One of the most difficult things for an artist is making money.  It is true for almost anyone, but for an artist even more.  The term “starving artist” is often applied to artists.  It does not have to be the case.  I’ve had people tell me “you will never be able to live,” “you won’t make it,” and so on.  All of these statements are again not true, unless you want them to be true.  I’m not aware of any laws that say an individual has to work at a corporate job or work a set number of hours a day.  I’ve done both, and believe me I never had an abundance of money, and I certainly wasn’t happy.  Life has enough headaches without spending at least eight hours a day at a job that crushes your soul and most often your dreams and aspirations.

The internet has brought many opportunities to artists, which have never existed in the past, and many of them have very little cost associated with them.  It doesn’t matter whether you are an musician, writer, or artist, there are so many methods for getting your work out there and letting the world know about it.  Traditional means of distribution are changing and the middle man is being replaced by social media and web based tools.  My blog’s focus will be from the standpoint of being an artist, but the tools and techniques could apply to almost anything.  My goal is to make money at being an artist and sharing those tips and experiences.

The internet has provided artists with tools like blogs, Etsy, E-Junkie, Zazzle, Ebay, CafePress, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, yes even Facebook is a tool.  Some of these tools are for selling your products and some of these tools are for promoting your art.  In future posts, I will go into some of these tools in more detail.  My favorites tools for selling items are Etsy, Zazzle, and E-Junkie.  In terms of promoting you artwork, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are all important tools.  Again, I will get into more detail on each of these items in later posts.  The great thing about these tools, is that almost all of these tools are either free, or have minimal costs to get started.  There are small listing fees and auction fees on eBay or Etsy.  So the bigger question, is what are you waiting for?

One last thought and a resource that I would like to add in closing, is the need to create digital products and to reward the people that help you.  Everyday traditional analog items like books and magazines are becoming digital.   It is something to consider, but not  a deal breaker at this point, to create digital products.  I highly recommend Everett Bogue’s blog as a resource for creating a digital product and minimalist approach to both business and life.  The important concept is to reward the people that help you.  I’m not talking about a simple thank you, which are great by the way, but rather monetarily.  Digital products offer the possibility of affiliate sales, and giving part of your profit to those who are helping you sell it.  By rewarding people for helping you, they will be more inclined to do so, and you will be able to reach far more people than you could by yourself alone.  More posts will delve into this topic in the future, but if you would like to get started now, I highly recommend Everett’s eBook “Minimalist Business.”

The goal here is artistic, personal, and financial freedom.  Remember the only starving artists are those that choose to be, because there are no rules that say they have to starve.  I’m on this journey too. I intend to share my ups and downs, successes and failures along the way to living creatively.  Good luck to all of us.

PS.  Don’t forget to enter for the chance to win a free Dinosaur Grocery Tote, ends Friday, September 3, 2010.  Good Luck.

PSS.  I also have an original watercolor version of “Breakfast Pals”(below).  You can either buy it in my Etsy Shop or directly from me using PayPal(link below).

Breakfast Pals Original Watercolor – $30USD

Here is a sketch for a work in progress.  The giant robot wants ice cream.  The idea was from my friend Sara(her blog, she has cool art by the way) posting on twitter that she wanted ice cream, and it made me want to draw ice cream, and I always like drawing robots.  She suggested something over the top.  It has been a few weeks, but better late than never.

I bought an extra 2mm holder, that I intend to use in DIY iPad/iPhone stylus project.

Here is one of the two final illustrations(each class received an original illustration) that I made for Mrs. Griffith’s class and Mrs. Plever’s class.  A few weeks back the two classrooms meet online using Skype to create the story, “Mr. Bobblehead’s New Gadget and the Valentine’s Surprise.” I was really fortunate that they chose to use my artwork to tell their story  on StoryBird.com, the collaborative storytelling site.  The illustration is from their story, when Mr. Bobblehead and Goldie(the fish) were in the park at sunset.  I hope they like the artwork, and are inspired to keep writing and drawing, because they certainly inspire me.  I wanted to share a little more of the artwork process below.  Thank you Mrs. Griffith, Mrs. Plever, Mrs. Ditzler, StoryBird, all of the super talented students, and to all of my friends and supporters.

Here is a look at my sketch book from the perspective of working through the concept drawing in my mind.  Often I go through several versions of a drawing, before I settle on one that I like.  I believe that there is a method to my madness, but to quote the Cheshire Cat, “We’re all mad here.”  I leave you with the sketches behind my concept of why is a raven like a writing desk.

New sketch.  Have you ever been so happy that you malfunctioned?  This little robot has.

Here is a new winged critter/monster sketch.

Today His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama joined Twitter( http://twitter.com/DalaiLama ).  I had the opportunity to see and listen to him speak on Sept. 24th 2009 in Memphis, TN.  It was a small auditorium that seated only around 3 or 4 thousand people, so the tickets were expensive.  I decided at the last minute to go, due to only finding out he was in town the night before because of a blunder by one of our local elected officials in greeting him.  I rarely watch the local news.  I have an unpredictable work schedule and very limited extra funds these days.  So many things worked out just right to enable me to get the opportunity to hear him speak in person.  I released all attachments to the outcome of being able to find a last minute ticket at the venue, especially the afternoon of the event(they had already quit selling tickets for the event on line).  I was able to get one of the final 20 remaining tickets, and had brought just enough money to pay for it, since it was one of the more expensive ones.  After heavy security checks, we all took our seats and waited.  I again decided to release any attachment to expectations of the speech.

He spoke in a very casual manner.  The Dalai Lama at once puts you both at ease and commands your utmost attention.  His laughter is infectious, and you can not help but smile with him.  He would make a point, and often it seemed like I had at once know it all along to be true.  He says that we all want to be happy and avoid pain, both physical and emotional.  He also adds that you should not read anything extra into his words, because he is just a simple Buddhist monk.

I drew the sketch above later that same afternoon.  On the drive home, after his speech, there was a rainbow.  I did not turn the radio on, but rather just enjoyed the sounds of the city, and was thankful.

I hope to be a simple artist one day.

]]> http://www.andymcnally.com/2010/02/22/dalai-lama-twitter/feed/ 1 http://www.andymcnally.com/2010/02/18/427/ http://www.andymcnally.com/2010/02/18/427/#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:05:50 +0000 Andy http://www.andymcnally.com/?p=427

Here is my latest illustration.  It originally started out, when I saw a box with an “x” on it.  I’m not much of a video game player, but it did make me think of an Xbox and how disappointed a gamer would be if they received a box with an “x” on it rather than an Xbox.  The original drawing(below) was meant to be sad, but I ultimately choose to create a happy ending.  Instead of a case of mistaken boxes, the young man is making the free association of his beloved gaming console.