Maurice Sendak Video

The Drawn blog has a post about a Maurice Sendak video.

http://drawn.ca/2009/10/14/maurice-sendak-on-what-being-an-illustrator-means/

I found it interesting he didn't know how his illustrations work. He said the only thing he has control over is his graphics. It led me to realize when you think too hard about the arts, it can cripple you. The key isn't to spend so much studying that you never actually draw. The key is to do the dirty work day in and day out.

If I'm not plugging away each day, I get rusty and cranky. If you love to draw and write, do it every day no matter how you find the time. Five minutes in a day is better than none at all.

The Business of Children's Illustration

Paige Keiser at the Fox in Socks blog has an interesting post on the business of children's illustration. http://paigekeiser.blogspot.com/2009/10/5-quick-tips-to-getting-published-in.html

Not only is it her professional advice, but the advice of other pro illustrators. Illustration is a business. Sure, the artsy part of us loves to be free and unfettered. But if someone wants to make a living in the field, they have to put in the hard work just like any other business.

The post is chocked full of practical advice. I recommend checking it out.

Picture Book Maker: Helllp! Perspective!

Nathan Clement is a first-class illustrator with tons of talent and an all-around good guy.

His latest post shows how he got some help with a tricky perspective problem. In the process, he revealed a great site from another artist, Julie Duell. Both sites are rich in illustration and art information.

Here's Nathan's site: Picture Book Maker: Helllp! Perspective!

Cartoon: Advertising on the Web

Cartoon of woman and man at computer. Woman says, “Do you think we could use the Web to advertise my beauty and charm school?”

This is a classic cartoon I did back in 1996 for the sixth edition of the "New Rider's Internet Yellow Pages." That has to be three to four lifetimes in the Internet world!

New Rider's Publishing and me own the copyright to this image. Please do not use without permission.

Fair Pricing, Not Free

On the O'Reilly Tools of Change blog, they had an interesting post entitled, "Expectations of Fair Pricing, Not Free."

I'll be honest and say I have struggled with this one. It's probably because my heart tugs between helping ministries and running a business. I work for a non-profit ministry. I have to keep reminding myself that doesn't mean we aim to operate in the red. We have to make money in order to pay our bills and do some great things with the leftover cash.

About twelve years ago, I began my web site. I am a cartoonist as well as an illustrator. I intended to display my cartoons on a weekly basis. Most of them were about church life and Christian ministries. Soon, I heard from places like South Africa and Singapore. Churches around the world wanted to put my cartoons in their bulletins. I was happy to allow them to do that for free.

I even got business from the cartoons. I was very thankful for it. But today, I haven't updated the cartoon end of my site. In fact, I don't have a direct link from my main web site. It got old giving away the store. Yet, I still get email's from churches that have found the cartoons via an outside link. It's still popular in spite of me not promoting it.

I feel torn. I don't want to get rich off of the cartoons, though I wouldn't object if they paid their own way.

I'm debating whether I should ask future inquiries to pay up to two dollars in order to get a print quality version of the cartoon. If I did that, then perhaps it would be worth producing out some more cartoons. On the other hand, would churches pay for something they've been used to getting free? Would $2 really break the bank?

It's enough to make this poor artist ponder.