Online Exposure Pt.2 (repost)

Linkedin

One of my favorite social media websites is Linkedin. This site differs from Twitter and Facebook because these sites are solely for the professionals and business community. On Facebook you can have a separate page for your friends and a fan page for your business interests. Twitter has no distinction between personal and business issues and you can tweet for both. Linkedin is for the professional person so it's best you keep your personal comments to yourself and on a business level. Linkedin has a very good research tool for contacting other companies and professionals for possible job positions. You are able to post your profile, experience and have a connected portfolio with some sample images.

Limit Your Time Online

You need to decide what is a fair amount of time for using the internet and when to return and complete other important business activities. There are times when I loose track of my time while surfing the web and should probably be working on my creative projects. I usually set a certain amount of time for online activity and when to quit. I enjoy being creative and using social media to advertise my latest completed artwork with friends.

Remain Positive and Productive

To be a successful artist takes more than just talent. It requires a lot of hard work especially during an economic downturn. You need to know yourself very well and decide when things are not going right and take a break. You might consider a walk around the block or clear your head at your favorite park. Once recharged and refreshed return to your goals with a positive outlook. For a lot of creative professionals starting out takes patience especially with all the social media promotion, website advertising and business activities you need to accomplish. I realized after many years that I wasted a lot of energy and was not very patient. I now realize that there is a lot about the creative profession that is out of my control. I am now using my time effectively while pursuing my love for the illustration profession. Remember to be patient and strive to be creative.

Increase Your Online Exposure (past article)

My online presence and success has improved since I started using internet resources available to the creative community. Placing a blog on my website makes it possible to be actively involved by displaying articles that other creatives should find useful. Joining social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have professional benefits. These websites have increased my networking with colleagues, increased my knowledge about business aspects and increased sales. I send out e-mails with attachments periodically that keep me in-touch with my database clients. I have used a site named,"Your Mailing List Provider" , but recently switched to MailChimp. The web site provides an easy and convenient way to store my clients information. They have a feature that lets you input your html newsletter code and send directly to clients. Creatives should also consider exploring the variety of free and inexpensive websites that exist on the internet. I am currently a member of Jacketflap.com, CreativeShake.com and IllustratorsInk.com. I find it exciting to be experimenting with a number of websites and discovering the possible benefits. It's obvious that creatives need to get their work out in front as many viewer as possible. 

Use Your Website 

Having an online website is very important and unless you promote it no one will know you exist. If you read the information above , you can try some of these websites. I continue to rework my website with new images, new links and blog articles to stand out from my competition. Exploring the internet is a great way to find new professional groups to join and interact with. I search out blogs to leave my comments and opinions on websites. You should make an effort to interact with your peers so that it increases your exposure as a professional. 

Offer Your Help 

It has been my experience that "What goes around comes around". What I mean by this statement is that we should be willing to offer our advice without expecting something in return. You will find that when we offer our assistance our efforts probably will be returned in kind. We are all in this together and as a creative collective we need to enrich and keep our creative community growing. 

Thumbelina PB Dummy Spread

Working on my PB Boards for Thumbelina story. I have finished all the sketches and now working on the text to complete the finish boards.

Thumbelina Character Studies

In the process of creating some Thumbelina character designs for my PB Dummy. Looking to depict a young girl that is stylish with some character.

Spread for Thumbelina Picture Book Dummy

Working on my PB Dummy for Thumbelina written by Hans Christian Anderson. He took his inspiration from tales of miniature people such as "Tom Thumb". The story is about a very small girl and the adventures she encounters with a number of characters such as toads, moles and large brown beetles. 

The sketch is one scene where Thumbelina is assisted by fishes and escapes from marriage minded toads. I enjoyed creating this composition and look forward to painting it.

Color Study

Color study of small boy exploring some of the brush possibilities with Adobe Photoshop.