Designer/illustrator Clay Cantrell writes: “How important do you feel a blog is as a part of an overall business model for a freelance visual artist? Does it make good business sense, or do you think that only other artists read them, as opposed to potential or current clients?” This is an excellent question, one I’ve […]

As a freelance illustrator I often use reference photos for my work. Not to copy or trace but to study in order to help me understand the subject matter as I draw. My friend and fellow illustrator Tom Richmond recently wrote a good post on the proper role of reference photos when creating a piece […]

This looks interesting. Talks About Money is a new book designed to help freelancers figure out what to charge for their projects. While the book is primarily aimed at graphic designers, there is not all that much difference between how a freelance graphic designer decides what to charge and how a freelance illustrator/artist decides what […]

I’ve been cleaning out my files and I came across a handout from a presentation I gave to some art students about seven years ago. It’s pretty basic stuff aimed primarily at beginners, but I’ve got blog readers at all levels from students to seasoned professionals so I’m sure some of you will find this […]

If you’ve attended a comic book convention in the last few years, you may have noticed the “sketchbook craze” spreading through the art world. Comic book and animation artists will assemble dozens of personal sketches, have them made into booklets at Kinko’s, and sell them at conventions and other events. I’ve been to Comic-Con twice […]

Illustrator Doug Jones writes: I have always had a tower type computer but now I am wondering if maybe I should go for a MacBook Pro as my main computer. Is there any reason to have the large tower type computers anymore? A great question. I had to do a little research to answer this […]