The Final "Make Art That Sells" Bootcamp Assignment

For our last assignment Lilla Rogers did things a little differently. We had to make a personal piece of art that we would either give as a gift or keep for ourselves and we weren't allowed to share any sketches or our final piece in the Facebook group. You could hear the screams and collective gasps from fellow Bootcampers around the globe. The Facebook groups in MATS are very active and supportive. Getting feedback can help give an artist perspective, inspiration or that ego boost we need (unless no one comments on your work which has happened). Many campers were upset with this but I actually liked this idea. I'm sometimes influenced by what my artsy friends are posting. "Ooh, that's a good idea" or "I was going to do it that way, now I can't" or "Wow, everyone's work is way better than mine!" All these thoughts freeze me up and I have difficulty creating. I was relieved I couldn't see other's posts since I was at a loss of what to do. The subject matter was to create art of your favorite drink. I don't draw or paint drinks. Ahhhhh!

I drink coffee and I did drawings of cups and tried some lettering but no ideas were coming except mixed media art you might see hanging at Starbucks. That's not the kind of art I make. I tried an abstract piece of coffee beans and that was a bust. Then I thought about what I like to draw: characters. So I played a bit with different critters drinking coffee or hot chocolate (my other favorite drink).

 

I took out my favorite paints and inks and created art for me with foxes and hot chocolate (yum!).

 

I am so happy with how this turned out. It's a fun piece of art. I did some collage and played with my inks and made fun characters. Surprisingly it only took me a couple of hours to do this piece. It hasn't flowed that easily for a while and it never really flowed that easily for a MATS assignment. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the classes and will likely do Bootcamp next year but it was so helpful to not see what other people were doing. I haven't decided if I want to put this as a print in my shop or save it for a holiday card or maybe make a series of critters with food for holiday kids plates. It's one of the best things I've done and I think it could be great for licensing.

Next week I'll share my piece for Lilla Roger's Global Talent Search. The galleries of the entries including the top 50 will post the 26th of August and I'm going to wait to share my art until then.

For artists interested in licensing and creating marketable art, Assignment Bootcamp is a great course. You get a real good idea of what a real life assignment from a manufacturer is like. Click here to get more info on next year's Bootcamp.

If you like an intense class to learn everything there is to learn about making art for licensing, just click here to learn about Make Art That Sells.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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Make Art That Sells Bootcamp: Nautical Assignment

The last two assignments of MATS Bootcamp really helped me realize what art brings me joy. This blog post is about the nautical/ship in a bottle assignment. I went crazy drawing icons for this assignment. I think these are the most I've done for any of the MATS assignments. I drew ships, bottles and loads of sea creatures. The final piece had to be a square piece of wall art.

I ended up creating two pieces. The narwhal was the one I submitted.

I also made this cute octopus.

Both of these pieces are available in my Etsy shop. I plan on making more paintings or patterns from all my drawings. Creating characters is what I love to do most and this assignment reminded me of that.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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Things Are Changing

The day I've been waiting for has finally arrived. My children are both in school!

It's very exciting for them, especially Caitlyn. She loved preschool and being with friends but only got to go two days a week. Now she is going to have five full days learning and playing with friends.

I thought I would mostly feel over the moon about it all as I finally have time (lots & lots of time) to myself. I'm feeling a little sad though too. I was emptying my car of toys for the park's sandbox that I don't need stored in there anymore. I won't be spending my days trying to find things to entertain the kids. I started to remember when they were toddlers and we'd go out exploring and playing.

 

 

My routine is going to be totally different now and they are going to do the majority of their exploring through school. It's wonderful but I know I'm going to miss them. We are lucky here in North Carolina as they offer year round school. My kids will be in school 45 days then off for an average of three weeks. We will be able to have fun and explore each season instead of having to cram in "doing" lots of stuff over the summer.

I know I need time for me. It's been very challenging to do the things I want to do when I have two kids underfoot at home. I admit I didn't always want to go out every day and find things for them to do. I'm going to value our time together more with getting the break. I have also loved seeing Evan grow from attending school. He's reading books to me now! It will be amazing seeing the same growth with Caitlyn.

Here's to changes and growing up. Even though it's a little hard, it's a wonderful gift!

 

 

I love these guys!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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What I've Been Thinking About Lately

I know. I know. It's been over a month since I last blogged. I have been lost in thought about my art, my blog and the state of my career. August 4th everything changes. Both of my children will be in school from about 8:30am to 4:00pm Monday thru Friday. It will be time to buckle down and really get serious. It's exciting and scary at the same time. I've mostly been thinking about my art and my style. I really want it well defined. I don't want to look at my art and just see the techniques I learned from an online class I've taken. I want to look at it and see "me". It's very difficult to bring that into the computer for licensing. You don't need to have computer skills to be licensed but if you have them, you will have more opportunities. I follow a lot of different licensed illustrators and one of my favorites is Helen Dardik. Her work is colorful, whimsical and lush. Most importantly her traditional and computer art are very similar.

Here is a piece Helen Dardik did in Illustrator.

And here is one of Helen's watercolors.

Even though she used a computer for one piece and traditional materials for the other, you know it's Helen Dardik's art. This is where I want my art to be. I want people to look at it and know it's Lynda M. Metcalf's art whether I used my computer or my paintbrush.

I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I think I'm close to having "my style" but I'm not quite there. I also need to treat the computer as another art supply. It's amazing what can be accomplished with Illustrator and Photoshop but it's a lot to learn. Soon I'll have more time. I better come up with a plan to use my time wisely so I can accomplish all I want to!

Here are links to Helen Dardik's work if you want to get lost for a little while.

Illustration

Watercolors

Patterns

 

Thanks so much for stopping by. And don't forget to click the links above to check out Helen's work.

 

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Art Techniques...Experimenting with Eyes

I enjoy playing around in Adobe Ideas on my iPad because you can work in layers. Layers can be turned on and off so I can play with how a character looks. For the bunny I created below I decided to play with his eyes. Changing something as simple as eyes can greatly influence how your character looks. You can do this drawing exercise on your tablet too if you have a layer based art program. Or you can also use a pencil and eraser and take pictures of your character with the different eyes you create, then choose the version you like best.

Big oval dot eyes

Little dot eyes placed high

Little dot eyes placed low

 

Peppa Pig cartoon eyes

People like eyes

Add eyelids

 

Eyes looking off to the side

 

Add a tilt of his head (this one is my favorite)

Same bunny but the eyes were changed or repositioned to create different looks and personality. This is a fun exercise to do when you are blocked and don't know what to draw. Just play around and change up the eyes, ears, nose or whatever you want with your character.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

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Changing Direction

For the past month I've been in a funk. I haven't wanted to do art or blogging (obviously). A lot has been going on since the end of April but that's not the only reason I've been absent. I haven't been into making the art I usually make. It's not that I don't like the art I've made. I do. I love the characters, colors and texture but I want to do something else.... Something more.

 

An iPad doodle in Adobe Ideas

When I took Make Art That Sells last year it opened up all these other opportunities for my art. I used to think making art was about going to craft shows and opening an online store. But now it's about so much more. I can create art that can go on things like wrapping paper, clothes and bedding. That just amazes me. I have found that making art for licensing is completely different than making it for my shop. In my opinion it's about simplicity and icons. You can combine and layer the icons to make things more complex but the pieces themselves are simple. I really like the idea of having lots of simple pieces and then putting them all together to make something completely new. Learning how to combine these things has been my biggest challenge.

A page of marks I did in my sketchbook. All these marks were fun to create and they can be taken further in computer programs like Illustrator and Photoshop.

I post my sketches, doodles and iPad art to Instagram and I get a lot of likes. The majority of the art posted to Instagram is simple. Seeing this positive feedback has made me take a hard look at what I create and how I create. I've decided I'm going to buckle down this August when both my kids are in school and create art for licensing. I'd love, love, love to go to Surtex next May and I would need a boatload of art to do this. I'm going to embrace simplicity of form. I'm going to master (or be super comfortable with) Illustrator and Photoshop. I'm going to get collections under my belt. I won't completely abandon the art making I've made in the past. It's fun to get messy with paint. It's just not going to be a priority. My Etsy shop will still exist it will have simpler art added to the mix. My Society6 shop will hopefully bulk up too. It's so fun seeing my art on things!

This cutie got a lot of likes on my Instagram. He's pastel and watercolor. He's so adorable!

I intend on sharing my process and what I learn on this journey. Change and growth is good.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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A New Shop

I've opened a Society6 shop! I made an effort to have different art available in this shop from my Etsy shop. It is still a work in progress but there are fun and whimsical products in there. More will be coming. It's fun to see my art on a mug. This weekend there is free shipping on orders so, check it out!

 

 

 

 

Just click on this here to visit the shop!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

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