Art & Business

14 May

Posted at 17:32h in Art & Business

I just received a brochure in the mail about a new conference tailored for creative freelancers (i.e. illustrators, designers, photographers, copyrighters, etc.) The 2008 Creative Freelancer Conference will be held Augut 27-29 in Chicago. The conference is presented by HOW Magazine and Marketing Mentor. Topics to be discussed will include: How do I balance finding work with doing work? What niche should I...

01 May

Posted at 01:57h in Art & Business

I'm still under the gun with deadlines, so unfortunately no time today to write a "real" blog post. Instead, I'd like to refer you to a new post from my friend and fellow artist/blogger Tom Richmond: The Next Big Thing!...

03 Apr

Posted at 00:00h in Art & Business

One of the drawbacks of freelancing is the financial insecurity. Your income can vary wildly from month to month. You may have to wait a long time between paychecks while the bills continue to arrive with military efficiency. I've been bucking this wild financial roller coaster for eleven years now, and it never gets any easier. But it has one...

28 Mar

Posted at 13:38h in Art & Business, Uncategorized

Here's an interesting article from the LA Times about Deborah Gregory, an author who created "The Cheetah Girls" and sold the property to Disney. Her characters have appeared in two TV movies, sold millions of CDs and DVDs, and have toured in over 80 cities. Her contract with Disney gave her 4% of the gross revenues. She hasn't seen a penny. It's...

26 Mar

Posted at 08:44h in Art & Business
I'm slowly getting over a monster cold, which means work is piling up and my to-do list is growing whiskers. It doesn't help that, like many creative types, my ducks aren't always in a perfect row. Fortunately a few months ago I put a simple system in place that has helped me stay (mostly) organized and will go a long way towards helping me get back on track with minimal hassle. Let's call it a "three folder system", unless I can come up with a cheezier name. I wish I could remember where I got this idea (probably a blog). Using my email inbox as an example, here's how it works: In my email program I've created three folders:
  • 01-Today!
  • 02-This Week
  • 03-Whenever
Since my folders are alphabetized, the numbers in front of the folder names ensure that these three folders stay at the top of the list.