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I just received the very first issue of Stay Tooned!, a brand-new magazine for cartoonists from editor John Read. Since the magazine Cartoonists PROfiles is no longer gracing newsstands, Stay Tooned! is stepping in to fill the void. The magazine is published quarterly, and you can order issues or subscribe online. A copy of issue #1 is $10, or you...

As a freelance character designer I've worked with a lot of clients over the years: big ones, small ones, established companies and young startups. Most have been terrific and I've been fortunate to work with a lot of really great people. Still, despite the best of intentions not every project runs as smoothly as it could. Even after eleven years of freelancing I still occasionally work on projects that get bogged down by miscommunication, misunderstanding, and avoidable delays. If you hire freelance artists, or are thinking of hiring one soon, here's a list of friendly tips on how to help things go smoothly. Of course project delays and difficulties aren't always the client's fault. Tomorrow I'll turn the tables and give some thoughts aimed at all you freelancers out there. For now, here's some tips on being a "dream client": 1. Give the freelancer as much information about the project as possible. The more info the better. Who is the target audience? What is the project trying to accomplish? Is there a certain style or tone you are after? How will the art be used? Will it need to be enlarged or reduced? How will it fit into the context of the larger project? A lot of these are questions the freelancer should be asking you, but if he doesn't you should offer the information anyway. There's no such thing as too much detail.

Award winning animator Shawn Kelly has written a 90-page eBook called Animation Tips and Tricks. It's hot off the presses, so to speak, and chock full of advice for aspiring animators. Best of all, it's free! It's being offered as a PDF download from the folks at Animation Mentor. Just sign up to download the book. Here's a neat little bonus:...

Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman famously wrote that "in Hollywood, nobody knows anything". What he meant was that nobody really understands how to make a successful film. Despite all the money and effort poured into every movie, it's a total mystery why some films rake in mega bucks and others flop big time. If there was a secret formula to making...

To any art directors and creative directors who read my blog, this post is just for you. It's a list of resources I found online geared towards art directors. I'm not an AD myself so I'm not too familiar with most of them, but at first glance they seem like they would be helpful:   Art Director's ToolKit - Software with tools...

I'm slowly working on a post (or series of posts) about digital inking. In my research and in talking to other artists I've been hearing a lot of great things about a drawing program called Sketchbook Pro. Apparently it's super fantastically awesome, rivaling Photoshop and Painter at a significantly lower price. When it comes to inking with a Cintiq, Sketchbook...