@helpyoudraw / helpyoudraw.tumblr.com
Whether you are new in creating art or a veteran art warrior you still might want to polish your art skills.
You already know that working on your art regularly is a good way to get better but what else can you do to improve your art drastically this year? Lets find out!
Read whole post here: How to improve your art drastically?
Hello friends!
Happy New Year! Hope you’ve all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and are ready to get 2016 started.
Over the last few months, I’ve received questions regarding my experiences with applying to artist alley, how to prepare for a convention, and general booth presentation tips. I’d like to take this post to share a brief overview of what I’ve learned so far. This is from the perspective of someone who has done cons for a year, all within the United States.
For a first con, I would recommend staying local to get a feel for running a booth before investing too much in travel.
If you are fortunate enough to have multiple cons locally to choose from, or have already had experience with local cons, then use your existing network to gather data on what type of audience is most interested in your art. Look at the profiles of people who like/favorite/reblog your art. What kind of other fandoms are they into? What demographic does most of your fanbase fit under? Can you get Google Analytics data on the type of people who visit your sites? Use this data to your advantage and find events that fit your target market.
Even though art may be just your hobby and not your full-time business, it’s important that in matters when you are presenting yourself professionally (like a con) that you treat it like a legitimate business. That means keeping track of earnings and expenses spent on cons and making sure you have applied for the correct seller’s permits (check the laws of the state your con is on.) Depending on your situation, it may be worth getting a business license as well.
Keep in mind that at the end of the year, you will be paying income tax based on the money you earned as well, so keep a portion of your earnings aside to be prepared for this. Keeping receipts for all expenses incurred (printing, shipping, stock imagery, marketing costs, etc) using clean books is helpful for possibly lessening your tax burden.
There is a significant amount of financial and legal knowledge that is important for creators to know that is beyond what I can cover here, but some resources you can use to learn more are:
In the last 8 months, I went through 3 different booth structures! Here are the pros and cons of each one, along with cost and referral links to buy.
Pros - very customizable, cheap, can build racks, walls, etc. Form factor breaks down to a very small size.
Cons - not very stable, takes a long time to set up and generally needs 2 people, can be very heavy due to them being metal Buy wire cubes here: amzn.to/1YTHFjL
Pros - can be assembled with one person, fairly stable, somewhat cheap, somewhat customizable, clamps can be used for other purposes after the con
Cons - looks unsightly when pipe is exposed, clamps will always be exposed and can be a hazard for running into (see above photo), must cut to size yourself, heavy Buy clamps here: amzn.to/1YTHRiR
Pros - super fast setup for one person, very stable even when extended to a tall height, professional appearance, lightweight
Cons - not customizable at all (basically this can just be used to make a wall of prints), expensive Buy a backdrop stand here: amzn.to/1YTHSn7
Other items that are great for including are a nice quality tablecloth, banner with your business name or handle, business cards, money deposit bag, and a browsable portfolio case. I prefer a refillable portfolio so I can customize the page count plus switch out pages as they get too grimy/ripped (yes this will happen.) Get a portfolio case here: amzn.to/1YTI8T1
To avoid damage to your prints, and to keep them organized easily, I recommend a roller bag with hard shell. You can use file folders inside to easily manage all your prints. The one I have used for several cons can be found here: http://amzn.to/1P4CKKx I love this one because it holds prints up to 13x19.
Additional Tips For those in the US, consider upgrading to a chip card reader as well to minimize your risk.
Additionally, bringing healthy snacks, water, tissues, hand sanitizer, and a bag for trash will make your time at the table so much more pleasant!
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Let me know if you’d like a more in-depth write ups for any of these topics!
<3 Jaleh
Photography Tutorial for Illustrators: EOS Utility Remote Live View Photography from References.
How to find your artistic style
Have you ever judged yourself that you don’t have a unique artistic style or have you envied other artists before because their artworks are recognizable on their own?
Every artist wants their artworks to be different and unique yet they do things that can cause the opposite effect. Don’t worry though, you can not lose your own artistic style and you can work on it anytime! I will show you how! Read further:
A couple years ago, I wrote a post on harmonious color and Dan posted a link to it here on Muddy Colors. Shortly after Dan invited me to start contributing regularly. It occurred to me that it might be good to have the post etched in the granite block of Muddy Color's blog so that in a thousand years when Google robots have taken over the earth, turned us into batteries and assimilated all knowledge they can choose a decent color palette for the inevitable future.
Also, from looks of my social network feeds, just about all of you are at IMC and will be working through the wee hours of the night having a wonderful time. I am jealous of the inspiration and fun all the IMC'ers are having, but it brings back great memories too!
Harmonious Color
"One more step, Mr. Hands," said I, "and I'll blow your brains out!" by N.C. Wyeth
I struggled early in my career with the application of color. That is no surprise because color can be tough, but I really struggled! In fact when I was just out of high school, my pride reared it’s ugly head and I even told one teacher that “color was overrated” and that “black and white was enough for me.” That makes me smile now, but I was serious then!
The reality was that I had no clue how to put a palette together for a painting. I knew that a complimentary palette could be good. Maybe red and green, or orange and blue… but what orange, and what blue? You only have to spend 2 minutes in an art store (or in Photoshop!) to realize that there are a LOT of different hues of blue and orange or any of the basic colors of the spectrum. It can be a bit overwhelming at first.
