Showing posts with label animation art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animation art. Show all posts
Monday, January 30, 2012
Beer & Star Wars
What's the point of having a blog if I don't shamelessly promote myself on a regular basis??? Here's a quick painting I did for an art show in Sarasota, "Beer & Star Wars." The piece didn't sell, but that's okay, 'cause I wanted to keep it, anyways. :)
Friday, April 29, 2011
Drawing of My Daughter
My daughter was sleeping in the car on our hectic drive across Florida this Easter weekend, and I took advantage of it to finally do a drawing of my cutie-patootie!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Promotional Postcard, and the Hustle
The biggest weaknesses that most artists have? Two big ones stick out to me: the lack of self-promotion and no ability to hustle (aka negotiate).
A lot of artists have this amazing contradiction going within them--they're COMPLETELY self-absorbed in their work, but have no urge to try to promote themselves. It seems if you're THAT into yourself, you'd be telling THE WORLD about it, but not the case, with most artists.
I don't know if this is because artists have no idea how to even START promoting themselves, or if that's just energy they'd prefer to waste on doing artwork. Well, I'm here to tell you, when you're a fledgling artist, you've got more TIME than money, and in all honesty, you need to spend about 50% hustling/promoting and 50% doing art. I know that's a horrifically discouraging ratio to any artist, but in all honesty, ANY new business would be spending about that same ratio of time on actual trade and promotion. One cannot create within a vaccuum! Same goes for promotions, too! You need to beat the pavement, shake hands, make phone calls, send e-mails! Nobody gets "discovered", I don't give a shit WHAT you hear! You put yourself out there to EVERYBODY, and then about 1% of those people you promote yourself to will give you work.
Which brings me to my latest promotional effort, a new promotional postcard! Here it is:
The alligator in the center of the composition has given me a TON of work, so I figured I might as well give him some reptilian friends, and see if this gets me more enjoyable work! As much as I pride myself on diversity of style, I definitely gravitate more towards cartoony.
So, the Hustle, the second Achilles Heel of artists, and other workers, in general. I'm convinced that most people just accept the first wage thrown at them when it's offered to them at a job interview. Same thing applies to people that get a freelance offer. They simply say "yes" or even let themselves get talked down on price. Well, I can tell you, from personal experience, you need to REVERSE that approach. Even if they don't budge on price, get them to budge on other things, like the amount of finished material you receive from them as promotional materials, paying for room and board if you're on location working for them, per diem, etc.
With my postcards, the printer was raving about my cartoony cards, and then mentioned that she wanted to redo her bland flamingo on her logo. A week later, I needed more postcards than what I initially bought (500), so I made a work-for-product deal: Print me out another 100 postcards, give me an I.O.U. for the other 400, and I'll render that flamingo for you that you've been craving for. Well, here it is:
She's THRILLED with it, and has become a strong advocate of what I do for the last few weeks, sending me phone calls from her business! So, it just goes to show: you can print postcards 'til the cows come home--your reputation and networking ability is what REALLY gets you work!
A lot of artists have this amazing contradiction going within them--they're COMPLETELY self-absorbed in their work, but have no urge to try to promote themselves. It seems if you're THAT into yourself, you'd be telling THE WORLD about it, but not the case, with most artists.
I don't know if this is because artists have no idea how to even START promoting themselves, or if that's just energy they'd prefer to waste on doing artwork. Well, I'm here to tell you, when you're a fledgling artist, you've got more TIME than money, and in all honesty, you need to spend about 50% hustling/promoting and 50% doing art. I know that's a horrifically discouraging ratio to any artist, but in all honesty, ANY new business would be spending about that same ratio of time on actual trade and promotion. One cannot create within a vaccuum! Same goes for promotions, too! You need to beat the pavement, shake hands, make phone calls, send e-mails! Nobody gets "discovered", I don't give a shit WHAT you hear! You put yourself out there to EVERYBODY, and then about 1% of those people you promote yourself to will give you work.
Which brings me to my latest promotional effort, a new promotional postcard! Here it is:
The alligator in the center of the composition has given me a TON of work, so I figured I might as well give him some reptilian friends, and see if this gets me more enjoyable work! As much as I pride myself on diversity of style, I definitely gravitate more towards cartoony.
So, the Hustle, the second Achilles Heel of artists, and other workers, in general. I'm convinced that most people just accept the first wage thrown at them when it's offered to them at a job interview. Same thing applies to people that get a freelance offer. They simply say "yes" or even let themselves get talked down on price. Well, I can tell you, from personal experience, you need to REVERSE that approach. Even if they don't budge on price, get them to budge on other things, like the amount of finished material you receive from them as promotional materials, paying for room and board if you're on location working for them, per diem, etc.
With my postcards, the printer was raving about my cartoony cards, and then mentioned that she wanted to redo her bland flamingo on her logo. A week later, I needed more postcards than what I initially bought (500), so I made a work-for-product deal: Print me out another 100 postcards, give me an I.O.U. for the other 400, and I'll render that flamingo for you that you've been craving for. Well, here it is:
She's THRILLED with it, and has become a strong advocate of what I do for the last few weeks, sending me phone calls from her business! So, it just goes to show: you can print postcards 'til the cows come home--your reputation and networking ability is what REALLY gets you work!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
I'm On "The List!"
Well, I've never worked so hard for just the POSSIBILITY of being employed, but after jumping through several hoops, I've convinced one of the editors of Archie Comics that I'm qualified to be a colorist for them!
After sending him the pencils I did, he was complimentary about them, but said it was more organic than the polished style their comic book typically subscribes to. He was cool enough to send me some samples of finished pencils from previous comics that they had done, and I took one look at them, and said, "Oh, I can TOTALLY do that!" Fortunately, I just need to simplify my style, instead of having to step up my skills. But he also liked the colors in my original art, so he sent me a coloring test. Here's the first whack I took at it:
He liked it, but said to focus on the depth of the characters a bit more, and make sure there's a specific heirarchy to what takes the make attention of the viewer, and then sent me ANOTHER color test. Which ended up looking like this:
On this one, a few more notes were given, but he was confident that I had the right work ethic and skill to work with him, so I got the paperwork and contracts to sign, and I'm now on the "The List" of people he'll call when he needs some work done for colors.
He was also cool enough to send me another script to take a look at, so I could send him another pencil sample, 'cause I KNOW I can give him what he wants, it was just a matter of knowing what they were looking for, specifically. And since he sent me the pencil samples, now I'm confident I can pull it off. Coloring isn't the "pie-in-the-sky" dream that I imagined, but I also have been in the industry long enough to know that all you need is a foot in the door, and eventually the rest of the body will be invited, as well. So here's to having someone cool enough to give me a chance! Only better and better news from here on out!
After sending him the pencils I did, he was complimentary about them, but said it was more organic than the polished style their comic book typically subscribes to. He was cool enough to send me some samples of finished pencils from previous comics that they had done, and I took one look at them, and said, "Oh, I can TOTALLY do that!" Fortunately, I just need to simplify my style, instead of having to step up my skills. But he also liked the colors in my original art, so he sent me a coloring test. Here's the first whack I took at it:
He liked it, but said to focus on the depth of the characters a bit more, and make sure there's a specific heirarchy to what takes the make attention of the viewer, and then sent me ANOTHER color test. Which ended up looking like this:
On this one, a few more notes were given, but he was confident that I had the right work ethic and skill to work with him, so I got the paperwork and contracts to sign, and I'm now on the "The List" of people he'll call when he needs some work done for colors.
He was also cool enough to send me another script to take a look at, so I could send him another pencil sample, 'cause I KNOW I can give him what he wants, it was just a matter of knowing what they were looking for, specifically. And since he sent me the pencil samples, now I'm confident I can pull it off. Coloring isn't the "pie-in-the-sky" dream that I imagined, but I also have been in the industry long enough to know that all you need is a foot in the door, and eventually the rest of the body will be invited, as well. So here's to having someone cool enough to give me a chance! Only better and better news from here on out!
Monday, July 12, 2010
No! Sleep! 'Til ComiCon!!!
T-Minus Nine Days and Counting! Man, TOTALLY stoked about going this year! I'm at the point in my career where good friends of mine that I went to college with are now becoming movers and shakers in the industry, and a lot of them are going to be doing presentations and networking at ComiCon. Disney, Hasbro, Dreamworks, Sony, Blue Sky, Pixar, i09, G-4, Image Comics, Sideshow Collectibles, cosplay bitches....basically, if you're a nerd, this is your Woodstock. My bud, Andrew, brought up a good point the other day about ComiCon:
True fuckin' that! Us nerds are WAY too busy having fun and playing make-believe to ever be violent. 125,000 people going to be there this year, and I'm confident not a fist will be thrown. Probably 'cause the nerds with weapons always have a play fight "arena" they can jump in, and swing their PVC pipes and cardboard creations around for hours, if they want.
So, gotta get back to finishing up pieces of artwork and stories to knock the socks off of editors and art directors with! Not leaving there until I've got five potential commissions lined up!! Either way, I'm gonna have a spectacular time! More news and pictures soon!
At sports games, they gotta line every square block with tons of cops and riot squads. Don't have to do that with Comic Book conventions!
True fuckin' that! Us nerds are WAY too busy having fun and playing make-believe to ever be violent. 125,000 people going to be there this year, and I'm confident not a fist will be thrown. Probably 'cause the nerds with weapons always have a play fight "arena" they can jump in, and swing their PVC pipes and cardboard creations around for hours, if they want.
So, gotta get back to finishing up pieces of artwork and stories to knock the socks off of editors and art directors with! Not leaving there until I've got five potential commissions lined up!! Either way, I'm gonna have a spectacular time! More news and pictures soon!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
One Week 'Til Convention
It's Memorial Day weekend! Guess what I'm doing? Beach? Barbeque? Beer? Nope, nope, and maybe later. I'm knee-deep in watercolors, making Critters for my in-process children's fantasy picture book, Lil' Book of Critters.
It's a little bit of a drag, 'cause I'm running a few weeks behind where I wanted to be with the book. I was hoping that I'd be finished with a website commission a few weeks ago, but in standard Jason fashion, I misestimated how long this project would take. S'kay, I got it taken care of. And I'll GLADLY sacrifice a weekend of fun for....well, FUN, honestly. I lovelovelove art, and it's SO nice to just be able to focus on your own wacky project, for once.
I have the SCBWI Florida Children's Book Mid-Year Workshop this coming weekend. I'll have an Illustrator's Intensive on Friday, Picture Book Workshop on Saturday, finished off with two critiques of my book that Saturday evening. I went to the event last year for just the one day, unsure who or what this convention had to offer. But after seeing the big-name authors, literary agents, and other "power" people there, as well as the direct-access addresses and other inside help the organization offered, I realized it's worth me taking this seriously.
In amazing synchronicity, this year had two big industry editors coincidentally really gravitate towards this book that I just had mentioned on a lark. One was an editor from io9.com, who found my art on a site like DeviantArt or something like that, and did a whole little blurb about me. I felt like I should have my Professional Geek card revoked, because I wasn't familiar with io9.com! I checked it out, and just marveled at the amazing stuff they had on there! Comic books, fantasy and sci-fi book and movie reviews, concept art from big-time video games....and now an online article about lil' ol me?? No way! She asked me what current/future projects I was working on, and decided to mention this children's book I was toying with. She was really interested in it, and in addition to my other illustrations that she wanted, I sent her some scans of the rough illustrations I had done. She asked me if there was a story in addition to the characters, and I'd discovered through sharing the book with others that people had more fun making up their own stories, so felt it was more enjoyable for the viewer to just have the visual of the critter, their name, and then let others make up what the critter's story was. The editor loved the illustrations from the book, and then did exactly that--she took the critters, and made up what she felt these creatures do, what they eat, where they live! She even changed the gender of what I felt some of the critters were, which was once again affirmation that leaving these critters this open truly gave people their own imaginary playground to enjoy!
A few months after that, I contacted an editor from one of my favorite art magazines, ImagineFX. I sent him some samples of my work, as well as a link to my site. He liked what I had to show, and asked for three print-ready samples of my work, as well as to answer several questions that he sent along. One of the questions that he asked was, once again, about current and future projects I was working on. In the same way, I mentioned the Critters book. My work was supposed to appear months ago in the magazine, but due to circumstances out of his control, ended up postponing my blurb in the magazine 'til June of this year. As that date approached, in early May he revisited my information, and realized that I was doing this Critters book. He asked if I had some information about the book, as well as some pictures of some of the critters, and if so, he'd put it in their "Products" section in addition. Holy shit!!! I was now going to have an internationally-known publication helping me sell my book, free of charge! This has made me suddenly have to move in fast-forward. I immediately contacted the information architect that helped me put together my own site, and told him, "Hey, here's some scratch! Can you please set up an e-commerce site for me, stat?" I've looked into Paypal, and am setting up a new bank account to just focus on money earned from that project. Hopefully if I get enough pre-orders from this, it'll help me seal a deal with a publishing agent or better yet, a publisher.
It's really amazing how life works, sometimes. I never really thought very much about this book, except for it just being an exercise for my imagination. But after seeing two industry people react so positively to it, I suddenly thought, "Holy shit! I might be on to something, here...."
I REALLY hope this convention and children's book does well! I'd love nothing more than being a daddy that takes care of his kid during the day, and earns his keep, working on his art during the evening. That, in my ideal mind, sounds pretty much like a dream come true, no doubt! Wish me luck!
It's a little bit of a drag, 'cause I'm running a few weeks behind where I wanted to be with the book. I was hoping that I'd be finished with a website commission a few weeks ago, but in standard Jason fashion, I misestimated how long this project would take. S'kay, I got it taken care of. And I'll GLADLY sacrifice a weekend of fun for....well, FUN, honestly. I lovelovelove art, and it's SO nice to just be able to focus on your own wacky project, for once.
I have the SCBWI Florida Children's Book Mid-Year Workshop this coming weekend. I'll have an Illustrator's Intensive on Friday, Picture Book Workshop on Saturday, finished off with two critiques of my book that Saturday evening. I went to the event last year for just the one day, unsure who or what this convention had to offer. But after seeing the big-name authors, literary agents, and other "power" people there, as well as the direct-access addresses and other inside help the organization offered, I realized it's worth me taking this seriously.
In amazing synchronicity, this year had two big industry editors coincidentally really gravitate towards this book that I just had mentioned on a lark. One was an editor from io9.com, who found my art on a site like DeviantArt or something like that, and did a whole little blurb about me. I felt like I should have my Professional Geek card revoked, because I wasn't familiar with io9.com! I checked it out, and just marveled at the amazing stuff they had on there! Comic books, fantasy and sci-fi book and movie reviews, concept art from big-time video games....and now an online article about lil' ol me?? No way! She asked me what current/future projects I was working on, and decided to mention this children's book I was toying with. She was really interested in it, and in addition to my other illustrations that she wanted, I sent her some scans of the rough illustrations I had done. She asked me if there was a story in addition to the characters, and I'd discovered through sharing the book with others that people had more fun making up their own stories, so felt it was more enjoyable for the viewer to just have the visual of the critter, their name, and then let others make up what the critter's story was. The editor loved the illustrations from the book, and then did exactly that--she took the critters, and made up what she felt these creatures do, what they eat, where they live! She even changed the gender of what I felt some of the critters were, which was once again affirmation that leaving these critters this open truly gave people their own imaginary playground to enjoy!
A few months after that, I contacted an editor from one of my favorite art magazines, ImagineFX. I sent him some samples of my work, as well as a link to my site. He liked what I had to show, and asked for three print-ready samples of my work, as well as to answer several questions that he sent along. One of the questions that he asked was, once again, about current and future projects I was working on. In the same way, I mentioned the Critters book. My work was supposed to appear months ago in the magazine, but due to circumstances out of his control, ended up postponing my blurb in the magazine 'til June of this year. As that date approached, in early May he revisited my information, and realized that I was doing this Critters book. He asked if I had some information about the book, as well as some pictures of some of the critters, and if so, he'd put it in their "Products" section in addition. Holy shit!!! I was now going to have an internationally-known publication helping me sell my book, free of charge! This has made me suddenly have to move in fast-forward. I immediately contacted the information architect that helped me put together my own site, and told him, "Hey, here's some scratch! Can you please set up an e-commerce site for me, stat?" I've looked into Paypal, and am setting up a new bank account to just focus on money earned from that project. Hopefully if I get enough pre-orders from this, it'll help me seal a deal with a publishing agent or better yet, a publisher.
It's really amazing how life works, sometimes. I never really thought very much about this book, except for it just being an exercise for my imagination. But after seeing two industry people react so positively to it, I suddenly thought, "Holy shit! I might be on to something, here...."
I REALLY hope this convention and children's book does well! I'd love nothing more than being a daddy that takes care of his kid during the day, and earns his keep, working on his art during the evening. That, in my ideal mind, sounds pretty much like a dream come true, no doubt! Wish me luck!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Concept-A-Day
Each day, I try to draw a concept to keep my mind fresh, and keep the gears going. Some weeks I'm way ahead on my concepts, other weeks I've got so much work backlogged, I start to slack.
Remember, I've got a full-time job, plus a little lady to keep happy, PLUS I gotta work out or exercise on occasion (or what I like to call, "Fat Control"), so these sketches are done afterwards, on top of all of that. I also try to theme them, each week. I also like having the opportunity to experiment with different styles than what I normally do, or have the freedom to work on something different than what I currently am. Like most artists, very short attention span. Feel free to subscribe to this RSS Feed, in case you like a bit of visual inspiration each day!
April 30-May 11, 2008: Car/vehicle designs
Remember, I've got a full-time job, plus a little lady to keep happy, PLUS I gotta work out or exercise on occasion (or what I like to call, "Fat Control"), so these sketches are done afterwards, on top of all of that. I also try to theme them, each week. I also like having the opportunity to experiment with different styles than what I normally do, or have the freedom to work on something different than what I currently am. Like most artists, very short attention span. Feel free to subscribe to this RSS Feed, in case you like a bit of visual inspiration each day!
April 30-May 11, 2008: Car/vehicle designs
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