Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
WHAT MAKES GOOD ART
3:48 PM
I wanna know who is your favourite artists/designers etc and what is it that makes them great in your opinion?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Quote of the day
5:59 PM
One of the biggest problems of our time, is that not
I take pride in all I do, be it big or small, do your part!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
TODAYS TOPIC: TURN YOUR ART INTO MONEY
7:18 AM
So you have the talent, you've put in the time to perfect your skills, researched your field, and now you've reached a point where you'd like to make money off your art. But where do you begin? sound like you? well, this topic should hopefully give some general tips on doing just that. Don't just use your creativity on your work, use it on the business aspect of things too. If you really utilize your skills, making money from your personal work can be successful.
This is personally a topic I have been thinking about myself. I have thought of some creative approaches to this matter and whilst I do some research and gain ideas and advice from others. I thought I'd save you the hassle by writing this post. Let me know if you find this helpful!
NETWORKING
To start with you can join networking sites such as Behance, Myspace, Facebook, DeviantART, Twitter, Live journal,Blogger and so on. Although not all of these are specifically art communities, they are still useful when trying to get yourself noticed and reaching out to a wider audience. Having said that, Networking doesn't have to only consist of online networking. It could be attending events that allow you to mingle with people like yourself, potential clients, employers, or people who are more experienced and can help you on your journey. You will most probably
need these people if you want to turn your art to money.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL
There are many different methods of promoting yourself. When thinking about promotional material, the obvious things come to mind eg/ Business cards, Portfolios, freebies. etc. And although these things are often necessary, the most creative business card, portfolio, or give away wins. Don't just stick to using the typical methods either, really maximize your creative thinking and produce something unique, but also, something that really says who you are without having to say it. be humorous, be quirky, be bold, and most of all be original. Originality will get you noticed. Once you get working on this, you realize, the possibilities are endless!
GETTING NOTICED
I won't ramble on about all the various ways of doing this. but I will give a few you may want to try
Idea 01:
Submit your work to a popular design magazine such as computer arts or advanced photoshop
Idea 02:
Try to get your work shown at a gallery, although I'm not certain of how you would go about this, there are loads of articles addressing this. like this one Click here. Some galleries accept submissions, but being successful with this can be difficult, that's where once more your creative thinking and hard research comes in! To start you off, if your this kind of artist, try submitting your best pieces to Cosh a gallery based in London.
SELLING ART
There are ways of selling your art both on and offline. your online options are places such as eBay and amazon. Although you can sell almost anywhere if you have a pay pal account. Including the networking sites mentioned
earlier. If you would rather sell in person, one idea is to set up a stall at a market. It is usually reasonably priced to find a space. Even if you start by selling your work to friends or family, we all have to begin somewhere. Also, expect to put some money in before you get anything back.
BUT WHAT DO YOU SELL?
You could sell prints, one of a kind canvases, even things like greeting cards, t-shirts (clothing) etc. You can sell anything you can create! don't doubt yourself, sometimes its about taking chances and believing that other people will want to pay money for your work.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...
Ironically, probably the best way to turn your Art to money is by being a volunteer, doing some unpaid work experience or some free work is so valuable when starting out and you are still gaining experience, work for your portfolio, networking, and getting yourself noticed all at the same time. This can be the key to building a reputation and hopefully, eventually, making money off doing what you love. after all, that is the dream right?
MY LATEST ILLUSTRATION
6:35 AM
I haven't shown much of the illustration work im doing right now so im gonna show you what I have been working on. Initially this wasn't for anything specific, but I then decided to use it as my myspace banner. Im not sure if its finished or not yet. It feels like somethings missing....
Let me know your opinion....
You can see the bigger version at myspace
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Todays topic : INSPIRATION
2:05 PM
As an artist, it isn't always easy to produce amazing work at any given time. Sometimes we lack motivation and inspiration. For this reason it's good to know where you find most of your inspiration so that you can use that as a reliable source when your having a dry moment. I'm not saying narrow down where you find inspiration, I believe you can be inspired by everything and anything if your really paying attention. However, it's also good to have somewhere you can go, something you can look at to trigger creative ideas. For me, If im indoors, I'd browse other artists/designers on the internet or flick through my design books/magazines. Unfortunaly, as Im still not home I can't show you everything I would like to, but I do keep a folder on my laptop titled 'Inspiration' I thought I'd share some work I really like here with you. Call it an attempt to get your creative juices flowing.
Texture can be really fun to work with and not to mention effective if used well. I am a fan of wooden texture and these pieces I think, do it justice. what do you think?
I use alot of paint-like brushes in my work. I think its one thing that I rarely go without in my illustrations. Heres some examples of other people who have used similar methods.
Although Im not a graffiti artist, I find it very inspiring. Im often amazed at what some people can do with a spray can. I only wish I had done these myself!
Where do you find inspiration?
LINKS:
Sophie Toulouse - One of the first artists I admired whilst I was starting out with Illustation.
Computer Arts - I must admit I don't read computer arts as much as I used to, But I have to mention them here because this is where I gained most of my inspiration which helped me greatly to develop my own style. You can find computer arts magazine every month at WHsmiths (and other stores)
Monday, March 2, 2009
Photography In Egypt
2:07 AM
I haven't had much chance to write as many posts as I would like to recently. Once I get the ball rolling you will hear alot more from me. But for now I thought you might like to see some photographs I have just finished working on. I took these at 'Al azhar park' in Cairo, Egypt.
