All About My Global Talent Search Submission

I decided to give Lilla Roger's Global Talent Search a go again this year. I was really hoping to make a piece good enough for the top 50. I was also looking forward to the challenge as both my kids would be in school and I would have loads of time to work on the piece. Unfortunately Life, Murphy's Law or whatever you want to call it stepped in and mucked up my grand plans. My son got sick and was home for most of my art making time. I've never been good at creating with others around. I can doodle or sketch but I just can't seem to get my head deeply into the creative zone if I have distractions. My final piece has parts I really like but it wasn't what I wanted. The brief was wall art with terrariums and a word or phrase. I had a hard time getting my style to fit into the theme but then I figured out to make imaginary worlds. I created a lot of icons and did my best to assemble the art in Photoshop.

I liked my fairy a lot.

 

I of course had to have a fox so I tried creating a world with the fairy and the fox in a hand drawn terrarium.

 

It still quite wasn't what I wanted so I tried something else.

 

The above was a work in progress and I kept playing around with it but it still wasn't coming together. I didn't like how my sketch was looking in Photoshop. Then I tried collage and my favorite symbol; balloons.

 

This was better but still not what I wanted. I finally settled on the version below. It's okay but it can still use improvement.

When I saw the talented artists that made the top 50 I realized my painting was needing more. I'd like to believe if I had the time I had originally wanted I would've made something I was more passionate about. Maybe yes, maybe no. I admit I was pretty upset after the top 50 came out. I knew I wasn't going to be in the top 50 with the piece I submitted but when I saw the art that made it (plus a lot of the other pieces) I realized my art isn't where I want it to be. I feel I am struggling far more than I should be at this point. I just really need to buckle down and create, create and create.

Funny thing though, literally the day I was feeling super low about my art and my career, I got these fortunes in my fortune cookies.

 

The universe does speak to you and will give you a boost when you need it. So, I'm trying very hard to paint or draw daily and I am determined to learn Illustrator and Photoshop. Next year I will kick GTS's a--!

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

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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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Inspired by Make Art That Sells

Lilla Rogers is running Make Art That Sells parts A & B again. I am not participating but if you google "make art that sells" or type #makeartthatsells into Instagram you can see the lovely art being made. I follow Zoe Ingram's blog (she won Lilla's Global Talent Search last year) and she created the cutest pirate themed baby clothing. I was so inspired I pulled out my iPad and opened Adobe Ideas and created these guys.

 

These are just sketches but I can see them turning into something more in Illustrator. I'm really getting the hang of making these characters on the iPad. It really helps with my work flow. It's also very fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

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Make Art That Sells Bootcamp March Project

For my birthday I asked for MATS Bootcamp. This is a six month course of professional licensing assignments from Lilla Rogers. It's a great way to build my portfolio and challenge myself. Our March assignment was Jello molds. For some reason I immediately thought of a turtle with a Jello shaped shell. I don't know why but that's what I wanted to do. I also decided I was going to do it all in Adobe Illustrator. I researched and did sketches on my iPad with Adobe Ideas. I came up with this guy.

Then I created these other icons with my iPad and in Illustrator. I admit editing lines made in Adobe Ideas is a total pain. Editing big blobs of color is easier. So, I deleted my line work from Adobe Ideas and did them over in Illustrator. I have a basic Wacom Tablet and it was much easier to use since I've been playing on my IPad.

Lilla Rogers suggested a pastel palette which is totally opposit of what I normally do. I decided to stretch myself and give it a go. I created a pattern and used Illustrator's new Pattern Maker to create a repeat. This was my final submission.

I already have ideas for coordinates. I'm not sure if I'll keep this color palette. I really like the cute turtle I did on my iPad. He's so bright and colorful. Playing around in Illustrator was more fun than I thought it would be. I created layers to help create depth, which is similar to how I paint. Work on the computer can look very flat so the layers helped a lot. I'm sure the more I play around the more I will figure out. Bootcampers are off for the month of April. Make Art That Sells parts A & B are running again. I highly recommend the courses if you are serious about making a living with your art.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Diary of a "Make Art That Sells" Student: Weeks 3, 4 and 5 of Part B

Sorry I've been absent these past few weeks.  MATS Part B became very challenging for me and I also got sick so that didn't help.  Here are my projects for weeks' 3 through 5.

Week 3 was Scrapbooking week and I thought I was going to have an easy time with this one.  Nope. I found it quite difficult.  I think it was the subject matter, cameras and typewriters.  I don't normally draw objects.  I like characters better so I couldn't envision anything.  I also prefer the papers section of the Scrapbooking department and the focus was more on icons for stickers and embellishments for pages.  I don't go into that section.

I came up with these icons and used Illustrator to make the line drawings look cleaner.

Then I randomly chose 5 colored pencils to come up with a color scheme and played with layers in photoshop.

I think they look kind of cool but I'm not head over heals in love with this design  Below is the final presentation.  I tried to create "patterned paper" like you would find in a packet of paper.  I will likely revisit this and see if I can come up with something more interesting in the future.  

Week 4 was editorial and our mini was about lettering our town's name.  I had a sinking feeling the main assignment was going to be a map and I was right.  I had no clue how to do a map so, I decided to show the places you can take your kids in our area.  Morrisville has several parks and other interesting places to take your kids that you may not normally think of going.  Since the theme was "kid" oriented I took inspiration from Eric Carle and made a collage from painted paper.

My Icons

 My Final

I think its pretty good for a first try.  I love my boat, plane and firetruck.  I may need to use those for something else.

Our last week was Party Paper and the mini was all about Ukrainian or Bavarian Folk art.  Years ago I used to do craft painting and a lot of it was "folk art" style with swirls and flowers.  I was never a huge fan of that style but I went for it anyway.  I liked the Ukrainian better than the Bavarian.  I pulled out the paints and chose my favorite colors.  I even pulled out my special paint brushes that are often used just for "folk art painting".  They help the artist make flowers quickly.

These are my icons.

And this is my final presentation.

I really like how this came out.  It's bright and colorful and fun.  I think these icons can be used on lots of other things too.  I felt really good while I was creating this project (despite the fact that I was also sick with a horrid cough).  

Now the class is over and it's time to get motivated and get to work.  I know I am getting a better grasp of this licensing thing.  It's all about icons, icons, icons.  More importantly though it's about doing what you love.  I love to draw, paint, use bright colors and use characters in my work.  I think if I keep these things in mind when creating I will come up with a good collection.  I also have a really decent grasp of Photoshop.  I spent two days painting icons for my last project and two days on the computer assembling everything.  Who knew photoshop could be so helpful with art!  Stay tuned to see what happens next in my career!  Now, off to work!

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S.  More things will be added to my Etsy shop as well.  If you haven't visited yet, please stop by and check things out.

Diary of a "Make Art That Sells" Student: Week 2 of Part B

Well, it was another long, fun and hard working week for MATS!  Week 2 was all about Children's Apparel.  I have been shopping in the baby and children's departments for about 6 years now so, I was very excited for this week.  The theme was camping.  I really, really wanted to nail this one with a beautiful presentation.  That didn't happen.  I like my icons, especially the animal ones but I just can't get the arranging down to make it super pretty.  Getting the icons right is the most important thing though.  If those aren't strong I won't have a strong piece in the end.  Here is what I came up with.

This is the collections of icons I created.  I had to do woodland critters of course!  I drew the line work and the painting separately and put them together using Photoshop and Illustrator.  I used Illustrator for the line work then pasted it into Photoshop.

Coming up with arrangements was difficult.  I decided to create a scene with my icons and then I attempted a repeat like pattern with the critters.  It wasn't the success I hoped.  I also created a repeat with a painted mushroom which I think came out cute.

I am happy with the items I have to work with.  I really enjoyed this assignment and want to play more and more with it.  Here is the presentation sheet that I posted for review.

I'm going to get this eventually.  It's a big learning curve.  I am confident I can do this though! 

Week 3 is Scrapbooking!  I hope to continue improving!

Thanks for stopping by!

Diary of a "Make Art That Sells" Student: Week 1 of Part B

The second part of "Make Art That Sells" started last week and I buckled down, ignored housework, found sitters for the kids and got to work.  We got into the holiday spirit (before Halloween!) and had to create a Christmas card.  Lilla Rogers brings us into our assignment slowly by having us do a mini assignment before the big reveal of the main assignment later in the week.  I researched and sketched lots of different holiday ornaments and candy.  At this point I don't know if I'll be creating wrapping paper or a Christmas card collection. The big takeaway from this course is icons, icons, icons!  You need to make lots and lots and have a variety.  This is not the way I usually work.  I doodle and sometimes they turn into a painting.  The sketching process for licensing is very specific.  All the variety of icons may not make it into your final piece but they help you so much and they can be used for something else later so, they have loads of value.

I dove into my Christmas memories for inspiration.  My favorite ornament was one of an elf sitting on a mistletoe ball from my Grandma, candy canes, handmade ornaments and Christmas TV Specials.  When we got the main assignment of a Christmas Card I was ready and I had a concept.

These are my sketches and paintings for the assignment.

I knew I wanted an elf so, I decided she was going to decorate a very challenging tree.  I knew I wanted her dress to have a pattern so, I made a candy cane one in Photoshop.  

(Check out my tutorials here and here)

Then I tried coloring my sketch of the elf in Photoshop.  The results were cute but I decided to go with traditional media.

Then I realized I needed to tilt her head because the tree was going to be little.  So, I cut and played in Photoshop instead of redrawing the elf.

Next came the ornaments that I envisioned spilling from her box.

This was the first draft of the card.

I wasn't thrilled and then the idea of a winter scene popped into my head.  But, there was even more.  I imagined this card as a novelty card.  You would open it up and the elf transforms the Charlie Brown inspired tree into a big beautiful tree.  The elf had to change on the inside too.  Instead of drawing a new elf I decided to make the parts I needed and do some Photoshop magic.

This is the draft I submitted.  The card cover nice and big on the presentation sheet and a decorated tree with a joyful elf for the interior of the card underneath.  I even managed some hand lettering on the cover of the card inspired by the curlz font.  If I had more time I would've hand lettered the inside text but, I ran out of time.  It was very important to me to have the concept presented.  

A few months ago I never would've attempted something like this.  I used Photoshop and Illustrator for this.  I wish I had dived into the programs more between Part A and Part B of this course but I am proud of what I was able to accomplish.  

This week we are doing Baby/Children's Apparel.  I've been shopping in those departments for years now.  I think this week will be fun!  Please check back next week to read the next installment of my diary.

Thanks for stopping by!

What To Do Next

I am coming down from the high that was Make Art That Sells E-course and I admit, I am crashing big time. This is probably the hardest I've worked on completing assignments since I was in school. The five weeks were very challenging. And then, as if those 5 weeks weren't enough, I worked for two weeks on The Global Talent Search assignment. Phew! No wonder I'm spent.

I've done zero artwork since posting my GTS assignment. I think I needed a break but I also needed to think about what to do next. Creating art for many of the licensing markets is quite different from how I usually work. I did try to create art traditionally for some of the assignments and it just didn't work. My head starts to think differently. It's exciting and scary and I see a huge list of things I need to learn if I want art licensing to be part of my career. I am transitioning now from "overwhelm mode" to "make a plan" mode. There are many things I need to do. The biggest thing I need to do is to make more art! My collection is on the small side at this point and I need to improve the quality. I believe my wall art pieces are very good. The pieces I made for MATS and GTS are pretty good. There is potential. More practice creating art for licensing will help immensely. I am proud of my final piece for MATS and the piece I turned in for GTS. I can only go up from here.

Here is my collection from MATS. I do see improvement over the 5 weeks.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

For week 5 I did a collection of monsters for a pencil case. Here are the original monster paintings followed by my submission.

 

 

And finally my submission for the Global Talent Search. We had to create a journal cover. I attempted painting traditionally but it just didn't work. So, I chose my favorite critters and played in photoshop. The winner of GTS gets a two year contract with Lilla Rogers Studio. The top 50 will be announced on August 1st. I am not going to reveal my thoughts on my chances. There are many very talented artisits in this competition. I will say I am very proud of what I created. Five weeks ago I would've never created something this cute and fun! Heck, I even made a professional logo! I rock!

Here are some of the original paintings followed by my submission.

 

 

In the next few days I will be making a list of all the things I want to accomplish. Then, I will break the list down and figure out a schedule. Changes are coming to this house so, I am going to have to get organized!

Stay tuned!