Postcard for Publishers
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I, for one, would love to hear more thoughts and advice about sending postcards.
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@Leontine Anytime there is a complicated scene with a lot of objects, size relationships and tangents are the first thing I notice. Being a teacher for so long, I now know that it's one area that trips a lot of people up. It's very hard to avoid it actually if you aren't thinking about it. It's a natural tendency to create order. If you ever try to paint stars in the sky you will notice that they are all the same distance apart until you really try to create a random pattern. : )
@Sarah LuAnn Postcard campaigns are awesome, especially in the digital age. People like receiving something in the mail. It also shows you are a professional because it aint cheap! It shows you are serious.
I recommend using a mailing list company like Adbase http://www.adbase.com/ (unless you have an agent that may have a better list). Adbase is expensive, but there really isn't any better way to get a huge list of client addresses that are current. Trying to do it on your own is overwhelming. Also, the people in the industry move around so much you would never be able to keep track of them.
Like I mentioned before, plan a whole campaign. A single mailing is useless and many people give up after one or two mailings. Think about it this way, how many times do big companies hit you with their ads? Over and over right! They know it takes a certain amount of exposure to have something sink in. Unfortunately illustrators think that when they send a postcard it's going to stop the presses and you will be "the next BIG thing"! I wish it worked that way, but it takes time just like advertising does for any business.
On top of postcards, I suggest a small (20 clients or less) targeted mailing that is custom and a bit fancier than a postcard. I sent a handmade book to 21 potential clients and actually got 13 face to face meetings with them. A few I ended up working with right away. One of them took 10 years to call me, but eventually the call came! Like I said, it's a marathon and not a sprint so plan accordingly.
SVS Faculty Instructor
www.leewhiteillustration.com -
Hey @Lee-White
Very insightful stuff here. I'd be interested (as I'm sure would others) for you to put together a SVS course about marketing and actually getting work and keeping it coming in.
Take care,
Ace -
Thanks @Lee-White you're responses to and critiques of peoples posts on here are always super helpful.
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I second a marketing class @Lee-White
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Funny you guys should mention that. I have a storytelling video coming out in two weeks, then after that I'm beginning a business video! : )
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@Lee-White awesome! I'm curious about how you chose which clients to send your targeted handmade books to. Were they each to a specific publisher, or to an art director, or what? Were they people you had met or just people whose work you liked?
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I can't wait!
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@Lee-White Wow thanks so much for all the tips! I wished I would've checked back on this because I already went and worked out the basic lighting and started blocking in color! lol! No problem though, I'm so glad you pointed out the size issue, I have never thought about it before, but I will definitely go back and make all the adjustments.
Thanks also for the tips on postcards. I know it can take a while to hear back and you must send them regularly. I'm going to try and send them out every 3 months, since it can get a bit expensive.
I'm so pumped to have gotten my piece critiqued by you! I've been needing a good, honest, and helpful critique. I might not be able to send this out for Halloween in time, but at the very least it will make a good portfolio piece.
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Witches are my weakness, so I love everything about this postcard! I do agree about your main character's pose though... Changing it up would help her look more lively. Then, to contrast, I actually love the fact that the cat is just so still, with his eyes all big, like he's just in shock. To me it's amusing. He's kind of got a Jiji vibe going on.
Can't wait for the finished piece!
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Here is the 3 lighting situations I came up with before I began adding color. I ended up using the middle one.
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Here is the final!
I changed the items Lee pointed out. They really made a huge difference!
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Very Nice!
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Really beautiful @Sharon-Sordo! Thanks for sharing your process with us as well - was fun to watch!
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Hey that looks amazing! I love the eerie greeny-white lighting, that is just perfect and beautifully rendered
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This month has been a good month for people uploading awesome work! The lighting here is gorgeous!
Ace
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I like it. Nice job.
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Thanks everybody for your sweet comments! Also thanks for SVS Learn and their amazing tutorials, I have learned so much from them. You guys rock!
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I keep on coming back to this image like a moth to a flame, lol. I really like how you depicted the light emanating from the globe. And her expression adds so much life to her character
