Category: Blog Posts

Interview at Dark Muse


Hey, all!

Pointing you all towards an interview with me over at the Dark Muse Ezine – a new fantasy art magazine!! Learn about what inspired me to be an illustrator, the struggles of commission work, the rigors of self-employment, and the dangers of ‘big head syndrome’ (amongst other not so secret tidbits)!

 
The Dark Muse Magazine Issue #1!

My Written Interview (download link)
My Podcast Interview (download link)

Let Jay (the Magazine’s creator) know that you like it by leaving a comment on the magazine first issue page!

It’s a true labor of love on his part so let’s help him continue the tradition!

What is Artfire? An Artist’s Point-of-View

ArtFire - Buy Handmade - Sell HandmadeA few months ago, I’d never even heard of Artfire, but had already been a vested user of Etsy since 2008. Now after plenty of fiddling over at Artfire, I feel confident enough to talk about its usefulness for artists.

What is Artfire?

Like Etsy, Artfire is a community marketplace for handmade and vintage items who offers community forums, item collections, and groups to join. The main difference in philosophy being that Artfire allows you to plug external websites much more in your own listings and pages, unlike Etsy, which discourages such practices. The other difference is of course the fact Etsy is far more entrenched with greater press coverage.

Artfire is catching up, though! If their constant marketing campaigns, helpful articles, and numerous twitter accounts is any indication of how much they’re putting into making their site known. They also offer their members discounts at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) and VIP discount cards at Joanns Fabrics (10% off regular and sale price items)!

Selling on Artfire

Much like Etsy, artists can post listings of items, sort them into browsing categories, and find buyers for their handicrafts. Where Artfire differs in this respect is that listings have no expiration date. A user must ‘check in’ at Artfire to keep their listings higher up in the search results, which weeds out the people who post listings and leave them there without maintaining them.

– Prints and Fabricated Art Items
Another quirk of AF I’ve found is that if you’re selling art prints, cards, or any other pre-printed open edition item utilizing your art, they have to be a run of 500 or less while Etsy hasn’t set a number, to my knowledge. This isn’t much of a problem for me, however, as I’d be happy to even reach that amount of sales per item!  With the number of open edition prints listed on AF, however, I suspect this policy isn’t heavily enforced.

– Seller Invoice System
AF boasts a pretty full featured invoicing system for sellers, including itemized invoices where you can check off each stage of payment, packing, and shipping as it happens with a field to enter an item’s tracking number. This number is automatically emailed to your customer when you enter it, making these invoices pretty handy for taking care of your customer all in one place!

– Feedback and Non-Member Buyers
One big difference between Etsy and AF’s way of handling transactions is the fact that AF also encourages you to do what you need to do to make a sell, meaning customers don’t need to have an AF account to buy! They can simply use AF’s shopping cart feature. This means you don’t get feedback or karma from the transaction, but that doesn’t seem terribly important on this site, despite the fact users can still leave detailed feedback on your shipping, quickness, item quality, etc. Because there’s no final value fee taken out when a sale is made, it’s easy enough to cancel the order and relist with no loss of money, should you have trouble with a non-paying buyer.

– Promotional Coupons

Another extremely useful feature of AF is the ability to create promotional codes. While you can do this on Etsy, Etsy restricts your coupon codes to only a certain percentage off or free shipping. AF’s coupon code functionality is more robust with the ability to tailor your coupons to a percentage off and free shipping, but also allows you to apply coupons to seller-defined studio groups and price ranges, the order total, or even specific items. Coupon codes are also another premium member feature.

– Other Useful Features
If you’re a user of Etsy, AF makes it easy to download your CSV file from Etsy and import all of your items with only a few tweaks required! This is a premium member feature, however.  You can also batch edit your listings, move them en masse to new categories, and take advantage of a detailed vacation mode that allows you to leave your items up, but auto-responds with your ‘away’ message. Unlike Etsy, which simply hides your items completely from listings until you disable it.  There’s also a ‘sales mode’ that allows you to discount everything in your shop at once.  Sales mode and vacation mode are both non-premium features!

Crunching Numbers

Another major difference between Artfire and Etsy is the fee structure. Artfire charges a flat monthly fee (I pay $5.95 thanks to a beta deal I got, but standard pro rate is $9.95 as of this entry) while Etsy charges 20 cents per listing for 3 months and takes 3.5% of your final sale’s value. If you’re hosting a large amount of items, AF can be really useful for keeping costs down each month.

As for sales numbers, I’ve noticed a greater number of handmade craft items and cards selling here rather than my prints and original art, but it’s still great to get the exposure on my artwork along with everything else. I have a feeling that as I grow my shop and become more entrenched in this community, these sales proportions will change!

Customization

One thing I absolutely love about AF is the ability to customize the color theme and style of our shop pages! I’ve included a screenshot of mine below. Most of the customization is, again, a premium member feature.

See my Artfire shop in action!

See my Etsy shop in action!
Final Thoughts

Rather than choose one community over the other, it’s easy enough for me to maintain both my Etsy AND Artfire shops with AF’s import feature!  The amount of sales I’ve made via both communities have made them well worth investing my time in and will only continue to increase their usefulness as another means of income the longer I use them.

Interested in joining up as a premium member at Artfire? Use my referral link! We’ll both get a free month plus be entered into a drawing for a free DSLR camera for both of us!♥

I’m also a member of the Artfire Fantasy Guild, so drop on in and say hello!  I’d love to see some familiar faces there.:)

Angelic Visions Book Signing Tour!

You TOO can come see the
cardigan in action!
Well, it can hardly be called a tour at the moment with just two stops, but I’m currently hunting down more book stores that don’t mind hosting an an angel-crazed artist to add to this list!  
I’ll be passing out free bookmarks to all who venture my way (while supplies last), yacking about art, and signing any copies of my books that you buy at the store.  I’ll also have my watercolors with me at each event where I’ll be demonstrating my painting techniques live!
The Current Stops on Ang’s Tour to Take Over the World
(I mean sign books)

 Saturday, March 12th – 2-4 pm – Books-A-Million at The Avenue
Saturday, March 26th – 2-4pm – Barnes and Noble Booksellers at Ashley Park

(More to come!  Know a book store here in Georgia that does signings? Do share in the comments!)
You can also keep up with my events at your social site of choice!
Or just keep track here because just about everything on those sites is a mirror of this blog.
See you at the book shop!

Angelic Visions Giveaway WINNERS!

The comments are in and the winners have been chosen! Druumroooll pleaaase!
Dun dun DUN. And the Winners by completely random list generation aaaare…:

Marion, who wins an autographed copy of Angelic Visions and an angel feather bookmark! Marion’s favorite mythological figure was the winged serpent, Quetzalcoatl. Read on at his comment to find out why!

The following winners chosen by completely random list generator will each receive a handmade leather angel feather bookmark!  The feather winners aaare…:

Uniformgrey, who talked of a love for classic mermaids of all types!  Read on at their comment to find out why.

Thetarotfool, who spoke of an affinity for angels, particularly Azrael and other personifications of death. Read on at their comment to find out more!

Winners, please email me with your snail mail address ASAP so I can get your prizes out to you!

I will be attempting to send out notice to you as well, just to make sure we don’t miss each other.

I hope you all enjoyed this giveaway as much as I did! It was a pleasure to learn about what mythological figures inspire others, some I’ve heard of, and some I haven’t!  I particularly enjoyed reading comments like Foresomeone’s which talked about the oral tradition behind sharing tales of leprechauns with their grandpa.  There are so many other interesting comments, so I encourage you to look back at the giveaway entry and give them a peek yourself!

Thanks to all for participating!  I trust this won’t be the last Angelic Visions related prize event in these pages, so keep your eyes peeled!  And thanks for sharing your stories with me.:)

Eventide Hijacked: The Artifice of Character

Coming to you from the fingertips of fellow fantasy enthusiast, Hayley E. Lavik:

Artist and fantasy writer Angela Sasser hijacks the blog today! Angela has hijacked the blog in the past to explore the overlaps between fantasy writing and fantasy illustration, and she’s back today to talk about dissecting fantasy characters with her cross-media point of view!

(Check out my guest post at Eventide Unmasked and join the discussion!)

Confessions of an Artist – Romance and Artists

It’s been awhile since my last entry in the ‘Confession’ series. We’ve talked about everything from storing art improperly to getting out of our artistic comfort zones.  Today…I’d like to admit that at one time in my life, I was intent on being the ‘crazy cat lady’.

You know the one. That kooky lady next door with eight cats, who has named them all for pop singers, knows each cat’s personality by heart, and will talk hours on end about them and their adventures.  In my younger days, I thought that’s what I was destined for, and, in fact, welcomed it. I didn’t need the distraction of a huge epic social life.  Chilling with a few close friends suited me just fine. I’m not trying to be selfish, so for the gentlemen who’s reading this, I will recommend https://girlfriendactivationsystemreview.net. don’t let the girl you like the most fall for other guys.

I had an education to finish and a career path in front of me.  I didn’t need the distraction of marriage, children, and the dedication of time and energy and the stress that comes with it all.  I considered myself pretty darn selfish, as was my right as a person with free will to be. I gave a verbal warning of “Beware, INDEPENDENT ARTIST” to just about everyone I dated.

I didn’t think there was a way to reconcile the alone-time it required to develop as an artist, writer, etc. while also being with anyone, ever.  The cats would understand me…, guys however? I wasn’t so sure about them!  I felt that most guys I dated didn’t deserve a gal like me, who was always putting her career ahead of the cutesy couple time that should have been filling up every second of my free time when I wasn’t in class or at work.  I did not need to call them to tell them I missed them because I had plenty to keep me occupied.  I had stories to write and masterpieces to paint, after all!  Most guys found this off-putting.  They deserved a ‘normal’ girl who could give them the time and dedication that they deserved.

Boiling all that down, being an artist (or a creative individual in general) requires a heck of a lot of alone time just to think, practice, and develop one’s craft.  This leads to a lot of hangups on both sides of the dating coin. The Artist, who is tortured by guilt because they’re a terrible person for making art instead of spending every moment with their Sweetie OR tortured by guilt for not wanting the American Dream (marriage, 2.5 children, and a house in the suburbs).  The Sweetie, who thinks that because the Artist doesn’t want to be with them every moment means that the Artist cares more about art than them.

Coming into my 9th anniversary with my Sweetie (celebrating this very day, in fact!), I’m happy to say that the years have a way of making us wiser.  We’ve both struggled with our maturing senses of self and what we want from life, both fought with our hangups until I’ve come to realize that Important Thing:

Despite it all, he is still here with me.  Even if we get frustrated, we are both still here trying our best to understand one another and make it work.

He does not judge me because I’m rambling about what exact shade of blue the sky is (Cerulean or Cobalt).  Most of all, he is behind me every step of the way, as far as pursuing my business.  He has learned not to assume that I will always put art over him, but rather that he is a vital part of my happiness and well-being, a living part of my inspiration.  We’re a team, just as I’ll never judge him for comparing the dropped frame rates of consoles games versus PC easy slots  games.

Maybe one day we’ll make a family?  Maybe not.  I’m glad to say I am no longer judged on the prudence of such a choice, at least not by him.

One should never start dating a dedicated Artist with the expectation they should try to take the Art from them or belittle an Artist’s fascination with creation. It’s an essential part of their being. To make them any different is to change what you probably loved about them in the first place.

Happy Anniversary, my Little Kaio!  I do hope you like cats….;)

Inglourious Artests

(For in-joke reference, see Inglourious Basterds)

Today, I am grumpy and thought I would share.

What makes me grumpy?  I am not in the studio.

Why am I not in the studio?  Because as a one-man business, I’m doing business upkeep instead.

What business upkeep might that be?

  • Taxes – I do them in Turbotax myself because I am hard-headed and don’t want to pay someone else to do essentially the same thing as going through a step-by-step program that walks you through them. (Just my opinion..probably wouldn’t recommend this course of action to folks not comfy with a computer and lots of tedious reading.)
  • Gallery Setup – I recently bought a space in a local gallery, meaning I’ve had to fill it with signs, frame & hang work, take inventory, and any number of endless list of things just to make it presentable.
  • Filing Receipts – This goes hand in hand with taxes. Got to keep good records of your expenses and income!  I use Quicken to keep track of my cashflow and record receipts.
  • Making Phone Calls – As much as I’d like to think I am SO awesome that people will come to grovel at my feet and offer me opportunities, I’ve spent much of my time on the phone lately setting up book signings, repeating the same marketing spiel over and over.
  • Updating Website and Shops – Entering products one by one, picking categories, uploading product images, and all that fuss are required for marketing my work on Etsy, Artfire, etc.  This tedious activity is the sole flagship of my online sales, meaning there is no escape from doing this duty!

There are times when I am willing to trade a kidney if I could have someone do this crap for me so I can spend more time in the studio. Alas, no one has taken me up on that kidney offer!  Alas again, this was my choice to run a business and be a micro-manager of every facet, therefore there’s no one to blame but my evil twin, Mangela!

If there was a time I was thinking on how awesome it would be to draw ‘pretty pictures’ all the time and bring the enjoyment of sexy otherworld creatures to be adored the world over, that time has passed!  Running a business requires just a pinch of shameless self-promotion with a dash of evil.

Evil being the thought of preying on people’s impulsive spending tendencies to make a sale (IE. the acquiring of a credit card terminal to persuade those with plastic money, for instance), of convincing them they need things that they really don’t (IE. my pretty pictures of stuff). Evil being that undercurrent in my thoughts, no matter how small, that leads back to how I can help promote myself.  Evil being the realization that, yes, the purpose of any business is to make money, in addition to anything sprang from morality and inspiration, that drives your urge to keep waking up every day and doing this thing called a business.

So, balancing a bit of wickedness with all this pretty talk of ‘doing what we love’ I’ve talked about on this blog!  (And I do love this, for all that I purport my grumpiness).  I will keep creating (when not upkeeping).  I will keep drawing sexy otherworldly pretty things because I damned well want to.

But first, gotta update a few more websites…

….Kidney, anyone?

Angelic Visions Giveaway!

(EDIT: The Winners have been chosen here!)

Finally, the blog giveaway has arrived!  I’ll make this short n sweet.

Leave a comment on this entry talking about your favorite mythological figure (and why you love them).  In two weeks, on Saturday, February 19th, I’ll be drawing three names using random.org.  Here’s what you’ll get a chance at winning!

The prize pot!

One lucky winner will receive a signed book, an autographed special edition metallic print of the cover, and a handmade angel feather bookmark!  Two other lucky winners will each receive their very own handmade angel feather bookmark.

Take a closer look at that bookmark!

Constructed from 3 oz leather, these feathers were hand-carved, hand-painted, signed, and dated on the backs by yours truly!  Each one is special and unique due to the nature of the leather carving process. No two will ever be exactly the same.  You can’t see it very well in the photos, but they glimmer with a dusting of gold that’s just entrancing to behold!

NOTE! If you don’t tell me about your favorite mythological figure, you will not be included in the drawing!  If you’ve already bought the book and would just like to be entered to win a bookmark, be sure to specify that in your comment.

Haven’t heard of Angelic Visions?  Than go check out my book trailer to learn more about this shiny new tome on portraying your very own fantasy angel figures!

Be a doll and spread the word using the social networking share links at the top of this entry!  Every link back makes me feel all warm n fuzzy inside.

Evolution of an Artist Alley Table II

Back in September of 2009, I posted a list of what goes into my display in an artist alley.  Now two years later and a few events wiser, my display has evolved!

Show them what they’ve won, Vanna!
 
Anatomy of an Artist Alley Table – Part 2
  1. Retractable Vertical Banner – $300 – A pricey item, to be sure, but the fact I don’t have to carry around a big pvc pipe set nor have it taking up space in my car makes this item well worth it! This vinyl banner pulls out from and retracts back into a spring loaded base that is about as big as a tabletop easel and very lightweight. Adds to my vertical appeal and allows people to notice me over the heads of the crowd. Mine was printed by Graphic Signs Atlanta.EDIT: I’m told Staples offers a cheaper $100 collapsible stand now too!
  2. Standing Easel – $13 – These simple wooden easels are great for propping large prints for that eye-catching vertical appeal!  I’ve been using these to prop the blow up of my book cover at book signings as well.  When I’m not promoting the book, this cover image will be replaced by a piece of art instead. Bought at Joanns Fabrics and Crafts.
  3. Gridwall Cubes – $30 –  Also called wire cube storage. These have been with me since the beginning! I use them to clip prints, mousepads, and prints to, though I’m looking for an alternative display method for the masks currently. The wire distracts from their detail so I’m either going to cover them with fabric or buy some gridwall hook attachments that project from the wall so the masks can be placed on them some distance from the grid instead. Found mine at Target.
  4. Mannequin Head – $40 – Affectionately named Shay, she helps bring more visibility to my masks and other artisan crafted items! Her ears are pierced so I can add earrings as well as display a necklace and a mask all on the same head.  Found her at Store Fixtures, USA.
  5. Visa/Mastercard Sign – $5? – A simple plastic sign used to notify customers that I take credit and debit cards. I printed it off on cardstock and slipped it into the stand.  You’d be amazed at how comforted people are to know that you can accept plastic money!  Many people don’t carry cash anymore, either because they prefer not to or because they’re trying to limit their budget. Accepting cards is a good way to be that evil influence prompting people towards impulse purchases. That sounds bad, but hey, it’s true!  Can’t recall where I got this sign and how much it was, but it couldn’t have been more than $5 and probably came from Walmart or Staples.
  6. Basic Tabletop Easels – $5? – You can probably find these even cheaper if you buy plastic instead of metal.  In my case, I was actually using a small metal easel used for displaying antique dinner plates.  Great for propping up items like prints and books again for that vertical eye-catching appeal!  It’s harder for people to notice your work if it’s all lying flat on the table, especially where there are big crowds.  Can’t recall where we got these at, but probably Staples or Walmart.

  7. Horizontal Vinyl Banner – Price varies per footage – Another item that’s been with me from the beginning. Even though I have the nice vertical signs, I still like to hang this out in front so the front of my table doesn’t look too boring.  It was a little too big to hang behind me anyways and was rather overpowering my display! It looks much better hanging out in front. Printed at Graphic Signs Atlanta.
  8. Itoya 11×14 Display Portfolio – $11 – I had a small 5×7 portfolio on the table for the campsite to show off my work and to make room for more items, but people kept passing it by!  Eventually opted for this imposing portfolio which prompted more people to stop and flip through.  I also had a sign up sheet and business cards tucked into the plastic pocket at the front so people could leave with ways to be reminded of my existence.
  9. Trading Card Album – $5? – This small album housed ACEO and ATC organized into open edition, original, and limited edition settings. They represent my affordable offerings for the casual buyers who may not want to invest in large items, but don’t mind dropping a few bucks on cute collectible cards.  Bought from Michaels.
  10. Print Bin – $10 – Actually a collapsible file box. Bottom comes out and it folds down, making it much easier to transport than my solid heavy print bin, which now serves as a permanent inventory housing item here at home.  Found at Walmart.
  11. Greeting Card Rotating Countertop Rack – $35 – Another item I’ve had from the beginning! It is sometimes replaced by a standalone rack that sits in front of my table, but I can’t use that one on a regular basis because some shows are picky about you having items in front of your table that folks might trip on.  Little children also like to spin it until it falls on their heads!  This smaller rack houses my 5×7 and matted 4×6 prints.  Purchased from Displays2go.
  12. Binder Clips (40 pk) – $5 – Oh the many uses of binder clips!  I used them to clip the prints to the grid, to hold my banner to the table, and for fiddling with when I’m bored. They make nice talking finger puppets!  I prefer the gold variety as it looks a bit more decorative than the silver. Found at Staples.
  13. Crushed Velvet Table Cloth – $8 a yard – A mysterious number 13 I forgot to number in my photo! This silver cloth serves a multitude of purposes. First, it covers up the hideously distracting plain tabletops, is large enough to cover the entire display when you have to leave (if you have two on hand), and can also serve as backdrops for photographing products!  Velvet is great, as I’ve mentioned in previous photography tutorials.
Alternate Displays
 
While the aforementioned display works well for events where I’m mostly selling art, some events require a different setup to accommodate my more crafty items!
 
Flashback to Faerie Escape Atlanta, 2010!
The only thing that’s different here is the inclusion of a metal jewelry tree and velvet necklace, which helped bring a level of professionalism to my items that laying them flat on the table didn’t.
 
Metal Jewelry Tree – $20? – Mine was a Christmas present from the family so I have no clue where they bought it! I’ve seen some creative takes on the jewelry tree where people have taken branches from a real tree, cleaned them up, and shaped them to suit their needs. Then jewelry is hung off them with little leaf-shaped tags for an organic theme.
 
Velvet Necklace Forms – $2 – These velvet covered neck forms really make for a stylish addition to any craft table.  I bought mine at Joanns, but have found bigger ones for longer necklaces at Dawson Jones for $12.
 
That’s it for now! I’m currently transitioning my display to fit an art fair booth setup, so expect posts on this topic sometime in the future!

The Great Promo Brainstorm

Bring in your pets and put away your lawn furniture, the great Brainstorm cometh! But first, a bit of sketch spam of custom ink drawings I’ve been doing on the inside of people’s books ordered direct from me.

 Keywords (Left to Right): “Angel Warrior”, “North Star”, “Angel Tribe”, “Fairy Child”

After the success of the first book signing, I’m scheming on ways to keep pushing promotional efforts before I’m old news. At this step I’d actually prefer to hire a publicist, but for now that’s just not in my budget. The company is handling getting the book into stores and now it’s my turn to set up the rest of the grassroots efforts that will start here in my own little town and corner of the interwebs!

Here are just a few of the things I’m pondering on doing (I’m wide open to suggestions if you have any):

– A Blog Tour – I’m still trying to grasp the what, where, and how of this. Basically I would approach various blogs and see if they would mind featuring me or my book on their blog and post a schedule of each ‘stop’ that’s planning a feature within a certain date range. Anyone know of any good fantasy or art blogs I could approach? (Or who host one themselves that would be relevant to my themes?)

– A Book Giveaway – Soon to be on this blog! As soon as I’ve got my paws on the next shipment of books, I’d like to giveaway a whole bundle (Sketch+Book+Prints+Other Cool Goodies) to a lucky commenter! I will have to think of a good comment prompt for this one. *plots*

– Book Signings -Where to start? After a little MOAR RESEARCH, I’ve written up a Press Release for any prospective bookstore owners just so I know what to say when I’m on the phone (or pitching in person) with them and also so I have something to email them for reference. (Don’t quote my formatting on that write-up. It’s probably all backwards!)  So far, it seems like the best way to schedule one is to approach their community relations departments at a corporate level so they can recommend the store that’s best set up for such an event.

– Book Sketches – I’ve been publicizing these in my online sketchbooks to help remind folks that YES I do offer custom ink sketches in the inside-cover of any book ordered directly from me for an extra cost! The rules of advertising state that repetition of your product or brand helps breed familiarity and credibility. Trying to keep true to this tenant, which means I’ll soon be doing more video trailers very soon! Proliferate throughout the web, my pretties!

And the Brainstorm continues.  Any promo strategies you’d like to share? Any of the particulars listed here get you excited for more?  Share and share alike!