Category: Freelancing

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The Royal Fishbowl

Let me begin by saying, I am NOT a royal watcher and there is no chance I’ll be up watching the wedding in the middle of the night.  That being said, a lot of people are following the media feeding frenzy leading up to the nuptials, so I had to do a cartoon or two on the event.

One of the most difficult things for me to do is create an image like this for an editorial cartoon.   Newsprint is a muddy, ugly medium for illustration.  The usual effort that I put into a painting is completely lost when the image is printed in a newspaper, so I have to be careful not to waste my time on detail that will never be seen.

Skin, hair, texture, subtle transitions of light and shadow…it’s all a big waste of time.  Unfortunately, it’s also what my painted work is becoming known for, so when it comes to including it in my portfolio, I’m on the fence.  It doesn’t belong with the painted portraits and caricatures of people, but probably will be fine in the Illustration portfolio.

Another reason an image like this is tough is that there is a tight deadline on it.  Editorial cartoons need to be drawn and sent as quickly as possible.  Not only am I often competing with other cartoonists for freelance spots in many newspapers across Canada, but the news changes so quickly, that the work put into an editorial cartoon often has to be balanced against the likelihood of getting paid.  This is a big event, most of my newspapers will want to cover it, so I felt it was worth putting a lot more time into this cartoon, as it can be used not only in the usual editorial cartoon slot, but as an editorial illustration as well.  I planned ahead and started sketches three or four days before I intended to send it out.  While I didn’t keep track, I’d estimate that from sketch to finish, it took around eight to ten hours.

For those who have purchased my DVD, you already know the process of sketch, ink, flat colour and shading.   I changed it a bit for this image.  While I did do an initial sketch of William and Kate, I went right to painting on a different layer, with the sketch layer as a guide.  All of the other elements were roughed out in Photoshop, with no paper sketch.

I was pleased with the painted image, and it if it were for a magazine or online publication, I would have continued with the painted look, but had to add an ink layer for newsprint, so it would be sharper and stand out more.  It wasn’t until all of the shading and painting was done that I added the ink.  Many publications have different printing processes, so the cartoons end up lighter in some newspapers.  The ink layer ensures that the image will still look decent, even if the shading gets washed out a bit.  You’ll notice, however that the ink layer was done with much thinner lines than I normally use, because the thicker lines wouldn’t work for this image.

Other challenges with this image included creating a fishbowl castle version of Westminster Abbey, which is very tall and narrow.  You’ll notice mine is squashed, which was something I had to do to fit it in the fishbowl.  I also intentionally went with the molded porcelain ‘fishbowl castle’ look for the Abbey, rather than the crisp pristine stone look of the real church.  It really didn’t end up looking all that much like the real building, but people should get the gist of it.

Not knowing if Kate would be wearing a veil or tiara or what her dress would look like (oh the suspense is just KILLING me, don’t you know?), I didn’t worry about it.  I just put William in the same outfit his father wore when he married Diana.  While I do prefer painting more detailed work, I did have some fun on this.  Were it not for the deadline looming over me on the day I put the most work into it, I might have enjoyed it a little more, but that’s the necessary compromise every commercial artist needs to make peace with.  It’s an enjoyable job, but at the end of the day, it’s still a job.

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Farewell to 2010, a very good year.

Well, that year went pretty damn fast!

I’ll be honest, I tiptoed into 2010, since there were warning signs that the economy was going to hit me pretty hard. Thankfully, I came through relatively unscathed, even though I suffered some bumps, bruises, and frayed nerves. In the end, however, it was a better year than the one before, which is saying a lot, since 2009 was pretty good.

I went back and skimmed some of the blog entries from this past year, and I’m pretty pleased with the way the year unfolded.

Editorial Cartoons

When 2010 began, there had been some pretty big shakeups in the industry. I lost a bunch of newspapers in January when Sun Media told all of its editors to ditch their freelance cartoonists. It seemed every week in January and February, I’d get another phone call or email from an angry editor (not angry at me) telling me my services were no longer required. Some of those editors I’d worked with for years.

Canwest News Service was in severe financial trouble as well, and it was a very scary time for anyone working in the newspaper industry. I seriously thought that this might have been the beginning of the end for the editorial cartoon portion of my freelance career, but as the year went on, I recovered those losses and then some, and it really didn’t hurt me. If anything, it was the wake-up call that I needed to start planning for a future that likely won’t include editorial cartoons.

A few of my colleagues didn’t fare so well, and in the ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’ category, I’m very thankful that I never did get that daily newspaper job that I wanted so badly when I was still new at this ten years ago. Turns out there was a lot more stability in freelancing.

While you never know which cards newspaper budgets will deal in 2011, I’m a lot less nervous about it than I was last year at this time. The big lesson is the same one nature herself has been teaching throughout history; those who adapt, survive. In this economy, that’s true for every profession.

Freelance Illustration

I was more selective about work that I accepted this year. Clients that I like working with who pay their bills took precedence over the ones who began a conversation telling me they wanted it cheap and fast. When I was just starting out, I took whatever came through the door, as most of us have to, but I’ve learned from most of my mistakes, and can now recognize which jobs will advance my career, make best use of my skills, foster relationships with long term clients, and in a perfect world, will be enjoyable to work on.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t make mistakes this year, because I had a couple of big ones. One of them could have cost me a fortune had I not recognized it for what it was before I’d invested too much of my time and money into it. So, I did need to relearn a couple of lessons in 2010.

Get EVERYTHING in writing, and if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Those Animal Paintings

In January, I posted my third painting in the animal series, the Bull Elk, and in that blog entry, I said, “Hoping to get at least 15 of these done before April.”

I laughed out loud when I read that again this morning. 15 by April?! Sure, if I had NOTHING else to do, that might have been feasible. Not sure where the line is between optimistic and delusional, but at least you can’t say I didn’t aim high.

At year’s end, I have seven of them finished, with two more in the final stages. While I still would like to have fifteen done by April (hey, I didn’t say which YEAR in that blog entry), I’m not going to beat myself up if it doesn’t happen.

When the year began, I was just starting to look into getting prints done, and talking to galleries. As the year closes, I’m regularly doing painting demos in Banff and Canmore, the paintings are selling well in both locations, I’m now getting queries for commission work, and I’m making long term plans for many more Totem paintings in the years to come. It’s exciting, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it leads, because I can’t remember ever enjoying my work as much as I do when I’m painting these animals.

The challenge is, of course, finding more time to do it.

Surprises

I was asked to illustrate a 1970 Mach 1 Mustang in a somewhat realistic but still cartoon style by a friend for their annual car club auction. This friend handles all of my computer work, builds my custom computers every couple of years when I upgrade, and is only a phone call away when I need help, so I agreed to do him this favour.

This was very difficult and I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. I didn’t have much fun while working on it and wished I’d said No. In the end, however, I was quite pleased with how it turned out, and I’d like to try something like this again in the future. I’ve had some nibbles from other car enthusiasts who’ve seen it and while no real bites yet, it was a nice piece to add to my portfolio. And I’m sure I can do better on the next one.


Another surprise was that I bought an iPad, and I’m really not a ‘gadget guy.’ I spent weeks going back and forth on whether it was just a toy or legitimately worth it for my business. When I finally decided to buy one, I kept waiting for the buyer’s remorse to kick in, but honestly, I love the thing (and not just for Angry Birds). It’s a great portfolio display device, an enjoyable magazine and book reader, and an incredible portable sketch pad. Who knew that I would love finger painting so much?

Photoshop World

Las Vegas was easily the highlight of the year for me. I had known before going to Photoshop World, that I’d been nominated for two Guru Awards from the three images I’d submitted, and while I wanted to win, I went into the event expecting to lose, especially for Best in Show. The number of talented people that attend that event means you can’t take anything for granted, so as cliche as it sounds, it really was an honour just being nominated.

I could play humble and say that awards don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but I’d be lying if I said that these particular ones didn’t mean anything to me. I was very pleased. The icing on the cake was the Wacom Cintiq tablet that came with the Best in Show Award. While I still use my Intuos4 every day for cartooning, that Cintiq is a joy to paint with.

While I plan on returning to Photoshop World again in 2011, it is very unlikely that I will enter the Guru Awards. The work that I would submit would probably just be another in the Totem series, so while it would be new animals, the style wouldn’t be anything they haven’t seen. It would also be very difficult to top the experience I’ve already had.

I’ve met some wonderful new people this year through my work, formed new relationships, built on old ones, and for the most part, I’ve kept moving forward, even though I ground the gears a few times while shifting. It hasn’t always been the smoothest of rides. Despite a few errors on my part, I wouldn’t have done anything differently in 2010, because I’m happy with where I’m at right now. I will, however, be starting 2011 with some course corrections.

But that’s a blog entry for next week. Happy New Year.

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The Week After


My wife and I gave up celebrating Christmas a number of years ago. After years of working in the tourism industry, the holiday became something we dreaded, not looked forward to. One of the hardest things new staff in this area have to get used to is that you do not get Christmas off to go home and visit your family. This valley is run on tourism, so all of the hotel rooms are full of people coming to the mountains with their families. Those hotels, restaurants, and ski hills need to be staffed. Unfortunately, few of these families seem to be having a stress-free vacation and that usually lands on the staff as well.

While neither of us work in that sort of job anymore, we never reignited the ‘Christmas spirit’. Our home looks the same on Christmas Day as it does in the middle of July. We don’t decorate, exchange gifts, or do anything remotely Christmas related, aside from attend a couple of parties. And really, it’s just because we enjoy seeing friends, although this year, neither of us were much in the mood for that, either.

A few years ago, we convinced our parents not to give us any presents, so there is no swapping of the gift cards or cash, or blowing our budget on things none of us need. For a couple of years there, it was almost like putting in an order…tell me what you want, and I’ll go buy it. We don’t have children, so Santa doesn’t need to come to visit, anymore.

This year, we did go home to Red Deer for the weekend, and it was nice and quiet. Friday with my wife’s family, Saturday with my folks, then home Sunday afternoon. A couple of nice dinners, but very quiet and relaxing, and no gifts exchanged. Played a few games, had a few laughs, and enjoyed each others’ company.

While I wouldn’t try to convince anyone else to give up Christmas, especially if they have children, it is definitely time for a lot of people to put on the brakes. Whether it’s for the obvious religious reasons or simply for spending time with family, each person should figure out what exactly it is that they’re celebrating.

I’ve watched in disbelief these past couple of weeks as every single day, there was at least one segment on the news about our current debt crisis, how people are living beyond their means with massive credit card and household debt, and advice from experts on how to curb holiday spending. All the while, many retailers are reporting record sales at the malls and online. The same will happen this week, no doubt, as big ticket items (and everything else) are on sale. Remember when Boxing Day was just a day? Now it’s a week. Judging from the footage we see on the news each year, people aren’t thinking about their fellow man when they’re pushing and shoving and rushing those doors to get 20% off a 3D TV.

Sure, you can call me Scrooge or Grinch, and you’d be accurate. While many people talk a good game about the holiday spirit and the true meaning of Christmas, there seems to be less and less evidence of it with each passing year. We keep buying more and more stuff trying to make ourselves happy, and when it doesn’t work, we just buy even more stuff. It’s the same reason a cocaine addict needs to keep taking more and more of the drug and never manages to get back to the initial high.

It’s as if everyone has gone mad and forgotten the lessons we were supposed to have learned the past couple of years from a near-depression economy. But it’s Christmas, and nobody wants to hear it, even though the ‘Ghost of Christmas Past’ credit card bills will show up soon enough.

I sincerely hope everyone had a good Christmas, and that it was free from pain or tragedy. But now that it’s over, ask yourself what you didn’t like about it, remind yourself throughout the year that YOU control your holiday, not the media, and not Big Box retailers. If you want to cut back next year, tell your family about it in July, before anybody has bought anything. Warn them that you won’t be buying as many gifts and ask them to do the same. And if you’re met with anger over the mere suggestion of it, that should be your first clue that something is seriously wrong.

If you really believe in the ‘true’ meaning of Christmas, whatever that may mean to you, put your money where your mouth is.

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Pros and Cons.

“There’s a mark born every minute, and one to trim ’em and one to knock ’em.”

According to Wikipedia, “The earliest known appearance of the above phrase in print is in Opie Read‘s 1898 novel A Yankee from the West,” even though the more common, ‘There’s a sucker born every minute’ is often wrongly attributed to P.T. Barnum.

Freelance artists, in my experience, can be a naive bunch, and there are plenty of people out there willing to take advantage of them. I’ve been guilty of falling for a few empty promises on more than one occasion in my career and even though somebody can warn you of giving in to temptation, you most often learn the best lessons from experience.

Many of us just want our names and our work out there, to repeatedly have those Sally Field moments when you can stand on stage and say, “You like me, you REALLY like me,” when in fact, those moments are few and far between if you allow yourself to be taken advantage of. There are plenty of con artists out there willing to promise the world, and it’s easy to let the dollar signs in your eyes blind you to the fact that you’re selling your work (and often your soul) for bargain basement prices.

I’ve recently had a couple of life lessons handed my way in that area, and I’m grateful for them, primarily for the fact that I was able to learn from them, without any great financial cost or significant loss of time.

Without going into great detail of one of the situations, I’ll simply say that I ignored a gut feeling. I’d said that I’d required a written contract, but still began work without one. Then when push came to shove, and I insisted on it, I was told that the contract for this sort of arrangement would come at a later point, that this is how things were done ‘in the real business world,’ and that I was a rank amateur if I didn’t know that.

The worst part of it was that, for a very short time, I almost believed it. The situation went south fast, the deal fell apart, and ultimately, I was threatened with a lawsuit (later recanted, sort of). After consulting a lawyer, I was told not to give it a second thought as nothing was ever put into writing.

There were a number of things I could have done better in this bad arrangement, but in the end, I wouldn’t have changed anything, because I won’t fall for the same trap again. Having done more research after the fact, talked to other illustrators with more experience than I have with this sort of arrangement, I’ve confirmed that I really was setting myself up for a very big fall. While a contract can always be revised, I shouldn’t have put one pencil stroke on paper without at least a written understanding of the agreement, signed by both parties.

Too often, artists will ignore their own instincts in order to prevent the boat from rocking. Concessions are made that should never even be considered, in an effort to be ‘a nice guy.’

After you agree on a price, get a deposit of half of the money up front. If somebody gets angry when the subject of money enters into the conversation, then they don’t have any. You wouldn’t have gotten paid, anyway, so you’re no worse off.

If they get angry or try to avoid the question of a written agreement, then you’re better off parting company because you weren’t likely to get what you thought you were, anyway. Once again, you have nothing to lose (and everything to gain) by walking away.

In retrospect, the experience was very unpleasant, but it could have turned out worse. I learned from it, and am moving on, better prepared for the next offer that sounds too good to be true.

Some suggested reading for freelancers, to better protect yourself.
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

Photographers’s Survival Manual: A Legal Guide for Artists in the Digital Age

Licensing Art 101