The New Yorker has an interesting article on how homes have adopted the “paperless” mentality much faster than businesses have. I know this is true for me at home, which includes my art studio… I use an online phonebook, don’t print out my emails, download my bills as PDFs, do my banking online, create backups for digital files online rather than printing them out…
But the article reports that while homes have adopted a paperless mentality, they are also starting to use more energy with the increasing use of their electronic devices (computers, scanners, printers, digital cameras…) It brings up a good point to consider for the home-based art studio… while you have gone paperless, have you increased your energy use as a result? Are there ways you can reduce your increased energy use? (Such as unplugging electrical equipment when it’s not in use.) I’ve posted some ideas in my Green Tips for Designers & Illustrators… if you have any more ideas let me know!!!

Yipes! My colleague Crystal Driedger did a little digging into Facebook’s terms for uploaded User Content (photos, illustrations, videos, text, etc.) and what she found wasn’t encouraging for creatives who post their work on Facebook! While I love Facebook for keeping in touch with friends & colleagues, I was pretty dissappointed to read in their Terms that they can use any of the content I’ve uploaded for their own purposes (commercial, advertising, derivative works…) without owing me a dime. Check out Crystal’s post on Faceboook & Proprietary Property.

I was listening to Just One More Book podcast today, in which Jane Ray talked about In The Picture, a project aimed to encourage illustrators, authors & publisher to include disabled children in their books for young readers. As written in their 10 Guiding Principals, “The point is not that disabled children should be the prime focus of stories or pictures: simply they should be there, a natural feature of every child’s landscape.” The program encourages the inclusion of disabled children in children’s stories and picturebooks… it is not aiming to create a seperate strain of books for disabled children, but to acknowledge that disabled people are part of our society.

I appreciated Jane discussing how some illustrators feel unsure of how to portray disabled children in their illustrations in a way that does not offend the disabled children themselves. To help encourage illustrators to include disabled children in their works, the In The Picture website has an Image Bank which has a variety of photographic resources illustrators can draw upon. There is also an Inspiration gallery where illustrators have posted their works of disabled children to inspire & encourage other illustrators to do the same… my favourite childhood illustrator, Quentin Blake, contributed 3 works, one of which is shown above.

I’ve found this AOI Report of Illustrator Fees & Standard Pricing 2007 to be a gem of a resource… already have put it to use as a rough starting point when providing quotes for products I’ve never had to illustrate before. It has everything from children’s book rates to advertising pricing. An illustrator’s dream! Well worth reading in full – be sure to read it with an English accent, it’s more fun that way. According to the AOI, the most important considerations when calculating your fee are :

• The Use

• Area of Use or Territory

• Duration

• Client’s Profile

• Reputation of Illustrator

• Expenses

• Client’s Budget

I’ve been catching up on archiving my projects from the past year, and had fun looking over the 157 illustrations I completed in 2007 (clicking on the image above will bring up a bigger picture!)

Was a busy year for me, with illustrating 6 children’s books (Good-bye Baby Max, My Best Worst Sleepover Party Ever, Little Land Adventures, Spotty & Eddie Learn to Compromise, Bookie and the Scoliosis Diagnosis, and The Brotherhood of the Stinky Underpants); 10 signs/banners for Parks Canada; a brochure for the Library of Parliament of Canada; a chip bag illustration; a couple Threadless t-shirt contest entries (Kantina and Twisted Sister); 4 seashell mosaics; 10 greeting card illustrations; and several personal pieces.

I’ve focused on improving my illustration skills by experimenting with painting in acrylics, and being more attentive to the human form in my children’s books in particular (the fruit of which you’ll see in my current projects…) But most significant for me this year has been expecting our first baby, and discovering all the challenges of illustrating while pregnant :)

Yippee, my official portfolio website, IllustrationCastle.com, has just been updated with new images in the stock & portfolio sections! My brother, Luke MacKay, came up with the original design & interface for me, I think he did a great job!

This year I decided to place an ad in the Directory of Illustration… and the massive 600-page hardcover book arrived just a couple weeks ago! I took a flip through and there is some fabulous work in there… I’m feeling very inspired!

Since this is the first year I’ve listed in the DOI and the book has just launched, I can’t offer much feedback yet on how successful it is as a self-promotional piece for children’s book illustrators… I continue to find personable, old-school guerilla marketing techniques to be the best method of meeting new clients. So listing in a directory is a whole new kettle of fish for me! But thus far I’ve been impressed with the DOI website, which allows you to post your blog feed via RSS, your portfolio, and even feature your current projects.

If you want to take peak, you can Browse the Book here. My little ad wound up on page 362/600!

My awareness & concern for non-toxic art materials has been rekindled… I’ve often noticed the AP labels on my paints and art supplies, but not really bothered to find out what they mean. So here’s a quick 101 on deciphering the safety of your artist materials… (Read on …)

Some of my favourite art materials are VERY bad for my health… I have a couple bottles of Grumbacher oil paint from the 60’s which were later discontinued because the amazing colours which were achievable by some very toxic chemicals! Being aware of the harmful effects of artist materials over time is half the battle… and learning some good habbits to keep safe and healthy is just common sense!

• Firstly, thoroughly read the labels on ALL your art supplies before use to see how to safely use, store, and recycle them.

• Avoid contact with skin : this can seem an impossible thing at times for artists… I’m guilty of using my fingerse to smudge a bit of oil paint around now and then. But if you regularly use pastels especially, a pair of latex gloves is in order to avoid direct contact with the skin.

• Don’t eat or drink when you’re working with toxic supplies : this is especially true for working with oil paints, chalky pastels, chemicals, and adhesives… I don’t know how many times I’ve had to dump a cup of tea for accidentally dipping my paintbrush in it to rinse it out! Don’t work with toxic paints in the kitchen / dining areas especially as airborn particles can be transferred to cooking equipment, utensils, and food.

• Don’t lick the tip of your paintbrush to get it to a sharp point : this may seem gross, but it’s a habbit some artists have developed which should really be avoided for obvious reasons… ingesting paints is BAD!

• Work in a well ventilated area : opening a window or outside door, or even just working outside are great ways to get better ventilation when working with fumey paints. If you can’t open a door or window, try working in the bathroom with the fan running so it sucks the fumes out while you’re working, and take breaks to get some fresh air.

• Don’t work with toxic art materials in living or eating areas in your home, or areas that come in contact with children (who may be inclined to suck on paintbrushes or stick your pastels up their nose)

• Wear eye protection such as goggles when working with corrosive materials

• Wear a mask over your nose & mouth when working with chalk pastels or other easily air-born art materials…. and use a rag to clean up the excess dust to keep it from spreading around.

• Use smaller amounts of solvents at a time, so that you’re exposed to less fumes. Using multiple brushes for different colours when oil painting in particular will cut down on the need to clean your brushes with solvents between colours. Be sure to recycle your solvents and never dump them down the toilet. Many solvents are highly flamable, so keep away from heaters and open flames.

• Wash your hands well with soap & water after working with any art supplies, to keep from ingesting them or spreading them around your home or office.

For more tips on going green in your illustration business, check out Green Tips for Illustrators.

This is the first of Ten Essential Marketing Skills for Freelancers written by Leo Babauta and posted at Freelance Switch :

“Blog. It’s been said many times before, but the blog is the new resume. If you don’t have a blog, learn how to start one up. And don’t just rant about politics and talk about your cat. Make your blog look professional, write about things that would look good to potential clients, and offer your services to others (with contact info, of course). If you are a designer, be sure that the design is clean and creative. If you are a photographer, the photos should knock them out. If you’re a writer, have only your best writing on your blog. In all cases, have a simple, clean layout with well-written words. If you’re not good at this yet, constantly learn and refine. Look at other professional blogs for inspiration, then tweak. Then edit some more.”

If you liked this tip, you might want to check out these tips on How to Promote Your Children’s Book Through Blogging.