missed painting for myself- lots of client work lately, which I am super grateful for, but I think it is always good to paint something just for me:)
Chateau love story | Scene 2 rendering WIP
For the past 2 days I worked on the rendering scene 2 of my personal project!
So far I layed out some base colors, and lighting:)
Then, I am gonna go into some further definition and details. And of course I am recording everything, and I will make the video of the entire step by step rendering process for you guys:)
Here you can watch how I worked on this project from the beginning:
Project planning, story, sketches, linearts:
2025-07-16 12:22:05 +0000 UTC
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July challenge: Abandoned places real time sketches
Hi Patrons! Yesterday I decided to make some sketches, and I thought that the perfect opportunity for that would be our monthly challenge:)
I made 3 sketches, with focusing on the composition, mood, and storytelling. And trough the video I explain everything step by step, and in real time:)
Let me know your thoughts!
New video coming tomorrow! Abandoned place challenge
Hi Patrons!
Today I wanted to have fun, and sketch some ideas for the abandoned place challenge that we have for this month!
I chose the location of some abandoned office, and tried to make several sketches out of it:)
I Imagined that in this office some criminal and illegal practise was taking place, and therefore the space is now wrecked and empty.
I took a lot of inspo from Feng Zhu, and how he does sketches and thumbnails- I learned so much from him in my work!
An...
July 2025: France ref pack
For the past 4 days I've been to France, in the Alps region! I've been to Lyon, and some smaller cities around it.
And of course I took bunch of photos! It is such a beautiful place, and so much to see:)!
I even saw Mont Blanc in the distance, it is the highest peak of the Alps mountains:)
July challenge: Abandoned places
This month's theme is all about mood, storytelling and decay. Your task is to draw or paint an environment that feels abandoned - forgotten by people.
Create a scene or a place that was once full of life, but is now empty, and rundown. Some potential ideas:
- old train station reclaimed by nature
- dusty bedroom, with some personal belongings scattered all across the scene
- crumbling and rusty amusement park
- abandoned church or a castle
- creepy abandoned hospital
...
Little painting I did just for fun
The summer here is starting to be in full swing now, so I was inspired to paint something warm, and in nature!
I've been loving painting the leaves, and trees lately:)
Film screenshot study
Today I wanted to do something chill, so I found a film grab that looked inspiring to me, and decided to do a study from it!
This is from the movie Afire:)
I found it on this site: https://film-grab.com/
It is also really cool to use it to get inspiration when you are deciding on a color scheme of a project:) The ones in movies are already cinematic, and there is something we can pull from it, or apply it in our own ...
Chateau Love Story scene 1 | render process
Hi Patrons! Here is how the rendering of scene one went! This was such an exciting scene for me, and I enjoyed working on it a lot!
And like I mentioned in the video I wanted to give it time, and not rush it because I am after the quality.
In the attachment you'll find the brushes that I used in this scene, with the roof tile brush too that I mentioned in the video:)
Also I used these brushes a lot too, they are great:
2025-06-15 19:31:27 +0000 UTC
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New video upload coming tomorrow!
Today I completed all the recording for this one, and I have few more things left to edit, but it is mostly ready!
Expect an upload tomorrow afternoon CET time:)
It is a big one, I tried to go really in depth, and to explain as much as possible my thought process!
Chateau love story scene 1 WIP
Hi Patrons! I wanted to share how this one is going so far, today I spent another day working on it, mainly adding more details and defining everything. And tomorrow I will do the final detail pass and finishing touches:)
There is a lot to balance when working on a piece like this, trying to not overdo it, to still have some "freshness" to it.
I am recording the entire process, so expect a video on this one soon, with sharing all of the insights of rendering this one!
June challenge: Black & white drawings | timelapse
Tied to the post bellow, I am also sharing the timelapse of how I made the drawing - it was a fun one! Like drawing in a sketchbook :D !
Ref is from pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/844493674950601/
June challenge: Black & white drawings
These are an amazing exercise! It can help us to see our surroundings for what it actually is, in an artistic sense- just masses of light and dark.
And by limiting ourselves to only black and white, we can study that more clearly!
Also in the attachment you'll find the brushes that I used to make this drawing, it is the same brush that I used for the Chateau project, with the one rake brush that I used to create the hatching effect.
I hope that you will join the challenge, a...
Chateau Love story scene 3 lineart | timelapse
Hi Patrons! Here is how the scene 3 turned out:) I sat down today I decided to finish this one! For some reason I enjoyed this on the most out of all of the scenes, it was kinda simple and sweet, but with more emotion compared to other scenes.
Now I completed all of the linearts, and I can continue to color!
Chateau love story Scene 2 | Modeling in Blender & making a lineart
Hi Patrons! Here is how the process went for making the lineart for the scene 2 of my personal project!
I wanted to get cozy, and also show you some snippets of my work environment too:)
If you are a Blender beginner I recommend you to watch this tutorial first:
https://www.pat...
Little painting I did today!
I do these often, to experiment with textures and colors- there is always so much to learn !
2025-05-16 17:59:49 +0000 UTC View PostCreate depth like a pro: Overlap and Scale in Background art
Hi Patrons! In this video I wanted to share tips that are aplicable to any scene, and would definetly help to increase the feeling of depth in an image. In the video I'm sharing the basic idea behind using overlap and scale, showing examples from animation and movies, and also making sketches where I show this in action:)
Let me know your thoughts!
New video in production!
I made these two sketches to be featured in a new video, where I want to show you the power of scale and overlap, when planning your environment paintings. Nailing these two aspects can improve the look of our scenes a lot!
2025-05-08 12:46:10 +0000 UTC View Post