Picture This

This is an interview with my former boss, Susan Smith. She was so kind enough to answer my questions about marketing for artists. Marketing and Sales seem like such a foreign concept for artists. Susan was kind enough to answer my questions on the topic. She has years of experience in marketing. Nancy Miller: Can you tell us about yourself? Susan Smith: I am the former Director of Marketing for Scuba Diving magazine and was also the Marketing Director at WCIV-TV in Charleston, South Carolina. NM: Are there any essential things an illustrator might need in order to market themselves?  Nowadays, it seems like you have social media accounts even more than a web site. Susan: I would say that today everything you mention here is important.  A web site these days for an artist might be like a business card for a product sales rep.  It is just a small piece of the marketing puzzle but a necessary one even if only serving as an introduction for you and your work. ...

I decided to contact one of the illustrators I've been following on Youtube. Jess Bircham. She has some really fantastic tutorials for digital illustration. She was kind enough to answer my questions regarding her career as an illustrator. NSM: Can you tell us a little about yourself? Jess:   Sure! My name is Jess Bircham and I am a professional Illustrator. I work full time as an Illustrator for a charming company called Bunnies by the Bay. I illustrate children’s books, create art for fabric, apparel, art for catalogs, website and social media. I also do commissions and some personal art. I am originally from England but now live in Washington state in a log cabin on 11 acres in the mountains. I am a Mum of two boys, wife of a loving hubby, and farm girl of 4 horses, 3 dogs, 3 cats and 18 chickens! My home is very inspiring to my work! NSM:  Describe the first time you remember making art? Jess:  That’s a tough question! I d...

On the 2.13 episode I had Blanca Cárdenas, and she is based out of Texas. She was in my Digital Illustration class. She is a very talented illustrator and working on her MFA in Illustration. I'm really glad I got to have a class with her.  Listen to the interview at My Creative Life . Blanca E. Cardenas Barragan is a Mexican artist residing and working throughout the state of Texas. She graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2018 with a BFA in 2D Studio Art, focusing on drawing and painting.  She has had extensive exposure to various artistic mediums such as bookmaking, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics, but her passions are deeply rooted in graphic novels. Blanca’s work centers around the female form while illustrating its confidence and beauty using visually enticing pin-up styled illustrations. Her work has been featured in various galleries, including the Satellite Gallery in Huntsville, Texas and the Brooklyn Art Library in Brooklyn, NY. Blanca ma...

In this episode I interviewed an old college friend Michael Bonfiglio. He’s been pursuing a music career while maintaining  full time job as a graphic designer. His band is Canine 10. They play at various venues in NJ and PA. He’s also a talented artist and studied sequential art at Savannah College of Art and Design. Click for more info on  Canine 10 . My Creative Life Thanks for listening!

I adore any courses that Mel Armstrong offers on Skillshare. Her course on Skillshare was highly informative about how to create various aspects of a surface design or pattern design. I found the videos to be clear and she tends to provide all kinds of additional resources in her class to allow students to mock up their own versions. I think the course is definitely one of the best. The others sometimes when to quickly on the software steps. I think she breaks it down very clearly.  I did the course on the wallpaper designs. She provides a mock-up that she created for personal use and not for resale. I used it above to create the mock-up for the wallpaper I created using a Sealife Pattern inspired by me living in the Coastal Low Country. I guess I should call it Low Country Sealife Pattern.  I'll be posting the wallpaper designs on my website for free download. Skillshare offers 1 months for free. I think the only thing is the streaming on the site. I foun...

On this episode, I decided to spend some time reflecting on my quarter in graduate school. Had an amazing time learning and growing as an artist.    The Linda Warner Constantino - Illustration Professor provided a checklist that I'm using in my work from now on.   The 5 C's. Are these things working in your artwork? 1. Color 2. Composition 3. Concept 4. Contrast 5. Craftsmanship   I've got several more interviews lined up with some more creative awesome people coming up, so stay tuned!   I need to keep that up and reminds me I need to practice drawing. It's been a few days since I opened my sketchbook. Below are some of the channels of youtubers I mentioned that I learned from. Great stuff! Thanks for listening to this episode![   Great Youtube Channels to watch in Concept Art   Marco Bucci  Bobby Chui  Victoria Ying  Ross Tran