Art Biz sites: tried & results to date

OK time to  review the new things I've tried since January 2011 to beef up my illustration biz and any results to date.  Sort of a  review - that I hope you may find useful, keeping in mind that what works for me may not work for you and vice versa.

www.illustrationboard.com  - Free site, created by an illustrator friend. Nice because it just links to my website - dianadelosh.com and I don't have to spend time loading and updating art for  this site. It also has a FaceBook page so you can post news or share new work. Nice and laid back. However this site itself just began in January and to date it has just sent some traffic to my website, but hey, it's FREE and friendly.

arthareswares.blogspot.com - Started a new blog to hawk my functional and wearable art wares. In hopes of boosting traffic and sales at my stores: www.gcuniverse.com/dianascards,    www.zazzle.com/deloshdesigns*, wingedrabbit.imagekind.com. So far the results for this venture have been very interesting and unexpected. Yes, it has boosted traffic to my stores and I believe sales. The interesting news is that this blog, according to Google Traffic Analytic, has been my number 1 referrer to my illustration website since it began! That's going on 3 months in the number 1 spot. It has also made me aware of any weak spots in my stores that need to be addressed. If you don't already blog, definitely begin one and if you do, blog more. 

www.behance.net - FREE site. OK I was invited (anyone can join) but what made me sign up was their job board. They actually had jobs listed under illustration & drawing and not just jobs for someone who knows Adobe Illustrator. YAY. However this is one of those communtiy networking sites where you have to be social and friend other members and join groups etc. and load art etc. Personally between: LI, FB, Twitter, forums, etc. I'm a little overwhelmed by all this socializing and underwhelmed by the results. However you can follow me at: www.behance.net/dtdelosh and I promise I'll do likewise for you.
The Job Listings have been mainly for surface designs for functional ware: water bottles, iPhone cases etc. Which sound like fun. So I've added more florals to my portfolio and plan on expanding my illustration repetoire... and of course applied for a few listings.

hireanillustrator.com - $7 per week or annual fee. HAI gives you opportunities to stand out by submitting news, which they may feature on the home page (prestigious assignment, awards, etc.) or  just posted with thumbnail on the side bar. HAI also puts out a newsletter (monthly?) with some of the submitted news and of course their FB fan page etc.  Plus your item may also get picked up by their related site the thelittlechimpsociety.com. Meanwhile, I'm still figuring out what constitutes illustration news - is my new promo postcard newsworthy? Noticed that some artists announce their POD/Etsey news. Sure I could do this weekly but I'd rather not. I'm probably over analyzing this. Did submit my "Lucky Cat for Japan Aid" news item and I can even attribute a few sales to that. It is referring people to my website. No assignments yet, but it's only been 2 months.  Find me on HAI at: hireanillustrator.com/i/diana-delosh.

I've removed my Kidlitart Blinders as a result  of trying Behance and HAI. Time to create more art - round out my portfolio. Submit. Promote. Get assignments. Make things happen. Make news.

Happy Easter!

Spring Fling,
Ink & watercolor
© Diana Ting Delosh

Wishing all a
Hoppy Bunny and Eggy Day!

Tah Dah - April 2011 Self-Promo Postcard!

Skunk, Bear, Bunny April 2011 self-promo postcard design
Ink & Watercolor © Diana Ting Delosh

TA DAH!  My 2011 self-promo postcard are ready to go out into the world... whew!

Normally I do 3 postcard campaigns a year but last year I never got around to doing my usual fall campaign. Fall 2010 I had a series of unfortunate events; beginning with my G4 crashing and dying a messy and untimely death - mid project of course. Is there ever an opportune time for computers to die? My latest mailing list was a casualty along with a whole bunch of files I had never gotten around to copying to my external hard drive or the new computer.  Luckily I did have the new computer in studio. Needless to say doing the 2010 fall  postcard campaign meant redoing the list. (Note to self: copy current labels/list files to the Lacie). Just the thought of the task put me in full procrastination mode - forget about any other disasters and dramas that occurred last fall. Suffice to say the 2010 Fall postcards did not go out.

Is a postcard campaign even relevant in 2011? Decided yes - I should quit stalling. While I don't get an assignment with everyone of my mailings - I do usually get a positive response. So back to trying to do 3 mailings a year.

What design to use? A totally new one or an image that's my current fave? I never know what to pick. The image is of crucial importance after all that's the one that will make them click on your website or not. Considered doing a new design until I read that postcard postage rates will go up April 17th - from 28¢ to 29¢! That decided it. Use a current fave and get off my butt and send it to Vistaprint.com.  Decided to cut my list in half for a  lean focused campaign. The printed cards arrived - early. Thanks Vista! My labels are done! Just need to stick on address labels and stamps and Voila they'll be out and on their way before April 17th! Whew - now that wasn't too bad!

Rooster, Peacock & Beach

So what do Roosters, Peacocks and Sandy Beaches have to do with each other? Will the couples go on a romantic beach getaway? Do they have a barrel of fun? And how do the penguins figure in? Or don't they? Ah, mysteries abound but will there be a solution? I'm not sure but I hope to find out soon.

With Egg © Diana Ting Delosh Ink & Watercolor.

Peacocks © Diana Ting Delosh Ink & Watercolor

Penguin Beach © Diana Ting Delosh Ink & Watercolor

To see more samples visit my website: dianadelosh.com

IF: TOY

BABY! © Diana Ting Delosh
ink & Watercolor

Here's my illo for this week IllustrationFriday.com word of the week - TOY. 

The toy crammed border was inspired by my dad announcing "We can buy toys again!" when I was pregnant with my 1st (about another lifetime ago). Needless to say when I was designing greeting cards more recently, his words inspired me to create this Baby Congratulations Card. 

IF: CULTIVATE!

GARDEN GAFFE
© Diana Ting Delosh
Ink & Watercolor

The bunny family is at it again. Cultivating a garden takes hard work: watering, weeding and harvesting. My illustration for this weeks IllustrationFriday.com prompt - CULTIVATE.

I've been trying to cultivate the habit of working on my personal drawing or writing first thing, everyday. It starts me off on an upbeat mode, even if it's only for 15 minutes. Unfortunately it means having to get up earlier to squeeze it in before the daily grind of must do's and should do's eats away the day. Which means I should go to bed earlier and not watch mindless hours of TV into the wee hours of the night. Not the easiest thing to do for an unnatural lark.  

Garden Gaffes is available as a giclée print.

The Art Hare's Wares: Designed to Support Japan Relief Efforts

The Art Hare's Wares: Designed to Support Japan Relief Efforts: "Like many of you I have been horrified by the Earthquake/Tsunami disaster that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. To do something to help I hav..."

IF: STIR!

Baking Bunnies
© DianaTing Delosh
ink & watercolor

When the Bunny family bakes together all sorts of things get stirred up and chaos ensues. This is an older piece but couldn't resist posting this as my entry for this week's IllustrationFriday.com prompt: STIR.

I need to stir things up, make some noise, get some attention for my art. dianadelosh.com

FYI: This illustration may be purchased as a giclée print from my gallery at wingedrabbit.imagekind.com/animals

There's Good & Bad Spec Art

Spec art - a Big No No - or is it? Many organizations , like the Graphic Artists Guild routinely advise to "Just Say NO to Spec Art!" On the surface I whole heartedly agree. But I think there needs to be a distinction made between Bad and Good spec art and how to tell one from the other.

Good Spec Art.
Now there's nothing wrong with a potential client asking to see how you would visualize their concept - asking for and paying for it with a fee. Since they're spending money they tend to really narrow the pool of illustrators and there is a good chance that there will be a paying project in the future with them.

There are even some fields where creating spec art is the norm. When I first freelanced for greeting card companies I would submit 3 - 6 finished art for greeting card designs. The companies provided potential freelancers with art specs. Example: size 5 x 7", schedule for reviewing art for birthdays, Christmas, etc. They did not review sketches or samples that were not formatted for cards. They just wanted to see your  available to be acquired art. it should be noted that the companies rarely approached artists to do spec. Rather it was the artists researching the companies to see how to submit art. Yes they bought some and did not buy others. True to it's name it was a speculative endeavor - but if you were interested in freelancing for Recycled Paper Products, Inc and other card companies back than that was the game. I believe it still works the same but I have not approached them in recent year.

Anytime you create a manuscript/picture book dummy, visual activity for a magazine, etc. you are creating spec art. You're taking a gamble on creating your  project and submitting it to the right place. The distinction is that it is a self-generated project and most likely some of it makes for nice portfolio pieces.

There's also a gray area. About a year ago I attended a seminar where the Guest speaker a prominent editor from a kids publishing house. Mentioned that he was looking for illustrators for the following manuscripts that were already under contract. He gave out a brief synopsis of each picture book and invited us to submit appropriate samples. Now if you just happened to have art  that fit  - great. BUT what if you didn't but wanted to be considered. Your only choice would be to create spec art -assuming you had the time. Which is what I did - with eyes wide open that the odds were against me. Did I get the contract - no. But I did get portfolio pieces out of this endeavor as it filled a gap. Maybe next time - I'll be able to just send a sample.

BAD Spec art the kind you should always say NO to - is usually requested by someone else as a sample to show how you would approach a project.... and if they like it ... you get the job, contract etc. The problem is that they are not just satisfied with looking at the samples in your portfolio that already show that you can do "it". What they want is art specifically created with their specs for free. You are handing them a free layout, sketches, finished illustration etc. In other words a cattle call that rarely results in getting the job. Now if you have cute mice in your portfolio, why should you draw 1 more cute mouse  in a flamenco dress for said person/company. Yes this is a request for spec art I actually received after I sent them to my animals portfolio and even sent them lo-res jpg samples of my illos of my mice in various outfits. In this case if you did honor the spec request you would not even get the benefit of having a nice  new illos for your portfolio because it would not add anything new to it. As to getting the job - most of the time it never materializes.

The keywords here are requested, Free art and self-generated.

Now on HAI!

I've been eyeing this illustrator's portfolio site hireanillustrator.com for about a year and I've finally made the leap. What I like about HAI is that it focuses on illustrators only. Not illustrators, designers, writers and etc.  However it is a general illustration site versus a childrens illustrations only site. Which I'm hoping will be a plus, showcasing my work to new uncharted markets.  I've also heard from illustrator friends that HAI is very proactive in promoting and that they've gotten inquiries and work through this site. Sounds great but I know from experience that just because it worked for them doesn't mean it will work for me. There are many X factors - such as timing and luck as well as tastes, trends and the economy. Not to mention the energy level of the illustrator in generating buzz. One small con is that it's a UK* based site -but with the ability to send art as files etc. location does not seem to matter. Yup I've signed on and am keeping my fingers crossed. So without further ado - Here's the link to my HAI portfolio:  hireanillustrator.com/i/diana-delosh.
*childrensillustrators.com/DianaTDelosh is also a UK based site - how I know location does not matter.