Link: The Next Big Thing…Not!

I’m still under the gun with deadlines, so unfortunately no time today to write a “real” blog post. Instead, I’d like to refer you to a new post from my friend and fellow artist/blogger Tom Richmond:
The Next Big Thing!…Not
Tom writes about a common problem for freelancers: The client with a big idea but no cash. [...]

Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Should I Design My Own Website?

Brad Howard of Doodlesauce.com writes:
I have never been a website design person….I’ve had too much work and not enough time to dedicate myself to learning GoLive or Dreamweaver. My question is, I wanted to just hire someone who knew what they were doing and build me something. What are your thoughts on having someone else [...]

Smart Money Blogs

One of the drawbacks of freelancing is the financial insecurity. Your income can vary wildly from month to month. You may have to wait a long time between paychecks while the bills continue to arrive with military efficiency. I’ve been bucking this wild financial roller coaster for eleven years now, and it never gets any [...]

Eaten Alive In The Studio Jungle

Here’s an interesting article from the LA Times about Deborah Gregory, an author who created “The Cheetah Girls” and sold the property to Disney. Her characters have appeared in two TV movies, sold millions of CDs and DVDs, and have toured in over 80 cities. Her contract with Disney gave her 4% of the gross [...]

Keeping On Top Of The Clutter

I’m slowly getting over a monster cold, which means work is piling up and my to-do list is growing whiskers. It doesn’t help that, like many creative types, my ducks aren’t always in a perfect row. Fortunately a few months ago I put a simple system in place that has helped me stay (mostly) organized [...]

13 Reasons NOT To Be A Freelancer

I’ve been freelancing for eleven years and I love it! Despite the high highs and low lows, overall its been a great career choice for me. But freelancing is not for everyone. I’ve written about the drawbacks and benefits before. Recently I came across a great post written by Chad at ProFreelancing.com that looks at [...]

HOW Design Conference

HOW Magazine is sponsoring their annual design conference in Boston May 18-21. The conference offers dozens of workshops and presentations. They are primarily aimed at graphic designers, but there appear to be a lot of topics that could easily apply to illustrators, web designers, and others in the various fields of commercial art.
I’ve never attended [...]

Being A Dream Freelancer

Yesterday I talked about the qualities of a dream client. Most client projects are a two-way street, so now I’m going to focus on all you freelancers out there. Here’s a few suggestions for how to make sure every project goes as smoothly as possible. Following these guidelines will also help you gain a great [...]

Being A Dream Client

As a freelance character designer I’ve worked with a lot of clients over the years: big ones, small ones, established companies and young startups. Most have been terrific and I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of really great people. Still, despite the best of intentions not every project runs as smoothly as it [...]

Marketing Mentor

Marketing Mentor is an excellent website and blog for freelancers run by Ilise Benun, a consultant who specializes in helping creative professionals do a better job of marketing themselves. Her blog posts are short, direct, and very helpful. For a sample, check out her recent posts “What does it take to be your own boss?” [...]