Link: The Next Big Thing…Not!

by

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!…Not

Tom writes about a common problem for freelancers: The client with a big idea but no cash. His post really hit home with me because I regularly get approached by entrepreneurs who need some free artwork to pitch their children’s book or novelty product. They promise I’ll soon be rolling in the dough, except they usually have no experience, no money, no connections, and no publisher/distributor. While I’m always flattered to be asked, such requests almost always wind up going nowhere and are really just a waste of my time.

(Besides, I never do free or even discounted artwork for such projects. If they really believe their idea will make them rich, they should at least have enough confidence to invest in payment for the artwork.)

Tom summarizes the issue well, and I’m sure some of you will be able to relate.

Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Should I Design My Own Website?

by

Brad Howard of Doodlesauce.com writes:

I have never been a website design person….I’ve had too much work and not enough time to dedicate myself to learning GoLive or Dreamweaver. My question is, I wanted to just hire someone who knew what they were doing and build me something. What are your thoughts on having someone else build your site?

A good question. My website is badly in need of a re-design, so I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

In the past I’ve always designed my own website, but this time around I may hire someone to do it for me. My last re-design was back in 2005. Since I’m a do-it-yourselfer with a love for technology I was able to take on the task myself. In the last few years websites have grown increasingly more sophisticated and the widespread use of Flash, Java, and CSS makes the whole process a lot more complicated. What looked sharp and professional in 2005 is ho-hum today. I think it’s much harder now for someone who only dabbles in web design to build something that looks professional and is still easy to maintain.

There are many companies that sell low-cost website templates which you can customize with a minimal amount of effort. However, these “cookie-cutter” sites usually look and feel a little too generic for my tastes. They also force you to bend the overall structure of your site to fit the design rather than the other way around. However, they are inexpensive and are also helpful for people who don’t have a strong design sense.

Ideally, if you can afford it I would highly recommend designing your own site from scratch and then hiring someone to build it for you. I would break the process into four stages:

1. Pre-Planning. What information will you put on your website, and in what order? Will you have one main menu or several sub-menus? Will you have a blog built into the site? Will your site be Flash or HTML? Will you need a private client area? Will there be any interactive forms (i.e. a sign-up page)? Will you have a store to sell anything? These are all important questions that must be decided before you can actually build the site.

2. Design. What will your site look like? Will it be simple or flashy? What color scheme will you use? How about fonts? How will clients navigate through your artwork? Spend some time looking at other artist’s websites looking for inspiration and ideas. Then come up with a design that is professional-looking and unique to you. If graphic design is not your strength, hire someone to design the site for you. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and that any text sounds professional. If writing is not your strength, you may want to hire someone to help you out with that as well.

3. Building the Site. This is the part where you need to call in the big guns. Hire someone who really knows what they are doing so that your website will be as “bug-free” as possible. This will probably wind up costing you a couple of thousand dollars, so make sure you hire someone who is established and reputable. You want someone who will be there for you if you have questions or problems, or if you decide you want to tweak the design by adding or removing pages (for example, if you decide to add a Store page).

4. Maintenance. Once the site is built you will want to be able to update it easily. If you have new work to show, or are writing a blog, it should be easy for you to make changes and post new content. If the site was designed properly you won’t have to hire anyone to do this for you.

A good website takes a lot of time and money to build, but the payoff is worth the investment. Like it or not, your website is the first impression potential clients will get about you and your work. A solid, attractive, easy-to-navigate website will go a long way towards reassuring them that you are a true professional whom they can trust to do quality work.

Smart Money Blogs

by

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 big advantage: freelancing has forced me to be more responsible and organized with my finances than I otherwise would be.

I’ve never studied finance and, like most Americans, I graduated from college knowing absolutely nothing about money. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a hedge fund and hedge clippers. Like most artists, when I heard the word “finances” I turned pale and developed a nervous twitch.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Learning about money doesn’t have to be intimidating or confusing. In fact, if the material is presented properly it can even be fun.

I’ve recently started reading a few blogs about money that have taken a lot of the fear out of finances for me. For the most part they are written for laymen, and because they are blogs the information comes in short, manageable chunks. Best of all, these blogs are full practical tips and insights into how to stretch my dollar farther so I can be smarter with my money.

If you’d like help in learning about how to better handle your money, give these blogs a try:

No Credit Needed – a blog about reducing your debts.

Get Rich Slowly – Build wealth the old-fashioned way, by being smart and being patient.

Money $mart Life – Interesting tidbits and practical tips.

A Penny Saved – This blog has a regular feature I like called “Carnival of Personal Finance”. Each “Carnival” post lists dozens of interesting links about various financial  topics.

Eaten Alive In The Studio Jungle

by

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 called Hollywood accounting, and it’s unfortunately very common. Apparently when writers and creators sell the rights to their characters. Hollywood studios have all sorts of tricky ways to balance the books and make sure that somehow the creator’s share of the profits never makes its way onto the bottom line.

I’m not sure if this has much to do with illustration or character design. My guess is most of you will never sell a character or story to a big Hollywood studio. But it is a reminder that at the very least you should be using good, solid contracts when working with clients to help ensure your artwork isn’t misused or your rights infringed upon. To learn more I highly recommend two books: The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook of Pricing & Ethical Guidelines and Tad Crawford’s Business and Legal Forms for Illustrators. Both are chock full of helpful information for the serious freelancer.

You can find even more resources at my Amazon.com Recommended Resources page.

Keeping On Top Of The Clutter

by

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.Read More

13 Reasons NOT To Be A Freelancer

by

I’ve been freelancing for eleven years and I love it! Despite the high highs and low lows, overall its been a great career choice for me. But freelancing is not for everyone. I’ve written about the drawbacks and benefits before. Recently I came across a great post written by Chad at ProFreelancing.com that looks at it from another angle:

13 Reasons Why You Should NOT Be A Freelance Writer

The article is aimed at writers, but you could substitute “artist” for “writer” and his comments would still hold true. I agreed completely with every reason on his list except #5 (“Poor Typist”), which obviously doesn’t apply to artists, and possibly #6 (Poor Marketing). Everything else is dead-on.

I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from pursuing a freelance career. But before you take the plunge, you would be wise to take Chad’s advice to heart.