When It Rains It Pours

I've been absent during the past month, but for good reason. I JUST finished up a freelance job for SOWA Open Market in Boston and am starting to collaborate with a company that works with artwork used for retail. This would include illustrations for storefronts as well as ready-to-hang stretched high end prints like you see in Target or Urban Outfitters. Clients working with this company include some of my favorite stores, so I'm very excited. Details right now are on the down low.

In the meantime, I am working on some personal projects as well as my website and an upcoming mailer (is it mailer time already?). However, my last two big jobs I got were via email submissions through company websites, so don't be shy about contacting Art Directors that way! Just make sure you read the submission policy and follow their rules. Anyway, below are two different possibilities for the back of my May mailer. The front will most likely be my newest painting of my cat hoodie girl in front of the row of houses (see post below). What do you think??

Mermaids make me think of warmer weather

This Mermaid was a small painting that went off to a gallery show in Florida. Mmmmm...Florida. Probably a weenzy bit warmer than Rhode Island right now. More paper umbrellas and plastic monkeys, too.

After a cozy morning of Kitchen Nightmares (Ramsey!) and a cup of tea, I'm going to work on my mailers now that I know exactly what I want to do. They are going to be a bit bigger, 5"x7" instead of your standard 4"x6". A bit pricier, but I'm not buying as many and have had fellow illustrators recommend the extra room. Another decision is to do two instead of one. Since I've edited my client list down I don't have to break the bank doing multiple mailers. The second one will be the sushi piece I posted a while ago (yum).

The longest Monday of them all....

The last few weeks I've been hiding in my studio avoiding January. Oh January, you are the Monday of the year. It's also a good time for fresh starts, and for me that means reviewing my client list, focusing my portfolio towards my most successful markets, and preparing a new mailer.

I noticed that it looks like some of my newer students have already started following my blog (which of course I promise to update more). Hello! I look forward to meeting you. Start warming up your pencils...

Taurus Girl, the Final

Taurus Girl, originally uploaded by lauren minco.

(I finally got Taurus Girl scanned. Behold!)

I find I've been restless this past week. Lately I've been researching companies, new clients, and galleries. I've sent out a few emails to places hoping for new shows and with some luck a couple will respond positively.

On anther note, I made a sandwich for my boyfriend earlier and now my fingers smell like onions. Hmph. Onion fingers.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!, originally uploaded by lauren minco.

Yes, I'm a little early with the Halloween business, but everyone can enjoy my spunky witch until the 31st!

On another note, when did postage go up again? Not only do I have to get more postcard stamps because I didn't exactly REALIZE how many clients I have (I just sent out a stack that's seriously at least 5 inches thick. REALLY), but now I have to get those one cent stamps, too. Soon I will send out the second half- magazine clients have been mailed, now I'm working on publishers, licensing, ad firms, etc. My neck is killing me typing all those addresses into label sheets. Ugh!

They're in!

  Imagine my surprise on Friday when I came back to find a stack of boxes waiting for me. My postcards! I'm glad to say I'm uber-happy with them (yellow, especially bright yellow, can be a funny color to print, FYI). Today I'm going to Staples, and the premise of buying mailing labels has never been so exciting. 

  However, for some reason I do get a thrill out of office supply stores. When I was a kid I marveled at all those pads in special colors for special jobs with special little boxes in them to check for special reasons (eh, I think you get the point). So, even now I still like to stroll the aisles looking at stuff and marveling at the super-sized jugs filled with red vines and coffee creamers for office spaces (does our office population REALLY eat that many red vines???).

On another note, I was reminded last night how AWESOME the resources are in two books: Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market and Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market (mine are both 2008 editions). They give you tons of advice, but my pay off is the client list! It tells you who the art director is, what they're looking for, what they're NOT looking for, guidelines, tips from the companies... the first one has everything from magazines and publishers to ad firms and galleries. It makes my Borders trip look like child's play. If you're new (or newish) to the freelance scene, these books are worth it.

Promotional Mailers of Fall 2008

They're done!

 Not only are they done, but I updated my contacts, too! It required a Taco Bell and root beer break, but it's FINALLY DONE! Now I just have to wait for the suckers.

 And if anyone is curious, I use GOTPRINT.COM for my printing needs. They are much more affordable than other companies and I have never had a color issue with their products. This post was sponsored by them and the letter G.

From the Vault

Beep Beep!, originally uploaded by lauren minco.

Enjoy "Beep Beep!", which once was a print on Etsy as well as the opening image for my website. Thank you for all your help, old friend.

Even though I have quite a few things happening in October, my mind is already thinking about the end of 2008. I am going to make a portfolio book (the nice printed ones like all my friends had for their grad thesis's. SO nice) and these will be sent out to choice clients. One will definitely be Dark Horse Comics. I saw them this past spring at the Surtex convention in NYC, and the rep there was favorable towards my stuff being used for their products such as stationary. I think my chopped up mermaid and smoking little girls can find a rather nice home and following there. I would be lying if I said I was all ready to go with that. Preferably, I'd like to do two more images for them if time allows- maybe another mermaid (pirate mermaid!) or a superhero-inspired character... obviously not a normal superhero... maybe one playing a guitar...

Stan Arrives

Stan Arrives, originally uploaded by lauren minco.

It's Saturday, my last Saturday before I begin teaching on the weekend. Thank goodness it's not the morning session because I would be exhausted after teaching at Montserrat on Fridays. Today (drum roll please), I will send the mailers out to get printed! No excuses. There will be 3 different cards, some going to more teen/tween market clients and others to more general clients. In the end I'll have 500 of each! Now I just have to update the client list...


The above piece was inspired by a Coconut Records song, one line saying "I wish you could put yourself in my suitcase", and it put some fun imagery in my head. The actual painting is done on a cardboard backing from a used up wax paper palette. Since I was invited to a group show where the theme is "recycle and reuse", I thought I should just make the piece work for the theme.

Bummer

Bear Hat Girl, originally uploaded by lauren minco.

Well, I'm sad to say that I did not win anything in the Etsy Kid Contest. Thanks to all who supported me! As they say in the film industry, "it's an honor just to be nominated"...

I scanned some more work today and am hoping to have the ole website updated by this weekend. The MAILERS, which have been the bane of my existence lately, should be done by Saturday (or heads will roll). Then I will begin the process of updating contacts at the local Borders, with me on the ground hoping no one sees a woman in her mid 20's peeking inside Teen and Seventeen Magazine for art directors' names , let alone Cat Fancy (seriously, I want to have that magazine on my client list. I mean, Cat Fancy just sounds ridiculous. Ridiculously awesome).

Graphic Designers are your friends!

If you ever make a promotional mailer, it's great to have some graphic design-savvy friends look over it. They can help you with typography, use of space, and making sure your postcard doesn't come off as I-have-a-copy-of-photoshop-but-can-you-tell-I'm-an- amateur? For this next batch I was working with square images and wanted the images and text to read comfortably but also effectively. Of course your art is the center piece, but remember that overall presentation is very important.

For instance, The above version is the improved version (but "illustration" will be gone from the final design and obviously I will spell my name correctly in the final!). Below is the old one. Some things my buds mentioned...

1) centered text makes you look very inexperienced. That's GD 101 right there. We went with the right justification with the margins.

2) The font I was using had odd spacing, especially with the "i". The new one has more cohesive use of space between the letters.

3) Like I mentioned before, we're taking out "illustration" mainly because I used it as filler.  You'd be surprised how much empty space you can have in an area and still have a good design. People who don't know how to do effective GD usually want to make type too big or stuff an area with too much info.

That's it for today! I'll show you the final along with the back sometime next week. :) 

Editorial Illustration: What are the Pros and Cons?

Woodland Girl, originally uploaded by lauren minco.

Hey troops,

I thought I'd honor my Editorial Class that I teach by blogging about some pros/cons about the market. This was stuff my students and I discussed in class, and for some of you it might be helpful, for others just interesting.

First of all, editorial illustration can be described as any artwork made to be printed in magazines and/or newspapers. It usually accompanies text with the goal of complimenting or enhancing the topic, whether it's a social commentary or a review of the current Harry Potter Movie.

YOU MAY LIKE EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION IF....

*You are a fast worker.

         Deadlines are quick, usually around 2 weeks.

* You like working on several small projects instead of one big project.

        Some of us are the multi-tasking queens and kings. If you get bored easily, sometimes       longer projects (like a children's book that takes a year) will loose your attention and patience. With editorial assignments you can work on several different pieces all at once.

* You want flexible work

    I take the summer off from editorial work simply because I have a very big teaching schedule at that time. If you decided that you need a break or have other obligations coming up in your schedule, you can turn off the editorial faucet and turn it back on when you're ready. Likewise, if it's a slow month you can take on another job or two without making any serious commitment.


YOU MAY NOT LIKE EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION IF....

*You don't play well with others

   If you can't handle an Art Director giving you advice or requesting changes, than don't even try. Team players will do well, but artists that are protective of their work will make the process a living hell.

*You prefer one long project to work on.

    Pretty much the opposite of what was stated above. You won't find 6 month long projects in this field of work, nor can you make a reasonable living just doing one at a time. Successful editorial illsutrators can handle 3 or 4 different projects at once.

* You don't want to actively promote yourself

   Many artists and illustrators fall short of their potential because they simply do not advertise their services! Creating a website or making a portfolio on sites like Altpick.com is a good start, but if you sit back and expect people to just find you...well, don't hold your breath! Meetings, mailers, and other forms of advertisement are also needed and deserve your time and attention. Furthermore, once you get hired by an Art Director, don't expect them to hire you constantly. You have to remind them that you exist!

So that's it folks! Soon I'll be discussing basic skills on promotional mailers for all you artists and illsutrators out there. Same bat time, same bat channel.