2008 October | Art Licensing Blog

Monthly Archives: October 2008

Directory of Illustration – advertising opportunity

This morning I woke up to find an email from Ellie Altomare, Marketing Associate and Marketing Partner at Serbin Communications, Inc. in my inbox. Serbin Communications published the “Directory of Illustration” — an encyclopedia of sorts for artists and illustrators.

Since there has been a lot of talk, and understandably so, about how to make artistic ends meet in this economy, I thought I’d take a quick minute to make sure you are aware of this advertising opportunity.

Although the Directory is made up of artists who do more work-for-hire than traditional licensing, I believe some do a mix of both. It is possible to sell the rights to your art for a particular product for a flat fee, while maintaining the rights to licensing (for royalties) on other products. If you are looking to add a mix of selling strategies to your business, you might want to take a look.

This description, in italics, is from their website:

The Directory of Illustration offers a comprehensive program to meet the needs of today’s professional illustrator in an ever-changing marketplace. Our web and print platforms reach the widest variety of active art and creative directors who have the ability to hire you. We attract the best artists in the industry while giving you the tools to stand out from the crowd. Think of the Directory as your marketing partner, providing just the right combination of innovation, value, support and stability to help you get ahead.
Directoryofillustration.com attracts tens of thousands of unique visitors each month. It’s where qualified art buyers go to find top talent.
The printed Directory is distributed to as many as 20,000 buyers in January and cross-promoted with national advertising, internet banners, trade events, seminars and industry sponsorships.
We reach out with targeted e-blasts that identify premier buyers and drive traffic to directoryofillustration.com. We continually explore new and emerging markets to showcase your talent.
Our marketing professionals all have 10-15 years of collaborative experience promoting artists like you. We know this business inside and out.

About 12 years ago I was living outside of Seattle, about 5 miles from Microsoft. I became friends with a woman whose husband was an amazing digital artist. He did a lot of packaging design for Microsoft and even designed the blue “e” for Internet Explorer and the Windows logo. (He used to get embarrassed when i would introduce him as “the guy who designed the windows logo — but how cool is that?) Anyway, that was the first time I saw the Directory of Illustration. They told me it was their main source of advertising.

I haven’t gone this route personally but I do believe it is a highly used source for companies who buy art. Their early submission deadline is December 17th.

If you want to learn more, here are some links.

Directory of Illustration main website page

Advertising information

Have a happy and creative day — be open to the many artistic opportunities out there!

~ Tara

If I had to get a "real job"…

I’d give Dennis the boot at Google and be in charge of the doodles! In fact, in honor of my recent visit to the New York offices of Google, I created my own Halloween Google Doodle and emailed it to Dennis — along with written permission to use it on Friday. Fingers crossed!

_

Now I know there are a lot of artists who aren’t so keen on Google’s involvement in art these days, but I did take a few minutes to explain my concerns while enjoying the view from the cafeteria. Here… enjoy the view with me… pretty spectacular huh? (That’s the Empire State Building, front and center) The food was just as good… and a job perk, not a cash register in sight.

Did you know they have food stations every 50 feet in their offices? Everything from espresso to M&M’s (someone labeled them “semi-food”) to organic nuts and tons of protein bars and oatmeal in between.

I was fortunate enough to be able to eat and tour the offices since Craig’s friend works at Google. Of course, being the man that he is, Craig had no idea he worked for Google until we showed up — it ended up being one of the highlights of my trip.

Ask anyone who knows me, I LOVE to go places not everyone can go… and Google is one. Tight security! No secrets will be revealed here… no siree! (I promised Doug… plus I didn’t see any.)

But I did see a bunch of Razor Scooters. Google is in the very large Port Authority building so they have scooters throughout the halls– they don’t want their employees wasting time going to meetings so they provide the means to SCOOT around quickly.

If you work at Google and need a break –head to the game room. There you can play ping pong, Dance, Dance, Revolution, Guitar Hero, and more. There are massage chairs… not sure about hula hoops but I wouldn’t be surprised. They pull out the stops for their people at Google.

SO… I just had to share! It was fun! If I ever get a real job, I want Dennis’.

Or better yet, if I ever move out of my home and have a larger studio space, I’m getting cement floors and Scooter Parking signs. If you have to spend your day doing something, make sure it is fun!

Have a fun and creative day!

~ Tara

P.S. To see the note from Dennis and an archive of his Google Doodles, click here

The Vote Boat and Branding

While I was in New York last week, I worked and also did some “touristy” stuff that I never have time for when I’m there for the Surtex Show. While riding the boat back from The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, I saw the craziest thing! A sailboat with Obama & Biden on the sail… No Wait! It turned and there was McCain & Palin. What on earth was going on?

Everyone was talking about it and taking photos, just like me. What is is for? I assumed it was to remind people to vote so I snapped some photos and thought I’d investigate more when I got home.

This morning I opened the photos and could see the sails more clearly, on them it said, thevoteboat.com. Yeah! A website I could check out! (Click on it and you can too.) What did I discover? A company that uses sailboats around many popular ports, including New York, to help companies with branding. And what a great way to get the attention of thousands of people a day for their services… put both candidates on a boat and you get people talking!

Now, what can we, as artists, take away from this? Get creative, I say! What can you do locally or nationally, to get attention to your art or brand? What are the hot topics that you can leverage to build brand awareness?

I don’t have the answers since I just got back and am catching up on laundry, but you can bet that as the clothes go from the washer to the dryer the cogs in my brain are turning…

Have a creative day!

~ Tara

Who else needs a "But Reduction"?

I’m not talking the ‘butt’ you sit on when you work, eat or watch TV… I’m talking about a much more dangerous “BUT” that lives in your mind and can stop you dead in your tracks.

We all have them… one of the “But“s I’ve been battling sounds like this:

“I know I need to exercise more BUT where will I find the time? I’m so busy with work, my son and my house.” This BUT has left me with less energy and weaker muscles.

Or does this sound familiar? “I really should have a date night with my spouse BUT we are so stretched with all the kids activities that we just don’t have time.” This BUT can cause trouble in a marriage.

Of course this blog is about your art business so let’s take a look at some of the dangerous BUTs lurking in the mind of an artist. Here are some things I’ve heard…

I could have a successful business…

BUT I don’t have a brother who is a marketing wiz.
BUT I have 3 kids and don’t have enough time to create.
BUT you have to have connections to succeed.
BUT my husband/wife doesn’t support what I’m doing.
BUT the economy is so bad no one is paying artists what they are worth.
BUT my agent isn’t working hard enough.
BUT I don’t have an agent.

Get the idea? Well… you have a choice to make.

Sit on your Butt attached to your “BUT”s and you will continue to get the results you are getting, or
Change your results by changing your actions and find a way around your “BUT”s once and for all!

Don’t have a spouse or relative who is a marketing wiz? Learn it, hire someone or find an agent.

Have a busy life – full of kids, dogs, friends, whatever? Decide if building a business is really important to you — where there’s a will, there’s a way. Block out time and stay committed. A little action every day will get you closer to your dream than making excuses.

Think you have to be born with connections to succeed? Nope. Not true. You can make connections if you have a phone, a computer or two feet to walk around trade shows to talk to people. It might help your confidence to have a few connections before you begin but it isn’t necessary.

Do you believe the economy is stopping everything? Go to a store, you will see people and they will be buying things. Maybe not as much as some other years, but all is not lost. A bad economy just means you have to be that much more creative to survive. Think outside the box. But I guarantee you — if you just listen to the news you will soon believe the world is about to implode and everyone will die of starvation. Times are tougher but they aren’t over.

All of your feelings are valid, because you are feeling them. BUT… are you going to let them stop you? I hope not. Look at what you are telling yourself and see if you can’t find a way around it. I have complete faith that you can — do you?

~ Here’s to your bright and creative future!

Tara

P.S. If the sales part, or interacting with manufacturers, is one of your roadblocks, help isn’t far away! My eBook, “How to Find, Interact and Work with Manufacturers who License Art” is almost done. Join my newsletter to be among the first to know when it is ready. CLICK HERE

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

I know a lot of people (mostly men) who dream of visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. These people love the game, the stats, the people… they probably grew up thinking how great it would be to play with the greats. So they trek to New York to see this guys glove and some other guys bat… (you can see this isn’t quite my thing.)

HOWEVER… I now have a trek I’d like to take one day. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this but did you know that Eric Carle (the artist and author of The Very Hungry Catepillar and other classic children’s books) has started a museum? ERIC CARLE MUSEUM OF PICTURE BOOK ART WEBSITE

It opened in Amherst, MA in 2002.

Their website describes the mission of the museum like this: The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book. In fulfilling our mission, we aspire to build bridges to an appreciation of art of every kind and to provide an enriching, dynamic, and supportive context for the development of literacy. We deliver this mission by collecting, presenting and celebrating the art of the picture book from around the world and by providing interactive experiences and programs that are engaging and educational.

Since I live in Oregon, it may be some time before I can actually visit the museum, but it is now on my “to do eventually list”. I did, however, buy the book, “Artist to artist – 23 Major illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art”. Well I must be a child at heart because I have found this to be so inspiring!

Whether you want to illustrate children’s books one day or not, it is so neat to read about how artists you are probably familiar with discuss how they got interested in art, what they do and see sketches from different periods of their life. Each artist has 4 pages — a page of text, a self-portrait and 2 pages of sample art. Among the artists profiled are Leo Lionni, Tomie dePaola, Maurice Sendak, Rosemary Wells and more.

How wonderful that these artists are willing to share their stories and encourage artists, young and old alike, to follow their passion, imagination and artistic desires. This is a book I keep by my bed side. I pick it up and read about one or two artists every so often. I find this especially useful when I need to be encouraged, know that I am not alone or just want to admire different techniques and styles.

If you live near Amherst, GO! Check it out and let me know what you think!

If you don’t, go to the website, poke around and look at the book in the store. The book is $30 + shipping and all the profits from the book, Artist to artist benefit the museum. BUY THE BOOK

Go be inspired and have a super-fantastic-creative day!

~ Tara

Triadic Color Schemes: Just in time for trick-or-treaters!

We’ve been talking a little about individual colors and their psychological meaning. So far, we’ve covered gray, pink and red.

With Halloween quickly approaching, I thought it would be a great time to change courses a little and talk about color combinations — triadic color schemes in particular.

A “Triadic” color scheme basically means 3 colors (tri) that are evenly spaced on the color wheel. The color wheel is divided into 12 slices, you would take every 4th slice to create a triad. The colors are very different but can be used together to create interesting art — as long as you pay attention to proportion.

If you ever find yourself “stuck in a color rut” or not really sure what you want to do… grab your color wheel and see if a triad will drive your message home!

Halloween designs use the triad ORANGE – PURPLE – GREEN all the time. But what makes triads work really well is the amount of each color used. Because the colors are so different, if you put equal amounts of each in your art you might overwhelm your viewer.

Instead, take a cue from the kitchen – use 2/3 cup of one color, 1/4 cup of another and 1/8 cup of the third and you will get just over a cup of color to create with.

This little witch is the perfect example — I used 2/3 cup of orange, 1/4 cup of purple and 1/8 cup of green. Thow in a pinch of yellow and some neutrals (black & brown) and she’s ready to scare up a good time!

The next time you find yourself with a bad case of color block – grab your wheel and try out a triadic!

~ Tara

P.S. Here are some other triadics:

What sends a shiver down your spine?

I’m not talking shivers of excitment or anticipation … I mean fear!

Halloween is coming … Haunted Houses provide a fun kind of fear and it’s your choice to participate.

The news… pretty fear-full… watch it or don’t but the financial world is still a mess. Among other things…

I’ve been blogging lately to try and fear from paralyzing us– not just you, me too!

Last night I began to wonder: what do you fear the most?

If you would be so kind, I’d love to poll the crowd and see what you think. Give me your number one fear and let’s see what the results are! Will one fear win by a landslide? Will people be all over the map? I don’t know! So join in and we’ll discuss the results later. Thank you for your help!

~ Tara

[polldaddy poll=1015121]

Five art ramblings that might be of use…

Today I’m in a sharing mood. This is a random collection of things that I have learned while building my business. Some have cost me money so maybe I can save you some. Some are just interesting -because they are frustrating when you don’t know them and so obvious once you do. I’m going to “type out loud” so let’s see what comes to mind… ready?

#1: DON’T USE SYMBOLS IN FILE NAMES.

Although you can use symbols (#, %, etc) when saving files on a Mac, PC’s don’t have a clue. This little tid-bit cost me about $50 in shipping fees and some serious angst on both my and my clients end.

They kept calling saying, “We can’t open this one file. They can’t open it at the factory either.” I would double check, could open it no problem, resend… same problem. What was up???

Finally someone noticed my file name and figured it out:
TreeSkirt48″-TaraReed.psd
That ” symbol made it incomprehensible to the PC.

#2: SAVE ON SHIPPING

In this modern world, sometimes we can get around spending lots of money on overnight shipping. Here are some ideas:

See if your client will give you an account number (FedEx, UPS, DHL) if they request things quickly. I have found that they will if you ask and may not think of it if you don’t. If they are the ones in the hurry, perhaps they should foot the bill.
YouSendIt.com Even if your client doesn’t have their own FTP site, you can send large files electronically for free. If you want to send more than one at a time, there is a fee, otherwise just send 4 separate files individually for example.
If you have a Mac, get a “MobileMe” account. Included with an account (the account formerly known as “.mac”) you get what they call an “iDisk” — a virtual storage space, just for you! For $99 / year I have more than saved in time, money and good will. I can get files to a client in minutes if need be. (Assuming they too, have a Mac, I haven’t been successful getting PC people into my iDisk) For more information, head here: MOBILE ME / iDISK INFO

#3: SAVE IMAGES IN RGB COLOR MODE FOR THE WEB, EMAIL ATTACHMENTS & PHOTO LABS

Have you ever taken an image, from Photoshop™ let’s say, and then watched the colors completely change when you “save for the web” or add them to a blog or some other web application.

Have you ever created cool photo/art composites and wanted to have them printed, only to be told by the lab that they “Don’t support CMYK”?

Without going into a color lecture, I’ll tell you that email attachments, websites and photo processors all want RGB color mode. Always check the requirements before spending a lot of time perfecting your art, postcard, business cards or web images — the change between the two modes can make a big difference. (Especially in blues for some reason…)

#4: IF SOMEONE DOESN’T CALL YOU BACK, IT DOESN’T MEAN THEY DON’T LIKE YOU

I know! I know! Sounds obvious… but you know what? Art is very personal! It’s not like selling nuts & bolts — your art is a reflection of you — you pour your soul in it and it is scary to put yourself out there for all to see. It can feel like walking down the street in your underwear you feel so exposed some days. I get it — I’ve been there and take return visits every so often.

I would like to put your mind and ease and tell you — it’s not you, it’s them. The people you want so desparately to talk to about licensing your art are very busy people. With a long list of people wanting their time. Maybe your art isn’t a good fit for them — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good art. Just be patient and if you feel like there was interest but haven’t heard back, pick up the phone and give them a call!

#5: IF YOU STOP CREATING AND STOP TALKING, YOUR BUSINESS WILL STOP

Again, obvious I know! I just thought I’d throw it in there. You can’t build a business sitting in your pj’s thinking about what you want to create and what products you want to see your art on.

You can build a business, sitting in your pj’s taking action. Take action every day.

Create. Connect. Thrive! This is what I wish for you…

~ Tara

P.S. If you need help, head to my site and see what eBooks are now available. I’ve been taking lots of action and doing lots of writing these days! www.ArtLicensingInfo.com

You think being an artist is scary now?

You should have been around in 1830!

There is A LOT of fear in the world right now: economics, politics, technology… of course many artists are very unhappy about the Orphan Works legislation. (Go here if you need a refresher, this post isn’t about the details.) I’m not happy about it either, don’t get me wrong, but I’d like to give some historical perspective.

So what happened in 1830 that was so terrible? That caused artists to panic, lose their livlihood and have to figure out how to adapt to an every changing world. I have one word for you: Camera.

Before the camera was made available commercially, artists were paid to paint portraits. No artist, no portraits. It kept a lot of people employed. But now (in 1830) people could spend a fraction of the time and money to get photographs of themselves. Voila! Overnight there were a lot of “starving artists” around.

You can imagine the upset and outrage in the artistic community. Not only did they wonder how they would feed their families, but I imagine there was a lot of discussion about how art was dying, never to be revived.

Then there was a shift. Since artists didn’t need to be focused solely on painting portraits that were true to life, they could turn their attention to other subjects and they could experiment. Modern art was born from the death-toll of the camera.

Without the camera we wouldn’t have abstract art, modern art, impressionism, cubism, you name it. Well… anything but super-dooper-realistic art.

Let’s now fast forward… imagine how professional photographers felt at the beginning of the digital camera revolution. Where before people would pay to have pictures taken and they would have to pay the photographer for prints… now a person can easily scan and print copies at home — breaking copyright laws and taking money out of the pockets of professionals.

Photographers could either throw in the towel or get creative. Change the way they do business to survive in an ever changing world where technology is cheaper and easier every day.

That is what we, as artists, are being forced to do: change the way we do business.

There is a lot of panic, anger and fear — artists pulling their art off the internet completely, password protecting so much of it that the chances of anyone seeing it get slimmer by the day. The simple fact is that art has been swiped, stolen and copied forever. It is a fact of life. Granted, it could get a lot easier with fewer consequences, but I believe we need to keep balance. Don’t simply awfulize and hide in a hole — make your opinions heard but also make a plan of how you will continue given either outcome of this threatening legislation.

But here’s the good news: what are we, if not creative?

I believe that artists will always be valuable and will be able to prosper, keeping their creativity and integrity in tact. Will we have to be more careful or change some of the ways we do business? More than likely. But let’s remember, we are not the only group of artists, nor the only type of business that has ever come up against adversity.

Who can say how careers in art will change in this decade, only time will tell. But if you give in to fear I can tell you how your career will change: it will cease to exist.

I would like to offer this to you:

stay true to your art and nurture your creative side
make your voice heard – but make it an empowered and informed voice, not a fearful one
don’t let fear paralyze you
if you want to make a living as an artist, there are risks. But there are risks in any profession so don’t buy into the “artist victim” mentality

Life and art will go on, it just depends how you choose to relate to it. I choose to be positive, take action to make my dreams come true and create from a place of peace and happiness. I hope you join me!

~ Tara

Forget Surviving – I plan to PREVAIL!

Well… it’s finally happened. I’ve had enough and it’s time for a therapeutic rant.

While talking with my friend Brenda this morning, she made a comment that has stuck with me all day: “Don’t survive, but prevail.”

Wow! That’s powerful! That’s from a position of weakness to a position of strength. Let’s say it again and make sure you got it:

Don’t survive, but PREVAIL!

Yeah! In the good ol’ American way and by the power vested in my by Quiet Riot, WE AIN’T GONNA TAKE IT… ANYMORE! Sing with me:

oh We’re Not Gonna Take It
no, We Ain’t Gonna Take It
oh We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore

we’ve Got The Right To Choose And
there Ain’t No Way We’ll Lose It
this Is Our Life, This Is Our Song
we’ll Fight The Powers That Be Just
don’t Pick Our Destiny ’cause
you Don’t Know Us, You Don’t Belong

oh We’re Not Gonna Take It
no, We Ain’t Gonna Take It
oh We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore

oh You’re So Condescending
your Gall Is Never Ending
we Don’t Want Nothin’, Not A Thing From You
your Life Is Trite And Jaded
boring And Confiscated
if That’s Your Best, Your Best Won’t Do

So what am I not going to take anymore? Here’s my list:

Feeling out of control because of the financial mess in this country
Putting up with the Orphan Works nonsense… I’m calling my Representatives!
Not getting paid money that is due — no, sorry, not taking “too bad, we’re going out of business and your contract won’t be a priority — I’m sending demand letters. Getting in line and fighting for what is mine.
Believing the doom and gloom on the news — I make my reality and dang it, I’m going to make it good! Like a big, hot brownies with fudge and whipped cream on top good — that good!

I’m armed with a paintbrush and I’m dangerous to the nay-sayers.

Forget Texas, don’t mess with Tara!

Join me in my revolt against chaos, negativity, getting stuck in the muck and mire, weighed down by the mass consciousness that all is lost.

I’m going to battle limiting beliefs! (with the help of Brenda – check her out here)

I’m going to remember that “THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS!”

Let’s start a creative revolution — the world needs art to make it smile, laugh and have hope — now more than ever. Turn off your tv, tune into your passion and potential to spread joy.

Let’s start a ‘PREVAIL-UTION’!

~ Tara