Writers: How to Write an Art Order

So you've got a book, maybe even a series. You've mastered the art of creating fiction and telling a compelling story. Now you are searching for an artist to bring those words to life in a new media for illustration or cover art. However this is an art form in and of itself. It's not the same as writing fiction, so allow me to illuminate my fellow creatives on how to communicate with your artist effectively without frustrating them.

Common Mistakes Authors Make Writing Art Orders!

1. Sending the artist the story, book, or series and expecting them to mine it for images.

You've got books conveying all the information you think will be useful for character development and portrayal, so naturally you want the artist to read them to get the correct interpretation of your vision. This is one reason publishers tend to do this step, because they're good at it. They've got editors that all they do is read all day. Artists don't have time to read all day, because they need their eyes for other things such as art. As nice as it is to have an artist who is acquainted with the stories, it's just unrealistic to expect them to drop everything and read a novel.  This is a job, and throwing too much information at an artist to sift through for what they actually need bogs down the process and takes more time, time they could use to be making art. Time, that you will undoubtedly be wondering "what's taking so long?" This is why you write an Art Order, because that's what you are doing, ordering art. You've commissioned someone to do a job and they need clear, concise descriptions of what you want in order to provide what you want.

2. Assuming the Artist knows your character as well as you do.

I've worked with several wonderful writers that leave out key details in their descriptions. This results often in either having to take time to read the writer's mind or starting over when the author finds something wrong. I've had authors forget to tell me the character is undead or describe a creature but never tell me what it is in D&D terms. This isn't prose, it's a bullet list of descriptors. If you are describing a person and they remind you of Angelina Jolie or Nathan Fillion, those are huge clues to the type of face you want. Remember to include things like hair and eye color, body type, hair being curly, straight, or wavy, and other things to help the artist make this image more like a real person with as few setbacks as possible. It also helps to know tips to the character's personality such as stubborn, shy, strong, frail, and other such very visual cues. This is information that doesn't need to be a page long, but a paragraph or two. What do they do? Are they good or evil? All important information that can be reduced to short bursts of relevant information, without wading through superfluous words to get to it.

3. Constant Revisions

The side effect of not being able to give clear concise Art Orders means Constant Revisions, which is a waste of both of your time. It is a byproduct of the author not knowing what they want, indecisiveness, or unable to clearly express what they want. This is a good way for an artist to drop the job or not want to work with you again, when there are other clients who know what they want and can express it. Don't be surprised if you get charged for the revisions, because it basically means twice as much work and headache for the artist. If you don't know what you want and can't express it, wait until you can to hire an artist and do everyone a favor.

4. Expecting a Working Artist to be only working on your stuff.

Artists are jugglers and can often work on multiple projects at a time. I often switch paintings when I need to let one dry, or take on new jobs while working on others. Instead of poking the artist and distracting them from working, set a deadline with your artist within reasonable parameters of their schedule and let them work. Set a time for a preliminary sketch to be approved to allow for revisions, and then a time for the finished piece. THEN you can harass them, but you will find that you and the artist are far happier with the working relationship. Establishing realistic expectations is key.

Writing your Art Order: Information the Artist Needs to Proceed

To give you an idea of what needs to be given, I will provide an example in italics underneath.

1. Color or Black and White?
This is important because color is twice as much work
Color Oil Painting

2. Output Size
How big is this going to be printed? If it is going to be small, then it will require far less detail than a cover piece, and the artist can adjust their project appropriately.
Cover Artwork 16x20inches

3. Setting (if applicable)
Before the actors come on, you need to set the stage. Are we Pre-Industrial, Medieval Fantasy, or on a distant planet. Is it in the mountains, in an inn, or the ruins of an ancient castle. Where is the action taking place? The artist doesn't need a map of the whole world, just a snapshot of where things are taking place now. If you use a character's name, be sure to name them in the description of the character, so the artist knows who you are talking about.
Medieval Fantasy, low-magic world. Daenerys is in the desert at night surrounded by burning embers from a funeral pyre on which she did not burn. She is naked and covered in ash but otherwise unharmed.

4. How many characters are in the piece?
Is this a cast of thousands in a huge war piece or an intimate and private moment between the two main characters.
One woman and 3 baby dragons who just hatched.

5. Who are the characters and their relation to each other. Why are they there?
Again not needing a novel, this can be as simple as a phrase like "astranged lovers", or "soldiers working together", "ship-mates", "rivals".  What do they do? Is one a wizard and one a warrior? Is one a cop checking out a crime scene? Keep it short, clear, and concise.
Daenerys is "The Mother of Dragons" She is a dethroned princess who has hatched the dragons from eggs, producing the first dragons seen in a hundred years. The dragon hatchlings look to her as their mother and she is caring for them as one.

6. Describe each Character Individually
Again, be clear and concise, this is not a story, but a description more like a character sheet than a short story.

• Name
  Daenerys Targaryen
• Gender
  Female
• Race, Species, etc
  Magical Human with the "Blood of the Dragon"
• Profession, Class, Archetype
  Displaced Princess of a medieval-esque kingdom and leader of a tribe of rough horse people akin to the Mongols. She seeks to restore her viewed birthright to the throne.
• Height, Build, Body Type
  Young, Early to Mid Teens, Slim, Attractive, recently gave birth
• Abnormalities, what sets them apart
  Immune to Fire, Driven Leader, Beautiful, Magical
• Hair Color, length, style
  Long wavy to straight white hair, worn in braids leaving long tendrils in the back
• Eye Color, Eye shape
  Large blue eyes
• Face Shape - Oval, Heart, square, etc...
  Attractive heart shaped face
• Person or character you can compare them to physically
  Emelia Clark
• Personality - stubborn, shy, strong, frail, etc.
  Fierce, Driven, Loyal, Compassionate, Brave
• Clothing Description - What are they wearing? Is there a necklace that means something?
  Dragons and nothing else
• Emotional state of character in the picture - Shock, awe, romantic, sad, angry
  Daenerys kneels in the pyre of her first love and so there is sadness, but also wonder and strength at surviving the fire and proving herself to her people by hatching her dragons.
• Style
  I would like it to be done in the style of Larry Elmore

7. Theme - What's the message?

Are you trying to say anything with this piece? Is it portraying the theme of a story about redemption, vengence, etc.
It is a picture telling of things to come, Daenerys like a phoenix rising from the ashes to take her place as queen with the help of dragons, and the rebirth of magic into the world.

8. Remember that you get what you ask for! 
If you don't tell your artist that the main character's left side of his face was burned in a fire, then don't be surprised if he doesn't look like it.  Anything not falling under these suggested descriptors but important to the character should be shared from the beginning.
Picture should be from the side with strategically placed dragons to conceal breasts and naughty bits.

I hope that this blog has helped you understand a little better on how to communicate what you are looking for to your artist. It didn't not require every book George RR Martin wrote to convey this image, and yet still provided enough information to get the job done. If you hope to continue writing and working with artists, then I hope that this information will help you establish a solid working relationship with your artists.

Below is an excerpt of an Art Order from Margaret Weis Productions with the finished piece.

Dragonlance: Dragons of Krynn

Product Specs: 

Title: Dragons of Krynn

Line: Dragonlance

Release: July 2007

Format: 160 page, full color interior, hardcover book

Art Dimensions:

1/2 page vertical = 3.125” by 9.25”

1/2 page horizontal = 6.5” by 4.25”

1/4 page = 3.125” by 4.25”

Total Page Count: 16 pages of art

All illustrations are either 1/2 page vertical, 1/2 page horizontal, or 1/4 page pieces. 

References are as follows:

DLCS Dragonlance Campaign Setting

AoM Age of Mortals

WotL War of the Lance

BoK Bestiary of Krynn

BoKR Bestiary of Krynn, Revised

ToHS Towers of High Sorcery

WotL War of the Lance

HOoS Holy Orders of the Stars

LotT Legends of the Twins

KOoA Knightly Orders of Ansalon

RoA Races of Ansalon

All equipment references (armor, weapons, etc.) refer to Chapter 7 of the Player’s Handbook.

The following is the art order:

Illo #15: Amphi Dragon

Size: 1/4 page Location in book: Book 1, chapter 4

Two amphi dragons fighting underwater with one defending a ship wreck that it claims as its own.  Description: This aquatic dragon resembles a giant, sea-green toad covered in scales and yellow warts. It has no visible neck, and its wide thick-lipped head looks like a cross between a frog’s and a dragon’s. Small vestigial wings grow from its back, and bony ridges protrude above its eyes and down its spine. Its long, clawed feet are powerful and webbed, aiding it in underwater movement.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Building depth on unfinished artwork.

One of the things that I often see in students is a lack of depth. Their drawings are rather flat and lacking that 3 Dimensional quality that comes from the push and pull of highlights and shadows. Without those extreme lights and darks all the mid tones wash out and the image becomes rather flat.

I remember being the same way when I was younger and getting the same admonition from my college Art teacher. Making those dark marks feels so permanent, and not making them is basically a lack of confidence and commitment. I was afraid of the dark.  I was afraid it would mess everything up if I went there. Afraid that it would ruin everything.

There are so many parallels that can be drawn between art and life, such as seeing things as they really are instead of how you think they should be. This is an excellent parallel to psychology. Many people are afraid to look deep within, and face their darker qualities or accept that it's there at all. That fear of the dark can create many personality disorders. It's one of the cores of Borderline Personality Disorder as well as a core component of Narcissism, where it's always the other person's fault and the narcissist will go to great lengths to defy and deny reality to convince themselves and others of this. Both will attack someone who may point out the darkness that they are so keen to deny rather than introspect and consider their own faults. The reason they attack is because it feels like an attack on the reality they constructed, much like references to trying to unchain someone from Plato's cave.

In artwork, establishing that darkness is important, but it has to be counterbalanced with light in order to truly be developed and not just a dark muddy mess. One does this with highlights, establishing the lightest lights.  After that, all else falls in the spectrum of mid tones of varying shades of light and dark, and truly gives the image its depth. Even without a wide range of mid tones, like drawing on toned paper with a white and black color pencil, it still has more depth than those afraid of leaving a mark.

One of the things about highlights in art, the whitest white will always be your light source, even if there is something else "white" in the picture, like a shirt. In fact when looked at more closely it is actually a light grey, blue, or yellow as opposed to white. When compared with the rest of the picture's colors it changes the way that it is perceived.

So it is also with the psyche, there's something in everyone that illuminates them and stands out. That is their inner light in contrast to their darkness, that sets the stage and spectrum for all else. It might be the divine within them or simply love, but it shapes and highlights the whole personality of the individual.

One needs to have a good grasp of both, a realistic perception of dark and light to put the rest into perspective. If not, someone afraid of the dark might start interpreting even light grays as black, unable to see the difference, or light grays as white instead of what they really are. This is also a symptom of narcissism which is extreme idealization and devaluation, along with other unrealistic perceptions of seeing someone as all bad or all good, unable to see the reality of a person or situation in its full spectrum.

If there's anything an artist can teach, it's that you can't create something new until you perceive what is really there. Only then can you alter it to improve it. To be able to draw realistically, you must first be able to see realistically. In order to cope with anything in life you have to be able to see it how it really is, instead of assuming. This comes with experience and observation, practice and perception, and self awareness. These are not only necessities in art, but in life.

Wings in Art

When I was growing up, we had ducks, white ones and mallards. I had one, Louie, who would fly after me if I ran, and when I stopped and put my arm out, he would land on it. Wasn't quite as cool as falconry, but it's what I had. In having ducks, I developed an understanding of wings and how they catch air.

In order to prevent a bird from flying away, it is a common practice to trim the feathers along the wing close to the body, as this is where a lot of the lift comes from to stay aloft. Most of the time you would only have to do one wing and it would make them sort of fly sideways a bit, but it was enough to allow them to fly if they needed to without them going a great distance.

Knowing that, I see many paintings of dragons, griffons, or any other animal of flight, that simply could not do so with the artistically rendered wings.



This is a good example. Although Toothless has bat-like wings that reach farther down his body than his fellow dragons, the majority of his friends would never get off the ground, because the essential area for flight is missing.

In order to make something that does not exist in nature look realistic, it still has to play nice with physics and biology in order to be believable. Although animals look very different, their skeletal structures and muscles tend to follow a common pattern, and the same holds true with wings.

Becoming a Con Artist

"The Life of an Artist"

When I say "Con" I mean the abbreviated term for convention.  Although I wrote a blog on getting started doing illustration work in the gaming industry, what about those artists that just want to do their own thing and set up and sell their stuff?

Making the Art

If you are sure that you want to do this, then you need to be able to meet the production demands of your audience.  Every year you will need to be able to have a selection of new art for sale.  That may seem like an easy feat now, but once you start going to Cons to sell your work, it will cut into your production time.  This is why I often like to do something in the booth to maximize my time.

Certain people should not be in this field...

- Those who have to rely on others to make every single piece of artwork.  At this point, you are not selling your own art.  You're selling a combination of you and the person who helped you.  If you are going to steadily produce artwork (different from say 3D craftsmen pieces that can be tag-teamed) then you have to be able to produce independently.

- Those with artwork that is not completely their own.  If you can't come up with something without ripping off someone else, then there's nothing to distinguish you. At that point you are making money off someone else's work or ideas.  The industry is swamped with people copying others. If you do something, you have to have your own voice with your own ideas and not be just a rip off of this or that artist.

Making the Prints

For open edition printing, there are a lot of wonderful printers out there on the market today. 10 years ago, Epson was THEE name in art printing, but now there are plenty of comparable printers.

Use good paper for your prints that will not only give you the best image but will feel like quality. I often use Epson Enhanced Matte Paper for its archival quality.  You want to give your customers something that will last and preserves the image for as long as possible.  If you don't value it, then they won't either.  Your art is what transforms this piece of paper and ink into something wonderful, and if you want those pieces of paper known as dollars, you need to remember that.

Mark your prints with the image title and your name under the image, leaving a border around the image.  Often framers will leave a small border around a print to distinguish it from the original.  It also leaves a place to sign your print clearly that does not disrupt the image. I have started selecting a main color from the image to make a faux matt around the image.  It tends to set off the piece as well as make it ready to pop in a frame and still set off as though matted. In this area it is also good to hide in a small way the copyright information as well as your web address.  This makes it easy for someone to find you for more work or if they have a problem.  If you look through the posters and prints at any craft store, you will see that most art prints carry these things, and get a feel for how you might want to use them to enhance your own print for sale.

Many artists like to make multiple print sizes to make them available and affordable to a wider audience.  There are advantages and disadvantages to this.  If you off mini prints around 5x7 in size, you often find that people will opt for the cheapest option. Some artists get large printings of lithographs in bulk of one size.  This is the classical signed and numbered method of traditional artists.  Sure they may be 18x24 inches each and only cost you $3 per print for something really nice, but it could cost up to $2500 or more to get them printed, depending on the number you wanted.  This way you end up with a lot of ONE image, and if nobody wants to buy it, you'll end up with 2,000 prints you can't sell, taking up space and not making back the investment.  If it's an image that you know you can move, that's a best case scenario.  However conventions are a fickle market.  Larger prints are more difficult to carry around, and the smaller sizes are what tend to sell.  If you are just starting out, I suggest testing the market some before making a huge gamble on a lithograph.

Packaging the Prints for Presentation

One way I have seen artists do is to have a display of the different images, either in a book or just loose on the table.  The customer chooses their image, and the artist retrieves the chosen image to be rolled up into a tube sleeve, or slipped into a plastic bag.

The way I do it, is by packing each print into its own clearbag with a backing board for support, so the customer can simply buy the one that they like best from a bin of prints.

I've done both ways, and they seem to work equally well whether customers are flipping through books or bins.  The nice thing about the bag and backboard is putting a write up on yourself as the artist in the back with your contact information, gives your customer more info and makes the product look more complete.

Legal Stuff

Basically what you are doing is a business, therefore you are going to need a business license.  It's not that hard to get set up as a business, and in the end it gives you protection.  If you are making money, you're going to have to give the government their fair share and some states and counties have additional hoops to jump through to sell in their area.  An LLC is a great way to go for a small business.

Convention Planning

Before you can sell at a show, you have to get into a show.  There are conventions all over for several genres. It only takes some googling to find some good ones, and probably some in your general vicinity.

Most shows have their own website with information on being a vendor or an artist.  There is a difference.  Vendor spaces usually come around 10x10ft and cost more than the Artist tables which are often smaller spaces.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each.  Vendor spaces tend toward more general traffic flow, while artist areas tend toward concentrated interest in art from the lower traffic flow.

Speaking of traffic flow ... Check the numbers! When it comes to conventions, SIZE MATTERS ... at least where sales are concerned.  In general, the more people, the more likely someone who likes what you do will come around.  The larger the show, the more money people will have saved up in advance for it.  Small conventions are a great way to start introducing yourself and your art to smaller more intimate gatherings, but the sales do not compare to larger shows.

You have to spend money to make money, and every time you do it's a gamble. With decent sized shows you can expect to spend between $200 and $3000 dollars for a booth.

You will have to sign up for a booth MONTHS in advance. Don't think... "Hey, Dragon Con is next week, I wonder if I can show my art there?" because the answer is NO.  Many convention deadlines are months before the actual show, and the larger the convention the more of a lead they have. Vending spaces can be limited, so you may be on a waiting list waiting until someone drops out.  Art shows and art tables sometimes have to pass a jury process and also have a waiting list.  Nov-Jan seems to be the slowest time of the year for shows, because of the holidays.  Thusly this is the best time of the year to start doing your convention planning for the following year.

Pre-Con Prep

I generally put together a Con box with certain things, so I have them ready to go for a show and I don't have to think about a lot of these things.  Tackle boxes and the like are real good for this.

Things that you will need:

- Vendor/Artist Packet from the show with load in information

- At least $100 in petty cash to make change.  That means smaller bills.  You will probably end up using this to eat off as well as pay for parking.

- A cash bag/box or secure place to store money that you make.  Lots of vendors like to go with the fanny pack for convenience.

- Receipt Books - These are a great way to not only give your customer a receipt for their purchase in case they want to return or exchange something, but it automatically makes a second copy for your records to keep track of how much you sold

- A way to process credit cards? I swear by The Square!  If you have an iPhone, it's the way to go.

- Bags for purchases - often, I'll recycle old Walmart bags to put prints and such in, but you can also buy packs of TShirt bags Sam's Club or the like

- Pens to sign with, generally sharpies or gel pens of white, silver, gold for dark surfaces.  These should be separate from the ballpoints used for the receipt books.

- If you decided to go with gridwall, you will need zip ties to hold it together and a blade to cut the zip ties after the show.  Additionally, S-Hooks and bulldog clips are good to hang things as well

- Business Cards - Even if someone stops in your booth and walks away without product, make sure they get a card with your web address, even if it's just a deviant art gallery.  Vistaprint is pretty good for cards.

- Inventory List - It's always good to know what you have before the show and after to track lost or damaged items, especially for taxes.

- Cooler - Drinks are often far more expensive at conventions, and if you don't get out of the booth, you will want some sort of refreshments and snacks to tide you over till the hall closes.

- Sheets - When you leave a Con for the day and are returning the next day, you will want to cover your set up to discourage people from snatching product.  Out of sight, out of mind.

- Crash Space or Hotel (many people like to get it for the night before set up, to have energy for it, and the night after the show, because you need the rest before the journey home)

Setup

When you get to the convention, you are going to want to present your work in such a way to catch the eye and also to maximize your space.  I've heard it said that people get convention blindness.  Basically if it's not right in front of the customer's face, they won't see it.

Display is key for this, and don't limit that display to just your table. Many artists use gridwall, or back panels that velcro can stick to, in order to create a pleasant back drop on which to hang your artwork.  Often in order to really make your art stand out on gridwall, it's nice to hang black sheets behind it to break up that visual field.

Gridwall though very useful, can be heavy and cumbersome.  You may decide to do something like these pop up displays which is very quick and handy.  If you stick with gridwall, you will probably still want to do signage.  Pick your best pieces and your name to put on your sign, and then I suggest this place for printing it.  They do a great job at reasonable prices www.alwayssign.com.

Buddy System

Even if you got set up all on your own (which would be impressive with gridwall), you are probably going to want someone to help you with the booth, if nothing more than just potty breaks.  Often other vendors won't mind watching your stuff for you, but they can easily be distracted if they are processing a transaction.

Also if you happen to be willing to take commissions and draw in the booth, you'll want someone to be back up so you can work on the commission.  If anything, they're an extra set of eyes to see if a customer has a need.

Mostly a Buddy is good for going out and grabbing food when you're stuck in a booth all day if you didn't happen to bring a cooler of drinks.

Selling the Art

Many people have their own methods to this, but there's a few rules.

- Stay in your booth.  One of the temptations at Cons is to go look around or visit, but if people come by your booth too much and you're not there, they might get fed up.  Don't make people work to buy your art or you'll lose sales.

- A single large art or sculpture piece will attract people to the booth, or an eye catching costume can be a good draw in addition to display.

- It's good to make eye contact with people and greet them when they begin to look.  It acknowledges their presence, making them feel more welcome, and if someone was being nefarious, it often nips their intentions in the bud by knowing they are being observed.  Plus it's just courtesy. Let them know that you are there to help if they have any questions.

- Don't force the art down their throat.  A picture is worth a thousand words but it still doesn't tell the whole story.  Art customers are often as interested in you and the process of making the art as they are the art itself.  It tells a story, and the customer often wants to hear a little about it.  You are the authority on the art, helping them see through your eyes, so talk to them about your art.

- Art customers are often looking for images that express themselves, their lives, and their interests.  It's what speaks to them, so if it is not their thing, don't take it personally.

- At the end of the day, if you're having fun, others will enjoy it too.  Try to focus on that instead of making money, and you'll be surprised at how much you make.

Tear Down

Time for tetris and you begin to wonder how you got it all in your car in the first place.  Hopefully a few boxes will be lighter.  There's only one real tip for tear down ... If you can't stay for the whole show, it's often best not to do it.  Shows get rather irritated when people pack up before the end of the con, and it makes you look unprofessional.  Life happens of course, but it's generally the best policy to be there the whole time. So don't count your money, till the dealin' is done.


If you are just starting out as a Con Artist, I hope that this helps you. If you are a practicing Con Artist, feel free to comment and add your own show tips.  Good Luck!  And may the odds be ever in your favor!

Digital Depth

Athena with no atmosphere layers active.

I learned a lot in one glorious week at Larry Elmore's art camp.  Which if you have the chance to attend, then it is well worth the money!  Go to his site and sign up, because you won't regret it.

One of the things that I learned at Larry's class was about depth in painting. In art classes I had previously been introduced to perspective in drawings, but painting was an area that I was largely self taught. Beyond horizon lines and perspective drawing, I had not been introduced to the concept that color can also interpret distance.

Although you can see it every time you look at mountains in the distance, it took someone pointing it out to help me truly see it. At that moment, I had a Keaneu Reeves "Whoa", and suddenly my art jumped up to a whole new level in realism. Perhaps you will experience the same leap in your own artwork with this knowledge.

When you are looking out on something, it is affected by the atmosphere. The air holds tiny water droplets that generally cover the landscape in a thin fog at all times. This is obviously increased in places of higher humidity, but is barely perceptible in low humidities like deserts, where you can see farther with less atmospheric intervention.

Athena with only the back atmosphere layer active.

For the artist trying to capture the effect, this means that your truest colors are those that are closest to you. Your darkest darks, brightest brights, and purest colors will all be in the foreground. As it gets further away from you, it becomes a greyer and muddier color, unless it is a light source, at which point, that should always be your brightest colors. Even if someone is wearing a "white" shirt, it will still be a duller greyer color if you want your light source to appear to be generating light.

With traditional painting methods capturing the atmospheric effect, means constant paint mixing to ensure the correct colors, or paint in thin washes of blue/grey to push background into the back. However In digital, things become a lot easier. When constructing a piece, you can separate the distances into individual layers, then after the fact add in layers of atmosphere.

Athena with both atmosphere layers active.

I have been working on my digital painting of Athena for quite some time, and now that I have some time to focus on her, I wanted to share this process. At times when I am posting my progress pictures, I forget to turn on the atmosphere layers, and it makes a distinct difference. As an artist, I feel better explaining with images, so I have posted some screen shots of Athena (who isn't done yet) with no layers turned on, and then the depth being added.

For the atmospheric layers, I took a muted blue grey color then did a gradient from it to clear, starting at the top and ending at ground level for the farthest layer. The tree layer had one tree almost as close as Athena, so I did the same as before, but then cut the foreground tree from the layer.

Atmospheric effects is a simple concept that many artists miss, but in its application, it can instantly add depth to any digital piece.

Gaming Illustration Basics

Recently someone contacted me. They were embarking on their first illustration job and wanted some advice. It seemed like a good thing to share with others as well.

Illustration for Metamorphosis Alpha RPG

Portfolio - Getting the Work

Portfolios are a small collection of your BEST work. This is where you put your best foot forward to show someone what you can do. You don't want it to be filled with 100 images of your life's work. Often it does not take long for an art director to make up their mind whether you meet their qualifications or not. So ideally you want 10 - 15 quality print outs of your best work. Remember to start strong with your best piece, and to constantly update your portfolio. As you improve, so should your portfolio. Along with the representations of your art, it is good to include a cover letter, business card, and résumé. You want to ensure that if they do want your art that you have assured them of your professionalism and a way to contact you.

Many office supply places sell cheap plastic portfolios. You may want to send some to publishers or leave one with an art director so don't worry about getting the big expensive ones unless you have an appointment or interview where you will be bringing it in with you and taking it when you leave. Many art directors go to conventions such as Gen Con and have portfolio reviews. This is a great way to get contacts and feedback, even if it doesn't always lead to work.

Contracts - Covering your Art

Even if you really like the person you are working for and have a great relationship, at the end of the day, this is a job. If you don't treat it like one, it's likely they won't either. You need to be compensated for your time and work. They need to be able to rely on you to do your part. The only real protection either side has is a contract.

Always read the contract, no matter how much you trust the person. People who are weird about you wanting to go over their contract should be a red flag.

There are things that you want to ensure when you are doing illustration. First of all, they are receiving "first publishing rights" and that is all. You want to retain the original (unless they include that and pay for it), the copyright (unless it is shared because of copyrighted characters), retain promotional rights to display your work, and you want to make sure that you have the right to make prints. Your art should remain your art, and they do not own the image itself. If they do, they should pay handsomely for it or no deal.

Honestly, illustration on its own, is often not where one makes their money. Often you get paid by how big the image is printed such as a quarter page is less than a full page. This really has no bearing on how much time and materials goes into the production of the artwork, just what the publisher has to pay for that image. Publication does make the prints and original more valuable, and basically offers advertising for your work. This is why it is worth it, and where you make up the money. The exception is for cover artwork which pays much better than interior illustration.

Speaking of money, it's good to have a time limit on when you should be paid, after they receive the finished, approved work, around 30 days is normal. The industry can be a little remiss about that part, which is why a contract is a necessary evil even with good people.

The Art Order - Receiving the Work

The first thing you will often receive is an art order and deadlines for preliminary sketches and probably the finished piece. The art order will include a description of the image content, and often what size it will be printed. If you are doing an 8th of a page image, it's often not worth doing a huge 18x24 inch painting. Save yourself the time and effort for the bigger pictures.

The purpose of preliminary sketches are to ensure that you are on the same page with the publisher before you delve into the paint and make a finished product. These don't have to be full shaded drawings, but good enough to present all the elements requested in the art order. Don't get too caught up in them, because inevitably, you may have to change it several times before you ever get to creating a finished piece.

After you have finished the artwork, you still have to get it to a file format that the publishers can use. If you have done a large oil painting and need it scanned, you may have to take it in to have it done. You're looking at somewhere between $50-$100 for a high quality scan, so make sure that you are being compensated enough to make it worth the investment before you go painting big! There are two places I recommend in the Southeast for getting this done. In Nashville http://www.chromatics.com/ and in Atlanta http://www.colorchrome.com/

Most publishers have a place to upload the finished digital image these days. Usually the suggested file format is a TIF for quality. Make sure that the file name matches the name on the art order.

Prints - Making your Money

Now that everything is sent in, hopefully meeting the deadline, you may have to wait till you can make prints to sell. Some publishers insist that you not publish prints until after the book has been released. Once you have the green light you can sell them on the web, either through your site, or there are other sites that will do them for you such as Deviantart.com, Cafepress.com, and Zazzle.com . There are also places that you can get things printed and send product to you such as sidekickprinting.com.

Still, for those to work, you will need to promote yourself. A good way to do this is in person. People will not hunt you down over the internet to buy your art if they don't know that you exist. This means conventions and art shows. This is expensive, and a risky investment. There's really no way to tell if a convention will be worth the investment or not. However, most conventions have an art show, where you can mail in your artwork. This gets it out there for your audience to see, even if you can't be there. Also art shows usually have art tables in the art show that are less expensive than the vendor rooms.

There's no real secret to making it in this business, and there is a lot of competition out there. The people I know that are making it, are exceptionally busy and hard working people. They travel constantly and have a thick skin to the politics of any industry. It's not all roses, but it can be very rewarding. Few things are as rewarding as when you see someone happy, because of something that you made, or when you hold a book in your hand for the first time with your art on the cover.

Best of luck to anyone out there starting out in this industry!

Texture

Recently I finished "Beauty in Bloom" in which I used a texture technique that I've become quite fond of recently.

Forgive the quick pic taken by my Mac's Photobooth program. When the painting is dry, I'll have something better to show.

So the secret to the texture for "Beauty in Bloom" and several other of my recent images is gesso canvas primer. Gesso is generally used on masonite board and canvas to create a smoother art surface that is more receptive to oil paints. However, if you have a balled up paper towel or a sponge, it makes a great texturizer, even over a previous coat of paint. Let the gesso dry, or take a paper towel and twist in a circular motion while the gesso is drying to create a nice texture. With a thin wash of oils over the dry gesso texture, the paint gathers thicker in the crevices and appears lighter over the thicker gessoed areas. This creates a very organic feeling to the painting. If the lighter areas are not showing up properly, I will often take a paper towel and wipe it over the areas that I definitely want to be lighter. The gesso usually stays stained a little lighter and shows up better.

Long ago I experimented with texture in an older piece "Elf Portrait". The technique I used for this one was a bit different. I used white and black gesso paint, that I often use in watercolors. Mixing each with water in separate spray bottles, I spritzed it onto the painting letting it dry. Then would do a wash over it and spritz again. I really loved this effect, but not having a spray bottle always handy, the previous method seemed easier to accomplish.

Also if you forget to clean out those spray bottles *ahem* it clogs them up and makes them difficult to use again. Obviously I figured this out by experience.

If you love oils and need a way to shake up a portrait, these texture techniques will add a certain old world feel. Also the spray bottle (if done right) can make a nice starry sky.