The Sum of David

Pardon me while I continue to bask in the success of my 2009 illustration project.

Here’s a VH1 Behind the Music-esque share: the original incarnation of 52ills was actually 365ills until common sense kicked in. I knew there would be days where sitting down to draw just wasn’t going to happen, not when I work full-time AND do some freelance AND try and work on my current novel. Also, @joshsager laughed like a madman when I mentioned it. So supportive, that guy.

Anyway, a weekly project won out.

Here are some people that did (or are doing) what I couldn’t.

• Flying Mouse 365
• Lauren Nassef
• 365 Drawings
• Alanna Risse
• Almost Phony
• Trixie
• And a few more, showcased better than I ever could on my little blog here. Check out Drawn’s 365 tag.

These folks (and the brave souls I didn’t dig deep enough to find) deserve applause, admiration and very probably… a drink.

I got started on a personal illustration project on Sunday morning. Said illustration includes a mountie hat.

The problem: I don’t actually know what a mountie hat looks like.

I mean, I had a good idea off the top of my head — brown with a flat wide brim, some kind of strip around the bottom of a lumpy bowl. However, to keep things accurate, I went and found some reference.

Josh brought up the question of whether this was stealing someone else’s work or not.

It’s a good question. Here’s my take on it, and I’d love to hear other ideas on the subject.

To me, using visual reference — especially from the bottomless pit that is the internet — is a fact-finding mission only. In the case of this mountie hat, I used the above link to see what the hats generally look like: to see what kind of brown they are, how proportionally wide the brim is, what kind of trim they have, and what kind of shape the upper bowl is.

I did not copy any of these hats. I did not copy parts of these hats and assemble them into a whole hat. In the end, I wound up with a hat that looks like a mountie hat, based on the information I garnered from those other hats.

I would never straight out copy someone else’s work, whatever the medium. But what about general info — size, color, where a buckle appears, etc. — is that stepping over the line? What do you think?

Learning to say “no” to people is tough, and can make you feel like a jerk in the moment; but it is oh-so-necessary, in both business and your personal life. If you say “yes” to every project or favor that comes your way, you can set yourself — and anyone you’re working with — on a path toward potential disappointment.

I’ve gotten much better at saying “no” in my personal life. Professionally, I’ve been trying to focus more on the creative projects I want to work on. That means I need to withdraw from tasks that don’t fit into my time table or wheelhouse… which is easier said than done. Walking away is especially challenging when you are short on change and could simply use a few extra bucks. And when a project falls into your lap… why not take advantage of it? Seems quick and easy, right?

Lessons I learned from my most recent project:

• It is never quick and easy. Never ever.
• The client inquiring about your services needs to understand what you provide. For me, I need to point them to my portfolio and make sure that they know what my artistic style is — I don’t do soft charcoals or life-like sketches. On the flipside, maybe ask for some examples of what they like. This helps make sure everybody’s on the same page, and can save time and energy later.
• Be aware of the subject matter. This project was for a religious blog and in this particular case meant detail work. My style tends to be rather simplistic and cutesy — robed Jesus is neither of these, and it was not a natural fit.
• Custom work will always take longer than you think it will. Illustrations will take four times longer than the client thinks they will. I need to charge appropriately for the time involved, even when it scares someone away. My time is worth more money than what I’m usually charging, and I could use that time to do something more personally fulfilling (which could in turn lead to a better paying, more Rachel-appropriate project down the road).

The gentleman I worked with on this project was an absolute pleasure to correspond with, and I believe all parties were pleased in the end. Unfortunately, I now have a final product that will not go into my portfolio, because it is not a style I’d like to do again in the future. Now I know I need to better probe potential clients for what they’re looking for, make sure it fits into what I do, and be brave enough to say “no thanks” if we aren’t both going to benefit from working together.

100% Road Trip Success.

After finding out Friday night that our roadmates were unable to make the trip with us, Josh and I piled in the car and made the drive after work. Getting out of town was exciting, what with the G20 wrapping up and traffic at a stand-still while the World’s Important People left Pittsburgh.

It was nice to wake up in Baltimore, especially when your wake up call is a jolly little adorable cockapoo. We had a nice relaxing morning, preaching the gospel of the One-Eyed Egg and getting our game faces on for the day’s main event.

SPX was in full swing when we got there around 1 pm. An SPX is a sight to behold. There’s about a bajillion people inside a giant hotel ballroom, and everything is awesome. Even the not-so-awesome stuff? Still awesome.

In a move that pretty much sums up our personalities, Josh disappeared to make 10 purchases right off the bat, while Justin and I made an initial sweep to get the lay of the land, then jumped back in to buy stuff. I did get to chat briefly with both John Allison and Scott C and I played a little with the knight. Scott C was kind enough to drive home my regret of not having business cards, because he politely asked for one. I tried to beam my information directly into his head, but I regret it probably did not make much of an impression. Alas.

Josh got about fifty pounds worth of goodies, and while I am Miss Frugal, the (Arnold)Sager household brought home some gems. I have Scott C’s Double Fine Action Comics Volume 1 and a print of his Tree Spirit.

John Alison’s Ghost is awesome. Of course it’s awesome.

Dustin Harbin’s Nutted is a mini comic that names a variety of ways to get hit in the nuts and it is about 100% delightful. I keep reading it over and over.  It is always funny when dudes get hit in the nuts. I am sorry… and also happy I do not have the referenced equipment.

I am slowly invading Josh’s pile, and Julia Wentz’s 2nd Volume of The Fart Party is damn good. I was glad to see she had a second volume, since Josh’s purchase of the first volume was our surprise favorite last year.

Josh and I have plans to get a table next year, so we’ll get a whole different perspective. Justin also broke down his first SPX experience — check it out! Vendors take note!

Also, if you find yourself in Baltimore for any reason, eat at Miss Shirley’s. So super tasty!

Once upon a time, Josh made a cute little computer ninja illustration and put it on his blog. Last year, a college student contacted him to see if it would be okay to use the little ninja on some shirts they were printing for the school. He said yes, and they sent him a shirt.

By chance, Josh saw a new student wearing a shirt that also featured this same ninja, albeit altered to be holding a baseball glove and from an area high school. Nobody asked that time. How many people have used that little drawing without his permission?

At least it was for a simple T-shirt design — chances are no one made any money off of it.

I am familiar with the feeling of seeing your work used for a purpose you did not intend it for. It’s a “Hey, waittaminute!”, with a flush of anger accompanied by a sour, sick sensation in your stomach. It is not a nice feeling.

It makes me think hard about 52ills.com, one of my ongoing illustration projects. I’m basically putting artwork out there for anyone to steal. Please do not mistake me: I’m not under any delusions of grandeur here. There are not a lot of uses out there for an illustration of a fish on a leash or zombie pigeons. But it is a concern. I put a little signature on each of these images, but I’m not going to obnoxiously watermark them. I keep the quality at a level where one could print it out and hang it in a cubicle or locker if they wished, but would need to contact me if they wanted a print of any quality. I think that’s fair.

It doesn’t do much to soothe the mind, but there you go. Support your local artists… because someone out there could be ripping them off.

Here’s some backgrounds I did for a great site called iTwixie,
a great social networking hangout for tween girls.

How do you freak Rachel out? You make her think she has a finished marked-up manuscript –  then you let her think SHE LOST IT. Hilarity ensues… as long as you’re not Rachel, anyway.

I turned the house upside down looking for this special pile of papers before I vaguely recalled (conjured?) my mom plopping them in her carry-on before returning West a few weeks ago. A phone call cleared that up, and my heartbeat returned to a speed that wouldn’t cause me lasting anatomical harm. It wasn’t actually finished, so she took it home with her.

Whew.

On a similar note: while my mom was in town, we had the following disturbing conversation.

The Mom: “Now, okay, imagine a wave, and every event in your story is building up to the crest of the wave, and then you have the climax, which is the crest of the wave.

Me: “… you mean rising and falling action?”
The Mom: “Er, yes, exactly…”

And then she promptly changed the subject. So I was left wondering if a) that comment had serious bearing and D2 lacks the plot building that would make it an exciting adventure, or b) the mom hadn’t discussed stories and writing for over 1 1/2 years and wasn’t sure how to begin.

Thankfully — at least as far as David’s concerned, anyhow — it seems Editor #1’s attentions are simply split three ways from Sunday. Her third child is in his teens and she’s working a full-time job for the first time since we were all but wee chilluns. Her foray back into an office setting has revealed that those same vindictive manipulators and jerks we all grew up with? The ones that we assumed would eventually mature into something more resembling a human being? They never evolved. They’re still around, still nasty, and someone gave them power. So she’s dancing a political tango while editing her daughter’s grammatical nightmare. Poor woman.

Currently, however, I am sitting next to pages 1 through 62, ready to dive in. I’m very excited about it.

But first, in the realm of random productivity…

I am now a member of city’s spiffy Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators, which I’m all sorts of tickled about. I expected them to stifle giggles, passing my portfolio around and poking fun at its amateur skill and the silly, cute/creepy vibe. If they did, they graciously let me in anyway. It seems populated with interesting, talented people, and I understand the have a killer Christmas party.

Josh, Val and I went screen-printing last night. We were initially put off after some print-on-transparency drama, but we made it to AIR before the place became too busy. Josh made some shirts. If you have any nerd blood coursing through your veins, you can probably read it.

This is one of mine:

Don’t ask, because I don’t know. But I have a bunch of them, because once you go through the process of designing, burning, rinsing, drying, and setting up? You might as well make ONE HUNDRED OF THEM. Want one? $5 and it’s yours (plus shipping if I can’t hand-deliver). Request a color and I’ll see what I can do. Inks are silver or white.

I like love and happiness and chocolate at much as the next human, but I hate seeing pink in February (especially now that the Great Pink Candy Aisle rears its ugly head January 2nd…).

You’re free to give this to your honey if you wish, although I can’t take any responsibility for what their reaction will be. You might get smooches, but I make no guarantees.

Best case scenario? Probably cupcakes, but they might be poisoned. Watch your back, Casanova.

And I am totally double dipping. Don’t get mad. You’re still the favorite.

Way back when, when we weren’t hunting bears in our bare feet in the overgrown and thorny wilds of West Virginia, I was continually exposed to commercials for the Psychic Friends Network, represented by the boisterous Miss Cleo. Her artificial Jamaican accent would shout out over her crystal ball about reading your tarot: You have to call now! Only 99 cents a minute! Is he cheating on you? You’ll never know unless you call! Limited time offer! 99 cents!

I am going to be Miss Cleo for a moment*, and predict my own future.

Around May, or very possibly before then, I am really going to hate myself.

The project that will rob me of my sanity? One illustration a week for all of 2009.

I came up with the idea over my Christmas-to-New-Year’s time off work. The plan? Buy a domain, set up a little Wordpress, quietly update and if, at the end of 2009, I was able to successfully complete it, perhaps I could have a little show for all the pieces. If nothing else, I’d have a hefty collection of 52 new pieces and there’d be solid high fives all around.

I told Josh my idea and he, in complete amazement and disbelief at the impossibility of the project, began hyping it up to anyone that would sit still long enough to listen. And after hearing him talk about how crazy it is over and over again, I’m now wondering if that kind of discipline is actually possible at all. But he’s gone and told people, which means I can’t fail now. Check out 52ills.com, and wait for me to crash and burn.

No pressure.

*without the false advertising, lawsuits for fraud, multiple aliases and other various other untruths.