Your Portfolio Needs to be Updated, Doesn’t it?
Quick question: When was the last time you updated your portfolio? It’s hard to think back that far isn’t it? This is a problem that dogs many creatives. We’re too busy cranking out great work to...
View ArticleMy Never, Ever List by Lisa Graves
My own personal top five list of things you should NEVER EVER do as an illustrator. 5. Never, ever, ever agree to work for stuff like cigarettes. Newsflash- they’re really bad for you (who knew!?)....
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Drawn Together at ICON 7
It seems to me that trying to collect a large group of professional illustrators into one city for four days would be akin to herding cats into a doghouse, but somehow ICON pulled it off again. ICON,...
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The Art Director/Illustrator Relationship
What makes a great collaboration between an Art Director and an Illustrator? That’s the question Justin Perricone and I wanted to explore on behalf of art directors and illustrators when we began...
View ArticleAdvice to Aspiring Comic Book Writers and Artists by Top Cow’s Matt Hawkins
To go along with the Top Cow Talent Hunt, we asked President/COO Matt Hawkins to give us a punch list of suggestions to those submitting their work for consideration. Here are Matt’s bullets: WRITERS...
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A Foot in the Door at Top Cow’s Talent Hunt
Mark W. Slater's inks over Francis Manapul's pencils What we all need is a foot in the door somewhere. Whether it’s the door to an ad agency, a local shop or a publisher, a door that’s even slightly...
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How In-House Innovation Teams Could Benefit from the Addition of a Creative...
By Bruce Miller In the late 1980’s when several top marketers, specifically in the fashion industry, were setting up “in house” advertising agencies, they made a point of bringing top creative talent...
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My Never, Ever List by Gary Lacoste
NEVER EVER LET FEAR DRIVE THE BUS This is great advice I heard from licensing guru Cheryl Phelps. We all are afraid of failing or coming up short, and that fear can paralyze us into not making changes...
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An EIN: A Simple Way to Protect Yourself
Even a freelancer who does a small amount of business will at some point have a client who is going to need a W9 form so that they can report their payments to you on their taxes. For many of us, this...
View ArticleWhat’s In a Name?
One of the first decisions a creative professional makes upon starting their business is deciding on a name for the company. It’s also often one made in haste while a bank associate is setting up a...
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Your Best Work
The desire to keep things fresh and new in your portfolio can sometimes overwhelm your better judgement, and a sub-par design/illustration/photo can make its way into your: Online portfolios* Physical...
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Caffeinated Illustrators- October 2013
Recently, Creative Relay did what very few entities have ever been able to do: we got a bunch of illustrators to leave their studios for a few hours! These freelancers were forced together to schmooze,...
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Caffeinated Illustrators- December 2013
Well, we did it again. During this crazy holiday season where there are 5 billion things to do at once, a group of illustrators got out of their studios and met for coffee and to schmooze. I suppose it...
View ArticleThe Importance of Networking
I recently wrote an article for Jo Ann’s Art Advice blog about the importance of networking with other creatives to diversify your business and I’ll be touching on the topic during Justin and my...
View ArticleWebinar: Ready, Set, Freelance!
On January 23, Justin and I will be hosting the webinar Ready, Set, Freelance! for RISD Alumni Relations. The webinar is open to anyone. Ready, Set, Freelance! was originally conceived as a live...
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Post-Webinar (Ready, Set, Freelance)
Justin and I had a great time talking with the RISD (and beyond) community during our webinar Ready, Set, Freelance. The attendees sent us great questions during and after the webinar. Here are some...
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Webinar: Putting the FREE in Freelance
On February 26, 2014, Justin and I will be hosting the webinar: Putting the Free in Freelance for RISD Alumni Relations. The webinar is open to anyone. Justin will be offering a terrific step by step...
View ArticlePost-Webinar (Putting the Free in Freelance)
On February 26, 2014, Justin and I presented our webinar Putting the Free in Freelance for the RISD community (and beyond). Justin’s presentation began with the basics of setting up your business (EIN,...
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Caffeinated Illustrators Unite!
A couple of weeks ago we had another illustrator meet-up and the discussion was all over the place. We talked about the illustration industry, prices going down while all rights/work for hire is...
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Caffeinated Illustrators: August 2014
With iced coffees in hand, five illustrators met for another Caffeinated Illustrator meeting. Borrowing Wifi from the nearby Apple Store, we got together and shared what projects we have been working...
View ArticleMy Never, Ever List by Jannie Ho
My own quick list of what a freelance illustrator should never ever do. I could use a little reminding as well from time to time. •Never ever forget about those personal projects Those personal...
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Advanced Freelance
Justin Perricone and I will be presenting a new webinar called Advanced Freelance on April 8 for RISD. The webinar picks up after our other webinar Ready, Set, Freelance and the concept is that once...
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6 Guidelines and 3 Steps to a Solid Presentation
By Jon Lopkin Selling your skills and winning the trust of a client can all come down to how you present your designs and how you present yourself. Before diving into the 3 useful steps for creating a...
View ArticleA Semester of Type at 90 MPH
Tonight, Justin and Ed will be presenting a new webinar for the RISD (and beyond) community: A Semester of Type at 90 MPH. We’re excited to say that the webinar sold out over a week before the event!...
View ArticleBack by Popular Demand
UPDATE: This webinar has also sold out. A few months ago, the first Type webinar sold out a week before the event so Justin and Ed will be returning to present again A Semester of Type at 90 MPH on...
View ArticleSpeaking at RISD
Ready, Set, Freelance April 12, 2016 6:30-8 p.m. in the Tap Room Justin and I are heading south to Providence on Tuesday to speak to students and alumni about freelancing. We’re rolling out our updated...
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Should I Take the (Freelance) Job?
You get a call or email for a new job (illustration, design, sculpture, painting, photograph, article, etc) but you can’t decide if it’s right for you. Run the job through this chart to help you decide...
View ArticleAn Updated Ready, Set, Freelance Webinar
Learn To Be a Better Freelancer. Justin and I will be presenting our webinar Ready, Set, Freelance on March 15 for the Graphic Artists Guild. We’ve been hard at work updating the presentation, so we...
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Should I Include It in My Portfolio?
Run through this flow chart to decide whether to include something in your portfolio. Justin and Ed will be talking a little about this at our webinar on 3/15 for the Graphic Artists Guild. The...
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You’re Not a Starving Artist
Enough with being labeled a Starving Artist- we’re so much more. And even if we’re only about the art, that doesn’t mean we can’t make a decent wage so we can pay our bills, take a vacation, and buy a...
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