Initial Impressions

The TourBox Elite Plus is heavy weighted, like a paper weight. It feels really solid and well built, which I appreciate considering the price point. It doesn’t feel cheaply made at all, and feels like it could last through a lot of usage. I actually dropped it off of my desk (accidentally, of course) and the only thing that didn’t survive was the USB cable I was using at the time. The Elite Plus was totally fine.

I love the frosted clear look! It looks nice sitting next to my keyboard even when not in use.

I like the gripped pads on the back. It keeps it from sliding around on your desk, and if you have a screen display large enough, it even stays well on the surface.

My hand fits nicely on it, even though I’m a member of the tiny hands club. I can reach all the buttons without much effort, and my hand and fingers didn’t feel strained when using the TourBox Elite Plus.

I also like that it can be used by left or right-handed people! Bonus points for adaptability.

It’s also very compatible with different devices. You can connect it to two different Bluetooth enabled devices and toggle between them with the push of a button. I have mine connected to both my iPad and Windows based desktop PC.

Set up

Windows Bluetooth

The Bluetooth on my PC is awful, so I was worried about connectivity. I ended up using a USB-C cable for a more reliable connection, but an extra cord clutters up my desktop, which is something I try to avoid.

Customization software is a little slow to start up, but that could just be an issue on my end. Once it’s running, a full list of compatible programs automatically populates, and it automatically jumps to the program you’re currently using. In my case, I tried it with Photoshop.

iPad

Setup was as easy as installing the Tourbox App and connecting to Bluetooth, no issues there.

Using it with Procreate was easy enough and even intuitive. I did make some adjustments to the shortcut controls to suit my own preferences, though. I tried it briefly with Clip Studio Paint as well and it worked fine. I mimicked the shortcuts that I have set up on the shortcut pad that came with my XP-Pen Artist 16 Pro 2 but the exact button placement was of course very different, so adapting to a new muscle memory was tricky and slow at first.

The size and weight of the Elite Plus allowed me to balance it on my leg while my iPad rested on the other as I was set up on the couch. Portability is another plus!

Setting Up Short Cuts

This is a very customizable device and shortcuts can range from simple to more complex, multi-button shortcuts. You can even stack button actions (i.e. pressing two buttons at once to trigger an action) but I want to keep things limited to actions I use the most - undo, redo, erase + size, brush + size, rotate, resize, save. The software comes preloaded with a lot of program shortcuts, so check them out and see if the defaults suit your needs or not.

My current setup for Procreate is laid out like this:

I made sure to repeat my shortcut set-ups as best as I could across programs for convenience and ease of use. I’d like the shortcuts for Procreate to be 1:1 to Photoshop’s shortcuts, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

I tried to make a shortcut for brush opacity and couldn't make one with side button + knob. Maybe there’s a setup for this, and I just haven’t figured it out yet. (If anyone knows, please leave a comment!)

Battery Life ?

Overall battery life is unknown at this time. So far, I haven’t had any issues and I have not charged it since I received it a month ago. It’s possible it charges while being plugged in while being used so that could help with battery life.

Overall Impression

I really enjoyed adding this into my work flow. I’m used to keyboard shortcuts when using Photoshop, so I had a harder time adapting to the TourBox Elite Plus there, simply because of muscle memory (it can be really hard to overcome sometimes!). I think for me, it was easier to integrate it into my Procreate/iPad setup, but I will keep using it on desktop until I get more comfortable with it. It’s solidly built and feels nice to use, and looks nice on my desktop.

It did help speed up my workflow a bit once I got more comfortable with where the shortcut buttons were and remembering what they did. There was a lot of blind clicking around at first until things stuck. Overcoming muscle memory has been a lifelong issue with me, personally. Once I get locked into a particular workflow or way of using shortcuts, whether it’s a keyboard or a keypad, it’s hard for me to break out of those patterns of motion. I’ll need more time with the TourBox Elite Plus to really lock things down, but once I do, I can definitely see myself using it over a keyboard or gesture controls for most things.

I cannot say how it compares to other TourBox models (like the Elite) but the Elite Plus has been a welcome addition for me!

If you’re interested in getting your own TourBox Elite Plus, you can shop here.*

*affiliate links

Starting Out

Let’s be honest - art market fees are high enough as it is. Maybe you’ll get really lucky and be able to attend an event with NO fees, but realistically, you’re going to have to pay something to participate at the market. Having a profitable time at market means keeping your overhead costs low, and that includes market fees and the supplies you’ll need for your booth.

• Start with what you have. If you’re new to art markets, your budget for your set-up should be minimal. Purchase ONLY what you need to attend the event. Ideally, you could borrow or rent things like a tent or a table if those are required. You can make displays from things you already have at home. Use empty shoeboxes and line them with paper for a cleaner look. These are nice for displaying smaller sized prints and items. Nice bowls, baskets, or trays for organizing your personal things also make great display items.

• You’ll want to cover your tables with something to make them look nicer. You can use a bedsheet if you don’t have a table cloth. Stretchy table coverings are great because less likely to cause a mess on a windy day or trip over; downside is they don’t do as well hiding the extras under your table if they don’t go all the way to the ground.

• You can make your own signage on a budget. I made mine by printing out my logo, tracing the image on to half a yard of duck canvas that only cost me a few dollars and painting it with fabric paint. I used eyelets I already had at home from past craft projects and finished the edges with my sewing machine.

• You’ll want a booth partner. My mom has been gracious enough to help me during larger, longer events. You could manage a booth by yourself, but it’s really helpful to have someone there watching things and handling customers while you have a bathroom break or lunch run.

• You may need a tent. If you can’t buy a new one, see if you can borrow one from a friend or rent one from an event space. You may even be able to find a used one in online marketplaces that would work and be more affordable for you. Note : check your market’s requirements about tents. You may need a specific color or size to participate as a vendor.

• Bring some bags for customers to carry out their purchase. While I try to use as little plastic as possible (and when I do use it, it’s biodegradable), I opted for recyclable clear shopping bags, so other market attendees could see what customers purchased from my booth. Free advertising!

• You’ll need large totes to store your booth supplies in. I have all of my tabling supplies condensed into two totes that fit easily inside my car. For storing and protecting most of my prints, I use a plastic filing box and stack prints that are matted vertically. For prints without a rigid backing, I put them in hanging file folders to keep them from being bent.

• Other helpful items to have (but not necessary) : Velcro tape, grid panels, collapsable storage crates (you can find these at places like Five Below, Home Goods, Dollar Tree, Amazon), easy open binder rings, large binder clips, pens, notecards, tape, Sharpie or other marker, sticky notes, and simple booth decorations (but don’t overdo it - you want the focus to be on your goods and wares!)

Must Haves

These are things you definitely need to have at your booth!

• A way for people to sign up to your newsletter - if you don’t have a newsletter start one today! There are plenty of email newsletter providers who offer generous free plans. I use Kit and I’m loving it so far! To capture subscribers, you just need a sheet of paper and a pen for them to write their emails down on. Just make it clear to them what they’re signing up for and how their information will be used. You can copy the template I used here and modify it to suit your needs.

• Business cards or a way for people to find out more info about you and your artwork. Bonus points if they have a bit of your artwork on them!

• A chair for yourself. Standing all day hurts. Bring a chair.

• Throat lozenges. You’ll likely be speaking with booth visitors and customers all day, so throat lozenges will help keep a scratchy voice at bay.

• Water and snacks. Stay hydrated and well-fed to keep your energy up!

• Tax documentation for your respective state. Check your state laws to see if this is necessary for you. You may not be required to have this on display, but it doesn’t hurt to have it with you in case it’s asked for.

• Clear and simple pricing on all items you’re selling. Either put signage on the bins you have items in or on the items themselves. You can have another large sign centrally located that visitors can refer to, just make sure everything matches and reflects consistent pricing.

• Cash for making change and a way to store it. I like a belt bag because it’s more secure than a cash box but requires more organization for managing bills and coins

• Backup battery pack for your phone and card reader. Oh, and make sure everything is charged the night before!

Displaying Prints & Originals

• It’s best to group like with like. For example, put all of your 5 x 7” prints together, your 8 x 10” prints together, etc. I chose to put my Limited Edition prints with my originals, and my open edition prints on a separate table.

• Cello bags are a must for protecting your prints, chip board backing optional but advised. I like getting my clear cello sleeves from here.

• Display originals and large prints vertically! A grid panel system works well for this. You can hang the originals from the panels with these hooks made for grid panels.

• Use collapsable bins for displaying prints, like a filing system. They also pack away and store super easily.

If you have extra space on your table, lay out a few prints on them. Using as much of your table space as possible makes it look like you have a fully stocked booth, even if you don’t have many items with you!

Displaying Small Items

• Trinket dishes, bowls, valet trays or serving trays are good for displaying stickers, pins, bookmarks and other small items. I source most of these display items from around my home.

• Put the smaller items in their own area and sprinkle a few around your booth in another spot. Try not to spread them out too much because they will be harder to keep track of.

Overall Booth Tips

• Go vertical as much as you can, and take up as much space as you’re allotted with your booth boundaries.

• Set your tables up on the edges of your booth footprint in a U shape or an L. It keeps the booth from feeling crowded and invites people to literally come INSIDE your booth as if it’s a little storefront instead of a tent. If you need inspiration, Pinterest is a great place to look for booth display inspo.

• If you’re able to, display some things outside the booth tent. I had an easel with an original painting on display just outside my tent, but still within my booth’s boundaries.

• Don’t forget about the back and sides! If your booth is on the outside perimeter or end of the row, and visitors are able to walk behind or beside it, use that area for displaying art for them to see.

Checkout and Extras

• How to handle Sales Tax! You can either collect it at checkout or deduct it from your total sale. I prefer deducting it from my profit totals, and I think customers did too, because it allowed for an easier checkout and was easier to make change for cash payments in even numbers vs odd ones.

• Make sure your card readers are charged! One year I didn’t check my card reader, and it was down the first day. I had to manually enter all of my orders, and Square charges a bit more for manual entries. The tap to pay card reader is amazing and soooo much easier to use, so get one if you can. Use my link at Square to save on card processing fees for up to $1000 in sales within the first 180 days of your first sale!

I hope these tips help make your first market less scary, less overwhelming, more fun and more profitable! Let us know in the comments if I’ve left out any other helpful tips.

I know what that’s like. I’ve always had to find time and space for my creative work in between other bits of life, like taking care of a family or working. Finding an organization system that was flexible enough to adapt to my life’s changes was key.

I’ve tried paper planners, digital planners, to-do apps, but I’ve finally found the ideal combo that helps me organize both my career and art practice.

Notion

So what is Notion? Notion is like if Trello, Google Sheets, and Google Docs had a baby. It’s extremely flexible and an all-in-one system for planning and organizing information.

It does have a learning curve, and can be overwhelming at first. I recommend starting out with just a few simple to do task lists, maybe one kanban style board, and a collection of notes pages.

I like to treat my Notion as if it were a collection of 3 ring binders. Each “binder” is for a different thing - Work, Art, Personal, and within each “binder” are “sections” - so it would be things like a database of notes, a progress tracker, etc. I have a main “dashboard” that serves as a landing page for my databases and links to other pages. I probably redo my dashboard set up every year, but really that’s what’s so great about Notion - it is endlessly changeable and adaptable to whatever you need.

Creating a “Second Brain” database

I use one database for this and split it into different views, so I have a better look at what I want to do and am currently doing. My current set up is the Idea Dump tab where I throw any ideas that I have, the In-Prog tab to highlight ideas that are currently works in progress, and the Quarterly Quest view with tabs for each quarter. With quarterly quests, I try to pick a few things I’d like to accomplish in a quarter. This is something new I’m trying in this particular way this year, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m trying to limit myself to just a few things I’d reeeally like to accomplish each quarter, to boost my chances of succeeding and lower the risk of being overwhelmed by them.

I got the idea of a “second brain” from Jules Acree and the idea of Quarterly Quests from Ali Abdaal.

I use different filters to create views to sort information - everything ties back into the main database even though it looks different.

I start by adding anything new into the Idea Dump. I’ll tag it by priority (urgent, high, medium, or low), what it’s for - is it new art, a personal task, new content, or a new product or business task?

And if I need to connect an idea to another page in another database (like my artwork planner), I’ll use the relation property to link it there.

Things can get cluttered if you have too many properties visible so I just hide them when they’re empty.

Artwork Planner & Archival System

One database that I separate from Idea Dump database is my Artwork Planner and Archival database. I use it for dumping ideas, taking notes on projects, tracking progress, and ultimately sorting where those finished paintings are sold at.

Within the painting archive I have a system for listing prices, the painting’s medium, where they’re being sold (online shops), their sold status, whether they’re licensable or not, a link to the file, etc. I add other relevant tags here. If I no longer need them, I just delete them.

When I start a new painting, I create a page in the WIP board (Idea Dump), and then create a duplicate page in the Archive Board with the Relation function. That way both pages are connected even if they are in separate databases.

Here’s a tip : Using a template makes it easy to create a document with prefilled information about a piece.

Notion for Book Design Work

I have a database in Notion for JUST work. It is set up on its own page and separate from my Idea Dump and Art Archive databases.

In it, I have pages detailing what book I’m working on, at what point in the process we’re at with publishing it, and details about the book itself that help guide me when making covers.

Hobonichi Cousin

The Hobonichi is a Japanese planner that is extremely flexible in its usage. In my Hobonichi, I use every section. I personally use the Cousin since it has everything I’m looking for in a planner and the size is perfect for me.

Monthly events get written down monthly, like deadlines, appointments I need to have a head’s up reminder about. The Weekly view is where I put daily work tasks and art tasks. I split the Weekly views up like this :

• top 3 tasks for the day at the very top, and weekly top 5 tasks on the side

• work tasks below that. Since I’m part-time, I try to limit what I’ll be working on to no more than 5 tasks in a day because I can realistically get those things done.

• art/personal tasks below that. I’ll use a different color ink pen to help separate the two and make it easier to understand.

Daily pages are actually my sketch pages. I do a little journaling on them too, but not a lot, because I don’t really enjoy journaling. I’ll do a color pencil and pen sketch on the rest of the page. I started using daily pages as sketch pages because I was struggling to make a drawing habit stick, and having a numbered blank page ready to go for any given day seems to have helped! I usually do this at the end of the day and there have been some times when I just didn’t have the energy for sketching, so they ended up blank. I guess I can fill them in later, or put stickers on them or something. Maybe use them as practice pages for handwriting or testing new ink and pens.

I hope you found these planning methods helpful! I put together a free resource to get you started with Notion. Get the Art Planner and Archive here! It’s the same one I use myself, but I’ve simplified it to make it a better starting point for beginners. Get the Art Planner and Archive Notion template here!

How to make a scale brush in Procreate is pretty straight forward. I’ll walk you through how to do it, with tips and best practices to make fish scales, snake scales, and even dragon scales!

Starting Out

• Open Procreate and start with the square image template.

• Add a new layer, and grab a brush to use. I’ll be using my own custom pencil brush. If you like the look of it, my brushes are available in my shop!

• Turn on Drawing Assist and adjust it to the Symmetry setting. There are a few different options, but we’ll be using Vertical.

• TIP : It may help to create a grid to follow first. I’ll use Drawing Assist - Grid, adjust the size to my liking, and trace it on a new layer to create a grid. Don’t forget to change Drawing Assist back to Vertical!

Start Drawing Your Scales

I think it helps to have a reference image handy, especially if you’re going for a bit of realism.

• Duplicate your drawing layer 4x. Move each layer to a quadrant. Having SNAP turned on helps for this.

• If you have any areas that don’t quite match up, fix them now. Usually they’ll be in the middle area if you’re using the quadrant method.

• Duplicate the layer again and move one up, and the other down. Fix any areas that look messy.

• Create a new layer and fill it with white. Move that layer under the drawing layer. Duplicate the drawing layer and hide it. Merge one drawing layer with the fill layer. Select the canvas and triple finger tap to copy it.

Let’s Test the Brush

• Open the Airbrush Brush Menu. Find Hard Airbrush and duplicate it.

• Tap on the duplicate brush. Tap GRAIN. Tap EDIT. Tap IMPORT and select PASTE. Your brush texture should have imported. If the background is white, tap the image to invert the colors. You’ll want it to have white line art with a black background.

• Test your brush. It should repeat cleanly. If it has areas that have errors, you’ll have to go back to your texture layer and readjust. It’s okay if it takes a few tries. Better to fix it now than after the brush is made!

• Check your adjustments and if the brush repeats cleanly, you’re done! Tap DONE to save the brush

You can always go back into brush settings and readjust any other settings there to further customize your brush.

Using the Brush on A Painting

When it comes to painting with the scale brushes, I’ll have my drawing ready.

• Open a new layer above your line art and fill in a block with a scale brush.

• Select the layer, and adjust the shape with Distort, Warp, and other resize functions. I try to make the scales flow in the direction of the shape they’re covering.

In the case of this Capricorn’s tail, they spiral and twist quite a bit, so I will create separate layers for each part and do my best to blend them together. A trick for hiding overlapped areas is to not paint all the scales. Erase some in strategic places, to imply a scaled tail. I personally think less is more when it comes to painting scales anyway.

And that’s it! I hope you found this helpful. If you’d like to see more quick walkthroughs like this, leave a comment and let me know what you’d be interested in. Thanks for watching, and happy creating!

I’ve participated in these over the years, seeing some through to the very end. Drawing non-stop for 31 days is definitely challenging, but that’s the point, isn’t it? A couple of years ago, I decided to no longer participate in challenges like Inktober and I have some thoughts…

Back in 2019 I wrote about why every artist should do an art challenge. I still stand by the points made in that post. Challenges have helped me grow in some great ways. I make faster decisions about compositions, and for the most part I work more efficiently than I used to. But with benefits come side-effects, and art challenge side-effects may include self-doubt, physical pain, and burn out.

Under (Social) Pressure

Whether you’re looking forward to or dread this time of year is largely determined by your overall experience with such challenges, I think. It’s hard to say no to a challenge when you see everyone else you follow on Insta doing the same challenges. And because of the social nature of these kinds of challenges, you face pressure to share your pieces online, even if you don’t want to. I knew a lot of what I was posting wasn’t my best work, and after frantically drawing and painting for hours, I didn’t necessarily want to share something I didn’t feel confident in, but I did it anyway because it’s the ‘Gram.

Time Is Not on My Side

Finding time during the day to squeeze in planning out a drawing, sketching it, inking it, and posting it becomes increasingly harder as the challenge progresses. I noticed that around day nineteen I started feeling the stress of the challenge. Some times I would fall behind, which would add to the stress of trying to finish the next day’s drawing while also making up for ones that were missed. I’m pretty sure challenges should be fun and enlightening, not stress bombs.

The Dreaded B-Word

I also noticed after I finished a challenge, I’d have burnout that lasted for MONTHS. For me, this was the worst part of the challenges. It wasn’t just something that happened once or twice - it would happen every year I joined in. I had zero desire to draw anything until January, at least. Not wanting to “be productive” added onto the anxiety of “not being productive enough” in the time I needed to rest and replenish my creative tank. Overall, not a good mental environment for germinating new ideas.

FOMO is a Beast

Like I mentioned before, I think self-inflicted social pressure plays a large part in these social media-based challenges. They can be great for getting attention on your artwork, but is the attention worth it in the end when new followers see you only draw in ink for 31 days a year when the rest of the time you’re painting digitally or with watercolor, and they leave because you’re “not being consistent”? Is it worth it when you’re dealing with crippling burnout, or negative thoughts around your art if you didn’t finish the challenge?

Speaking for myself, my Inktober participations did not result in a massive boost to my follower count. It only hobbled my overall progress because I would have to take a break for a few months afterward. What good did becoming a better decision maker and faster at drawing do me if I let those fresh skill points go stale while I distanced myself from the very thing that improved them in the first place?

Take it Easy

There is no rule, written or unwritten, that states, “If you’re a serious artist, you must participate in ____ challenge for ____ days and share your progress!” Taking on a challenge doesn’t make you a serious artist. Taking your art seriously, in whatever capacity that is for you as an individual can handle, is what makes you a serious artist. If that looks like drawing one spooky thing for October in ink that you only use once a year, then that’s fine!

If you’re determined to keep going with the challenges, here are a few bits of advice from an art challenge veteran to make things easier :

Plan things out ahead of time

If you can get an official prompt list early, you can start thumbnailing your ideas in advance, and maybe even get a few sketched out and ready to be inked/painted/colored. If you’re coming up with your own prompts, do the same thing. Start in September, or earlier!

Keep things simple

There’s no need to make a Kim Jung Gi level masterpiece if you’re aiming to finish 31 drawings in 31 days. I’m not assuming anyone’s skill or speed level here, so if you can get a detailed piece done in the parameters of a challenge, have at it (and have my applause). I find it’s most helpful to really keep your ideas in check and not let them run away from you by setting some boundaries and keeping things as simple as possible while still coming close to the result you’re looking for.

Give yourself some grace

It does no good to beat yourself up if you don’t finish a challenge. If you don’t want to share any of your work, then don’t. You can participate completely off-line if you want. Participate as much or as little as what works best for you!

I realize a lot of the pressure I put on myself during these challenges was completely self-inflicted. I didn’t have to do go as hard as I did at some of them, but my past self wasn’t listening to her tiny inner voice begging for relief.

If you’re feeling down on yourself because you didn’t have time to do a challenge, or didn’t complete one for whatever reason, I hope this post lifted your spirits a little bit.

Save your ideas for the future, because there’s always next year if you want to give it another go.

Sizing Frames and Mats

One of the most important factors is the size of the printed area. For instance, for 5 x 7 inch art prints, you will notice that the printed area is typically around 4 x 6 inches; for 8 x 10 inch prints, the printed area is usually 6 x 8 inches, and for 11 x 14 inch prints, the printed area is about 9 x 12 inches.

For example, my suggestion for 5 x 7 inch prints is to put them in a 5 x 7 inch frame as-is, or use a mat with a 4 x 6 opening. The over-all size of the mat can be larger than 5 x 7, though. It all depends on your personal style and taste, but a frame and mat would need to be at least 5 x 7 inches and accommodate a printed area of 4 x 6 inches.

Here are my recommendations :

Print Paper Size : 5 x 7”
Mat Size : 5 x 7” or larger with a 4 x 6” window
Frame Size : 5 x 7” or larger*

Print Paper Size : 8 x 10”
Mat Size : 8 x 10” or larger with a 6 x 8” window
Frame Size : 8 x 10” or larger*

Print Paper Size : 11 x 14”
Mat Size : 11 x 14” or larger with a 9 x 12” window
Frame Size : 11 x 14” or larger*

*make sure the over all size of the mat will fit within the frame

Styling Artwork

Besides the size, it's also important to think about the type of frame and mat that will work best with the size of the printed area. You'll want to choose a frame that not only complements the artwork but also enhances it. You might consider a thinner or thicker frame, depending on the style of the artwork and the decor of the room. Most of my room decor is neutral, so many of my frames are dark colored, like black or a deep brown. Sometimes I’ll throw a little metallic texture in the mix though.

I like to pair darker hued artwork with a dark frame, and will use light or dark frames for lighter hued works. I rarely pair a light colored frame with dark artwork, though. The contrast clashes too much for my tastes.

Additionally, a mat can be a great way to add depth and dimension to your framed piece. By selecting a mat that matches the color of the artwork or the room, you can create a cohesive look that really pops. Speaking personally, I stick with white or off-white archival mats when I can. Sticking with the same color mat helps create more unity in my gallery wall, even if my frames aren’t the same. Using archival materials, like acid-free, archival or museum grade papers and pigment inks, also ensures my prints will last for years and years without yellowing.

Where to find Frames and Mats

If you’re in the United States, my go-to places for frames are most big box stores like Michael’s, Target, or IKEA.

I’ve been on a journey to be thrifty and use reclaimed frames found at yard sales or thrift stores. Most of the time they just need a little cleaning, maybe some paint, pop your new art inside and they’re good to go.

Sometimes you may need a custom sized framing mat for a weird sized piece of artwork. Here are some recommendations :

• https://www.arttoframe.com/

• https://www.frameusa.com/

• https://www.redimat.com/

I hope these tips help you when selecting frames and mats for your art prints to create a stunning display that showcases your art in the best possible way!

Last updated November 2024 to add custom framing mat suggestions.

A while back, I splurged on some Polina Bright watercolor brushes for myself. Honestly, what peaked my interest in them was seeing another watercolor artist (Margaret Morales) using them. I was amazed at how the brushes preformed in her process videos, and how she was able to paint larger areas and tiny details with seemingly a single brush. I’ve used these brushes on a few paintings now, and there are some things to note about them if you’re on the fence of purchasing some for yourself or not.

What I Like

I love that these brushes retain their shape so well. They’re incredibly springy, and hold a good amount of water and pigment without the two mixing together too much. When you make a stroke, you get a nice concentration of pigment instead of pigment that’s been watered down by a saturated brush.

What I Don’t Like

They did take time to get used to, because compared to my usual Princeton Brush Co. brushes (the Neptunes and AquaElites) they handle water and pigment a bit differently.

My other concern would be the construction. The wires that wrap around the plastic ferrule are sharp and irritate my fingertips. I don’t want to trim them and risk damaging the brush, so I try to hold the brush a bit higher on the handle or adjust how the wires are facing so the loose ends are out of grasp.

Where To Get Them

You can get Polina Bright’s brushes here.

I've tried to counter this in the past by taking intentional breaks away from social media, and it's helped a little, but as soon as I start posting again I go right back to that former mindset. It's tough to pull out of. With the way social media is structured, we're encouraged to stay the same, stay repetitive, stay branded so we stay "recognizable".

But how does that help us grow? It doesn't. There's no growth in you artistically, creatively, or personally if you stay the same. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's extremely difficult for me to want to create and share things that don't look like the rest of what's on my feed. I get anxious about how it will look, whether anyone will like it or not, or will anyone recognize it as mine?

But that’s the thing - I can’t control how a piece will be received by others. Whether the piece is made or not, how well I execute an idea, and whether I share it at all are the only things I have control over. If someone looks at my portfolio or social feed, maybe they see a traditional artist who paints a lot of nature themed pieces, or a digital artist who paints fantasy figures and landscapes, or a designer who makes colorful surface design patterns, and they don’t see anything else. I’ve done my part though - I created something, and put it out there. Maybe it wasn’t my best work, that’s fine - I know I can improve on the next one.

Considering how I can improve on the next piece, or what I can explore next have been my main motivators this year to just keep going. We’ve all felt the feeling of being excited about finishing up a new artwork, and sharing it to social media, and getting a luke-warm response. Or none at all.

It’s demoralizing, isn’t it? Does it make you feel like everything you learned on that piece you just completed was for nothing? Does it make you ask, “What is the point?” and you want to just put your pencils and other tools away forever? My poor friend and fellow creative has listened to my lamentations on the frustrating time of being an artist and using social media as the vehicle to share the work many times (I appreciate her so much for sticking around during my pity parties). Usually the ranting boils down to how frustrating it is to put work into marketing your work only for it to be invisible, or whatever the IG algorithm has decided to do to posts and Reels this week. (Ah, Reels, you’ll always be a thorn in my side.)

It’s rough, sharing your creations online, trying to get someone - anyone - to see them. However, remember this - you did what you could do. You made the thing, shared the thing, and the rest is largely out of your hands.

So put the phone down, and go make the next thing. Experiment with different mediums and techniques. Become an explorer. Try to make it better than the last, even if it’s only a minor improvement. That’s still an improvement, and still something you have control over.

This post contains referral links. By clicking some of these links, I may earn a little commission if you decide to purchase something from XP-Pen. You’re under no obligation to buy anything or click on any links you don’t want to. :)

Recently, the team at XP-Pen reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in testing out one of their pen tablets. They sent me the Deco Pro Medium to try, and my first impression was literally, “Woah, this is HUGE” (in a very good way). Read on for my thoughts and experience on this tablet!

The main features of the Deco Pro line :

1. Comes with double-wheel which can make work a little easier and smoother

2. Supports up to 60 degrees pen tilt

3. Works with Mac, Windows and Android

4. Unique design with two sizes to choose from

So, little disclaimer first - I’ve always struggled to adapt to pen tablets. I blame it on my traditional art background and always being able to see my hand and what it’s doing. It’s taken me a while to feel more comfortable with drawing while looking in a different direction. I started out with pen tablets before using pen displays. Having said that, my experience with the Deco Pro Medium was so comfortable, I wish I’d had something like it when I started my digital art journey.

This is a beautiful tablet. It’s thin, light-weight, and sleek. The drawing area is very large compared to pen tablets I’ve used in the past, and I really enjoyed feeling less restricted with a larger drawing space. The pen has two function buttons and fits comfortably in my hand, too. The pen tilt was nice, too, for shading large areas (it felt a lot like using an Apple Pencil on an iPad).

It came with a nice pen holder (the cap doubles as a stand) and 8 extra pen nibs. They even included a little half glove (the ones that help reduce drag on your hand while you draw)! It also included USB adapters so you can connect the tablet to your computer or even your Android based device.

The connection point to the tablet was stable. This is something of a grievance I’ve had with my Cintiq 13 HD - bump the thing a little bit and it powers off. I did not have any such issues with the Deco Pro Medium and I loved that.

I’m divided on my favorite parts of this tablet. I really liked being able to adjust how the tablet is oriented. You can place it horizontally, or vertically, depending on your set up and preference. I don’t have a lot of desktop space, so being able to place it vertically helped my area feel less cramped (ultimately I did decide a horizontal set-up worked best for me). You do have to go into your tablet software and adjust that setting, though, but if you’re someone who will stick to one orientation, it won’t be a problem for you.

The dial wheel is another feature I liked. I don’t traditionally use a lot of the button functions of tablets or displays (I’m a hotkey/hand-gesture person), but this one technically features 10 customizable button functions (8 buttons, and a dial wheel and inner track pad ring). Deciding which functions would work best for me was tricky, so I kept it simple and set up some buttons that would Undo, Redo, open a brush menu, and set the dial wheel up to Zoom In/Out and Adjust Brush Size.

With the good comes the bad, though. I didn’t experience any “deal breakers” but there were a few minor things that I noticed.

I mentioned earlier that using function buttons on tablets isn’t something I normally use. I’m extremely basic when it comes to that, so if you’re like me, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of functionality the buttons and dials offer. If not, you’re golden and will likely love it. I personally found it tricky to set up program hot keys (specifically Photoshop) to the buttons in a way that was comfortable and intuitive. Again, this is largely a personal issue and not a complaint about the tablet itself. Realistically, it’s better to have buttons you don’t end up using, than to not have those buttons and end up needing them.

I noticed the response of the pen was just slightly slower than that of a display tablet. When I say slightly, I mean it was extremely slight, almost undetectable. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing in that I prefer less “slippery” strokes and find the tiniest bit of drag helps me control my lines better, which honestly is a help considering my clumsiness with pen tablets vs pen displays.

Pros :

• easy to set up and easy to use

• good price point

• large drawing area

• came with a lot of nice extras

• didn’t have any issues at the connection points

Cons :

• may be too large for certain desk set ups (look into the Small size if this is the case)

• pen tablet had a very very slightly slower response time (which was nearly undetectable) than that of a pen display

• the amount of functionality may be overwhelming for someone looking for something more simple

All in all, my experience with the Deco Pro Medium was really enjoyable. This is a great tablet for beginners or pros looking for something simple that just works, and at a reasonable price point.

The Deco Pro line starts at $99.99 USD and can be purchased here :

https://www.xp-pen.com/product/432.html

US&CA: https://bit.ly/3aLLTdc
UK: https://bit.ly/3kmL8KP
EU: https://bit.ly/3aP986s
AUS: https://bit.ly/2ZM6Leg
SEA: https://bit.ly/3qOWVUL

Visit the full XP-Pen website at https://www.xp-pen.com.

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]]>Creative LifeCatherine HeroldWed, 03 Feb 2021 15:29:24 +0000https://catherold.com/blog/why-you-should-keep-your-bad-artwork54eaabb4e4b05860a4725540:54ead1f2e4b0328389b070a7:601ab575eb9ef62f2ab9774eRecently I rediscovered a bunch of artwork that I had done during my formative teenage years as an artist. I even found my graphic design portfolio from my college days (major cringe). Looking back at them led me down a path of nostalgia, which lead to some thoughts and realizations about not just my creative journey, but a universal one all artists and creatives take.

You may not want to keep anything you make, but here is why I think you should…

Picture this : you found your old middle school sketchbook hiding in a long forgotten box. You start flipping through it and looking back at the things you drew. Do you feel a sense of pride? Second-hand embarrassment for your younger self? Did you want to toss it right in the trash? Or did you think, “wow, I’ve really come a long way”?

You’ll reconnect with your WHY

I didn’t start an active drawing practice until I was in 6th grade, and didn’t start painting until a few years after that. Comparing my now to by back then, it wasn’t pretty. I approached things with a bit of stubborn tenacity, clumsy execution, and practically no planning beyond, “I see it, I make it, done”.

There wasn’t social media at the time to share art to, so it mainly was seen by my family and some close friends. There was no pressure to create the “right” kind of art that was optimized for likes, clicks, and follows. I was freer back then, to create what I wanted to create, and it’s kind of funny that even then I was drawn to fantasy themed drawings. It reminded me of why I started this path in the first place - the love and joy of creating art!

You’ll see the progress you’ve made

Looking back at some of my earliest paintings ever, present me can see that younger me had a good grasp at certain concepts, like color theory (which has always been largely intuitive for me), composition, and value. I didn’t know what I was doing, or why, but I knew I liked how it looked and went with it!

Your younger self would be proud

No really, they would! They’d be thrilled at how far you’ve come and what you’ve accomplished. And honestly, you should be proud of the younger you, too. If you’d given up back then, you’d never be where you currently are and you clearly didn’t quit so that is definitely something to be proud of.

(And between you and me, I’m proud of you, too. :) )

So what do you think about keeping older pieces? If you’re hesitant to hold on to physical copies of your work, you can always scan or photograph them and create digital copies and recycle or donate the rest (your local thrift store would probably be very happy to have some original art!)

Did you like this post? Got suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment and share with a friend!

This post contains affiliate links. By clicking some of these links, I may earn a little commission if you decide to purchase something from Redbubble. You’re under no obligation to buy anything or click on any links you don’t want to. :)

Let’s file this under “Things I Wish I Knew”, shall we?

A few months ago (maybe? This year has been limbo for me.) Redbubble released sock designs. Really cool, right? Who doesn’t love novelty print socks? The problem was that I didn’t understand how the template worked. After selling one pair, I caught an issue - because of how the socks are produced, you have to customize your pattern a very specific way if you want a seamless wrap around pattern. I feel a little bad for the unfortunate customer who purchased a pair of socks before I caught this issue, so that’s why I wrote up this guide. I want you to have flawless designs before you get customers.

You’re going to want to download this template. You will need Photoshop, Affinity Photo, or a program that can open .PSD files. If you don’t have those programs, here is the sock template overlay as a .JPG you can use, as well.

When you open the .PSD, you’ll see I’ve added some guide layers above the sock pattern. The hardest part about designing socks for me was not being able to visualize how they were assembled. The guide layers will hopefully erase that confusion for you.

The way the socks are made is this : the vertical stripes that say “TOP” are the tops of the sock - so the part that would go along the top of the foot and up the leg. The elliptical shapes in the middle and sides are the heels, and the dark bar at the bottom of the image is the toe.

When you apply a design to the sock product, (and this is my best educated guess), both socks are printed on one piece of fabric. Then that fabric is cut down the middle (see the dotted white line?) to form two separate pieces. From there, those pieces will wrap around and be sewn up the back (where A meets A, B meets B, etc) and across the dark bar. This is the back side of the leg and the toe. Like this…

So that means if you want your sock designs to be truly seamless, you have to factor in where the sides of each sock will meet.

A pattern applied to the template as a whole won’t match up to create a pair of seamless patterned socks - you’ll have some offset at the seam along the back of the sock and bottom of the foot.

I’ve found the best way to insure you’ll have a seamless pattern is to start designing at the top of the foot (where the TOP bars are), and to treat each half of the pattern as it’s own item.

Using the light blue side as an example, I would start my design in the TOP section, then fill out the pattern into the light blue area. If I wanted the pattern to wrap around the seam, I would have to make sure any image I put on A (left side) would also match up with A (right side). If I didn’t want to bother having the pattern wrap over the seam, I would leave a little bit of white space (see the guide lines in the image?) and wouldn’t put any images past that guide line.

Here’s an example using my own socks :

That’s it! I hope you found this guide helpful. It does take a little extra work customizing your art for various products when it comes to the Print on Demand business model, but I think the effort is worth it. You have nice looking products that showcase your art at it’s best.

If you liked this guide and want to see more, let me know in the comments, and share it with a friend!

Producing your own prints at home is an investment, initially. The biggest cost for me was buying a professional level printer. I saved quite a bit when I bought my Canon Pro-100 when I used a rebate. The overall cost for producing the actual print, however, is fairly low.

My Equipment

These are my current personal must-haves when producing my own art prints. They are by no means the only options. just the ones that I’ve used myself and prefer the most.

• Dropbox - I store the bulk of my files here. It’s helpful to use when bouncing between iOS and Windows 10

• Photoshop - I edit my print templates with this, I’ll explain how to set them up later

• Canon Pixma Pro-100 - the Pro-10 is your pigment-only, giclee minded printer. The Pro-100 uses a combination of dye and pigment based inks, good for producing prints with a budget-friendly price point in mind.

• Red River Paper - Polar Matte and Premium Matte Plus are my preferred papers

• guillotine style paper cutter - found at a local office supply store (Update : I use this one now!)

• x-acto knife - for trimming prints that won’t fit on my paper cutter

• metal ruler - something skid-proof, like this. You’ll want one if you’re using an x-acto knife, trust me.

Extra Bits and Bobs

• Cellophane sleeves - for protecting prints. These are eco-friendly!

• backing board - also for protecting prints, whether on display or in transit

• misc shipping supplies - I like using things like washi tape, tissue paper, and custom labels and inserts to make sure any orders I ship out are packed up nicely while sticking with my branding colors and style.

• postage scale - I always double check package dimensions before paying for postage, just in case!

How I Set Up Files

Everything begins with scanning the art, if it’s on paper, or opening a file if it’s digital. Photoshop is my go-to program but there are alternatives out there if you’d prefer not to pay monthly fees for software, like Affinity Photo (pssst…I use the cheapest plan Adobe has, the Photography one).

I create different templates for the size paper I’m printing on, not for the size print I’m making. So if I’m printing a 8 x 10” piece, I’ll create a template for 8.5 x 11” paper. If I’m printing smaller sizes, I’ll squeeze as many as I can within a sheet. For example, that same 8.5 x 11” template will be used for printing two 5 x 7” prints at once. In the future I’ll probably swap to purchasing pre-sized papers, but for now this is what I do (I know, it’s weird).

In the template, I create guide lines and a white space masking layer so I can just drop the master print file into the template, line it up, and it’s ready to print.

Going To Print

I don’t usually do anything special for this step. Red River Paper includes a guide sheet with their packs that details what printer settings to use, depending on your printer of choice (Canon, Epson, etc). I just follow their instructions, and try to run a digital Color Proof in Photoshop before I print, and a test print if I can spare the paper. I do my best to get my prints’ colors to look as true to the original as possible, but I’m not always successful in that so sometimes I have a few failed prints before getting a good match. There are color calibration tools available, but they’re expensive, so I do my best to eye ball a color match.

Packing Up Prints

Once the prints are done, I trim them with the guillotine slicer or X-acto knife and place them in cellophane sleeves. I generally get mine from Clear Bags, but am looking for more eco-friendly options and to transition away from plastics as much as possible in the future.

For now, I’ll place multiple prints in a sleeve if I can, without damaging the prints, to cut down on plastic use. I’ll slide a piece of backing board in the sleeve to make it more rigid and better protect the print during transit. For larger prints, when I get those orders, (11 x 14 and bigger) I’ll carefully roll them and put them in a mailing tube.

After the prints are sleeved, I’ll put them in a cardboard mailer or wrap them in a plastic shipping bag (again, trying to use this stuff up and swap to something eco-friendly). I’ll double check package dimensions and then print a shipping label and it’s ready for mailing. Since I have my physical storefront hosted on Etsy, I just use their integrated shipping labels. I have used PirateShip before for orders outside of Etsy, and highly recommend them for their rates and ease of use.

Still Thinking About DIY Prints?

You can see there’s a lot involved in producing your own prints. Finding a printer, finding printing supplies, finding shipping supplies, testing prints and a lot more. Even still, it gives me a rewarding feeling to be able to have a direct hand in the production of my art. I don’t have a lot of control over the end product when selling in marketplaces or print on demand sites, but I do have that with prints I make. It’s completely up to you, though, whether it is worth it or not. It’s a daunting investment to start producing your own prints, but I hope the first-hand and unfiltered insight into the process helps you decide!

Edited May 2021 to include some updated material and supply links!

If you liked this post, give it a share! Are there other topics you’d be interested in hearing about? Shoot me a message or leave a comment, and let me know!

To Giclee or Not To Giclee?

Giclee is just a fancy word for inkjet print. It means to squirt or spray, so technically any print that comes out of a inkjet printer is a giclee print. There’s a distinction though between “true giclees” and digital prints.

While there’s no official standard for giclee prints, if you’re marketing your print as a giclee, you’ll want to make sure it’s printed with pigment inks on acid-free, museum-quality archival paper. The pigment inks are the key as you can get archival quality paper, but printing on them with dye-based inks isn’t going to make them considered to be a “true giclee”. So if you’re wanting to offer customers archival giclee prints, that’s something you’ll want to consider. My printer uses mostly dye-based inks, and while I’ll describe my prints as long-lasting printed on archival paper, I can’t in good conscience market them as archival prints.

Print Making Basics

When you’ve decided whether you want to offer archival or not quite archival prints, you’ll need to pick out a printer and make sure it’s compatible with your existing computer set up. I use a Canon Pro-100 that I got from B&H Photos. They have good rebate promos from time to time, so keep an eye on them in the future. I like this printer, but it’s HUGE and very heavy. I have it sitting on an IKEA Alex cart, which works out pretty well for storage and size. It prints up to 13 x 19, allowing me to offer several sizes.

My go-to paper is the 60 lb. Premium Matte Plus from Red River Paper. They have a wide variety of papers, they’re great quality and priced well! I also use a guillotine style paper cutter for trimming prints, and cello sleeves to keep them protected, but I’ll be phasing the sleeves out in favor of more plastic-free and eco-friendly options. Another thing to think about is ink, because to me, that’s the biggest expense. I use refill inks from Precision Colors, and I’ve been very happy with the quality of my prints.

Challenges

There can be a lot of hurdles to overcome in producing your own prints. Color matching your original artwork (if it’s a traditional piece) is important for an accurate reproduction of your originals. You can buy expensive devices to calibrate this for you, but I just eyeball it to the best of my ability.

Different papers have different brightness values, textures, and finishes, which can affect how your printed images will look. It’s a good idea to test prints with a sample pack so you can get a better idea of what your art will look like on different substrates.

You’ll have to be mindful of your software settings, as well. I send my prints through Photoshop, and have to make sure my settings are correct for the size image I want to print, the type of paper I want to print on, and other settings like Rendering Intent, which can affect how your colors appear on paper.

I’ll break down some more specific things next.

Good Things

At price per print, it’s fairly cheap to produce your own. If you can get a good printer at a good price, paper isn’t terrible expensive, but you’ll also want to consider whether you’re selling super high quality, museum-grade prints for collectors, or something that’s still good quality but more affordable for the average consumer. You’ll also have a higher profit margin since you aren’t having to split costs with a manufacturer.

Another thing with having your own printer is you don’t have to keep a stock of prints on hand. You can print off what you need to as you go without having to worry about where you’re going to store a stack of prints, or whether you’ll be able to sell said stack.

Bad Things

Full transparency here : I face an issue every single time I print something. It could be the printer won’t connect to the computer. It could be my ink tanks need to be refilled. It could be Photoshop is being shitty and keeps freezing up. It could be my print settings aren’t right and I waste paper and ink on prints that are duds. It’s incredibly frustrating and can be stressful when you’re trying to fulfill orders and your printer or software isn’t cooperating.

If you don’t sell a good volume of prints, you may feel like your money’s been wasted on a printer. Honestly, if I hadn’t had that rebate to use for mine, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it. The rebate knocked the price down to about 50% off, and I ended up paying just over $200 USD for my Canon Pro-100. On the flip side, if you’re selling a ton of prints you may feel like producing all of those yourself is too much to do on your own. I use my printer for more than just art prints, and even though I’ve had mine for a couple years, that helps keep the dreaded buyer’s remorse away. I’ll print bookmarks, postcards, and packaging for my products with it. The most I use it for producing prints, though, is when I need to prepare for a market or artist alley, or restock prints being sold at local businesses. I don’t use it much for fulfilling online orders.

Overall Assessment

So, should you produce your own prints? That’s a hard question to answer. I can only speak of my own experience with mine, and I’m pretty divided on whether it’s been worth it or not. I’d say my overall experience with it so far has been more frustrating than positive. Like I said before, I fight with it constantly. I can’t say whether it’s the brand of printer, or software issues, or my own ineptitude, but it gets real old real quick when things just aren’t working, but you need them to because you gotta get stuff done!

I have plans this year to outsource all online orders for prints through a print on demand manufacturer who can handle the headaches for me, produce and ship them, and offer better quality prints than I currently can at home. Yeah, my profit margin will be lower, but I feel I’ll recoup that in time that will be spent on more meaningful tasks. I’ll continue using my own printer for prints I intend to sell in person or locally, though, until I need to readjust my strategy.

Having had prints produced for sale in the past, it was costly for me and a gamble because I was just getting started with my online store, had a microscopic following on social media that couldn’t be leveraged towards sales, and had a bunch of prints made that no one wanted. I’m still trying to sell them, too. That’s why I plan to restrict prints I have made to keep on hand to limited edition versions, like ones with special embellishments and such.

I barely scratched the surface when it comes to info about producing your own prints, but there’s still some left to cover. If you’re still planning on buying a printer next time, I’ll go more into what I personally use and later how to set up your files for printing.

To be continued!

Part 2 is up! You can read it here.

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]]>Making Your Own Art Prints at Home : Before You Get StartedCreative LifeCatherine HeroldFri, 08 Nov 2019 17:48:00 +0000https://catherold.com/blog/2019/10/21/best-artist-challenge-practices54eaabb4e4b05860a4725540:54ead1f2e4b0328389b070a7:5dade16bc7261d25b3a24280If you have any social media presence at all, you’re probably familiar with viral “artist challenges” like Inktober or MerMay. I’ve personally been participating in challenges like these for around 5 years now, and can absolutely say that if you’re an artist, you should be participating, too. Here’s why you should, and things to consider whether you’re a challenge veteran or you’re a first timer.

You WILL improve

Harder, better, faster, stronger! They say it can take anywhere from 18 to 31 days to form a habit, but regardless, if you do something enough times, it will stick. Many challenges are month long blocks where you create a drawing or painting every day for about 31 days. I promise, if you do anything for 31 one days, you’re going to see or feel a difference between day 1 and day 31.

Consistency is the key, and challenges really serve to cultivate good art habits and practices. You don’t have to spend hours every day painting, even just 30 minutes a day sketching will snowball into massive growth in the future.

You’ll step out of your comfort zone

Inktober has been a challenging challenge for me personally because I rarely use ink in my art. Even with the digital resources I create, when I incorporate line art, it’s done digitally (saves a lot of time doing it this way!).

Over the years, though, I’ve found ways to utilize ink in a way that’s consistent with my style. This year, I’ve learned that I do much better inking with a dip pen versus a Pentel Pocket Brush pen. A brush pen and shaky hands are NOT a winning combination when you want clean lines (such is the case for me, at least)! Maybe next year, I’ll incorporate markers since I don’t really know how to use them.

Discomfort encourages growth, so don’t be afraid to make yourself squirm a bit!

You’ll have 31 new pieces of art to do whatever the heck you want to with

A lot of artists opt to sell prints or merchandise featuring their art, right? How does 31 new pieces of freshly made art to decorate coffee cups, stickers, sweatshirts, or whatever else with sound?

I’m one of those people who struggles with balance and time to create new things consistently (I’m a perpetual work in progress). Devoting a month to daily drawings is a great opportunity to make some new art to sell. Or if you want to hold on to your pieces, it’s a great way to expand your portfolio. Maybe you just wanted to undertake the challenge to have fun and try something new. That’s okay, too! It’s your month and your art, you are free to do whatever you wish with it.

Challenges have a lot of positives, but can carry some negatives, as well. Personally, I think the positives outweigh them, but let’s chat about them for a bit. I don’t want you to feel intimidated by undertaking a challenge (because they’re sooo good for you to do!) so I want to offer a bit of encouraging insight.

You don’t suck because you didn’t finish (stop that talk)

Seriously, stop it right now. You aren’t a failure, your art isn’t horrible, you didn’t ruin [insert challenge here] because you didn’t finish the challenge.

Challenges are meant to serve a purpose.

So before you start beating yourself up for being an imperfectly perfect human, ask yourself “what did I learn?” Did you learn better time management with what you did complete? Did you discover maybe liquid inks aren’t really your thing, but maybe markers work better for you? Regardless of how many pieces you actually finished, you’ll have learned at least something from each of them.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

Art challenges can be a big commitment. Sometimes they require a lot of time, effort, and energy to see through to completion. We all have obligations in our daily lives that are absolute musts, like paying bills, taking care of your health, caring for your family or pets, nurturing a social life, etc. It can be hard to work a challenge into all of that!

I’ve found what works best for me is working mid morning until after lunch, so from about 10 am until about 1 pm on challenges. This time block works out best because my kids are off at school and the house is nice and quiet and it’s just me and my dog, and sometimes husband. There’s minimal distractions and I know I can usually count on this block to be open. Sometimes it isn’t. Or sometimes I’m just too exhausted mentally and physically to work at that time. That’s okay. I know I can start a sketch at night, finish it up the next day and have plenty of daylight to take some nice photos to share later.

I will admit, falling behind isn’t always the best feeling to grapple with, but challenges are 100% optional. I know if I’m behind a day or two or five, I can catch up and finish things.

It IS about you

Art challenges are about you and you alone. They’re about your growth, your ideas, your progress. You can choose to participate in them, or choose not to. Either is fine, but make sure you’re choosing the one that will serve you the most.

If taking on a challenge right now is going to be too hard to work around other obligations, participate as much as you like. Instead of doing 31 drawings, maybe do 15 or 4, or none at all!

Maybe you’re thinking, “I want to participate, but if I share them on Instagram, they won’t fit in with feed.” You don’t have to share anything. You don’t even have to let anyone know you’re participating! Keep it private if you want, but don’t let feed aesthetics discourage you from trying it at all.

Did you participate in any challenges this year? Leave a comment below with your IG handle so I can take a peek!

If you didn’t participate in a challenge this year, consider doing so next year! They’re challenging (that’s kind of the point) but so rewarding in the end. I’m much more confident in using unfamiliar mediums, in my decision making skills, and in conceptualizing ideas and seeing them through to completion. If none of the “official” ones interest you, consider creating one of your own! As an added plus, it’s a really satisfying feeling to look back at a challenging time and say, “I did it!”

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]]>Why Every Artist Should Do A ChallengeTutorials & GuidesCatherine HeroldSun, 30 Dec 2018 17:30:11 +0000https://catherold.com/blog/2018/12/17/easy-product-photography-bts-and-tips54eaabb4e4b05860a4725540:54ead1f2e4b0328389b070a7:5c17d3fa032be42f613e9c33If you’re searching for ways to improve your shop or social media traffic, blog post after blog post will tell you your photography needs to be on point. Sorry, but I’m about to add to that list! Over the past few years, trial and error, practice, and a little ingenuity have helped me see a notable improvement in photos I post to my shops or on Instagram. Here’s how I do it!

One of the most important things I’ve learned is not to undervalue good lighting. Good lighting means well lit shots with true to life colors, bad lighting means an hour or so of color corrections and creating something from nothing.

I’ve found the best lighting is natural lighting that’s filtered, just like what comes through a window. I set up a little shooting area right on top of my big printer. Normally I’d advise against this, but what I’m photographing is really light weight, so it’s not a concern. If you don’t have a good window to shoot from (this one I use faces eastward), a studio lighting kit can help. I’ve even used all three together because while the sun’s position in the sky isn’t consistent, studio lighting is. It’s helpful to get a little boost of light when I’m shooting too late or too early in the day. If your budget doesn’t allow for a lighting kit, a couple desk lamps with daylight blubs can do the trick.

Besides a lighting kit, you’ll need something to shoot with! They say the best camera to use is the one you use all the time, so I typically shoot on my iPhone 7+. I also have a Nikon Cool Pix that I will occasionally use, but my phone does a pretty good job (hey, my amateur expectations are pretty low, hah!) If you want to read more about editing your mobile photos, check out the post I wrote about my favorite apps!

Something I like to do to add interest and help frame up shots of products or art is to add a colorful backdrop and some simple props. These big 12 x 12 sheets of scrapbook paper work wonderfully, are super cheap, and easily available. I picked several colors that fit with a color scheme I use a lot with my brandin. You don’t have to keep it consistent, but I like to! Grab some bright colors, or neutrals that will allow your work to stand out more! You can layer the sheets over each other to frame your subject up, too.

A few of my favorite props to use are these faux mini Monstera leaves, some faux succulents (I have live ones I also use but they’re big), and things I find around my home like vanity dishes or some jewelry. Pick props that compliment your subject, rather than distract from it!

To store all the things I use, I stick them in a plastic scrapbook paper storage container. It’s the perfect size and I can fit mostly everything I use in it.

​Hopefully you find these tips helpful, and will help you improve your listing photos and social media posts in 2019!

After snapping photos, editing comes next, because it's rare that I'll get a perfect shot that requires no extra fluff. That and I have a weakness for punchy colors. So here are some of my favorite apps and what's so great about them!

A Color Story (iOS & Android)

This is my go-to for editing photos prior to posting them on socials or as product listings. I absolutely love this app, it's so fun and easy to use! ACS also has presets for Photoshop and Lightroom that make it easy to keep your edit aesthetic consistent whether you're on mobile or desktop.

What I like about it : Super easy to use, and it starts you off with a lot of free filters and effects. Editing is pretty advanced (it has curve adjustment!!!) and you can easily save editing steps into a "recipe" to use in the future with just a couple taps. It also has a preview feature and basic scheduling for Instagram users where you can arrange your posts and play around with the layout before posting, which is super handy to have if you care about the over all aesthetic of your feed.

What I don't like about it : most of the filter packs are paid add-ons but from time to time will go on sale. I think they're worth paying for, though. The scheduling and grid feature is basic, and I would love to see a hash tag generator or the ability to save hash tag lists. I don't foresee any advanced features like that happening though, as it's a photo editing app and not a scheduling one. 

VSCO (iOS & Android)

VSCO was one of the first photo editing apps I used. It has ready to go filters, and you can really dive into some deep editing. It even has its own little community of photographers if you're looking for that. It's very similar to ACS, but with a more professional feel to it. I don't use VSCO anymore and haven't for some time. 

What I like about it : Plenty of ready to use filters and advanced editing features make photo editing on the go convenient. You can also save edit steps for reuse on other photos, and the app camera is pretty good.

What I don't like about it : I found the UX a little less intuitive to navigate and had a difficult time saving edit steps for future use. It also had ads for their subscription service and that kind of got a bit annoying after a while. I think VSCO caters to the more serious mobile photographer and was more app than I needed.

LINE Camera (iOS & Android)

LINE Camera is a fun little app with some of the more colorful filters and effects I've seen in editing apps. I don't use this one often but it does have a nice collage feature that other apps I use lack, so I keep it around mostly for that.

What I like about it : Fun filters and effects, the shop has stickers and more to punch up your photos. I think of it as more of a fun selfie-centric app, rather than a photography app, though. I do like the "paint" feature, that allows you to create some on the fly graphics perfectly sized for InstaStory use. The "collage" feature is also handy to have, for when you want to do...well, collages!

What I don't like about it : The app camera leaves something to be desired. I would also like the ability to upload a background or texture of my choice into the "paint" editor. Advanced editing options are limited, as well.

Extras : 

• PLANN (iOS & Android)

Okay, PLANN is sort of a special case. It's not really a photography app, but it does have editing capabilities so I'll briefly touch on it. It's marketed as a "visual planner, scheduler, and analytics app for Instagram". It has some built in filters that aren't bad, but aren't as great as say, the ones A Color Story has. I use ACS and PLANN together for my own Instagram, editing photos in ACS and then importing them into PLANN and scheduling from there. I've used PLANN's filters and editors just for a little extra "something" but I don't primarily use it as and editor. It has free and paid plans, and is worth looking into if you're searching for a more all-in-one app for editing, scheduling, and analytics.

• Built-in iOS editor

Sometimes I don't need a lot of fancy editing (because I got lucky that the sun was in just the right spot when I snapped that photo) and a gentle bump from my phone's factory editor is enough. iOS has pretty good built features as far as editing goes for when less is more.

ACS Recipes

I came up with some A Color Story recipes for you to use! I made a point to stick with only the free filters, so they'll be convenient for everyone to use. You can use them as is, or as a starting point and further customize them! Don't stress if you don't replicate the settings precisely, just have fun with it!

(demo images from pexels.com)

It was important to me to have a two-layered pin for that cool 3D effect. I searched online for a reputable manufacturer and ultimately choose Ink It Labs. They're an established business and after my experience working with them, I highly recommend them for anyone looking to have custom acrylic or wooden pieces for charms or pins made. 

My plan was to take advantage of their multi-design options. I could have units of top piece and the back piece split between a total of 50 pieces for the order. Being a newbie at pin making, I contacted them and discussed my plans and how I ultimately wanted the pins to look. They were very patient with me and my multitude of questions, provided me with sample images of what they could help me produce, and even helped me get my files in order so printing was a breeze.

I have to brag on them for one more thing. During check out, I made a major "oopsie" and selected the wrong destination country (yeah, I actually did that) and ended up with a massive shipping and handling fee. Instead of losing their patience with me (at that point, after all of my questions and my dumb mistake, I wouldn't have blamed them) they quickly cancelled that order, issued a refund, and I was able to reorder with the correct shipping address information.

I had to wait about 2 weeks for the finished pieces to arrive. I opted for a glossy finish on the florals of the back piece, and no added finish to the front. I also opted to have extra white applied to both pieces so the colors popped. Ink It Labs sent me some samples of what my design would have looked like without the extra white layer, and while seeing the wood grain show through the design was a beautiful effect, I didn't think it was quite right for this particular design. I'm definitely saving that option for future pins, though!

When the pieces arrived, they had a paper cover over them. Since I had to assemble the pins myself, and glue can get messy, I just pulled the layer off the front of the back piece, and the back of the front piece. I used a bit of E6000 and spread it carefully with a tooth pick, let it set and pulled off the remaining paper. I used more E6000 to apply the gold pin tacks to the back.

Overall, I'm thrilled with how my first pins came out. I definitely want to create more wood-printed pins in the future. Working with Ink It Labs made my first time experience enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to working with them again!

P.S. You can purchase these pins in my store! Also, pin buyers get a 5 x 7 print while supplies last. 

Do's

1. Engage!

Make an earnest effort to say hello to anyone who stops by your table. If conversations aren't your thing, a simple "hi" is enough. Just acknowledge that someone is visiting your table and surveying your wares.

2. Make Good With The Neighbors

You're going to be surrounded by other artists and vendors. Make friends! I was running my table all by myself (a mistake on my part) but I befriended some really awesome ladies who helped relieve me and kept an eye on things while I ran off for a bathroom break or some snacks.

3. Bring A Blanket

It's June and it's hot, but I failed to grab a light pull over when I dashed out of my house the morning of the convention and regretted it all weekend (until I bought a sweater at the connected shopping mall). It was frigid in the dealer's room (artists' alleys and dealers will often be in the same area, especially in smaller conventions) and all I had were tank-tops and shorts. One of my table neighbors took pity on my poor, ignorant self and loaned me a blanket. She saved me from freezing to death. True story.

4. Write It Down

Keep track of every bit spent for your table. Track paper, ink, art supplies, costs of producing items, travel expenses...everything you spent to get ready and travel to the con! Make use of inventory management software to keep track of sales, or use paper if you prefer. I ended up using Square and syncing it with my shop inventory for easy tracking. 

(If you don't have a Square account and are thinking about one, use this link to receive free processing on up to $1000 in sales!) 

Don't's

1. Don’t Go It Alone

What if your table neighbors are too busy with their own tables? Or MIA most of the weekend (witnessed it firsthand)? Next time I table, I will do by best to bring a buddy. I really appreciated the help I got from other artists, but having someone behind the table to help bring back food, or relieve you for a break would help immensely. 

2. Don’t Get Discouraged

Friday was a bust for sales. Saturday was better. Sunday was the best. After the first day flop, I couldn't help but think of all the costs of getting ready for the convention, let alone travel expenses. My outlook was bleak! From what I was told by other experienced artists, every convention is different in terms of what will sell and what won't. Some are flops and others are successes, so don't give up on future conventions if you had a bad one!

3. Don’t Forget About The Tax Man

Dealing with out of state sales tax was a first for me. The collection and remittance was awkward to sort out. This was, again, something I was told varies from con to con. Being a first timer, I didn't know what to expect, but in the future I will do a bit of research into state sales tax rates and how individual cons handle that.

All in all, I had a great time and I made some new artist friends! Give the ladies below a visit, they're wonderful people!

https://www.instagram.com/lady_beluga/

https://www.instagram.com/jasmindoodles/

https://www.instagram.com/squibblefu/

https://www.instagram.com/daynatang.art/

https://www.instagram.com/arcaneaccents/

https://www.instagram.com/mussyhead/

(I've provided some links to these, they aren't affiliated but they are mostly from the same source for simplicity's sake. Of course, where and what you purchase is 100% up to you.)

*Edited to include Van Gogh watercolor paints!

Update : I put together a comprehensive list of everything I currently use in my art & business practices! Check out the Resource List here.

Paper 

I've been a cold-pressed watercolor paper loyalist for yeeeears until trying hot-pressed last fall. It handles water differently, but I really enjoyed it's smooth surface. Strathmore is a brand I've bought over and over again, with Canson and Fabriano being newer additions to my paper selection. You can't go wrong with Strathmore's cold-pressed watercolor pads, or Canson's watercolor or mixed media pads. I use the mixed media one for creating illustrations to digitize for clip art, and the watercolor paper for fine art purposes. Fabriano also makes a decent sketchbook. I feel like the paper has a similar feel and grit to Moleskine's, but is way more budget friendly.

Pencils & Erasers

I don't really stick with a specific brand as far as pencils go. I just gravitate towards which is most comfortable to hold. I really like how easy the SumoGrip mechanical pencil is to hold, but the Zebra Frisha pencil is so enjoyable to use. I found this pencil back during my college days and if I had known how hard they would be to find in the future, I would have bought an arm full. I think they've been discontinued, sadly. The blue ones I have I hunted down online and promptly ordered them. I also keep some standard pencils of varying hardness for transferring drawings to paper for painting. I use a harder lead and a light touch to keep lines from showing up too much in my paintings. As for erasers, I like the retractible ones. The small Tombow one is convenient for small areas, and the rectangle eraser for large areas. And of course, a quirky Blue Q bag to carry it all in.

Brushes & Paint

I have an assortment of brushes, some with brand labels on them and others without (some are really old, they were my grandmothers!). A brand I've found recently that I really like are the Princeton Artist Brush Co. Select Artiste brushes. They're affordable and hold their shape really well. I also like using water brushes. Pentel makes some good ones but ArtnFly has a more affordable version, too. I do feel like the ArtnFly ones are easier to flush water from, but sometimes a little too easy because it can be tricky to blend color with when the brush is sopping wet. I usually just dab it off a bit and it's fine.

For paint brands, I like Winsor & Newton and Van Gogh. I've also used Da Vinci. I'm a Daniel Smith newbie but I love how pigmented the paints are. I think if you're going to splurge anywhere, it should be paint. I've noticed that cheaper paint can look chalky when building layers, but a good, high quality paint is well pigmented and blends nicely. I've had many palettes, ranging from extra large to small, but this little metal 48-pan palette is my new love. I'm able to put all of my current color collection into it (I can't do that with my other palettes). Mixing area is a little limited but it's not a deal breaker.

So I hope that's a bit informative! If you're starting out, I think these are all good materials to begin with. Remember though, tools don't make the artist. Practice and dedication do! Even still, it never hurts to play with materials and find what works best for you. 

Supply Links

• Strathmore Cold-Pressed Watercolor Pad

• Canson XL Cold-Pressed Watercolor Pad

• Canson Mixed Media Pad

• Fabriano Studio Watercolor Paper Pad

• Fabriano Eqoqua Notebook

• Pentel Aquash Brushes

• ArtnFly Brushes

• Simply Simmons brush

• Winsor & Newton Cotman brush

• Princeton Select Artiste  brushes

• Winsor & Newton watercolor paint

• Van Gogh watercolor paint

• Da Vinci watercolor paint

• Daniel Smith watercolor paint

• Meeden Empty Watercolor palette

• SumoGrip pencil

• Zebra Frisha pencil

• Tombow Mono Eraser

• Pentel Eraser

• Blue Q bag

What You'll Need :

• metal bezels, or similar material to house the art (I got mine from Amazon.)

• clear epoxy resin (you can use something like Ice Resin that comes in a plunger, very easy to use but not the cheapest option, or Art Resin, or any similar two part mix. It just needs to be non-yellowing and hard when it cures.)

• your artwork (I printed mine on my home printer on card stock paper)

• Mod Podge (original matte is fine, but you probably want to avoid the "hard coat" version)

• scissors (for trimming your art down to size)

• paint brush

• mixing cups and craft sticks

Preparing Your Art

To start, print off several copies of your chosen artwork in the correct sizes. I used 1x1 and 2x1 bezels, so I cropped my artwork to fit that size. It's okay if it's not spot on, you'll be able to trim them down to fit in the bezels later.

Apply two coats of Mod Podge to the paper over the artwork and let it dry. Then flip it over and Mod Podge the back, as well. You want a good coating to protect the ink from the resin (trust me on this one).

After the Mod Podge has dried, cut out your art to size for the bezels. Trim excess as needed. I tried to make sure when I trimmed, my artwork was still centered within the frame. Avoid using art that looks smudged or has particles stuck to the Mod Podge. I had a thread sneak it's way in on one of my tiny prints, so that one got tossed!

In your bezel, apply a good coat of Mod Podge and press the artwork into the frame. Use the tip of your scissors or even your fingernail to press the paper into the corners and along the sides well. Apply three coats of Mod Podge along the edge of the bezel to seal the sides of the paper. This will help keep the resin from discoloring the paper.

Mixing The Resin

This is the hardest part, to me. If your mix is off at all, your resin won't cure properly (and never will). The best way I've found to make sure you're getting an even mixture is to mark your bottles. When you pour out the resin, take note of where your levels are at, and try to get the same level when you pour in the hardener. Using measured mixing cups also helps, but personally I prefer the bottle marking method.

Mix your resin according to package directions and pour it on your dried, thoroughly coated bezel frame. You'll see some bubbles but that's okay! Poke them out with a needle or use a lighter to pop them. Make sure your resin permits this, first! If it does, lightly pass the flame over the bezel until the bubbles are gone (thank you, Instagram user lady_beluga, for this tip!!).

Cover up your frames to keep dust and other particles from falling into your curing resin! Nothing worse than admiring your new key chain only to see an eyelash stuck in it or something.

Important Stuff!

Check your work often during the first 30-45 minutes. If your Mod Podging wasn't good enough, and you see some discoloration happening, quickly scrape the resin out into a disposable cup, remove the art and clean the bezel frame. Personally, I'd rather replace resin than replace resin AND a bezel. You can clean the bezel out with a paper towel, some baby oil, and plain soap and water.

Depending on the resin, you should have a full cure in 48 hours. Check your directions for details on that. If your resin is hard, congrats, you didn't screw it up! If it's soft, well... practice makes perfect, right? (Don't feel bad, I threw away 13 bezel frames on my first attempt. Can't get worse than that, right?)

Adding Embellishments

I’ve also experimented with embellishments in my key chains by adding acrylic painted details or gold leaf flakes. The results are gorgeous and eye-catching, and easy to do.

For hand painted details : After you’ve thoroughly sealed your art inside the bezel, paint details directly on top of the art. Let it dry completely before pouring in the resin.

For solid materials like gold leaf : After you’ve thoroughly sealed your art inside the bezel, you can apply a few flakes to the surface of the art, or apply them after you pour the resin. Take a toothpick or something similar to position the flakes in the resin. Watch out for hidden air bubbles with this method! Make sure you keep a close eye on the curing process so you can pop any air bubbles that show up.

So now that you know how to make durable resin key chains of your art, when are you going to start? Good luck to you! I'd love to see your finished product, so send me a link in the comments!

If you liked this post, give it a share! Are there other topics you’d be interested in hearing about? Shoot me a message or leave a comment, and let me know!

Updated June 2020 to include tips on adding embellishments to keychains.