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FREELANCING TIPS: Good jobs and bad jobsThe world of freelancing is littered with hurdles and pitfalls. If you are a freelancer or a potential client, there are some tips and notes below that may help you connect successfully with job partners. A client or artist will seldom display all of the attributes or warning signs described below. However, being aware of the following list items may help you to more easily classify a potential workmate as a good risk or a bad one before work begins.
ATTRIBUTES OF A SUCCESSFUL JOB AD:
Client seems polite and professional and reasonable.
Client describes the project clearly.
Client has checked the advertisement for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.
Client mentions payment method and/or proposed payment amount(s).
Client mentions deadlines if any. Deadlines seem reasonable.
Client answers questions openly.
Client provides contact information.
Client provides image samples to demonstrate desired style if applicable.
Client provides links to company website or previous work

Finding Freelance work: pricing and self doubt!Why don't I get enough freelance work? Are my prices too high? I see these types of questions on Deviant Art a lot. Whether you are just starting out or you have been freelancing for a while, there is a good chance that you can improve your workload and income by applying a little bit of self confidence and assertiveness.
1) Don't wait for work to find you. Go find work. Read job ads. Find jobs that suit your skills. Also adapt your skills to match the jobs you find... That's very important. If you can provide a style or service that other artists can't match, that gives you an advantage. Make a list of freelancing sites and other sites with job advertisements. You can find some of them here: http://friendlyhand.deviantart.com/journal/#/d52v4i3 Keep track of which sites provide the BEST job leads for you and visit them regularly. Be prompt when applying for jobs. Some clients will take days to pick an artist but other clients will choose from the first few applicants.
2) Alwa

So You Want to Self-Publish?

So you want to self publish, and you're not quite sure what you're about to get into. Or, perhaps you do, but you're not sure where to begin researching the things you need to know. If either describes you, then this document is for you. Self-publishing is easy with *merrak!
My aim is to produce a fairly comprehensive list of considerations. Like a Wikipedia article, it's meant to be a place to begin research, not a one-stop guide.
First, an important note. I'm a mathematician, not a publisher. Publishing is a hobby of mine. It's a hobby I take seriously, and as such, I've done the best research I can do. But I make my living teaching people how to put two and two together, and not helping them publish stories about funny things their cats do. Hence, this is a living document. Feel free to share your own thoughts and experiences. In fact, please do! Although I have things to share, I'm here to learn.
Now, let's begin!
0.
First and foremost, let's crash th

Improving image composition!Sometimes the details of our illustration look sooo good! but then when we step back and look at the composition... it's a little boring or muddy or crowded or our eyes wander away from the parts that looked so good up close... Where are our focal points? Why doesn't this illustration grab my attention and hold it? Composition can make or break a piece. Here are some links that show examples of good and bad compositions and describe why certain layouts are more successful than others. Various tips and rules are described and illustrated. I hope you'll enjoy these as much as I do.
Composition in art as described by wikipedia (a little boring): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_%28visual_arts%29 you can skip to the good links below and come back to this one later if you want.
concept art composition tips with examples: http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/phil_straub_composition_tutorial
23 pages of paintings and composition tips

Graphic Artists of dA, Behold: A Pricing GuideHello, all. My name is Kellan Stover, a budding professional illustrator close to finishing up his time at the Savannah College of Art and Design, achieving my BFA in illustration. I felt the need to create this news article for the benefit of every artist on deviantArt who intends to make money from their talent.
When one visits the deviantArt 'Employment Opportunities' forum, they should be shocked at what they find. Startling low prices abound. These are both offered by the clients, as well as quoted by the artists. The sad truth is most people aren't shocked at all. The perceived consensus is that it's business as usual. A lower price means an increased likelihood that a client will do business with you, right? In some ways yes, but not at this extreme. You must remember that 'you get what you pay for'. It's widely accepted that the more demanded your talents are, the higher skilled you are, the more you can charge. If a client wants, no needs, your work over someone else, they wil

How can I become a better artist?Whether you are just starting out as an artist or you are going through a dry spell, these tips and suggestions from various DA members may help you get on the right track. I've paraphrased and edited in some cases to showcase the tips that I found particularly insightful.
First and foremost: Practice. On top of that, some good education, whether it comes from a class, a book, youtube or just keen observation. But most important is practice. The more you keep at it, the better you will get. There's really no magic switch. The best advice i can give, is to not get discouraged. Every piece you do, whether its at the level where you want to be or not, is a step toward your future greatness.
~mattchee
"Avoid drawing cartoons, fan-art, or anything but real subject matter, until after you master the fundamentals of understanding line, form, shape and perspective.
When you draw, don't draw passively. Keep your mind always focused on the present; on your subject. 100% of your attention

Am I ready to start freelancing?Hi,
I'm a freelance artist. Freelancing for a living involves many hours of work (hard work/easy work/looking for work) each week. It requires confidence, patience, organization and motivation. Some clients Have a very clear vision of their job and can describe it precisely. Others are a bit disorganized or unmotivated requiring extra effort (and some should be avoided completely). When you make the decision to start freelancing, it can take a while to get the ball rolling, so if you are living with your parents, in school, or working a regular job, that can be good arrangement because you probably don't have the pressure of being completely self supporting. The basic principles of freelancing are pretty simple, but it seems like there's always more to learn. If you are thinking about doing any kind of freelance art work, or you have been trying unsuccessfully to take the first step, these tips may help you get started.
Here's a basic checklist. In order to sell art, you generally nee

My drawing is slanted, angled, crooked, skewed!Skewing is a very common issue for artists. When we draw faces or people, one eye might be too high or maybe we unintentionally draw every character leaning to the right. These little inaccuracies may be a result of the angle of our drawing surface, paper angle, our head tilt, wrist movement or some combination of these factors and others. During the drawing process, our mind grows accustomed to a slightly odd angle here or there, and we may be oblivious to the fact that the drawing leans one way or the other. Often, facial proportions are asymmetrical.
There are some simple methods to correct this habit. When working digitally, flip your image horizontally from time to time to help yourself observe the shapes from a fresh perspective and fix them. When working traditionally, occasionally view your work reflected in a mirror or hold it (with the image facing away from you) in front of a light source so that you can see the reversed image.
Another technique is to draw horizontal and ver

Writing101: Writer's Doubt aka Terminal TerminitusToday is a very important day. It's no less important than yesterday, but it's no more important than tomorrow - neither is it in between the two. But, it's still important. I could ramble on with justifications all day, each no less important than the last...but I'm procrastinating.
Procrastination (DON'T SAY DIRTY WORDS!) is one of many enemies to a writer, another being lack of time. But for many, the title of arch rival belongs to doubt.
Writer's doubt a.k.a. Terminal Teminitus. If Webster was to define it, the following would be noted in the dictionary:
Writer's Doubt (latin: Terminal Terminitus, Scribblius Maximus Gettius Nowhereius). A condition effecting writer's in which they deem their work of too low a value to continue or start. Symptoms include cold sweats, tummy aches, head pains, nausea, nose bleeds, broken pens, smashed laptops, frayed wits, and sometimes death (by stray paperclip).
Have you ever thought that you writing was not good enough to share? Have

Panda-Mascots Summer Theme Contest!here we are again with awesome news!
We are having a new Contest

after thinking a while we thought of making some contests with our panda ^^ so here is the our first contest about the Group Mascot!
we wanted to bring him together with a theme... so i thought how 'bout making summer? since he's really chubby this may be hard for the poor panda xD
RULES!
- our Mascot the Panda must be in it of course.
- you have to bring the theme SUMMER up in the picture.
- everyone can have up to 2 submissions in this Contest.
- You must be a Member to join the Contest.
- The entry must be submitted to the Monthly Contest folder.
References

PRIZES!
1st Place gets
- 150
- winners package from #AnotherContestGroup
- a free chibi commission from ~TheEternalManga
- a free chibi by ~TamashiHoshi
- 1 Fully Shaded picture o

Stock/Texture FeatureFeaturing my favorites from :iconnopromises-stock:

Sara

Monthly Challenge: AugustGroup Challenge: August in Green

This is a "Challenge" -- a short, 1 month long, art prompt.

This month's challenge is -- create something in Green theme!
August 1-31
The Rules

1. Deviation must be mostly the color Green (60%-70%). Your challenge is to create a beautiful piece of artwork limiting yourself to using MOSTLY only the color Green. Any other colors may be used, but can not be more than 30%-40% of the piece.
2. Submissions must be new artwork, finished & posted between August 1-31, 2012 ONLY.
3. Must say it is for Traditional-Art-Only's Group Challenge "Green" in the comments, with a link to this journal.

This is REQUIRED, if not included as instructed, your submission will be declined.
4. You can enter as many times as you like.
5. Submit your entry to the "Group Projects ONLY" folder.

Entries sent to any other gallery folder will be rejected.
6. Submissions must follo

AFFILIATE AND MEMBER CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENTSHey all!! It's our weekly announcement of affiliate and member contests

And yes, I know I'm a day late. But you love me anyways!!!

(I think said this last week too . . . . hmmmm)
So on with this week's Announcement!
This week, we have 6 (that's right!!! You read it right!!) contests.

Our first contest announcement comes from our member
:iconEigthDegreeBites:
*EigthDegreeBites
For her Group
:iconArt-Collaborations:
#Art-Collaborations
and is called MAGIC! CONTEST NOW OPEN! NEW PRIZES!
OBJECTIVE:
" . . . create a piece of art that shows us magic in some form!"
Unfortunately, contest deadline is tomorrow, August 14th, so you better hurry!
For more details, go to

Commission Info!I feel like I should update my commission information and also make it easily available on deviantART! So here's a long commission information journal! Yay!
I will take a total of 5 commissions, then slots will be closed and I'll wait until I'm finished before opening for more! Let me know if you need any commissions done before Christmas or any other specific date!
Prices and Examples
Many of these prices vary depending on character complexity. Some things that may increase the price of your commission are: feathered wings, lots of bushy/swirly fur, more than one set of wings, complex markings or scale/plate patterns or other intricate body textures.
Sketch $10
A digital sketch with some crosshatched shading of a single character. Let me know if you don't want the crosshatching!

Extra characters + $5 each
Lineart $25
Crisp, clean lines of a single character.

Six Ways to Earn More CommissionsIf you’re serious about earning an income with your art, then you have to be serious about marketing yourself. If you’re like me, you hate selling… you don’t like rejection, it makes you nervous and you think you’re no good at it. That’s why we’re artists and not salesmen. Fortunately marketing yourself is kind of an art form.

Although I don’t have all the answers, I’d like to share a little of what I’ve learned about the art of marketing ourselves.

Be Seen: First, make it easy for people to find you. Create a deviation with a list of the different kinds of commissions you offer, with a sample and a price for each. Put this deviation near the top of your profile so that everyone knows you’re open for commissions. Here’s mine as an example:

Join commission groups where people looking for commissions can find you. Many commission groups will expect you to have a commission sheet that

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Art sites for freelancing or inspiration

by ~FriendlyHand, Jun 8, 2012, 12:19:56 PM
Journals / Personal

Here are some art related sites that you may find useful. Feel free to note me if you have any problems with links or if you want me to add one.

FIGURE DRAWING RESOURCES (may contain nudes):
Figure Drawing in the USA and Canada: [link] 900 schools and galleries that offer figure drawing sessions you can attend
human anatomy for artists: [link] reference photos: small images= free/ large images available with membership
human comic art reference photos: [link] huge professional photo reference site
lovecastle: [link] reference photos of humans, big cats, horses, hands, heads
pixelovely: [link] reference photos of people and animals
PoseManiacs: [link] anatomical drawing references
Quickposes: [link] nude photos for figure drawing
Zvork Virtual Lighting: [link] interactive lighting on 3d human models

ONLINE COURSES, TUTORIALS, VIDEOS and other resources
animation resources [link] a long list of animation related links
ArtistsHospital tutorial list on DA: [link] list of popular art software tutorial links
Artpapa: [link] - lessons, online workshops and video workshops
Beyond Art Tutorials [link] drawing and digital tips and tutorials
Conceptart: [link] - art schools, tutorials, and community mentoring
CrimsonDaggers: [link] livestreams, challenges and chats focused on improving fundamental skills
Deviantart Tutorials: [link] art tutorials
i draw girls [link] (theartclasses.com) drawing tutorials and videos
Photoshop Lady [link] lots of tutorials
the art classes [link] drawing tutorials and videos
TAD: [link] The Art Department- High quality online art school
Youtube: [link] has many many tutorials (some good and others not as good)

FORUMS
Artpapa: [link] - teach, learn, show, browse art and forums.
Conceptart: [link] - art, forums, portfolios, tutorials, and jobs
CGhub: [link] Computer graphic art work, tips tools and forum with some jobs
CGTalk: [link] Computer generated art forum
DeviantArt: [link] forums and galleries with job ads
DigitalWebbing: [link] comic book news, forums and jobs
DrawingBoard organization: [link] forums, galleries and a few jobs
Elfwood: [link] Sci-fi and fantasy art, fan art, stories and forums
Epilogue: [link] Fantasy art community
FurAffinity: [link] furry and anthro art (some NSFW) and jobs in the forum
Nabyn: [link] A small art community- currently in open beta
Newgrounds: [link] art,games,audio, and forums
Pixeljoint: [link] gaming forum with job offers
Shadowness: [link] art community
SheezyArt: [link] Art, critiques, scoring, clubs
Storm-Artists: [link] - art showcase and discussion
VirtualPetlist: [link] Virtualpets list forum and market
wipnation: [link] art articles, interviews and inspiration
ZWOL: [link] comic and webcomic message board

GALLERIES and PORTFOLIOS
500px: [link] Photography gallery
Artweb: [link] your personal online gallery
Behance: [link] professional artist portfolios
Flickr: [link] Photo sharing
Google Art Project: [link] virtual museum of high rez, zoomable paintings
tumblr: [link] -Gobs of interesting art and photos

ONLINE SHOPS TO BUY AND SELL:
Artbreak: [link] buy and sell art online
Artfire: [link] handmade marketplace to buy and sell
ArtWanted: [link] browse , buy, sell and search art
Artweb: [link] buy and sell art
CafePress: [link] Custom clothing and gifts with your art or photo
Ebay: [link] buy and sell most anything
Etsy: [link] - buy and sell arts and crafts, vintage, and supplies
Redbubble: [link] - Buy and sell your art prints or tees etc.
Sketchmaven: [link] buy and sell original comic art
Society6 [link] affordable art prints, iphone cases, tee shirts...
Spraygraphic: [link] creative art and thought put into clothing
Threadless: [link] art on clothing and accessories, also competitions
Zazzle: [link] custom tee shirts and customized gifts

Sites for Freelance Jobs:
Elance [link] free members can bid on a few jobs monthly
Fiverr: [link] buy or sell goods or services here for five dollars (US$)
Freelancer.com: [link] Plenty of art jobs with budget range provided
Freelance.com: [link] Didn't see many art jobs here. clunky interface
Freelanced.com: [link] freelance jobs sorted by category and location
Guru.com: [link] a freelance marketplace
iFreelance: [link] nice layout but not many art jobs
Illustrationweb: [link] illustrators and clients
Indeed: [link] job search with info from various job sources
oDesk: [link] a global marketplace for businesses and freelancers
SimplyHired: [link] search through job ads pulled from various other sites.
theLoop: [link] a career network for creative talent mostly in Australia

Short Articles and Advice About Freelancing:
An introduction to Freelance Art
How to become a freelance artist
I don't recommend becoming a freelance illustrator

If you find any broken links or would like to add a link, just send me a note!

Thanks,
FH

15 Comments

Art sites for freelancing or inspirationby ~FriendlyHand

Journals / Personal

~GhostingFish Aug 25, 2012

idrawgirls.com

:3

~FriendlyHand Aug 26, 2012

Thanks! added.

*fireflyskys Aug 13, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

This is very useful. Thank you for taking the time to put together these lists!

~FriendlyHand Aug 13, 2012

Thanks for visiting!

~Fionabus Jul 17, 2012

Thanks you for putting the time into this! Much appreciated!

~FriendlyHand Jul 17, 2012

You're welcome! Thanks for visiting!

~skybrush Jul 16, 2012 Student Digital Artist

Thank you for posting this list, it is very helpful.

~FriendlyHand Jul 16, 2012

Thank you for visiting!

~hobbnob1 Jul 2, 2012 Student General Artist

[link]
[link]

Some people might also like those, they provide random images based on certain catagories and you get a user-defined amount of time to draw them, it's very helpful for practising

~FriendlyHand Jul 2, 2012

Thank you! I'll add those to the lists!

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Art sites for freelancing or inspiration

Art sites for freelancing or inspirationby ~FriendlyHand

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