new year new projects new to-do lists

With every new year there is a moment of pause. Time to reflect on the last years work. This year I have a few big goals, big changes and revelations.

Numero Uno : Dump licensing. Seriously not worth the effort. If I count the hours spent generating art and submitting compared to the payoff - not worth it. Out with the dead wood. Besides, licensing seems more like a pyramid scheme than a legitimate way to earn a living. Well a living that you can 'live' off at least.

Numero Dos : Spend more time asking for referrals. I pride myself on being easy to work with, on time, and deliver a great product. My customers love me, and not in a weird way, but in a 'You just saved my bacon' sort of way. With that kind of relationship I need to ask for referrals. They know people, and if I can make their contacts look good, we all come out heros.

Numero Tres : Revamp the website and put the work that pays and is in demand at the forefront. Seems obvious but I get busy with paying work and the website loses out.

Numero Quatro : Be a better blogger. I know, I know I have said this before. Maybe not on my blog but in my own head. This year, more sharing of my work, my successes and my mistakes. What works, what doesn't, and musings along the way.

Numero Cinco : Be a better networker. I like people, I am chatty, don't mind meeting new people and make friends easily. Not to mention I like to snack and drink wine. Why am I NOT going to more networking events? I don't know either.

Numero Seis : Don't be ashamed to toot my own horn. I have been thriving (more or less) as an illustrator for the last 10 years, I need to stand up and shout about it and let people know without feeling all humble and embarrassed.

Numero Siete : Keep volunteering and doing good deeds. This isn't really career related but it feeds my soul and reminds me why I am alive.

success as an artist

Since I was 9 years old I knew I wanted to be an artist. I knew, I just knew. I didn't know how I would be an artist, or what I would do but I knew that is what I wanted.

I am 45. I feel like I have spent my lifetime striving for this thing I call success. I don't feel successful. I don't. My husband is my reality meter and he tells me I am flat out crazy. I do pay my bills through my creative skills and talents. However to me, it isn't enough. I have fabric with my art on it for sale nationwide in a major retailer, but in my head that isn't enough. I wonder, 'Why don't I have more than one print for sale?'. And this is it, this is that insatiable need for more. My measurement for success is always one step beyond where I am. So the question is, do I keep raising the bar on myself? When I started my freelance business I just wanted to work from home if I could. That was 8 years ago. Then three years ago I wanted to start licensing my artwork. Now I have art on switchplates, socks and fabric. But that isn't enough, now I want my artwork on MORE products, I want to see it in more stores.

I am an artist. But am I successful? I suppose it is all in how you define it.

how halloween is like art licensing

Every year I work really hard to make fun costumes for my kids. Some years I start in August because the ideas are so grandiose that it requires months to execute. This year was an easier year for me but none the less it reminds me a lot of the process of art licensing.

When I embark on my costume making, the first thing I do is come up with a concept. Which is what I do for licensing. What art will I make? Of course my kids are involved in what they want to be, but essentially we spend time deciding what will be the most fun. As an artist to license art I think more about what has a broad appeal, and what is a fun concept that I feel I can do a good job exploring visually.

Second step is devising a plan. For costume making I create detailed sketches and take measurements of my kids to ensure I create something that is wearable. As an artist creating artwork for licensing, I sketch my ideas and start to create a library of icons and images that will be good to play with in a multiple of compositions. I consider color palettes and whether the art is seasonal or everyday. But essentially both share the careful consideration of usefulness. Be it to wear to show.

Third execution. Costume making is easy, figure out the pieces and start creating. Art licensing is similar. Take all those sketches and pieces and begin creating.

The final step is bask in the awesomeness of the finished piece. Ok, maybe not, but once the work is complete both will be set out to the world. While the costume will go door to door and will receive a reward at each knock, art for licensing will require knocking on many doors, but only select ones open to reward.

Often I send out my samples, I call back and get no response. I am not alone. Many of us artists create, submit, follow-up and wait. But can you think of anything else you would rather do? I cannot. And honestly when the right door opens and gives me that king sized candy bar, there is no better feeling in the world.

Transition to Art Licensing

I have spent the last 20 years doing illustration. As many of you know, the way of an illustrator is wrought with rejection letters (or 'not now' letters), door knocking, mailers, ads in big books of art, portfolio sites and an agent or two. That has been my life as an illustrator, but that was the path of an editorial or advertising illustrator. Not the path of Art Licensing. As I am in the thick of a new direction artistically, I find myself learning all over again, learning what works, what doesn't, and what is expected.

The largest difference I have found with Art Licensing is that as an artist I have more in common with writers than I do editorial or advertising illustrators. When you make the transition to licensing you will find that you spend a LOT of time making art. Making and mocking up. Making and mocking up. And NOT getting paid for this time. This is a foreign concept to me. As a freelance illustrator all these years, I have gotten jobs, and created the work for the client. We go through sketch stage, revisions, final artwork, and voila, done. But with Art Licensing, get ready to work tirelessly, and then spend hours, days researching and sending your babies out into the world and hope one of them lands in the right hands, at the right time.

Do not get me wrong this isn't a bad thing, just different. I find that even as I migrate over to licensing, I am reorganizing the way I do art, and becoming more methodical in the art I make. I now spend time trend watching, identifying markets for my work, researching the visuals that I will put my spin onto, and then creating art. Once the art is created I have to put it on a product that I think the art is a good fit. I have spreadsheets of manufacturers, contact names, and I record what they make, and if I send anything I detail responses, what my follow-up is.

Now, my art is 'the product'. I manage the art similar to a small business person manages their creation. I have to find people to sell it to, just like any other manufacturer. So in many ways, my client and I share a lot in common. Art Licensing is very much so both 'business' and 'art'.

research

I met with a surface art representative over the weekend, Diane B. They specialize in surface art, sweater knit downs, antique textiles and embroideries. Now being 'renewed' to licensing and surface art, I had forgotten how much I enjoy the learning. For so long I have been doing custom work and haven't had to spend hours at the library researching bugs, or plants or airplanes. But after meeting with Diane B, I got to hop on down to the library and pour over stacks of books. I have books on the history of space exploration, wood shop tools, bugs of South Africa, desserts, and heavy machinery. I spent last night looking through them then doodling fun images. I love scanning the pages, love exploring the library stacks for just the right book. This is the fun part. Pencil on paper scratches, before they are anything. Just ideas, loose thoughts that have made it from inspiration to something more concrete. But not finished yet. Sometimes I end up loving the sketch more than the finished piece. I am so excited I just want to go get more books on more subjects. 

Next, the sorting after the art is drawn.

Illustration is art

I know my posting isn't super timely, but better late than never. Andrew Wyeth died a little over a week ago. His death while not a huge news item brought up an argument that has plagued me my entire art career. 

Many artists claimed Andrew Wyeth was an Illustrator, NOT an Artist. Ok, I am just sick and tired of the blah blah blah of 'Artists' professing Illustration is NOT art. It is about creating vision, it IS personal, it IS inventive, it IS smart. Yes, it entails solving a visual problem - for someone other than yourself. Illustration is aesthetic, it is about creating something visually appealing, but it also is about telling a story or conveying a message. Whereas Art as is often defined is purely aesthetics. So by that reasoning, I feel Illustration is more cerebral, more evocative, more compelling. More importantly, what bothers me most is that being called an Illustrator is a put down. As though being an Artist is so much more prestigious. Illustration is an honorable path and I for one am proud to be an Illustrator.

niches, and right paths

Recently I embarked on a new direction for my illustration. Licensing. As an art student in the 80's, I didn't have any coursework that dealt with the business opportunities of an illustrator. My college was sadly lacking in supporting Illustrators. Therefore I have spent the last 20 years trying different angles. I am not sure I have found my niche, but for now I am on a trajectory of creating work to license and I will continue until I hit my head against the wall a few too many times. How will I know when I have gone the wrong way? I don't really know. 

I read Seth Godin's blog and was happy to read his post several days ago. The main premise was that everyone who 'makes it big' has put in 10,000 hours of effort into their desired field. He debunks this theory with some good examples of people who had great ideas, great timing and generous amounts of good luck. However I am nearing my 10,000 hours so I am feeling pretty good right about now. Which brings me to how his post relates to my knowing when I have gone the right direction, his book, 'The Dip'.  This book delves into the mental science of quitting. Knowing when you hit a dead end, and when you just hit the 'dip' and need to keep on pushing to the promised land on the other side. Of course no book is the magic pill to success, except for maybe the author and publisher, but for most of us, they are tools to help us, nothing more. My hope as that this too will help me to decide if I am on the right track.

A great example of someone who I think has explored their art, and hit full stride, is Yulia Brodskaya. I think these beautiful paper sculptures are a great illustration of finding your path. If you look through the Graphic Design portfolio, or the Typographic, general and old stuff portfolio you can see the evolution of a niche.  

As we approach the new year, I find myself taking inventory. I am entering 2009 not unlike years past venturing into new territory, but each time I do, I evolve. I bring my newly acquired experience, my past knowledge and I take a deep breathe. Cheers to being able to reinvent, cheers to freedom to try, cheers to being blessed an artist.