@Jake-Parker

I left a long comment on the YouTube video, so I won't blather on more here other than to say you guys never cease to entertain as well as inspire and inform ❤️

Thank y'all so much for talking about how much major life events effect your art, and that that's ok. These past two years have been just awful in so many ways, because of my health; autoimmunity and thyroid damage have just rung me out. I couldn't do anything, and sometimes I couldn't feel anything either. It was absolutely hellish, and keeping everyone fed every day was an accomplishment (that is not an overstatement). Thankfully, my new doctor put me on a better hormone replacement, and I'm actually able to function now. I'm looking forward to the new year, and I plan to take SVS really seriously. I can't see why I can't make better art, and fail forward continually, if I was able to survive that.

@alicia I agree, it’s just a side effect of explaining things very well and very thoroughly

Hello everyone, for me this is to me the most essential podcast episode of 3 Point Perspective for anyone that is attending art class, be it SVS or other art courses and that is trying to get the best out of their subscription or out of their art studies.

Just one small introduction, i'm from Portugal, i'm thirty seven and drawn my entire life, always have been an hobbyist and never attended art studies or school or got an academic degree for that matter but am certainly grateful for finding out about SVS.

I've listened to all 3PP Podcast episodes and streamed most of the courses at SVS though never posted any of the assignments as i'm still at an absorption stage

SVS showed me my flaws and how to up my drawing game and provided tools to do so, in a very pragmatic way nailing down what makes a good illustration, furthermore i'm very thankful to what you're doing with SVS mostly because education in general and in particular in the US isn't that very affordable and art education should be available to everyone and even if that doesn't come with a art degree it's still great.

I do believe SVS is a very pratical tool to get better if you're willing to put in the effort, work on yourself and certainly taking art studies seriously and working on self-improvement does come with the age. I hope you guys get to improve SVS to the point anyone willing to put in that effort can do so and better their art skills and i wish SVS the internacional recognition it deserves.

So congratulations to everyone involved, and according to what i've seen online and the prices some institutions apply for masterclasses, you are truly doing holy work for the art community, i hope with this you are making an impact in the lives of many. Thank you Jake, Will, Lee and students.

PS: I also consider the Podcast to be fundamental as it adresses all those non spoken issues related to being a full-time job artist, it is very amuzing, funny and informative.

@Jake-Parker

@Joni-Nemeth I would love to see a Pinterest page of these as well.

I thought about doing that assignment as well, but didn't have the "good compositions"...

Any thoughts @Will-Terry ?

@Jake-Parker during this episode you threw out the term, "Pro-Am" which I assumed was "professional amateure" but I wasn't sure what that means in an illustration sense. Could you clarify?

As always, great podcast gents!

I liked the points you all made regarding the comparison of artists and musicians, etc. Personally, I always felt that art was somehow different, or perhaps I was trapped in thinking like this.

I felt like I needed to create something beautiful all the time, but that’s never the case.

So last night, I just started drawing out of my head. I bounced from idea to idea and created a label of each when I was done. Sure, the sketches are far from beautiful; however, I enjoyed this process very much.

So without further ado, here it is. As a comparison to something that took me many hours, I added a piece I did for Inktober below.

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@jasondmcintosh That sounds horrible!

One of my first commercial clients was a bit of a horror story for me, though not quite as bad as that! A local council contacted me wanting a poster for a children's art festival. Very short deadline. We agreed a (very cheap!) fee and I started. I sent them my roughs and they said they liked my ideas, except now the festival is space themed instead of art themed so I need to add in rockets and planets etc etc. They completely changed the project and obviously had not planned anything at all. Then I sent colour studies. "Great but can you do work like this?" And sent me examples of illustrations which were more of a mature graphic style (bold colours and no linework) and not at all like my portfolio which is very 'cute'. I also struggled to get communication back from them quick enough to complete to such a short deadline. There were so many changes asked of the finished artwork, I produced something I suspect neither of us were happy with. I wouldn't have agreed to it if I had have known the kind of work they actually wanted.

Months later they contacted me (shortly before the festival and after the poster had been published in their brochure for months) and said "We have changed the dates can you change them on the poster". I would have done this for free if it were a small change, but they'd originally asked for the poster in about ten different formats and huge file sizes, it would have taken me at least an hour. They also had (simplified) PSD files (which I gave over begrudgingly as they required them in the contract) so they could have done this themselves however I suspect they didn't know how. I asked for a small fee of £30. Never heard from them again :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_closed_eyes:

Hey guys, great episode! This question is for Lee White, I’m trying to figure out which Epson paper you are using for your prints. I thought it was the Epson Radiant White Watercolor paper, but I can’t find it in the podcast. I have an Epson Stylus Photo R2000 and I love the quality of the prints on the Epson Luster paper. I’d like to try a different paper for more of an art print quality. Could you tell me which paper you use and why? Thanks! Christine

@Meta I’m glad you bumped this post up. Even just the comments are helpful!

Does anyone else have advice for photographing art? For instance, full spreads for a children’s book?

Thank you!

@alicia the 50 thumbnails is just a guide, but I am doing around that many for each spread. Remember, thumbnails are fast and loose. I'm not rendering 50 tiny perfect little drawings. Some of the drawings are the same idea, but different compositions. Some are similar compositions, but different concepts. It's pretty easy to hit that many if you are drawing loose and free! : )

@Annemieke I really enjoyed this episode-and the thoughts and different points of view that it brings up. I appreciate that the tilt of this school is toward children's illustrations, but in addition it's just darn good school. I'm not personally interested in becoming an illustrator for children's books-and might suggest that occasionally the month's prompt be considered in a broader context.

That said--the discussion on this question is classic SVS--totally respectful. I've learned a lot about how topics fly differently in different cultures.

@Blayne-Fox I love your work (just peaking at your site) and yeah your style wouldn't fit childrens books but i can definitely see it in young adult books/graphic novels. Although I have a few childrens books laying around the house that are render realistic. I know my stuff will never fit into childrens books, but I continue at it because it is what I enjoy to do. I believe trends shift and you never know, maybe the next trend in childrens book would fit your style and all these others will not 🙂

@BichonBistro Thanks!

@davidhohn This was a great read! The Dark Art of Pricing

I've been reading all of these articles and still trying to puzzle out how to price my work. I was researching the other day and I came across what I think was a guide on how to use some business software (totally unrelated right?) BUT, something caught my eye and I started to think...it was hard thinking and it really hurt😜. What I saw was a program for separating all parts of a particular job, in this case the example was for a construction job. Supplies, labor, etc, were all separated and billed or priced differently depending on what they were.
Anyway, my thought process, it went something like this (I may be putting something into words that is completely obvious to everyone else but myself).
•Labor & Product: We figure an hourly rate based on a loose timeline of how long a particular illustration (spot, full bleed, vig, bw, etc) should take us. This, being based on time, obviously would be different from artist to artist and has been frowned upon because it punishes the faster artist, BUT that faster artist would charge a higher hourly rate based on his experience and skill, so theoretically that would balance out. So, now we know how long an image takes us to illustrate and we have an hourly rate, putting those together we now have a base price of each type of illustration so if someone wants an 8 page board book with spot illustration only we would have a nice little list of prices to add up and quote the project. But wait theres more!
•Rights & Usage: This is the tricky part for me. I get that we need to charge for rights and usage, i just can't figure out how much that is worth. It seems that it changes if the client is a big dog or a small mom and pop. It changes depending on what they want to do with the illustration(s) and how long they want to use it. Jessica Hische mentions the word "percentages" and gives prices added to her base price, but the math doesn't add up (this could be to bad math skills😜). Do we have to guess what the percentage is until it finally feels right because there really isn't a standard? Are we all just walking in a fog pretending we can see what's in front of us? All I want is a ballpark number😂. I do know that once I figure it out, I'm going to share it because my brain hurts and if I can help a fellow-strator avoid this pain, I will. =)x

These are just my personal thoughts. Do you think I am on the right track?

@Sean_H That is an age-old question and the answer varies depending on who you talk to... There are plenty of advocates that are successful on both sides of the "separate/combined" debate. It seems to me your decision depends more on how/why you use your Instagram account.

"Professional facing" depends on who the "professionals" are... There are plenty of highly successful artists who use Instagram for everything and the kitchen sink--multiple styles, industries, WIPs, candid shots, etc-- and instead of being considered confusing it is considered endearing. Others use their Instagram feeds as a sort of portfolio collection, continually trying to post portfolio level work only. Personally, I think it all depends on the type of "professional" you're trying to attract. Different people in different positions and different companies or projects will be looking for different things, so it seems like there's no definitive "right answer".

If you're seeking people who are looking at your Instagram as a portfolio representative of your style, then maybe having separate accounts is a good idea. It has been pointed out repeatedly that Art Directors tend to seek evidence that artists can do something repetitively and consistently and they can be relied upon to do what they've demonstrated without taking risks or turning in something outside of the perceived box. Those types of ADs are not looking for variety but a singular style they can bank on, and become confused and hesitant when artists do more than one style or cater to more than one industry. It's frustrating, in my opinion, but AD's aren't paid to take risks more than they're already taking.

But not all users of Instagram are that type of Art Director. Some are companies who are looking to fill positions with artists who have a wider range of generalized skills. Some are authors looking for illustrators on their own. Some are editors looking for spot illustration. Some are just fans looking for fan art or fellow artists looking to add to their own collections, or people looking for something that matches the color scheme in their kitchens.

In my opinion it really really depends on who you're trying to appeal to.

Alter egos! I love it. Should we all be worried that @Lee-White has so many. I love the fact that creatives don’t have to get burnt out, they just change it up. In my hobby phase, tiny babies sleepless nights, I went from a million different craft hobbies. Scrapbooking, hairbows, painting a mural in every freaking room of my house, jewelry. But the need to create was always there. Now I’ve circled back around to watercolors and have a few goals sprinkled in there. I may design some shirts for a buddy for extreme sports. I’ll need a different name for that! My flip flops aren’t going to fit into his brand.

I also love the point that you can create whatever and however you please, but be aware of the end result you are wanting. If you are trying to get into a certain market you may need to pay attention.

I would say, do the new styles go in your social media? Does that mess up your “brand.” But by what you guys do, I’m going to say no. You guys clearly put all your styles on Instagram. And I love it. So there ya go!

Thanks again for being awesome.

@Jake-Parker Just a random side note to this episode. I just listened to it for a second time and I was cracking up at the stories you guys had about snow. We live in Alaska and one of the first things I learned when I moved here was that the Inuit people have something like 50 different words for snow. (hardened icy snow, softly falling, flurries, blizzarding, the slushie stuff...) Just thought I'd share that little tidbit.

Thank you so much for making these podcasts! I love listening to all the YouTube videos and podcasts you guys make; it's incredible to be able to learn from you. Thanks!!

I loved this episode when I listened to it, but I think there should be a follow up ...

Like, how to find Balance between The Drawing side of being an Artist and the Social stuff ... I guess you could call it, Creating / Marketing Balance

No idea sometimes how to study and improve, while also doing drawings to practice what I'm learning and still being part of the forums for instance, or on social media / making videos ... all while also continuing to meditate and take care of my life lol

I find it tricky.