@Kristin-Wauson Oh my hecking heck this still brings laughing tears to my eyes. Most inspiring image I have ever seen! 😂 😂 😂

I agree with Becky. The sky is the limit when you can go to this beauty to the incredible art I saw last night.

Nor/Cal SCBWI Conference this Saturday in Sacramento, CA
Just letting everyone who is going that I will be there! Can't wait to meet you all in person....I will have helium balloons with an SVS sign on it at the table so we can find each other. Bring your portfolios/art....

See you there!
PS: And sorry this notice is so last minute (I just got my computer back from the shop...along with a nice $600 bill!) That's the way it rolls sometimes....I'm just happy to be back!

Yes, the second one shows a lot of great improvement! That just goes to show how willing a student you are 🙂 Poses, expressions, character design...everything just leveled up!

Hello all,

Can we talk insurance please?

Im just starting to take on art related work like Logos, thank you for your order cards etc, more graphic than illustration but Im wondering about insurance here in the UK.

I want to know Im covered if something goes wrong. Ive looked at Coverly which seems reasonable but can you recommend what you use?

thank you!

@Lee-White @Jake-Parker So I just went to the SVS Store and noticed that the shirts are sold out. Not sure how long it has been like this, but that naturally has me asking the question, will there be more items added to the store at any point?

On another note, if there is, I'm curious to know if there might be opportunities for SVS members to contribute art for more merchandise options?

@Charlie-Eve-Ryan Thank you for sharing Charlie. Will has been a friend and mentor to me. so I was happy to help.

@Susan-Marks said in We need a safe word:

And @Chip-Valecek - How could we help new members not wander into that space if its not quite what they're looking for? "Serious feed back here"?

@Chip-Valecek Thanks for adding that category. Is there an easy way to add an explanation of what to expect in this category? Even changing the title to "Serious Critiqes Requested" gets closer.

@JerrySketchyArt Thanks Jerry!

@xin-li It depends on what I use it for. I sell my art on Society6 and the 'lowest size' they suggest is 6500 pixels 300dpi. Since I also post my work on Instagram I usually make it a square.

If I were to enter a contest I might start with the square and change it to landscape or portrait, but the shortest size will never be lower than 6500 pixels. In case I do want to upload it to Society 6 it's still valid.

@hannahmccaffery Actually it was $2000 as he's American! But still pretty good prices. I think that's normal for an original drawing. But yes as he sells more he can put prices up. Printing multiple copies as a limited edition brings the prices down and open editions are similar to selling posters.

@Johanna-Kim Holy guacamole, thank you Johanna!! ❤ ❤ ❤ Please be advised the book is in French though (prefer to clarify just in case!)

@demotlj I just emailed the publisher about this and they told me that the chain Archambault carries the book, which is nice because they have an online store and deliver to the US! The shipping is a little pricy though, CAD $15.99 + the price of the actual book $12.95, so CAD $28.94 total (approximately USD $21.46).

The book is 24 pages, soft cover, 23 cm x 23 cm! You can get it here: https://www.archambault.ca/Pages/Details?lang=en-ca&id=2775719
(actually I think I'll make a separate post about this) Thanks so much for your interest, Laurie! ❤

Ugh, I've been having this exact problem - I think I've been going back and forth in my head for weeks now, and I still can't decide/commit. Another part of it is that my photo account has more followers (I started it waaay before my art account), and my art account isn't anything really official or curated, so I feel like it is more like a scrapbook. For what it is worth, though, I totally agree that having personal pictures on an art account is fine if they fit your theme and don't stick out like a sore thumb. I think the most successful "brand illustration" accounts do both but managed to make it look integrated. I'm just terrible at discovering my aesthetic so I haven't been able to manage it yet lol XD

@Chip-Valecek I always find sitting on it for a week to be a good idea 🙂

I'm really likin' the texture that you're working into your work. It suits it.

I'll try and think of any tweaks n such.

Those poor mice...

@chrisaakins Very true! I remember going through a phase after high school where I didn't draw for a good 6 months, yet when I picked up my pencil again I had improved. It baffled me for a while until I understood that even though I'd stopped drawing, I hadn't let go of the habit of observing people, objects and landscapes around me, and I had learned and internalized some of that during my hiatus.

Tried adding penguins and shortened the cockpit on the plane going downward.

58444514_2357309361221206_8932280654138179584_o.jpg

I found a really good youtube tutorial for GIMP 2.8. Adding text and manipulating it on the canvas. It was so easy to follow and understand. It has a lot better features than I had imagined. I'm excited to play with it. Just thought I'd share in case there are others out there using or interested in GIMP!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1jFaMwx8U4

I haven't looked at the other tutorials but I am excited to check them out. Gnu Image Manipulation Program is a open source software. Great for those who don't require photoshop fo rtheir work. Best of all, it's FREE!

@2MK You've struck a chord and I'll echo what @Aleksey @Braden-Hallett and @xin-li have said.

I think your question is a little like "when will I develop my own style?" Just like with ideas for stories, how and what you draw is heavily influenced by what you've seen and what you think about. And when you draw them enough, you cannot HELP but imprint your own style or voice. You simply cannot help yourself. When you've done it "enough"--and the only way to get to that magic place of what's enough for you-is when you've done the stuff.

Write, play it out, rewrite, listen again (better yet if you have someone else listen), rewrite---and finish it. I'm working hard on taking my own advice-but its helping. Fast enough? Well..... I'm exploring this as a marathon, not a sprint, and I'll only run my first marathon at whatever pace I can run it. But so much better than sitting on the couch! (full disclosure, i do not run marathons or run at all. But I do a mean bicycyle-thing!)

Glad you're joining the crowd of asking and exploring.

Do you think this is maybe also to do with something Sean McCabe at SeanWes refers to as the Power of Seven, whereby you need to hear something at least 7 times before it clicks and you fully understand it?

It's just, I finished the Mastering Perspective course last week and I am still feeling arghhh about my understanding of perspective. Took me so long to finish this one as well, like months, as I started to almost fear sitting down to studying … I found it really really hard studying perspective in a way that I don't normally find with learning other areas of Art.

It is funny though, because a few nights after I finished the course and exercises etc, I sat down to do some perspective sketches and while I felt like I had really struggled with the course, I realised I had actually learnt a lot more than I thought. I think If I replayed this course, I would learn a ton more … maybe if I reply it seven times, I can have a breakthrough like you too 🙂