Keeping busy

So as you know, I am counting down the days till my flight to Sydney and my subsequent 2 months spent touring the ports of New Zealand! Excited is an understatement. So it might seem like a bit of a challenge to stay focused on freelance work these days — especially with the weather the way it is here in the rainforest we call Vancouver. The trick, I find, is to keep busy.

I've managed to snag a few painting commissions before I leave, as well as some video editing/compilation projects. When I'm not working on those things, I've also become self-motivated to keep all of my sites updated AND I'm also working on T-shirt designs. You might ask: well what's the point of that work Viv? It doesn't exactly pay well does it? Well that might be true in the grand scheme of things, but as a graphic illustrator you always want to stay in touch with your target audience and see what trends are happening. I've recently become an active artist at Threadless.com - be sure to check back for new designs/illustrations.

Spec work: a necessary evil or a career killer?

Since school has ended, I have been busy filling my day planner with internet searches, compiling a publishing house mailing list, and creating custom mailouts. All of this work done in search for jobs that will pay the big bucks $$$. You'll notice that there are a lot of job postings out there that are essentially looking for free illustration work. Even though they might sell you on the fact that this work will buy you fame and acclaim (ah yes... hard not to fall for that one), but this kind of exposure might not be what you want. In fact, composing work for free lowers your art's worth in the future. So where do we draw the line? Do we simply say no on principle? And does this also apply to creating custom illustration samples that will appeal to the specific publishing houses? Well I'm not one to simplify things into black and white categories. It ultimately comes down to your own set of beliefs. I'm sure it can't hurt to customize your portfolio depending on the job. I just wish that all portfolio work wasn't creating simply on spec. Wouldn't it be nice if we got paid for everything we did? You don't see doctors performing operations for free, or engineers constructing bridges for free.... I'm just say'n :P

The influence of music

Studies have shown that music plays an important role in creativity. It has also been said that when you fall in love with a new song – levels of dopamine increase. Proof that I need music in order to function properly. Typically my mornings start off with a big cup of coffee, soon followed by cranking up the stereo. Finding great music to work to is important. Thankfully I often work from home, or with my earbuds in - so I don't need to worry about pleasing others with my music selection. Every project will have its own mood. Generally when I start out on a project I need some music that will energize me and get me pumped up. But if you're looking for a more mellow sound I recommend Amos Lee. I've recently discovered his music and I love it. Check it out for free on grooveshark.com http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Freedom/1RPozn?src=5

Take advantage of sunshine

View from the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge.
Copyright 2011. Vivian Gerber Creatives

I once heard somewhere that it's a good idea to change your clothes after you get home from work. The thinking behind this advice is that your mind-frame changes once you're out of your work clothes and then you can finally relax. Oddly enough this random fact has stuck with me. Which brings up an interesting dilemma when you're doing freelance work... but as most artists will tell you: they eat, live, and breathe art – so separating themselves from work isn't actually an issue. But I think even if you are working in an office, or at school (like I am currently) it's important to take some downtime to clear your head. Take today for example: after two lectures this morning about business practices I had a 2 hour window for lunch. Instead of sitting in front of my iMac, I opted to go out in the sunshine and take a walk around the cemetery (no judgments please... it's actually quite peaceful with a view of the mountains... in case you were wondering) and the equestrian center. Even though you're not being productive at this moment doesn't mean that you won't be later on. Sometimes the best thing to do is to take a break. So wherever you are at this moment, take a moment to glance out a window, or leave your computer for a bit and take a walk around. You never know when and where inspiration will strike... sometimes when you least expect it.

Illustrator woes

This project is proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated. People often warn you that you will become trapped within the computer... (think TRON). So it always is a good idea to start out on paper. Keep your ideas fresh and just get them down on paper, refine them to the point where you're happy with them and then scan and import them. However the catch is that it's much easier to move things around once you get into Illustrator, so you may want to start out there... and this can be your downfall. You can spend hours moving things around and still be no further ahead at the end of the day. I read an interesting section in Foote's The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business. If you're looking to read it, check out chapter 7: Dodging the Ten Pitfalls of Preparing Estimates. I'll save the rest of you the read and summarize for you. Basically one pitfall that any artist (illustrator, fine artist, or graphic designer) can fall into is trying to achieve perfection. Welcome to the downside of being a perfectionist! I'll include a quote here cause this guy knows what he's talking about: "The closer we get to perfection, the more time and expense is involved in attempting to achieve it, and the more elusive it becomes... As an example, let's say that giving a client a creative solution that's 90 percent of "perfection" (your definition) will take ninety hours. To go from 90 to 95 percent won't take a proportional five more hours; it will probably take ten. And to go from 95 to 97 percent of perfection will probably take an additional twenty hours! And so forth."

Notice how throwing mathematics in the mix makes for a more compelling argument? Let's remember that when we're writing up project proposals and job estimates... we'll get into that more later. For now it's back to the drawing board for me... let's see if I can figure out some sort of creative solution on paper and give this laptop a bit of a rest.

Trying to get back into the swing of things...

I thought I would share with you a picture of my workspace (notice the tall mug of coffee... looks like I need a refill). You can see one of my b&w prelim sketches  (along with some inspiration reference). These sketches will eventually be applied to in-flight packaging for a northern airline... I'm hoping to get these scanned this weekend so I can start working with colour and vector images. 

Working from home: a blessing or a curse?

Now many people will tell you that working from home isn't a good idea. Too many distractions they say. They also say things like "you need an environment where people will motivate you to do work".  But if you're like me, home is where the creative juices flow. You'll have to make this decision for yourself. It helps to do a SWOT analysis... plus then you can say things like "according to my swot analysis I work better if I sleep in..." and things like that :D So it helps to know how you work best. What are your strengths and weaknesses? 

a little take-away gift from Topos Graphics that sits on my desk:
a great reminder that money doesn't grow on trees.

Since it is cloudy again today I am going to try and simulate sunshine with my daylight lightbulbs... turn up the space heater and drink some iced coffee. I'll update you on my progress. Stay creative and I shall post another blog soon.

Sunshine on my window makes me happy

I feel like I am a solar powered illustrator. There has to be such a thing right? Or perhaps I'm the first. I feel energized and motivated to get work done when the sun is shining, but when it's cloudy out - beware! Well it's not that I turn into a werewolf or anything when the sun goes down. I guess the sunshine just fits in with my idea of the ideal work day: hot cup of coffee in hand, tunes cranked, and the sunshine flooding in through the windows. Perhaps I will need to invest in some UV lights for my work space or buy some minutes for a tanning bed - though I'm kind of opposed to the orange type of people that seem to emerge from those things (they should really come with a warning that you may be transformed into one of the characters from Jersey Shore... or so I hear – I've never actually watched that show).

It was sunny this morning so I managed to tweak my website a bit more and format this blog to match the same aesthetics... and now? Now it's cloudy... so instead of starting sketching my next illustration here I am writing another blog. Fingers crossed for some sun rays to peak through the clouds.