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That was great! Thanks for sharing your Mini Mall Rap gift.
Hope you have an awesome day – Happy Birthday :)

You’ve got to check out http://ilovelocalcommercials.com/

Two guys who love low-budget commercials and make tongue-in-cheek versions for all kinds of small businesses. Absolutely fantastic videos. Maybe an opportunity for good humored yet shameless self-promotion for the discriminating illustrator there too.

That was an absolute killer! I have this terrible urge to head straight for Flea Market Montgomery and buy 15 couches and 26 chairs!

Your main point was right on, Thomas: a willingness to play the fool is not only liberating, it creates goodwill. I’ve been acting foolish for many years– I speak with authority… : )

Now I’m gonna have that tune going thru my head for the rest of the day– thanks a lot! (Happy Birthday!)

Sammy rocks. I mean raps! Either way, that really is a great commercial. He’s spot on with his lyrics. “I’m a flee market that’s like a mall.” SIMPLE, catchy, and fun. The best part is you’ll remember it. Thanks for the suggestion to keep your own web presence the same way. Keep it simple and memorable because in this micro millisecond word of catching a customer’s eye, branding has become so important.

Thanks Mark. I had that song in my head all day, but that’s probably because I watched the video about 20 times. I’m glad you saw the deeper ideas in the commercial as well.

That is awesome! Did anyone happen to see the Cleveland version?

This post did remind me of something that happened to me lately while drawing in a coffee shop. I can’t remember exactly what it was that I drew (maybe a goose, I’ve been drawing a lot of geese lately) but I surprised myself with the way it came out and got me cracking up. The more I draw the more enjoyable it gets.

There was a guy at my church growing up that had a mental disability but sometimes I would be walking around after the church service and he’d be in this room where they had childrens services and he’d be playing the piano and having such a great time. I still remember him playing his heart out and being so happy. He was pretty good at piano too!

Thanks for bringing back those memories.

Many times, I’ve had art directors/buyers reply that they normally delete email solicitations, but made an exception because mine was either a. polite b. funny or c. emanating from Portland.

In addition to taking the time write a thoughtful body to give them a sense of what they’re getting beyond the images, I usually put a funny quote by my signature; something that gives them an idea of my sense of humor and hopefully make somebody’s day.

Thanks for your comment, Jason. Humor is definitely an effective way to touch someone on a deeper level and get their attention.

I am really pleased with all these groups such as EFII and other LinkedIn, Facebook groups. It allows us illustrators the opportunity to “Get out of the office” without necessarily having to “leave” our workspace and get our illustrations/projects done.

I have found other artists such a resource in learning new styles/methods of working that allow me to create my own flow of work. I have saved so much time in my art by emailing artists who I admire and saying hi or asking a question. Everyone has been so nice to reply and give me advice or to approach something another way. Also, I agree that by commenting on topics you are interested in and keeping the dialogue going, we can meet new artists and their work….and not feel so alone in the studio.

I try to make part of my day exploring other artist’s blogs, new posts, etc. to feel connected and learn too.

If anyone also wants to contact me to just say hi, get connected, or ask questions, please feel free. We are all artists trying to survive and grow in our own styles. I am enjoying seeing a lot of familiar faces (and icons..hahah) around all the blogs/sites, etc.

Have a good day!

http://www.koreyscottillustration.blogspot.com
http://www.koreyscott.com
http://www.facebook.com/koreyscottillustration

You know what would be a fun idea? If you designed a little print out with all these tips, so artists could pin it up in their workspace.

Thanks Jose. I’ll give that some thought.

Thanks Korey. It’s so nice that most Illustrators are generous with their time and genuinely want to connect with each other. We all have so much in common while still being unique in our styles, personalities, etc. This industry is unique in this way, I believe. Thanks for introducing yourself!

I said this before, and I say it again… and this article is the latest proof! I think you are reading my developing artist mind/persona. At least 70% of the article topics on EFII seem to talk to me directly (at least that’s my impression at the moment). Awesome! Riding the wave!

Oh.. and… I guess its easy for me to “think outside (my) portfolio…” – I don’t have one!

Thanks Thomas… you are like a beacon that shines where I try to look!

Hey Jason, i really like what you have just point out…let them know something beyond the images!
I used to put some hand-made stuff on m blog and i can see that people are more interested and
appreciate with these stuff rather than my works. May be my illustrations are not impressive at all, but letting people know a bit more apart from your illustration and design, somehow it does help catching attention.

Hey Gonzalexx! How are you? Get a portfolio site! You have great work…I remember the bat you did a couple months ago. Nice to see you here again.

Thanks Korey! That’s very encouraging of you to say that.
I still have little volume when it comes to good finished pieces.
My goal is too have more real paintings (digital and otherwise).
I feel I have a lot to learn and produce before putting together an actual portfolio.
I’m really enjoying getting to that point, and look forward to that day.
For now its discover, learn, and create.
I’m very lucky to have all of you folks to follow and emulate.
Believe me, I’m making strides at my own speed (which doesn’t compare to the great majority of the artists here, and elsewhere online). I really look up to all of you.
Thanks so much for thinking that… it surely is great fuel!

I try to get in at least some sketching every day I set down at my table. Even if it’s only scribbling on a sketch card for 15-20 minutes. I’m also doing new promotional materials this month, which I’m using as an excuse to start on a series of images I’ve had in my head for months.

That’s great, Warren. Daily sketchung is a great way to sharpen your skills and stay fresh. I need to do more of that myself.

I did a “daily doodle” for a few months to recharge my artistic batteries, and it worked wonders. I came up with new ideas, got some drawing practice, and stretched my creativity.

I’m also making a conscious effort to work on more personal projects this year. So far, it has been the most fun I have ever had in my career, and I think I am producing my best work ever. I agree with every word of this article.

Thanks for joining in, Dani. I recently discovered that I had forgotten to have fun with my art, which led me to feeling a little lost. It’s so easy to forget this when you’re spending your days treating your art like a business. It’s crucial to try and make time for both sides: business and pleasure. Things like daily doodles and Illustration Friday are great ways to do this.

Spending time with your own creations also makes it easier to distance yourself emotionally from client work; if you never do anything just for fun, you will eventually start to project your own artistic needs and expectations on commercial projects. That can only lead to disappointment.

My resolution for 2010 is to do at least one refined illustration that’s not related to any project or work every month, and at least one fun doodle every week. I’m too scatterbrained to stick with daily doodles, but there’s always 2011 for that, right?

It takes a certain amount of dedication and passion to fit time in to your schedule for personal art projects. I do it and, because my work is digital, I spend way too much time in front of a computer screen. I have only the nighttime..mostly 7pm-1am. My blog keeps me motivated: http://kurillastration.blogspot.com

Personal work doesn’t even have to be “finished”…just sketch and keep your hand loose.

Use websites like Illustration Friday for ideas. My co-workers and I at FableVision pick a word from a random word generator to illustrate every 2 weeks. We post it on our blog “Creative Juices”: http://fablefolk.blogspot.com/

Mostly though…just make sure you’re having fun. You don’t need stress from both your day job and your night “job.”

That’s another great point, Niko. It’s important to separate your needs from those of your clients, to a point. Hopefully, they hired you for your artistic vision, but there are always constraints to a commissioned piece and it’s great to have the outlet of personal work to nurture your creative spirit.
Good luck with your resolution. Sounds like a good one.

Well put, Renee. Do you have a link to the random word generator you mentioned? Seems like a great idea.

I had a lot of trouble last year – just out of art school – motivating myself to do anything. It was like… I had all these promo pieces and such that I should be working on, but I didn’t feel like it, so instead of doing something useful I just did nothing at all. Not so good.

Determined to get this year off to a better start, I began doing this:
http://kimsokol.com/daily
It’s a daily drawing on a monthly theme; right now I’m working my way through history; next month, I think I’m going to do zodiac signs (with the Chinese zodiac thrown in to fill out the month). It hasn’t always been easy to force myself to do it every single day – I’ve been sick a couple of times, and man, when you don’t want to get out of bed, doing a drawing and posting it on the internet seems like too much work – but I’m finally feeling like an artist again, getting my self-promotion together, getting some work… it’s nice.

The best part is also the hardest part – the chance to play with technique and media, outside of what my proper, portfolio style is. While it’s fun to do, it’s hard to bring myself to post it for the world to see when it doesn’t turn out quite how I’d like. =) But hey, that’s just part of the process.

I think we use a different one every time :)
…if you just google “random word generator” a whole bunch show up.

So you randomly generate your random word generator? :)

Great idea, Kim. Nice astronaut on your blog. Can’t go wrong with an astronaut.

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by DurbinDigital, jeffcrowther. jeffcrowther said: RT @Illo_Island: How to Turn Your Hobby Into Your Business: http://wp.me/pw2a6-TY [...]

That should do it.
1- some time ago, I tell a telemarketer that had I switched jobs, and was a working artist (learning to draw at the time) – makes me feel weirdly funny inside, like I’m not lying to hang up on the guy that’s feverishly trying to sell me a subscription to an online certification-oriented computer based training (CBT) system (pretty wide coursebook, but nothing on art… :) )
2- someone in twitter includes me in a “nerdy web comic” makers tweet, inviting folks to follow these artists he likes… that “follow friday” custom in twitterland. So I feel that weirdly funny thing being considered an artist.
3- Now Thomas goes and writes this inciting article to shed light on the road for the “almost artists”, and give them a push.
–
What do you make of that?

Thanks Thomas… I just had a second meal consisting of very heavy “food for thought”.
Seriously… thanks!

Any time, Jose. I hope this article helps a lot of artists to let go of the “almost” part of their title.

Amen, my moonlit brother! The distance between “I wish” and “I am” is measured in miles, but footsteps. It’s a pedestrian crosswalk, not an interstate – and the walking stick figure is flashing in your favor, people.

A rant about a road block, from personal experience – listening to or reading the words of established creative talent, while helpful AND necessary to anyone serious about it, can be very intimidating. I mean, have your heard how experienced some of these ladies and gentlemen are? How precious they are about the details, and how thorough their though processes are? From the standpoint of someone who thinks they’ve got the drawing chops to do something for money, listening to a podcast (and I’m not naming one in particular, because most of the best ones get this way) where the hosts talk about why they chose one serif font over the other, or what emotion their color pallette conveys, or (my personal favorite) what 80 year old artistic movement inspired their magazine cover… WOW. I’m nowhere near that level of expertise!

Well, time to demystify the great, unreachable power of the professionals a bit, because if someone is too busy looking up in wonder, they’re not looking down at the art table. And that’s not a knock at you freelancers living the dream – I’m certain many of you can remember having this perception of the industry at one point, and overcoming that perception was a large part of getting to where you are now. I am only encouraging that others do the same, and wording it dramatically.

To those starry-eyed wannabes and newbies reading this. Listen to the escapee. Don’t worry about the fact that you’re not as clever or as your future peers. Don’t worry that what they say about their line weight decisions and studio feng shui makes you realize you’ve only ever considered a fraction of what goes into this whole thing. Just. Get. To. Work. Keep listening and reading, but do your own thing. I promise you – promise, that eventually, at whatever speed you work at, you will catch yourself thinking or saying “Well, I chose that shade of grey because it compliments the blue-tones, which I chose because it is a standard blue tone that the printer won’t charge me extra for and… oh, holy #$%@, I’m one of them! I’m a high falootin’ illustrator! Yipeee!”

To whittle all that down to one sentence: The experts became experts by doing things, and that’s the only way you’ll become oine too. Jeez, I should have just said that in the first place.

Thank you both for this post and your comment. I am an illustrator that comes from no drawing background. This week is midterms at art school and more than once I have thought about hanging up the towel. Being reminded that others have been where I am at makes me remember that I can do this.

This is soooo true. Once we stop saying “I will be” or “I want to be”, and move into “I am”, everything shifts. Because, if “I am”, then we must act as if we are. If we are illustrators, then we must tell people we are illustrators. We must advertise our illustration skills. We must pursue illustration work.

As long as we “will be”, we are free to ignore all of that work, effort and opportunity. As long as we “want to be”, we can go about our lives and dream. Once “we are”, however, we MUST take action in harmony with that declaration or we are lying to ourselves, and this is something we can’t mentally take for long, so we switch back into “we want to be.”

Scary? Sure. But its easy to get started. Try something small. Try putting whatever it is you want to be in your email signature and design a business card. Put it in your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles. That’s it. See how it feels. I’ll bet you like it. :)

Thanks, Escapee… well put, as always.