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.

FreelanceSwitch.com is a great hub for advice, marketing tips, and job postings for freelancers of all kinds. Last week they posted this is a funny & down-to-earth article by Darias A Monsef IV, on how to apply for creative jobs… I’ve included some excerpts below of the key points :

There are some mythical freelancers who like unicorns that prance in open fields and sasquatches who lumber through the forests… have fully booked schedules and are never in need of finding new clients and work. For the majority of us though, we’re always on the hunt for new leads.

1) Read the Entire Job Description
I know that some job listings are really long and boring, but from a clients point of view if you can’t stay focused long enough to read their employment listing… chances are you’re not going to stay focused all that long with the actual job either. (Read on …)

A resume is a great medium to provide your credentials to clients and employers, and should complement your portfolio. But it can be tricky to get that perfect blend of professionalism and creative flare. Here are a few tips for what you should be sure to include in your resume… and the official go-ahead to just toss the rest of those stiff-necked resume building rules and get your creative juices flowing! :

1) Do I even need a resume? Why isn’t my portfolio enough?
Your portfolio shows people what you can do, but your resume covers the details that your finished pieces don’t… like are you able to turn around a tight deadline? How has your work affected positively the campaign or product it was used for? While a picture tells a thousand words, there are all sorts of juicy details that your illustrations can’t tell about the background to the project, so tell ‘em in your resume. Remember the purpose of a resume is for the reader to quickly browse through “what you can do” to see if you fit their criteria for what they are looking for in an employee or freelancer. (Read on …)

A portfolio is an illustrator’s visual resume, intended to communicate to a potential client / employer what you are capable of and the caliber of your creative work. A portfolio, much like a resume, should constantly be kept up-to-date with your best pieces.

Here are some tips to help you build & maintain your portfolio… (Read on …)

Good news for green designers… e-cycling couldn’t be easier now that Staples is accepting electronic items for e-cycling at ALL their US branches! KAPLA!!! So next time your cel phone, keyboard, mouse, motherboard, or monitor blitzes out… you can drop it off at your local Staples and they’ll e-cycle it for you! They also will take your empty ink & tonor catridges off your hands! Check it out… (Read on …)

I think this is a fabulous idea… Rizco Design has created a green report card, with which they hold themselves accountable for the resources they consume in creating their design products. I can imagine including a green report card like the Beleaf Report Card, as an extra page in a PDF quote as a pledge to the client to keep the project green, or even as an extra page in a PDF invoice as a “green receipt” to the client reporting on the projects low impact on the environment. … I’m inspired to make something similar myself! (I promise I’ll share the template once I’m done)

This great article by HOW gives designers the 101 on Sustainable Design in the Print Industry. I’ve copied a fair bit of it below, but you can read the entire “It’s Not Easy Being Green” at How , written by Constance J. Sidles, a Seattle Production Consultant. (BTW, love the Kermit reference, Constance!) (Read on …)

This illustration technique me feels like I’m a little kid again and colouring in the lines! I really enjoy this style, as I can take my time with my B-pencil & smudge stick rendering an illustration… and then hop on the computer and create the final black & white and colour print-ready files respectively in a matter of minutes. It is an ideal style for creating a lot of illustrations in a short amount of time, as it achieves a traditional feel without the time involved in creating watercolour paintings.

The step-by-step process I follow to colour my illustrations in Photoshop is :

• Illustrate the character with a graphite pencil on bond paper (I like printer paper as it’s smooth and fits on the scanning bed!)
• Scan each illustrations at high resolution
• Create a Photoshop file for the character illustration
• Remove the character from the background and place it on its own layer, carefully removing the whitespace with a soft edged eraser tool or feathered magic wand selection (see below)

• Adjust the contrast
• Save out a flattened, grayscale version as a TIFF (I’ve set up an action to do this in Photoshop automatically for me)
(Read on …)