Posts made by Amanda Bancroft

Hi @xin-li, I have been having this same problem since 2016 and am now trying to solve it. Let's try together! Ergonomics is very important, I agree. My back pain is a problem too.

I have used a very old drafting table and didn't like the instability of the table and the slant causing items to roll off, but modern tables have much better features and design.

I have used a wooden tabletop easel similar to the ones in your links. I think they're OK but they didn't work for me for reasons that are specific to my traditional medium (colored pencil and pan pastels on drafting film which is transparent). They can be great for "plein air" painting outdoors and some have a drawer with storage for supplies, and a handle to carry them!

I needed a white smooth surface so I purchased this one and so far am happy with the ergonomic improvement and design features. They say there is science to show that this angle is ideal, but artists do well with a variety of angles while working.

https://visualedgesb.com/product/writing-slant-board/

But the biggest tip I can offer is to try to modify your studio setup with whatever you have available that produces better posture based on best practices. So I'm using pillows behind my back, and a yoga mat rolled up under my feet as a foot stool, things that can help me achieve better posture until we can afford to remodel and make room for an actual desk and actual chair. Currently, I have to work at the kitchen table and sit upon a cushion placed on top of a wooden box filled with solar batteries for our off-grid tiny house electricity system. It's a messy solution but I hope it helps.

@Janette I had a request a few years ago to do a dog portrait after someone saw the children's picture book I illustrated which happened to feature dogs. I also did the portrait in colored pencils and charged $250 just like you did. I see you used Faber-Castel Polychromos (oil-based) colored pencils which is better than what I knew - I used only Prismacolor Premier (wax-based) and didn't know about wax bloom, for a portrait of a mostly black dog which I did not spray with fixative, oh yikes! Haha. But the client was very happy. Sharing in case this saves someone my past mistake (@Pinky). I no longer do portraits because I'm focused on my greeting card business for mostly retailers (wholesale), and licensing. I hope everything worked out the way you wanted it to Pinky!

@Melissa-Bailey-0 this is one of my favorite character designs I've ever seen on the forums, if it were in a store I'd buy the book! Nice work!

@AustinShurtliff good ideas! I use open source free GIMP, if that answers your question. But since I work mainly traditionally, back in 2016 when I first joined, I needed a big warning label on certain SVS courses hahaha "If you haven't decided on a medium(s) or explored it enough to be in the driver's seat, go and do that first, then take this class and do the homework in your chosen medium(s). Know enough about your medium(s) to be able to translate things in this class into what works for you. You may need to pursue outside tutorials and instructors who have mastered your medium(s)." I was too inexperienced to know that I could not just think the concept and apply it without controlling my medium.

@Oana I totally agree, this is an ideal fit for OP's style for sure! I think given your time constraints, not talking about your age because I agree that should not stop you, it may be better to think of licensing your artwork for games, magazines, products catering to kids/middle grade...rather than dedicating 6-9 months or longer for a children's picture book.

And two weeks later, I figured out my black-streaks shading problems! It was awkward revisiting fundamentals but I highly recommend it Here's the finished birthday card post-customer-feedback-incorporated:

@Coreyartus it may be the green tea talking but SUPER HAPPY DANCE excited to see your long-term project completed, and looking this great!

@Coreyartus yes I agree, your list and suggestions that you articulated are exactly what I've been thinking since 2016 when I joined. (My subscription was supposed to auto-renew and be paid annually but it then one year it didn't renew itself and I didn't bother to chase it down because while I have illustrated children's books, I decided my passion was greeting cards.) I like the idea of either focusing in hard on the message that this is for picture book illustrators, or broadening it up a lot...and if SVS decides to broaden, let me add another item to Coreyartus' list:

The greeting card industry! Whether you're aiming for a big licensing deal(s) or just owning your own business and selling wholesale to stores, SVS could incorporate some things. IP's like Care Bears, Precious Moments, Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit), Holly Pond Hill (Susan Wheeler), Mary Engelbreit all got their start with the humble greeting card. For those who don't know those examples, it's like if Spider Man or Mickey Mouse would have been (they were not) introduced to the public through greeting cards!

I've applied some of the things that I learned at SVS to my business and some things in the classes have really helped! However, the greeting card industry stuff (jobs, licensing, back stories, artists, composition must-dos, limitations, so many details I could go on and on...) I have sought other sources to learn. Any artist should naturally learn from a variety of sources but I think SVS would be a better place to learn these industry skills.

Edited to add:
Ironically, Mary Englebreit and many other artists could not break into picture book illustration until after their success with greeting cards, then other licensing, and then they started illustrating picture books (sometimes with that IP or with classic children's stories depending). So, conceivably, greeting cards are another doorway into children's books, sometimes. I know a former Hallmark artist very successful with cards who got her first book deal to illustrate The Land of the Blue Flower (by Frances Hodgson Burnett) and decided that she'd never do it again because it was too much work haha! This happened to me also. Customers thought some of my cards would make great stories, and eventually one of them paid me very well to illustrate his self-published book, which led me to join SVS in a hurry, and then I got several more offers from such like Elf on the Shelf (I declined) and so on.

This character design is so cute AND so funny! It caught my attention right away!

This month I completed a new birthday card design for the retailers who sell my cards (I work traditionally on not-very-traditional Grafix Dura-lar .005 double-sided matte drafting film using mostly colored pencils and pan pastels) I also finally made a template for my social media page banner so I can change it up from time to time. Added the latest birthday card, Teacupcake, to the banner. I discovered that I need to go back and re-learn some art fundamentals (as applied to film) because I still struggle with things like basic shading (I sometimes get black uncontrollable streaks etc). That's what I'll be focusing on for the rest of June.

"Pumpkin Panda" just putting finishing touches on this week (drew the face in 2019 and now the full scene is complete). 5x7 drawing on drafting film with colored pencils and pastels.

This happens to be one of the few things on the forums in which I have lots of experience LOL so happy to share! Greeted cards, as a rule in the industry, sell more than non-greeted or blank, something to keep in mind. However, I produce my own cards and local customers say they prefer blank, so it's no guarantee that the customer wants a greeting, especially if you go with a fine art card market.

Most companies only expect artists to submit artwork and they have their own in-house writers for greetings. Leanin' Tree's vice president Susan January says if you think your greeting is good enough feel free to submit it. Be careful to use a font that's available for commercial use, or draw the text yourself. There are no points against you if you don't include words. Like @jimsz said, depends on company. I've found it difficult to know what most greeting-card-specific companies want you to submit, though. Would love to hear if anyone has insight about companies other than Leanin' Tree (LT posts submission guidelines on their website).

@chrisaakins This reminds me of Beatrix Potter! She had a hedgehog named Miss Tiggywinkle or something like that, and characterized her as a washerwoman. I like the piece!

That's a unique commission, house portraits! I've only ever seen one other house commission. And I like the style you used for this. I know what you mean about dog portraits all year LOL I stopped taking commissions but they did help pay the bills, it's so true.

Oh this prompt is lovely! It's perfect Lee. (Lee is my middle name, spelled that way, haha). I wish I didn't have deadlines so I could find time to participate! But I'm excited to see everyone's entries.

Once again an excellent podcast! I enjoy learning from these while I draw.

Crazy concept on mentorship that I just enacted this season: has anyone ever approached their customers as mentors? I select 10 past customers and ask them to critique my newest work. Customers are rarely artists themselves, and this limits their visual literacy, but, ultimately I am producing art for a particular market and it's surprising how willing that market is to tell me what they don't like or what they really want. For example I drew a friendly bird and one reviewer said it looked "sinister" - that's some important feedback right there! And it's good to see when everyone loves a piece, or laughs or whatever reaction I was hoping to get! I think some of them appreciate being asked their opinion and are happy when I edit the piece with their suggestions incorporated. Plus then they actually want to buy the piece, sometimes.

Another thing I do, instead of directly emailing THE person I wish were my mentor, or the company I wish I could work for, is to find interviews with them online. My mentor creates tutorials, has been on art podcasts, in magazines, and wrote their own books so I buy those and learn from them. I'm surprised but typically she always has a response online somewhere to all those nagging questions in my head.

Also, twice I have Facebook messaged questions to a couple of would-be mentors, and they both got back to me with short but helpful responses, so if you're looking for something real quick and it's not on their FAQ or books, you never know, that famous artist may reply after all!

Well I feel a bit the same way. It is as though here at SVS I am "in the wrong room" because of my medium, style, subject and primary industry. My heros are never mentioned: Karen Hull, Patricia Reeder Eubank, Susan Wheeler, Mary Engelbreit, Jill Barklem etc. I have illustrated a picture book, though, and got paid very well, so that helped. However what I wanted to share is that I also am here biding my time and soaking up all the awesome knowledge at SVS, it is wonderful! And yes I agree, by the time we are ready maybe things will change. I focus on being ready not just for picture books but as an artist in general, creating the content I want skills to create. Plus it may help for you to find a community of artists outside SVS that are in your style or medium, it did really help me to have both SVS and "medium mates" friends colleagues...

Hi! Yes I have a couple of years experience selling greeting cards from my Wordpress website (Paypal or credit card, or, alternatively, customers contact me through Facebook or email and place their order and mail me a check). It's tricky sometimes, I have to remember about shipping variations, sales tax nexus, packaging, and various app updates. It's worth it for me, because only a few people order each month and it's a nice side income. I also enjoy the process of packaging and mailing my art.

Hi! That's great you're thinking about getting a website! Websites can be so tricky but worthwhile. I'm about to go update my art Wordpress website actually. Mine is basic. Here is the link: http://amandabancroftart.com/

Have you thought about what you need the website to do? Because if you need it to get commissions (contact form to vet clients) or an online store (apps to help process Paypal and other payments) or just a portfolio to find work, your goals are important in selecting the kind of website and what features it offers. Good luck and best wishes!

Congrats @Coreyartus! celebrating your first one!
That is awesome to be able to stick to a job for a year and successfully see the finished product.