Final show considerations

I've been thinking more on how I want to brand myself, while looking at places to get my work printed I stumbled across dStudio which is a printing and framing service which offers bamboo paper which is more environmentally friendly www.digitalprintdesign.co.uk/papers/. 

There is also a 20% discount on getting your work printed on Hahnemuhle Bamboo 290gsm paper which is a nice incentive. It says on the website it is especially good for vibrant colours so it should be perfect for my work. 

PDP Interview #1 with Jellie Bee

I first discovered Jellie Bee via her YouTube channel after buying some of her artwork I had the pleasure of meeting her at Japan Day 2014 in Manchester. Since Jellie Bee is influenced by very similar things to me I thought she would be interesting to interview.

See the picture on her Facebook page

1. You're work looks anime/cartoon influenced; did standing out from the crowd ever cross your mind when you were developing your style?

Actually, when developing my work, I actually wanted to have my work look more like everyone elses, particularly successful artists. However, people started to compliment me on the fact my work was really recognisable to them and that's when I realised being myself was easier and better all along.

One of Jellie Bee's digital paintings, she often does these on a single layer.

See the picture on her Facebook page

2.When did you start selling your artwork and how long did it take you to build a steady amount of people who buy your work?

I started selling my artwork on stickers from around early 2010 and it picked up quite quickly. I started my own online store in 2011 but it took until 2013 for it to become a lot more steady. Convention selling has kept the interest in my online store going strong.

 3.What is the most interesting medium and/or canvas you have ever worked on?

My absolute favourite canvas is the sketchbooks that I customise. There's a real sense of achievement when I've finished one, because it's original art, but also a useable product. I find it interesting every time, as they always come out more special than I expected.

One of Jellie Bee's custom sketchbooks she sells on storenvy, she sells some pre-made and is often commissioned to do custom designs. 

See the picture on her Facebook page

4. What are your favourite artists? Have they influenced your style?

Massively so. My favourite artists are Lois van Baale (Loish); Marc Brunet (bluefley/Cube Brush); Mary Blair and Victoria Ying.
Each one has inspired me in different ways: Loish represents the skill levels I've always wanted to reach; Marc Brunet's techniques have always pushed me, his tutorials improve me in a way no-one else's ever have. Both of these artists pushed me to try single-layer painting, colour experimentation and portraiture and even though my painting skills are lightyears away, they've helped form who I am today with my digital art.
Mary Blair and Victoria Ying represent the illustrative side to my work, the side I find more relaxing and easier, but also the side I tend to criticise more.

See the picture on her Facebook page

 5. Do you feel your style is still developing?
Oh, always. I had a funny conversation with someone in a livestream recently, who said they felt comfortable with their digital style after only two weeks of experimentation. I said that it's taken me 9 years to become comfortable with my approach and to have more pride in my work. I started in Dec 2005 and it wasn't until Dec 2014 that I really felt connected. It will always develop, because I'm always torn between sticking to one style - painting, or illustrative?
Not only that, but I also like to practice with sumi-e and ukiyo-e style art a lot, so there's a third style I like to do. It's so confusing sometimes, but I'm happy right now with the progress I'm making. I'm just excited to see how I improve over the course of my life!

See the picture on her Facebook page

Want to check out Jellie Bee for yourself?

Here are some of the places you can find her.

Art Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/MorganAmeliaBromage

Business Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/JellieBeeNews

Storenvy

www.storenvy.com/stores/120039-jellie-bee

Looking forward

Recently I have been wondering if markets really are a good platform for selling my artwork. And after a market I had on Saturday, I have decided I should try and sell my work primarily online.

After observing the visitors that look at my stall I have come to the conclusion my artwork is rather niche. And that niche is not present where I am currently doing my stalls.

I think etsy is the best way to go, I know that I am the kind of person who would buy my work. I regularly comb through etsy I think my work would have a better chance at being seen and bought. Since I do a lot of one off pieces my work would still stand out and have appeal.

As for my offline revenue I would like to gear more towards conventions such as Doki Doki, Japan day and MCM Manchester. These will cost me more than my average pitch BUT I think I would do a lot better at those kinds of events, and with less events to worry about it leaves more time for my uni work. Not to mention how many people have told me that my target audience is much more abundant at conventions.

At the moment I have too much to sell and not enough like minded people to sell it to.

So my plan is
-Set up my etsy
-Get my head around shipping prices (maybe only ship within the UK at first)
-List the things I already have before making more artwork

In the future I need to look at
-registering as a small business
-getting a website
-making an online portfolio
-branding

AVDWT Progress and Inspiration 7th of May

This page's quote was about a death in the family and how people let you get away with crazy things while you are mourning the loss. I used needle felting wool and glue to give the page some texture, I may add more to this page at a later date but I really liked how it turned out.

The next page is about Franks disdain for women and the sea. First I tea stained the page and saw the shape of a woman's face emerge  remembering the quote about his hatred  for women I when with it and painted it in, me adding the blue wasn't intentionally meant to represent the sea but now it's complete it ties the quote in nicely.

This page is about Frank drifting off to sleep and the kind of things his mind imagines as he does so, I might add some layers to this page to make it seem or chaotic. 

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Commissions I have been working on

Custom Music/Vinyl Themed Notebook

Inspiration and interesting links

Fisheye Placebo Webcomic
The Love Parcel
www.bobsmade.com
Axent Wear

My Artwork and Inspiration

Here are some framed paintings/drawings of Pokemon characters I did recently in the style of Okami, Okami is a video game based on a range of Japanese folklore.

Here are some art and screenshots from the games Okami and Okamiden

I love the art style of these games, which is based of traditional Japanese ink paintings 

I also did this commission for a girl who contacted me through Facebook this will be being shipped out to her as soon as she gets her next pay check.

My Experience at Headlander Festival

I'm planning to post a AVDWT Progress post tomorrow, I haven't done to much on it for a few days due to prepping for my stall at Headlander Festival.

This is the first stall I have done were the money I have made went into double figures. I earned £26 over seven items.

 My first customer came quite early on at about half one (we started trading at twelve). In total we had five customers. Most wanted to know if I was going to be doing the market today or if I was going to be selling my artwork at comicon. I have concidered trading at comicon's before but I never ended up going through with it. But I'm going to look into trading at Doki Doki which is held in Manchester every two years I believe. A few people told me they had seen worse artwork being sold at bigger comicon's like Mcm, complements like that gave me quiet a ego boost.

As for the stall today I didn't realize people could do both days but I'm glad I only chose to do the one since it was a long day and chances were I would be on my own on the second day.

But here are some pictures of my stall.

My best selling items were notebooks and mini canvases.

I had my mini canvases at £3.50 but after quite a few people picked them up seemed to like them just to put them down and move on I knocked off the 50p to see if that would do the trick, and it did. By the end of the day I sold two one couple was so happy with the mini canvas and notebook I had sold them they gave me a bear I presume they won from somewhere.

The notebooks that sold were the A6 and A4 notebooks, I'm starting to think when I have an item priced at for example £2.50 the extra 50p puts people off.

After looking at the other stalls I saw they were using crates to make more levels on their stalls. I'll have to try and fine some for future stalls. I may also get some storage box's to put in bigger items like my folders and tote bags so people can rummage through them and so I can spare some space on the table for other items. 

I only bought a few notebooks to test the waters with them but after this stall I'll be looking to buy them in bulk.

If any of the items on my stall caught your eye the leftover items are available to buy from me please check out my facebook page for more info www.facebook.com/Raelxarts

Tips for holding a stall

Tips for holding a stall and selling your own artwork

1.Presentation is key

Have key pieces even if you are selling them for a high price display them it'll draw in customers, potential clients and contacts.

Having different levels plays a big role in  making your stall visually interesting, potential customers will take more time to look than if you have everything on one level. To achieve different levels use box's of varying sizes and put them under your table cloth, if your selling canvases invest in some cheap easels I got mine from here the works. 

An easy way to add interest is to have a table cloth that stands out in the pictures below all I'm using is some curtains but they stand out from the rest of the stalls that have a plain Jane black table cloth.

Also make sure you properly label your products, people don't like to ask about prices so try not to make them ask.

Before using levels.

After using levels.

2. You don't have to spend much 

(spend more on stock, less on presentation)

As I said in tip number one as a table cloth I use curtains so you don't have to go spending a tonne of money to make your table look better. You are having a stall to sell your products not the table your products are sitting on, even though good presentation is good practice don't go mad spending all your money on it until you are better established.

The scheme I take part in means I get a free table BUT this is normally not the case so pick and chose your events wisely, work like mine wouldn't do well selling at a church but would sell in Manchester or Camden. Think about your audience and where they are more likely to be, then invest in the table fee's for events in those areas. The free stall I do normally doesn't really suit my audience but it's still great for handing out business cards and promoting my business. 

Instead of replacing your price tags every time get some pieces of MDF or stones which will be easy to write/draw on and paint them in blackboard paint. I used Posca pens on mine since they are liquid chalk pens they don't rub off easy but with a bit of elbow grease it should come off, if worse comes to worse you can always give them another lick of blackboard paint. These also add interest to your table.

3. Know the competition 

Have someone with you to mind the stall while you go undercover and have a snoop at the competition. Try and avoid setting up near bigger stalls than your own THEY WILL pull attention away from you if you have a smaller stall. On my first stall I unknowingly set up my stall right opposite a massive stall and they drew people away from my stall all day. 

Size up the competition are your products stronger than theirs? No, then don't set up next to or opposite them if you can help it. 

Be friendly exchange business cards and talk to them the people at my first market were very nice and gave me loads of tips. Make friends, if the day is long and you haven't made many sales it's good to have a friend in the know to cheer you up.

4. Have plenty of business cards on hand

Better to have to many than to run out before the event is over. Be sure to offer your business cards to people some people maybe reluctant to pick them up or forget to pick one up, if they say no don't be offended business cards tend to get thrown away anyway. It's also handy to have a friend who is willing to go and give some out to get people who wouldn't otherwise check out your stall to come over and check it out.

Make your business cards eye catching, don't skimp on your business card design think of it as a miniature showcase of what you can do.

5. More lower priced items

On markets in particular lower priced items are your best sellers on the day. Have a good range of lower to mid priced items and a few higher priced items. I have a few higher priced canvases I display to draw potential customers in. People don't tend to come to markets especially to spend on stuff they wouldn't normally buy, they tend to go to them with whatever money they have on them at the time.

6. Price your items right 

Remember to cover the cost of materials you use to make that product and then think about how much effort you put into making the product. Try not to price too high or too low, I originally priced my tote bags at £10 and ended up reducing them down to £7.50 which I think is a much better price and it still covers my costs and yields a nice little profit.

7. Have fun

It's always nice to have your work complemented even if you don't sell anything. Don't get upset if you don't sell anything.

8. Have a Facebook page

Having a Facebook page for my business was the best thing I ever did, I have made more sales after the markets then on the markets, by posting everything I have for sale and the prices. Also to go with this get yourself a Paypal it makes everything so much easier.

My Facebook page 

https://www.facebook.com/Raelxarts

I hope these tips helped you out please comment if you have any other questions.