This is my all time favorite piece. I love the concept and the idea behind it. Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Three Little Pigs. Would love to write a whole story based on that. Maybe someday...
My Favorite Piece
This is my all time favorite piece. I love the concept and the idea behind it. Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Three Little Pigs. Would love to write a whole story based on that. Maybe someday...
Mummy
Here is my latest illustration. This started out as a concept for a costume but I liked it so much I couldn't help but work it up. I really like how this piece came out. I think I've finally embraced my style and am running with it. Took me long enough!
Work For Free?
Here is an incredible article I found on the internet a while back. Every artist and illustrator should read it:
To those who are looking for someone to do work for free? please wake up and join the real world
Every day, there are more and more CL posts seeking "artists" for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.
But what they're NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.
To those who are "seeking artists", let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? ?none?
More than likely, you don?t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn't be posting on craigslist to find them.
And this is not really a surprise.
In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.
So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?
Would you offer a neurosurgeon the "opportunity" to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him "a few bucks' for 'materials". What a deal!)
Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?
If you answered ?yes? to ANY of the above, you?re obviously insane. If you answered ?no?, then kudos to you for living in the real world.
But then tell me? why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?
Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.
A few things you need to know;
1. It is not a "great opportunity" for an artist to have his work seen on your car/'zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a "great opportunity" for YOU to have their work there.
2. It is not clever to seek a ?student? or ?beginner? in an attempt to get work for free. It?s ignorant and insulting. They may be ?students?, but that does not mean they don?t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a ?student? once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.
3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it?s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their ?portfolio?. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It?s not compensation. It?s their right, and it?s a given.
4. Stop thinking that you?re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.
5. Students DO need ?experience?. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the ?experience? they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother?s house when they were seventeen?
If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.
6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to ?submit work for consideration?. They may even be posing as some sort of ?contest?. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the ?contest?, or be ?chosen? for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or ?spec?, work. It?s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.
So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are ?spec? gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.
And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free? please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you?re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.
DISCLAIMER: Apparently this well written post has been floating around on CraigsList. I first ran across it when Steph Doyle?s post I Wish I Had Written This came across my google alerts.
To those who are looking for someone to do work for free? please wake up and join the real world
Every day, there are more and more CL posts seeking "artists" for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.
But what they're NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.
To those who are "seeking artists", let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? ?none?
More than likely, you don?t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn't be posting on craigslist to find them.
And this is not really a surprise.
In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.
So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?
Would you offer a neurosurgeon the "opportunity" to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him "a few bucks' for 'materials". What a deal!)
Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?
If you answered ?yes? to ANY of the above, you?re obviously insane. If you answered ?no?, then kudos to you for living in the real world.
But then tell me? why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?
Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.
A few things you need to know;
1. It is not a "great opportunity" for an artist to have his work seen on your car/'zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a "great opportunity" for YOU to have their work there.
2. It is not clever to seek a ?student? or ?beginner? in an attempt to get work for free. It?s ignorant and insulting. They may be ?students?, but that does not mean they don?t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a ?student? once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.
3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it?s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their ?portfolio?. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It?s not compensation. It?s their right, and it?s a given.
4. Stop thinking that you?re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.
5. Students DO need ?experience?. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the ?experience? they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother?s house when they were seventeen?
If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.
6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to ?submit work for consideration?. They may even be posing as some sort of ?contest?. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the ?contest?, or be ?chosen? for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or ?spec?, work. It?s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com.
So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are ?spec? gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.
And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free? please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you?re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.
DISCLAIMER: Apparently this well written post has been floating around on CraigsList. I first ran across it when Steph Doyle?s post I Wish I Had Written This came across my google alerts.
Cover Letter
Here is a sample of a cover letter I send to potential freelance clients, would love to know what you guys think:
Hello Mr. Soandso
I am writing to you today because I believe that my graphic design experience coupled with my skills in traditional and computer illustration offers me the unique opportunity to enhance the creativity of Big Toy Company’s product line.
A creative thinker with a strong sense of aesthetics, I have over 20 years of solid experience illustrating and designing for both generic and licensed t-shirts, children’s wear, textiles, blankets, bedding, backpacks, plush toys, automotive products, wall hangings and packaging for some of the top names in the industry.
As a full-time Art Director for a well-known Home Textile company, I was responsible for developing and directing lines for their NFL, NBA, NASCAR, MLB, NHL and College licenses, designing for various entertainment licenses like Warner Bros. Marvel and Nickelodeon and creating generic illustrations as well. I also do a lot of work in the kid’s meal promotion industry for several long time clients developing characters, puzzles and games for activity books, placemats and cups. Currently, I am working as a Senior Art Director for a large costume manufacturer, were I design costumes, logos and packaging.
If I may, I would like to call you next week to discuss how I can best serve your creative department. In the meantime, please feel free to visit my website at www.drawntobewild.com to see some more of my work and find out a little about me. As you will see in my gallery, my drawing style is kid-friendly with an edge that I believe is a great compliment to the work you guys are doing. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a project right away, please feel free to call me at at 516.946.4411.
Thank you for your time and consideration, I look forward to speaking with you.
Best Regards,
Hello Mr. Soandso
I am writing to you today because I believe that my graphic design experience coupled with my skills in traditional and computer illustration offers me the unique opportunity to enhance the creativity of Big Toy Company’s product line.
A creative thinker with a strong sense of aesthetics, I have over 20 years of solid experience illustrating and designing for both generic and licensed t-shirts, children’s wear, textiles, blankets, bedding, backpacks, plush toys, automotive products, wall hangings and packaging for some of the top names in the industry.
As a full-time Art Director for a well-known Home Textile company, I was responsible for developing and directing lines for their NFL, NBA, NASCAR, MLB, NHL and College licenses, designing for various entertainment licenses like Warner Bros. Marvel and Nickelodeon and creating generic illustrations as well. I also do a lot of work in the kid’s meal promotion industry for several long time clients developing characters, puzzles and games for activity books, placemats and cups. Currently, I am working as a Senior Art Director for a large costume manufacturer, were I design costumes, logos and packaging.
If I may, I would like to call you next week to discuss how I can best serve your creative department. In the meantime, please feel free to visit my website at www.drawntobewild.com to see some more of my work and find out a little about me. As you will see in my gallery, my drawing style is kid-friendly with an edge that I believe is a great compliment to the work you guys are doing. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a project right away, please feel free to call me at at 516.946.4411.
Thank you for your time and consideration, I look forward to speaking with you.
Best Regards,
Introduction
I'm a Creative Director for a huge costume manufacturer in Queens, NY. Like most of you I don't make nearly as much as I should or deserve for that matter so I also freelance at night. I'm actually in the middle of putting together a mailer to send to potential clients. The first time I did this I didn't have much luck although I did get a job that paid for the printing then some. Hopefully this time will be more lucrative. I do have alot more to show this tie around and am a lot happier with what I've been doing lately so we'll see.
I also have a ton of more stuff I'm involved in creatively but we'll get to that eventually. As you'll quickly discover I'm a workaholic so bear with me
I also have a ton of more stuff I'm involved in creatively but we'll get to that eventually. As you'll quickly discover I'm a workaholic so bear with me
August 19th - Latest News!
August 19th - D2BW and Prolifiq Sign Studio have come together to help create the characters of the "Miles of Smiles campaign.
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