Another Project to Munch On!

Recently, I've been busy working on cartoon images for Highlights PuzzleMania Magazine. Here's a small sample.

Weekly Creative Biz Note #6

Be Rid of Non-Paying Clients

I've read too many posts on artist forums concerning the evil client that would not pay-up. It's happened to most of us at least once. Grrrr! Some of those forum stories deal with an artist working on a project for a "friend". First off, don't work for friends or family. If you feel the need, then treat them as a normal client. And if they can't pay your usual fee then barter your skills for theirs.

Before you start a project provide a written statement or estimate--explaining how you work and acting as a letter of agreement.The larger the job--the more detailed it should be. If a client doesn't already have an agreement to sign, then we have them sign the bottom of our estimate. If they won't sign it--take caution!

The costs should be clear and if it changes during the project let the client know ASAP. It happens...that's why it's called an "estimate"--LOL! But be very upfront. Break down your fee into portions or milestone payments. If it's a large cost then third or quarter payments can be good...if it's a small project, then I usually receive half the money upfront and invoice the other half after they receive the files. This can be explained on your estimate. The invoice should be paid by the client within 30 days. Invoice ASAP.

If you've invoiced multiple times and you're not getting anywhere, then make a few phone calls. If that doesn't work, then small claims court may be the next step. It involves filling out forms and a small filing fee. But without a signed agreement your odds are slim. Email documents may help. As I've stated before... cut your losses, move on and take with you the wisdom of never making the same mistake in the future.

The moral to the story...get a portion of the project costs before you begin anything, push for a signature and build a good relationship with the client.

Next Friday--Weekly Creative Biz Note #7---The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Side of Children's Books
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Weekly Creative Biz Note #5

How Do I Find My "Style"?

I pounded my head against the wall trying to find a style that was unique and that I was passionate about. I scoured illustration source books and spent many late nights online. But in the end, it had always been right in front of me.

I started with a cartoon style that came naturally. It wasn't forced and didn't necessarily look like another artist's style. Don't mimic another style. You certainly can find particular qualities or distinct techniques within an artist's style. For instance, I love Douglas Fraser's illustrations. I discovered that it was the bold lines and shadows that I loved the most. So ask yourself," What it is that you "really" like about a certain artist's style?". And then re-create those distinct elements in your own medium.

If you haven't discovered which medium your prefer, then get started! It'll take time, so be patient and push through that "this looks ugly" barrier.

There was a ton of trial and error...I tried out a few styles. I remember spending an entire day just figuring out one small digital technique that I currently use. I've tossed a lot of artwork that didn't make it through my personal critiquing process. Be tough on yourself. And know what's out there.

Then ask yourself..."What type of market am I hitting?" This is important! Is it editorial, advertising or children's books? Don't spread yourself thin but also don't corner yourself into one market. Put your artwork online and get some feedback from fellow artists.

Now, I currently work in two styles and have a very cool third style coming. It's not that I couldn't make up my mind, I simply have the desire to do them all. Is that a good idea? Yes and no. It takes mega amounts of time to keep them going and promoting them is more difficult. But I receive more calls this way. If you can do it, then I say do it! At first, I was worried that clients may get confused but they don't. I never advertise the styles together--keep them separate.

Don't expect to find a style on the first try--eventually, it will come to you.

Next Friday--Weekly Creative Biz Note #6---Be Rid of Non-Paying Clients
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Top Secret Villian!

PixelBoy has been hustling behind the scenes. Our incredible client gave us the "green light" to show-off a few of the characters we've developed for them. This villian (plus five super heroes) will be made into an action figure! There will be a ton of promotional materials too. The project is still under wraps but we'll be posting more as soon as we can!
© 2009 Campbell Fisher Design

Weekly Creative Biz Note #4

The Yin & Yang of Source Books

PixelBoy Studio has been busy and so I haven't had much time to keep up on the blogging. Though I'm squeezing this one in...

This week is concerning illustration resource books--such as WorkBook and Black Book. These books are mailed out to 20,000+ potential clients from ad agencies, design and publishing firms--depending on which book. Most resource books include a portfolio site and you will have access to the site once you sign-up. This type of advertising can give you a ton of exposure.

As I mentioned before, start small with your advertising budget. Which really means--have a budget! At times, you may have a sales person call you up and praise your work. It's good to hear but remember they are sales people. Nothing can stop a sales person quicker than explaining that you have no more room in your budget for additional advertising. How could they disagree with that?

If you're just starting out as an illustrator, then don't even think about trying out the national resource books. Your style may change throughout the next few years. We believe that the process in which art directors are finding artists is changing. The new generation of directors are web savvy and don't have the time to be flipping though a 300 page book--though it can be fun. If I needed a vector cartoonist, then why not use a search engine?

The resource book pricing is high. Not every artist can pull out this kind of money. Some believe it to be ridiculous--a rip-off! They may be right. WorkBook is approx. $3500 for the annual/online and $800 for the online portfolio only. They have statistics on the site--which is great. I used WB four years ago and got very good results. We are still receiving projects from our contact made from that initial ad. I currently have my first ad in Black Book--I got a deal on the price and now I know why--the book was printed four months late! It seems to be lacking. The Directory of Illustration cost is approx. $2500 with web portfolio access. Online (only) is not available. We've used them for two years and, unfortunately, had unhappy results. Though we love our sales rep--she was very helpful! How you represent yourself in the ad...the right images...it all has a major effect on the end result. Overall, you're taking a risk. You need to cover your initial costs of the ad and then some.

I've done my research and used free online software that compares the number of visits for all these resource book sites. It changes--so check it out and compare. Don't take their word for their numbers. Watch your google analytics to see what is working. You may make some mistakes along the way when it comes to your advertising but learn what works for YOU and your STYLE. The real questions is," Do the resource books work?" It must for some. I see the same artists going back to the books year after year. Though I would tend to say most probably lose out. If it's within your budget, then you may want to test the waters. A friendly warning though, the water is murky--it can leave you feeling refreshed or possibly cold and it's full of hungry sharks!

There are other resources for online such as theispot.com, altpick.com and many more.

Thanks for reading!

Next Friday--Weekly Creative Biz Note #5---How Do I Find My "Style"?
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Weekly Creative Biz Note #3

The Life of an Art Director

During my 13+ years freelancing at multiple advertising agencies I worked on many national accounts--such as: United Airlines, U.S. Postal Service, Frito-Lay, KOOL, Lucky Strike, Bally's, LaSalle Bank. Now that I'm illustrating, I have a perspective from both sides. So, I thought this may be a good topic to blog about...for those who don't already know.

I'll start by explaining the creative "ranks". First up, among agencies the titles of artist positions seems to always vary. In simple terms, here's the order: junior art director, art director, senior art director, creative director. The other half of the core team is the "copywriter". He or she will work on concepts, copy and partner with the art director through the entire project. Then there's the "art buyer" who connects the art director with the correct photographer/illustrator and sometimes freelancer. Also, the art buyer will manage the artist (with the art director) and negotiate pricing. A "traffic manager" helps the art director coordinate meetings, etc. with the art buyer, production team or anyone that is involved internally. There can be a multitude of "account managers" on the team too. Typically, one is assigned to work with the art director as the mediator between "art and client". The account person will provide the project details, coordinate deadlines and help sell the concept to the client. So, as you can see...there are a few cooks in the kitchen.

The life of an art director is never boring. There is plenty of stress, late nights, hair-pulling, lack of communication and even tears...yes, tears. I've seen plenty of directors break down. Though when it all goes as planned there is a inspiring sense of accomplishment and you want to do it all over again!!

Most young, fresh-out-of-school, art directors don't mind the late hours. For me, there were plenty of nights that went into the morning--it's part of the job. My day as an art director would start at 9:00am and usually go until 6:00pm. Lunch was sometimes eaten in front of the computer. There are plenty of hours spent concepting, doing electronic timesheets and even figuring project hours/timelines. Three to five meetings during a day wasn't unusual and that doesn't include the countless times people would pop into your office to make their own immediate meeting. From rep meetings to client meetings to gatherings with keyliners. As the art director, you don't always have the time to do the actual work on the computer. Bummer--cause you can slowly lose you computer skills this way! I would have a freelancer or another junior director helping out--that management time would suck up some of the day. Keeping your cool and trying to be organized was key. An art director is bombarded by email constantly throughout the day too. There was meeting maker software that helped coordinate all the team players. As I said,"never boring"!

The process in which a director uses to find an illustrator is a personal preference. There are resource books, the internet or an art buyer. I've had this conversation with quite a few people and it seems to me that the younger generation of art directors are utilizing the internet as their source of finding artists. It's quicker. I'll talk more about this subject next week.

If you have ever had the chance to walk through an ad agency, the creative team cubicles/office walls are covered with art! It's quite a sight to see! All the cool postcards and posters they receive in the mail are inspiring or hung as a reminder to possibly use the artist on a future project.

Thanks for reading!

Next Friday--Weekly Creative Biz Note #4---The Yin & Yang of Source Books
(Feel free to comment, give your experiences or even disagree!)

Weekly Creative Biz Note #2

A Website that Works

By no means am I claiming to be a web guru or stating to have a perfect website. PixelBoy's website is still evolving and still has a few loose ends. Some day soon...

I feel there is no true science to creating a perfect website---it's art. But a few weeks back, I was having a "web discussion" with a creative director friend, who works at a mid-sized ad agency, and she mentioned that recent studies have shown online viewers naturally following an invisible path on the screen in the form of the letter "F". Food for thought---or not.

I've designed quite a few websites in my designer years but creating a personal site was tough. As you float among the multitude of artist sites, learn by asking yourself: Was the site intuitive? Is it well organized? Function over form? Could I view the main info in the browser window? Too much clicking or scrolling? Do not use flicker-like sites to sell your portfolio! It tells the art director that you're not serious about your profession. There are lots of ways to create an inexpensive website.

Your average splash page gets skipped and studies have shown it to be a nuisance. If you have to place a "skip intro" button on the splash page, then doesn't that say something?! Don't do a splash page or animated intro unless it's amazing OR you're selling your skills through the process.

Another good piece of info---A "hit" is a request made to a web server for an object on your web site. The object can be an HTML file, an image or sound file placed on your web pages. A "visit" to your web site represents one unique viewer who has visited your site. 1,000 hits/month doesn't mean 1,000 visitors. I'm usually concerned with visits.

The number of visits to your site is important but don't freak out if it's low at first. One artist could have 1000 visits per month (from surfers) and have no work. The other artist could have 400 visits per month (from actual prospects) and be swamped! Hitting your market/niche and receiving a response is your goal. Give yourself time and always be looking for ways to increase your traffic. Join community sites and portfolio sites. If projects are coming in, then something is working. Google Analytics is a must and is free. You can learn where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site. This will tell you what works and what needs to go. You can find it on http://www.google.com/analytics/. I hired a programmer to drop it into my site...less hair-pulling.

The next time an art director calls on the phone and is buzzing away about a project with four cups of coffee in his or her system. Ask them what they thought of your website--get feedback. I had a creative director once repeat a quirky one-liner from my site. Get their attention! Tear sheet files that can be downloaded are a good idea...the director can print-out your best work in two minutes and make it on time to the new project meeting--possibly getting you work!!

Thanks for reading!

Next Friday--Weekly Creative Biz Note #3---The Life of an Art Director
(Feel free to comment, give your experiences or even disagree!)

Weekly Creative Biz Note #1

Getting the Studio Started

When my brother and I first started PixelBoy Studio all we had were two PC's, one Mac(loaded with software) and a b&w printer. All of it was set-up on the dining room table. I had read and heard from friends that it typically took four years to get an illustration business rolling and it's true. In the beginning, we had no logo, website or blog. We did have an evolving 3D style and I had an additional cartoon style narrowed down. My 15 years as an art director gave me the experience, organizational skills and knowledge that one might need to manage a studio. While Lee brought years of print production experience and 3D software knowledge to the table. But we had plenty to learn by a long shot!

We spent approximately $15,000 to get the (at home) studio situated. We updated hardware and software; bought a color printer; got a lawyer to help get the studio incorporated; and purchased some office furniture and lighting. Also, we found a good accountant through a referral ($800 annually). A good chair is a must (AllSteel or Herman Miller) and a decent keyboard tray for ergonomics (www.humanscale.com). Can you get by without all expensive stuff? Yes...

As for advertising, I believe our budget was too robust for a start-up and I'm not sure it helped. At first, postcards and free/inexpensive promotional sites would have sufficed for the studio. Our advice--don't even think about trying out the national resource books as a newbie illustrator! Your style may change. I'll touch more on advertising options and costs in a later Biz Note.

Next Friday--Weekly Creative Biz Note #2---A Website that Works
(Feel free to comment, give your experiences or even disagree!)

Good Freelance Illustrator Resources

As a freelancer for over 20 years (yikes!), I've read a ton of books and articles on the freelance life and most never completely answer my questions. But one book in particular seems to be worth the read..."The Business Side of Creativity" by Cameron Foote. I wish I had read this book a long time ago. The book is an incredible guide for freelance illustrators. A good portion of the information is common sense but it's refreshing reinforcement.

Another source that I found is http://www.freelanceswitch.com/ I frequent the site and grab what info I need.

I will soon be writing a weekly "Creative Biz Note" for anyone reading this stuff--it may help! The post will be a small notation concerning our experiences and procedures when it comes to the business side of a start-up illustration studio. So, subscribe in the upper right column.

Tiny Trendsetting Store

We recently completed a website illustration for a children's clothing boutique. A city bound up-start that sells very hip kids clothes and shoes. We had a ton-of-fun creating this one! With a slight misunderstanding, our first round of character sketches were too cartoony. So, we were excited hear that we needed to do something that was more "urban". The client was completely happy with the final image and absolutely loved the characters. It took us a solid week of work to complete the project...plus we created the identity mark for the company.
© 2009 Tiny Trendsetters

Fly, Dragon, Fly!

A childrens book cover we created for fun!! We love dragons and this little guy is going learn to fly with the help from a "bug-eyed" friend. I will be creating some typography for the title soon. Gotta go do some real work now!!!

Tasty Lemonade!!

Tasty Lemonade!! We're not talking about a glass of lemonade but the rep agency in the U.K.. We've just signed on with them and will be receiving their expert advice and selling power overseas!!! We look forward to working with the team.

More Work for Kroger...

This will make the third illustration project we've done for Kroger Foods. We've been illustrating cartoon people with frosting all over their faces to chickens partying at Mardi Gras--it's all been fun!! Eventually, we'll get these illos on our website.

Baskets for Education Fundraiser

We received an email awhile back from The Franklin Monroe Elementary School requesting a donation...an autographed book or other item that we've illustrated. It would be in the annual "Baskets for Education" auction. The raised money would help the Kindergarten Enhancement program, summer learning camp and licensed clinical counselors which provide support to students who suffer trauma in their life. Good cause...

So, we shipped out a signed "Galactic Marble Kit" we had laying around the studio. Who would guess that our illustrations could help out?! It's a good feeling...

Monster Munchies POS

Thank the Art Gods!

PixelBoy Studio is exploding with work right now! We have book projects being pitched, birthday gag gift packaging in the works...we're developing super hero characters for a company out west...Easter cartoons for a ton of children materials...and we're helping out a guy in Australia with a really cool website launch! Thank the art gods there are two of us! LOL

Time for a change...

PixelBoy Studio has moved. I've never met anyone that has actually said moving is fun--but I've gotta say it anyway, "moving sucks". Ya. Not having an internet connection for four days was like losing my left arm. No video games---ugggh! But that is all behind us now and we're up and going. I'll have to update the studio photos on this blog once things are in order. I'm typing this while sitting in a pile of wires. LOL

Also, we've recently joined the Neis Group! Judy Neis is a fantastic artist representative with all the right connections for us. We're still testing the waters but I see a future with lots of art being made!

Hot Off the Press from China!

Over a year later I get to finally play marbles with my little green alien! I had a blast working with Running Press and they are very pleased with the final product.

"Que" the Alien

We had to let our creative juices flow this last week and decided to crank out an alien. Why not? This little green guy was the first and only sketch I did--it seemed to work. Lee did a fabulous job with the 3D work and I helped with the details. I even added the sketch into a quick slideshow for fun.

Shogun Robot T-shirt

PixelBoy had to switch over the 3D art we did for The Village Voice into a vector format for silkscreening. We used Adobe Illustrator's live trace and then spent some time cleaning it all up.

Postcard Practice!

Throughout our virgin years we've utilized many vendors for our promotional mailings. None have compared to 4by6.com! 14 pt. card stock with a nice gloss coating. Four color fronts with a black & white back. The costs are low and turn around is good. We also purchased a mailing list of ad agencies and publishers from AgencyAccess.com. The lists can get somewhat confusing but the ease of printing labels from downloaded PDFs is perfect. We send out two mailings of 300-500 postcards each year. We'll put the labels and postage on ourselves to save money--we do this while watching a movie. We've figured out that it costs us $1 per postcard on the first round and we'll recycle the updated mailing list for our second round of cards. So, that brings us roughly to $800.00 per year of promotional mailings. One job easily pays for this cost and from the 1000 postcards we send out we usually receive a ton of calls and quite a few jobs. A good response would be 1% of your mailings---10 calls. Of course, not all these calls would necessarily bring in a project. Sending out postcards is always in our yearly budget and it's well worth the effort! It will either go in the art director's trash can or on the wall...we'll be waiting for that call.

The Cat and the Fiddle

We've been working on concepts for children books lately. This image was one that we could actually show. Take note of the little mouse hanging out on the chimney eating cheese and listening to music.

CDW Disasters!!

Ogilvy hired us to illustrate disaster scenes for a CDW micro-site (you know--the computer store). The first issue...they wanted the art in a completely different style. But we were definitely up for the challenge! The second issue...there were eight scenes to be illustrated in less than a week with many animated parts. There were numerous stages of floods, fires and laser-blasting robots.

I believe we had too much fun to realize that we were under any pressure--but we delivered on time and the client was thrilled! (Note: No animals were harmed in these disaster illustrations. The squirrels and ducks were saved.)

Check out the site at http://www.cdwbusinesssolutions.com/ Click the Business Continuity button and you'll see 'Disaster Happens' at the bottom.

Topless Robot T-Shirt Illustration

We cranked out this illustration for the Village Voice. They write a geek blog called 'Topless Robot'(controversial name)that was in need of a rehaul and they wanted 3D art of a female, shogun warrior robot. T-shirts would also be created. See the preliminary stage below. I took the liberty of designing a new logo for the blog and used it on the t-shirt design. They loved the new logo and were blown-away by the artwork! Thanks to Bill for the fun project!

No News Can Be Good News...

We had a breather and decided to finish a newswoman that we had started awhile back. Let us know what you think...

PLAY! Resource Book is Out!

The PLAY! book just came in the mail today! Three of our images are on the cover. We feel very privileged--considering the amount of amazing talent in the annual. A big 'thanks' to Ellie Girl for getting us started!

It's Good to Be a Freelancer!

Most everyone has experienced it...being caged within a vice-grip cubicle with the sick glow of fluorescent lighting and, of course, the boss from hell. I've been freelancing for 14 or so years and have been very fortunate to work with some great creative directors.

This image took Lee and I around 3 days to complete. We believe it's one of our stronger pieces. Gonna get some postcards printed for this one!

Toy Robot