Category: Blog Posts

Con Report – Imagicon

I’ve just returned from Imagicon in Birmingham, Alabama! While my personal artist alley sales were modest, enthusiasm from artists and congoers was pretty high all weekend. I get the feeling from the amount of curious and perplexed parents peering in at us from around the corner that the scifi and fantasy fandom is still a little new in the area.

Come buy my shinies! Or my evil eyes will get you!

Or perhaps it’s because the main part of the con was held in the middle of exhibits nestled in the belly of the McWane natural science center in downtown Birmingham? Most people were there to let their kids bounce around interactive exhibits and maybe learn something scientific along the way. This was good in that we got a lot of foot traffic from museum-goers, bad because many of them weren’t interested in the art show or dealers room and had no clue why they were standing next to an Alien in the elevator wondering whether they should cover their children’s eyes or not.

In truth, there weren’t many signs that even mentioned Imagicon was there. No signs outside the building and most of the noticeable signs tacked up by the elevator which said the 3rd floor was closed for Imagicon, sending mixed signals. There was even less signage to indicate the location of the art show, though due to the art staff’s quick thinking, computer printed signs appeared around the 2nd day. Even still, the traffic through the art show was minimal and I only sold a single piece (Archangel Uriel, which persists as my top seller, despite being an old piece).

What really made my weekend was shmoozing with other artists in the show who attended the panels. I felt like we were really able to give people good ideas in the website development and business panels, even if the number of artists hosting the panel on business outnumbered the people in attendance. It’s a great feeling to be around all these other folks making a living doing the same business of art and convincing one another that we’re not insane for it! I took some great notes on art licensing at Ash Evans‘ panel, who is an inspiring professional and outspoken lady.

I met a couple of ladies who also recognized my Ezio mask from the LeatherMaskArt group on DeviantART. Such a small world, it is! I put my mask to a stress test wearing it all day Saturday and even walking down the street to a hotdog stand, receiving many strange looks along the way. It was a good draw for my table, even if only a special few recognized its inspiration.

All in all, the show has a good heart, but just needs to work out it’s advertising and signage a little better. Art show staff was helpful and receptive and I’m sure the show is going to get more traffic as they improve their setup, especially with the enthusiasm of those involved in its management. I hope that if budget allows, I’ll be able to attend again next year!

Stay tuned for a little video I put together on what we packed for the convention. It will be up on my YouTube channel shortly!

This has been your con report from Angelic Shades. Sasser signing off!

Confessions of an Artist 5 – Why Sketch?

It’s been a long time since my last confession, where we talked about the nightmares of storing art incorrectly. Lately, I’ve come to realize a bad habit about myself that I’m desperately trying to break.

I don’t sketch.

By ‘don’t sketch’ I mean, instead of doing thumbnails or studies, I like to hop right onto the canvas and sketch, let the drawing go where it wants to, and then paint away! While this may work for some folks, more often than not, it’s led to the too-late realization of compositional problems, anatomy errors, or dysfunctional color schemes that made me not as satisfied with my work as I wanted to be or should be.

You may ask yourself, why take the time to sketch when you already know what you want to do? Why bother with sketching at all when it’s not guaranteed that you’ll use a sketch for anything? Just go straight to the finish line!

Only recently have I started to do more thumbnail drawings to figure out the best composition for an idea (a practice my college professors always pushed on me and one which I always rebelled against). But I’m not on my own time anymore, I’m on the clock. When my work is for a company, I just can’t let the pencil loose and trust it’s going to be the best it can be. I have more than just myself to satisfy and even then I shouldn’t just let my standards slip when I AM working for myself, either because I’m in a rush or just don’t feel like doing preliminary sketches thanks to the impatient niggling of my muse.

This realization was especially reinforced when I saw Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s Major Arcana Tarot book, a lovely compilation including her thought processes and the many sketch revisions she did for each card in the Majors suit. I was amazed by the fact she went through so many sketches before arriving at any single figure.

For instance, in the Justice card, she went through multiple figural sketches. In each sketch, she evolved her symbols and improved her composition, from a sword to a feather (for truth), from a classical blindfolded Justice to a figure with blind eyes. Sketching and toying with the concept helped her to arrive at something more profound and dynamic, in the end, than it would have been if she merely sped through the concept. Even then, many of her ‘discarded’ sketches ended up being used for later work, making it even more worth it to play around with sketch ideas because it helped to prompt even more ideas for future artwork.

So while I may get fussy at the idea of not being able to explode into drawing the final composition that’s bursting to get out of my head, sometimes the muse needs to sloow down. Enjoy a nice cup of tea and coax that coy idea out with thumbnails and sweet nothings.

How about yourselves? Do you find it hard to sketch? How do you go about developing your ideas for a concept? My confessional is always open!

IMAGE SOURCE:
“Justice” by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Burnout: The Artist’s Greatest Enemy?

There’s nothing worse than that creeping feeling of doubt. We’ve all felt it before at one point or another. Is my art good enough? Will I ever land that art job I’ve been dreaming about? Will I ever really be able to make money at this? Am I going to do well at this next convention?

Things have been winding down and gearing up for me all at the same time. With the end of one big project, I’m finding myself in search of another and completely overwhelmed by trying to rope more means of income AND keep my portfolio up to date at the same time. I’m also in overdrive at the thought of doing more conventions this year, which I’ve only ever done a couple in the past. Just seems like there isn’t enough time to prep inventory and create new works!

This burnout phase follows another realization that a creative professional cannot merely hope to make a living from a single royalty check from a single book. I knew the statistics before, but nothing brings statistics to life more than when you get to that point in your life and realize your paycheck will not be enough to pay rent.

An artist (or a writer) must have many prospects going to call it ‘a living’. When last I checked, that average was 20 books to an author’s name before they could live off of royalty checks alone. For an artist, this also means pursuing various streams of income, from licensing, to commissions, to selling prints, and the ever daunting task of putting forth one’s portfolio to various companies of interest for that one job that adds a bit more cash to your money pot.

Argh it is a wicked game, this art industry! I’ve had to step back from it all and try to regain my focus. I’ve tried a few things that seem to be keeping the edge off:

* Video Games – Yes I know, ‘time suck’ you say! But nothing keeps your brain from overthinking more when you have a repetitive and completely reality unrelated task to focus on. Not to mention games like Folklore always get my art muse going again with its artful designs and surreal worlds. Yes, I confess I’ve even tried WarCrack (Warcraft) for the first time recently! (Shhh!) We are only human and cannot work every single moment of the day and night without losing some sanity!

* Making Lists – Being the visual person that I am, it helps to list out all of my ideas for projects, my goals for my career and also prospects I’m hoping to work for. It’s amazing how many you might have forgotten just from worrying so much! You may have more going for you than you realize when you list things out.

* Scheduling – It’s easy to get overwhelmed and then lose track of just where you’re going when you work at home. I’ve been leaning heavily on Google Calendar these days to keep me on track. There’s nothing like looking at the agenda and realizing that yes I do have physical goals that will pay off in the form of conventions and events.

* Return to Nature – A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.

I always think of Thoreau when I’m feeling burned out. I like to sit by the pond and watch the dragonflies buz about in dizzy colors and think of just what paint hues make up the sky. Nothing refills my muse and sense of peace better than quieting the mind and meditating in a tranquil place. The internet, computers, and constant worrying about promotion can really distract from what’s most important.

* Switching Gears – Instead of sketching at night, I’ve taken to working on other skillsets, from leatherworking to my old bad habit for creative writing. Writing, especially, is something I’d like to do as a conjoined part of an illustration career, but it’s somehow fallen to the wayside next to art these days. It feels good to get back to it again and get to know these characters who used to be such a big part of what inspired my art in the past.

So here I am…hitting the ‘Reset’ button on my current lack of motivation for art. I’m certain I’ll rise up from this slump with a little spit and shine. Thankfully, for me it is a lack of motivation and not a lack of ideas!

Till then, won’t you share your strategies for easing burnout? I’d love to hear them!

Tutorial – How to Make Storage Envelopes for Your Art

There have been so many little tasks on my platter lately, from website building to registration for conventions! I’ve had to shift modes to figure out just how I’ll be transporting my art safely to those art fairs and conventions that are a little farther away from home than I’ve ever ventured for an event. Watercolor paintings in Georgia/Alabama heat and humidity for hours? Lightly bubble-wrapped frames reinforced with masking tape clanking together in my back seat? Nightmare waiting to happen!

Whilst surfing through the discussions over at Art Fair Insiders, I heard mention of a product called a Gallery Pouch, which is like SUPERPOWERED bubble wrap envelopes that keep your art safe. One thing led to another and I found myself experimenting with how to Do It Yourself by making my own pouches out of things you should easily be able to find at your local hardware store.

This time, I finally hauled out the camcorder to record my efforts! Enjoy and feel free to ask questions!

Oh and should you join up over at Art Fair Insiders, tell them that AngelaRSasser sent you in the referral field!

EDIT: I should also note that I have weather tested these envelopes by leaving them in a car parked in the sun from dawn till dusk and they showed no signs of melting tape or other adverse effects. Time will tell how well they stand up to weathering usage, but I am optimistic about their survivability thus far.

Tutorial – How to Make Storage Envelopes for Your Art – Part 1

Tutorial – How to Make Storage Envelopes for Your Art – Part 2

Tutorial – Photographing Glass Tile Art Necklaces

While I was uploading necklaces to my Etsy page, I took a few setup photos which I thought might prove useful to someone out there. So here goes my impromptu tutorial on photographing glass tile necklaces!

For those who are unfamiliar, glass tile necklaces are necklaces made by affixing artwork (or a reproduction of the artwork) onto glass tiles with special glass adhesive. They’re a fun way to pass the time and some of my best-selling items at conventions.

MATERIALS


First, you will need a few things. Obviously, a camera is a given! I use a Nikon D50 which allows me to focus manually, if need be, and control the shutter speed/F stop. Any camera with decent focusing abilities should work, however, since we’ll be photographing in bright light, which is easy to focus in. (More on camera settings later!)

1. Tabletop with Covering – This is just a simple waist-high nightstand with a dress skirt draped over it. The skirt is a light material with vintage patterning on it which makes a perfect backdrop for my style of necklaces. I don’t recommend strong bold patterns as a backdrop since it can detract from your items.

For the purposes of this tutorial, we won’t even be seeing the vintage backdrop, but it is useful when photographing other styles of necklaces that require you to capture the necklace display and part of the background (like this).

2. Twist-tie – It’s hard to see in this image, but that’s a twist-tie. I use this to hold together the cord or chain of the necklace, should it be too long to display properly on the velvet display.

3. Necklace Display – This is a flat style necklace display that you can grab from the beading section of any store like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc. for just a few bucks.

4. Cardstock Backdrop – This is just a simple piece of white cardstock which you can get from any craft store that sells scrapbooking stuff. I took a stock photo of marble and edited it to a neutral low texture image then printed it onto the paper myself. This will act as our main backdrop for the art tile necklaces.

SETUP

I set up my small table in our sun room, which has large open windows that let the light stream in on sunny days. If you have direct sunlight streaming in, you should put up a white muslin sheet or bedsheet to diffuse the strong light. That way your items will have soft shadows instead of harsh ones. This keeps your glass tiles from having strong reflections in them that can obscure the art underneath the glass.

Arrangement – The items are arranged so that the light is coming in from the right side of the necklace, making the shadows stronger on the left.

I took the images for this tutorial in late afternoon when the sunlight wasn’t streaming directly in, but rather bouncing off other objects, making the light less stark without a sheet to diffuse it.

Alternatively, days with consistent, but light cloud covering work just as well.

Camera Settings – Honestly, I keep it simple and use my camera set on Automatic with the file settings on FINE JPEG, that way they are relatively small file sizes with large dimensions. You don’t really need raw or huge files for Etsy, since the site displays files fine at a minimum height/width of 450 px and a max file size of 2 MB. You can take huge pictures so customers can zoom in, but I find that if they can make out a decently focused image of the item that having huge pictures is not necessarily required.

Since the lighting is so bright, you don’t really need to tweak your advanced settings unless you want to make your white balance perfect (but this is beyond the scope of this tutorial). I do recommend the use of a tripod (which you can get at Walmart for $20) to keep your camera steady.

Step 1. Lay the cardstock against the necklace display. This should leave enough room for the ‘neck’ part of the display to be exposed.

Step 2. Drape your necklace over the neck part of the display. If the necklace is too long and runs onto the tabletop, use the twist-tie to bind the cords in the back.

Step 3. Use your camera’s focus brackets to line up the lens with the very center of detail in your tile. I always take at least 3 shots of any angle on a necklace to make sure I will have plenty of variations to choose from.

Step 4. Load them up in Photoshop and tweak them to your liking. Personally, I tweak the Exposure and Gamma (Under Image>Adjustments>Exposure) of my photos till their brightness and detail matches my needs. Smart Sharpen (under Filters>Sharpen) can be handy when a photo is slightly out of focus as well.

PRESTO!
The finished product, prettified and arranged for Etsy!

See this necklace on Etsy

Odds, Ends, & Commissions


In my last post, I spoke of the many avenues of income I hope to pursue. For as excited as I am about that, such knowledge requires time and research before I can go about making further posts about them.

Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to pass this ‘unproductive’ research time by searching out other opportunities for income. I’m participating in the Devwear Design Battle on DeviantART with a t-shirt design that I’m sure will be to die for. Featuring the return of my favorite psychotic Elf chica, Aurora Adonai (view WIP). Besides earning me a chance at royalties and a $1k advance, it’s been good fun to get back to more personal characters of mine.

I also have my eye on the $50k Hudgen’s Prize for Georgia artists (of which I’m still trying to decide what to enter) and the Discovering a Muse Challenge over at ArtOrder, which offers up a way to participate in charity giving as well as get my work seen by some of the AD’s (art directors) over at Wizard’s of the Coast (the fine folks who create card games and such for Dungeons and Dragons, amongst other things)

Funny to think that contests are oftentimes ignored as opportunities for income, but with everyone on the job hunt, they’re better than none for filling the time!

Completion of my big book project means I’m also opening up my schedule to commissions again! I still offer them at my normal rate and hope to be hitting the fairs and conventions hard once I have all my ducks in a row as far as equipment. I’m so excited to get back into the game! Spring ushers in the convention and fair season, after all!

I’m strangely even more excited to talk to people again. I miss the convention atmosphere, talking to like minds and networking with other artists. After nearly a year and a half of being a social pariah, I’m so ready to get out there!

Till next time! Keep an eye out soon for something super special. My illustration board scraps are begging to be used and you all are my prime targets.

The Outer Limits – Income Beyond the Art Gallery

The first few years of my university art education were spent thinking that if I could not sell or show my work in a gallery, then I could not be an artist of worth, nor able to earn an income. My future seemed inextricably tied to a particular community which I never felt that I fit into, being primarily a fantasy artist. Angels and elves never quite fit right next to abstract expressionism and moody landscapes. Fantasy was not ‘fine art’ nor ‘classical’ and was therefore unworthy of being shown in galleries (though this is thankfully changing in recent times!)

It seemed foolish and hopeless to think that an artist could be worthwhile or make a living any other way. A worthless dreamer was I who could not find a place in a gallery without tearing up bits of journals pages and pretending some kind of political or personal agenda was imbued into each piece of work. This sort of work has its place, but I did not feel that it was mine. I reserve my emotions for other means of expression.

Years passed. I started moving in different circles. Research began for my MA thesis on e-marketing for artists. My field of vision began to widen as I found more and more cases of artists such as Valentina Trevino, more commonly known as Val of ValsArtDiary.

A relatively young artist in her 20’s, Val was like many artists who come out of school feeling hopeless, unable to find gallery representation, and working meaningless jobs to pay the bills. She became independently successful after setting up her own website and marketing herself via social media. She is most well known for her videos on YouTube that showcase her painting process. Each video ends with a link to an eBay auction where one can purchase her paintings. Within 2 years, she had had found success and sold every single one of her original paintings.

It is with Val’s example in mind that I am hopeful in pursuing my own path outside the Gallery market. My Thesis research revealed a myriad of options from art licensing to selling face to face at art fairs to video and online marketing a la Val’s strategy. All of which I hope to talk more about here as I prepare to do some ‘field research’ for my own art career.

Welcome to the outer limits of the art world, my friend! I hope to stay awhile.

Waiting in the Wings

Yes, I’m still alive!

I realized today it’d been more than a month since I last posted an entry here (so much for that twice a week schedule). Normally, I’d consider this a failing at being consistent with my social media schedule, but sometimes there are just more important things in life that need tending to.

In the month I’ve been absent from the net, I’ve been reconnecting with old friends, spending time with loved ones, and pouring all of my energy into the final stages of a project which I’m extremely excited about. Without spoiling too much hype, I have been working on the writing of a book that illustrates how I go through many of my illustration methods, the book itself packed with new artwork which was created specifically for its pages. I did a short feature about some of the artwork and its references, if you’re curious and want a small preview of things to come.

This will be a mass market book that you will be seeing on the shelves of nearly every major book store near you! There’s still editing, perfecting, and packaging to be done, but a final product is on the horizon! To be sure, I will keep all of you up to date on this blog.

Until the time comes to divulge more info about my book, I’ve been gauging what the future holds for me. Many paths are unraveling, from traveling to art fairs and conventions to pursuing alternate means of income such as licensing and online venues. It’s a bit overwhelming at times, but always exciting! I hope to keep a record here of this journey of discovery with further posts about what it takes to sell work at an art fair to the trials of art licensing and more. I’ll be hitting alternate markets hard in this year to come. My sledgehammer is ready to smash!

So stay tuned! There’s more waiting in the wings.

A Hobby Away from My Hobby

Well, it seems I can not avoid this little text box any more! I’ve been so holed up away from human contact in order to press ahead on some deadlines that I’ve sorely neglected my little corner of cyberspace.

In truth, I’ve also been taking time out for myself to visit with old friends and break the shackles from the computer and art desk for a few evenings. Sometimes we just need to unplug and get out of the darkness, especially for work-at-homers who don’t get to socialize with others as much. Sitting in the dark on the computer or art desk, while effective for producing a vampire-like pallor, is not conducive to good health in the long run!

It’s become even more apparent to me lately the subtleties of switching from an art hobbyist to a professional work-at-home type. Not only is there the lack of a social workplace, but there is also the fact that if I’m not careful, I’ll work myself into the ground! It’s an easy thing for me to think up things that need to be done and much harder to sit and relax with idle hands. I’ve always been a bit of a work-o-holic and I can guarantee those that think working at home is nothing but laziness and fun will think differently if left to their own devices! If you don’t work, you don’t get paid, you don’t get your next job, and you don’t have anyone to blame but yourself.

In order to keep myself sane these days, I’ve turned to a ‘hobby away from my hobby’. With drawing and painting my main job, I find myself sadly less willing to paint and draw on my own personal projects. My friend, who plays iphone games that pay real money recommended it, and the urge is still there, but the exhaustion can prevent me from really putting my all into personal pieces. I’d rather not work on them at all if I can’t put as much love and attention into them as I do for my professional work!

And that is where my old love of handicrafts has arrived to save the day! I was an avid friendship bracelet maker, a knitter, a pop-up book maker, and a sculptor back before painting and drawing consumed my life. If I could not create 2D things for pleasure, than I can create 3D things to appease the muse! This has led to a flurry of new jewelry experiments and a renewed interest in leathercrafting. I love to experiment and learn new things and it feels so wonderful to have an outlet that gets me away from the computer and using my hands in a more physical manner.

(The morbidly curious can go see some of my latest handicrafts here)

More importantly, I enjoy the change of pace as I have not quite gotten used to the monotony that is sleeping, working, and relaxing all in the single room that is my studio and bedroom!

So if you can’t find me at my art desk or computer these days, look for me in the beading aisles of Joanns and Michaels where I am happily immersed in saving my own sanity!

How about all of you? Work-at-Homers, how do you deal with the monotony of home life? What are your other hobbies that keep you from going insane? Or are you already insane and hoping for a change of pace?

The Secret of the Kneaded Eraser

They’re squishy and funny and oh-so magical! They’re the kneaded eraser (or kneaded rubber, depending on where you’re from). I was first introduced to these little beauties in college, where they were required supplies for all freshmen art students. At first, I was confused by this blob of grey. What good could this vaguely marshmallow smelling glop do? And then, somehow, after erasing with it, the graphite would magically disappear as I pulled and squished the eraser with a baker’s fervor!

The Secret?
Kneaded erasers are a type of rubber which has been left in its uncured (or unvulcanized) state. Rubber as an industrial material is usually cured with pumice or other substances to make it hard and more durable for use as tires, erasers on pencils, etc. And to think, we were once using bread as erasers before smart forest folk came along and discovered the uses of tree rubber!

The Uses of the Kneaded Eraser
A kneaded eraser has a thousand and one different uses. Here are some of the more popular uses.

Erasing – The primary use. Kneaded erasers are great for lifting up charcoal and lightening color pencil and graphite pencil lines. They’re not known for being able to erase heavy lines due to their softness, but they’re great for creating faded lines and soft effects.

Bouncy Balls – You can roll it into a ball and bounce it around when you’re bored! It’s not abnormally good at bouncing in any predictable direction, but hey when you’re bored, anything is entertaining!

Lewd Sculptures – Once the bouncy ball has ceased to be entertaining, you can make two of them to form a silly pair of eyeballs that look like bewbies! Or try your hand at trying to make a tiny person! Only the most awesome of kneaded eraser sculptors have been able to achieve this monument to miniatureism. You can even have a kneaded eraser tea party!

Pranks – Stick it in someone’s chair for a laugh. There’s nothing like an eraser stuck to someone’s bum to tickle your funny bone! Warning!: you should only do this to friends as a stranger that’s bigger than you might take offense!

Stress Relief – Pretend the eraser is the head of someone you are really annoyed by! Stretching, tearing, pulling it apart, and threatening to torture it if it should refuse to tell you the location of the rebel base are great ways to de-stress AND to clean your eraser at the same time!

Warning, however, that these erasers are not immortal (just nearly). Once they become dark and hard, they are too saturated with graphite to work and may actually leave marks instead of erasing them! An article writer on wikipedia suggests washing the eraser in dish-washing liquid, but I have yet to try this myself.

So what have you done with your kneaded erasers, these days?

SOURCES:
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/kneaded+eraser

http://www.answers.com/topic/eraser

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneaded_eraser