The Ugly Goat » art

Char Reed Illustration – Helping animals in the gulf

The Ugly Goat — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:39:49 +0000

Char Reed is offering the beautiful artwork above as prints and greeting cards, with 100% of the earnings being donated to these two very worthy charities:

The International Bird Rescue Research Center

The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies

It’s a beautiful artwork and a generous offer of help to where it’s most needed right now.
Please visit Char Reed’s Blog to read more about it, and help spread the word.

A Sneak Peak

The Ugly Goat — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:44:24 +0000

I’m finding these days that instead of just being able to upload recently finished artworks to show what I’ve been up to, I have to actually write about what I’ve been up to. It’s very different.

As some of you probably already know, my current project is a large one. I’m illustrating a complete oracle deck of about 50 cards, which means about 50 seperate illustrations.

It’s a BIG job.

And while I’ve worked my way through a fair chunk of the work, I’m not yet able to share what I’ve been doing – I can’t only release the images after publication. So it’s going to be a while still.

The good news with a project this size (aside from the obvious benefit of stable work) is that I can really immerse myself in it. I’m noticing I’m learning a lot rather quickly, and have REALLY learnt a lot about speed and efficiency while working.

And I CAN show you some sketches and half finished paintings that didn’t make it!

And that is what my day consists of at the moment – sketching, painting, sending emails to my client, waiting for approvals, rinse and repeat!

Comfort! Yes! Yes comfort!

The Ugly Goat — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:38:32 +0000

My cat has no issues with comfort

This might seem ridiculous. This might seem blatantly obvious.
But!

I’ve come to the realization that I should never under estimate the importance of comfort on my ability to actually get work done.

I mean, aside from the obvious issues of good ergonomics, I found I tended to overlook simple comfort.
And, often, overlooked good ergonomics too. But shhh! That’s all in the past!

But here’s the thing – when I’m uncomfortable, I’m distracted. But when I’m not distracted, I work better.

Simple, yes, but think about how often you’ve overlooked these things yourself.
Do you work when you’re hungry, and would really work better after a meal?
Do you find yourself working in a room too hot, or too cold, and you just lump it? Do you work in clothes that aren’t comfortable to sit in for long hours at a time? Would be happier with that cushion after all?

I always tended to ignore ‘minor’ things. But recently I’ve become fussy, and, actually, it’s worked out rather well.
Seems a get a hell of a lot more done, and produce things of a better quality, when I’m not only not uncomfortable, but actually decidedly comfortable.

So those of you working in sweatpants now have my official endorsement. Lucky you.

Strength in numbers

The Ugly Goat — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:40:32 +0000

We all know about the importance of being part of an art community for support as an artist, and the importance of customer/client support to keep us going.
That said, some of the best support I’ve gotten didn’t come from other artists or even my clients.

Some of the best support I’ve gotten came from small business owners who know what it’s like to do it tough, and generously offered me a helping hand.

I couldn’t have made it through (wouldn’t be making it through now) without the help, past and ongoing, of these other people.

The gift store owner who let me hang my work on consignment.

Or the couple that owns the new age store in a nearby town and took a chance on buying my earliest work.

The woman who bought out my entire inventory one day, for sale through her small retail outlet, the friend who let me order jewellery from her store and pay in barter, the café owner who put my paintings on her wall and my business cards on her front counter….there’s a long list, but the important thing to note?

All these people were trying to make their own small businesses work too.

They were in the same boat as me.

Sure, of them had first class tickets and I was in the hull of the ship, rolling around with the fish guts and empty rum barrels, but still, my point remains:
It would have been ridiculously easy for any of these people to tell me to walk the plank (What? You don’t want to keep running with this boat theme? But pirates are fun!) and yet, to my surprise, I found so many small businesses (especially local ones) were prepared to give me a go.

And in turn, I think it only fair to be supportive back.

Not to mention a sound business decision!

Realistically, anybody wanting to hang art on their walls could go to Big W and pick up a mass-printed canvas for $30 or so and leave me out of a job. They could pick up any gifts they wanted while they were there, some mass produced silver-toned jewellery and hell, maybe some new age books and clothes and why bother going anywhere else? It’s all right here!

Luckily, there are still people out there who value things that aren’t mass produced, and are willing to pay for something unique or well crafted. And from a shop owner who knows what they sell, and knows their customers, and who takes pride in what they do.

Sadly, in many ways, it’s a niche market.
Every day hordes of people flock to buy cheap, made in bulk options.
Sometimes it’s a wonder small businesses, craftsmen and artists survive.

I guess many don’t.

So the best thing I think we can do to keep ourselves afloat and help keep each other’s dreams of working for yourself alive?

Support each other.

Make friends with other small businesses.

And when a client wants something you can’t provide?
Refer them.

Talk up other small businesses and freelances and sole traders.

Sharing customers won’t loose you business.

In fact, it’ll widen the pool.

Strike up deals with other small business owners.
Sell to each other at reduced costs to save both of you money.
Figure out barter systems.
Encourage each other.
Share relevant information.
Essentially, do what you can to make each other’s lives easier.
Because making your own living like that is hard.
But it’s so much easier when you know you have the support of other people who know what it’s like.

Repay the support given to you! And pay it forward to others who need it.

And to the people, the businesses, the freelancers, the designers, the other artists – all of you who are going it alone too, and have still found it in you to help me out as well?
Yarrr, an enormous thankye me hearties.
I would no nay ne’er ‘ave made it without ye!

Resolving my issues with motivation

The Ugly Goat — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:15:42 +0000

I’m a little OCD. Ok, a lot.
I analyse everything with the (possibly slightly unhealthy) belief I can apply a system to it, tidy it up, organize it, control it.
And then maybe blog about it a little…

The good news this time, dear reader?
I believe I have finally figured out what, for me at least, causes a major motivation crisis.
Aha!
And, maybe, just maybe, forewarned is forearmed. And I can avoid pounding the desk with my forehead.

It’s all about motivational equilibrium!

‘How so?’, you ask ‘What the devil are you talking about, my OCD friend? And why do you wash your hands so frequently? Do you really number your socks?’

Well, I’ve observed in myself that there are two types of important motivation for me.
Internal motivation
External motivation
Let’s start with internal motivation.

Internal motivation

Internal motivation is the motivation that comes from one’s self.
It’s abstract.
It’s the feeling of personal inspiration.
It’s self satisfaction at a job well done.
Internal motivation is all about how we feel, and seeking out positive feelings of accomplishment, self confidence and satisfaction.
It’s the sort of motivation that you experience when you push yourself to do the best painting you’ve ever done, not so that other people will tell you it’s the best painting you’ve ever done, but so that you personally can enjoy the feeling of growth and achievement.

External motivation

External motivation is the motivation that comes from outside one’s self.
It’s tangible.
It’s a fat paycheck.
It’s a pat on the back.
It’s the sound of applause and praise for your work.
External motivation is about what we acquire. Status, financial benefits, increased work, big name clients.
It’s the sort of motivation you experience when you have bills due, and you need money to pay them. Or you want to buy some super cool thing you found online, or you want a particular company to hire you.

The misery of imbalance

Looking back over periods of time when I felt least motivated, I realise that what I was experiencing was actually a serious imbalance of motivations.

For instance, I found that jobs that provided the external motivation of high pay, and yet lacked any opportunity for me to feel any internal motivation of growth or accomplishment at the end, made me feel miserable and uninspired.
I asked myself: “Am I turning into a sell-out? Do I only care about money now? What happened to my love of painting?”
I felt not only uninspired to paint, but bad about myself both as an artist and as a person.

When the reverse was true, and I had internal motivation and no external motivation, I felt just as bad.
“Why am I excited and doing my best work, and yet struggling to pay bills? Why do I bother when it’s getting me nowhere financially, and yet other artists around me are making a good living? Does nobody else understand or appreciate what I do? If I feel this confident about my work right now, and I’m STILL not making ends meet, is there any future for me?”

The rewards of equilibrium

Once I started to suspect that the imbalance of these two types of motivations was what was making me so uninspired to do anything, I experimented with trying to correct it.
This in itself wasn’t easy, but once I knew what I was dealing with, I was at least able to make some tweaks in projects I took on and when in order to best balance the results I needed.

In practical terms, this meant a few things.

Sometimes it meant setting personal challenges for myself in paid artworks, so I’d not only feel motivated to complete the image for the money I was being paid, but so that I’d also feel motivated to get to work to see if I could meet the challenge.

Other times it’d mean seeking out ways of selling the image when it was done, so I could feel that my artwork wasn’t only for me and that I was actually getting somewhere not only as an artist, but as somebody trying to make a living from art.

I also found that, when the reward of sales weren’t an option, the external reward of a day off, the purchase of a long lusted after book or the watching of a movie worked wonders too.

When each project (or at least, each day of work, or even each week of work) offered potential for both internal and external rewards, I started to feel genuine excitement about my work again.
I also started to feel good about myself not only as an artist, but as a person.

My work offers me personal satisfaction!
My work yeilds real world results!
This is wonderful! I want to do it again!

My motivational issues were, on some level, resolved.

While I have no doubt in future that I’ll experience other types of problems in completing work (I haven’t experienced much artist’s block in the past, so perhaps it’s coming to me in the future?), I feel reasonably confident that through keeping a balance of both internal and external motivations, I’ve given my artistic life a serious boost of longevity.
Thus I can number my socks and arrange my pens exactly 10cm from the edge of my desk in peace and happiness.

What about you? Do you try to keep your motivations balance?
What do you do to keep yourself happily moving forward?

Stretching the freelancing dollar (or, being a stingy bastard to survive)

The Ugly Goat — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 07:21:20 +0000

Image by jpre86

Money as a freelancer is often, shall we say…sporadic.
One day week working on a job, raking in $1000, the next you’re twiddling your thumbs and wondering if the electricity company would accept payment in stale breadsticks swiped from that Italian restaurant a month ago…and if so, what the hell are you going to eat?

We’re all trying to save money, but the freelance lifestyle makes it especially vital for freelancers to learn how to bargain shop.
So how do you do it?

Go for essentials

It’s tempting to spend your earnings on new equipment and the like, but if you started spending rather than saving, it’s easy to wind up in a situation where you are forever trying to play catch-up with finances, rather than ever having money to show for a job.
Make a list of what you’d like to buy, then edit it down to the essentials.
Extras can come later.

Stop buying from retail stores

In my experience, no place is more expensive than a brick and mortar retail outlet. They have to pay rent, staff costs and all the other random expenses of owning an actual store.
When buying from physical locations, start looking at thrift stores, garage sales, wholesale outlets and other places that people tend to overlook.

Shop online

Ebay. Ebay ebay ebay.
My current desk cost me $10 on ebay.
It’s plenty big enough for me, has plenty of storage drawers and is made from solid, sturdy timber. And it cost me $10. All I had to do was pick it up from a house not 5 minutes away.
A similar desk from somewhere like IKEA may well have set me back over $100.
My Epson scanner (only just retired) cost me $20 at a time when they were retailing for $120 or more.
My coffee machine cost me 99 cents.
So, thanks to ebay, here I am, with a scanner, a desk and a coffee machine and I’ve only spent $31.
Buying such items retail would’ve set me back at least $260. And that’s at a conservative estimate.

But it’s not only ebay that offers these sorts of bargains.
Check out your local freecycle (these things are FREE!), other auction sites and wholesale websites for items you’ll buy in bulk (like paper or ink).
Just don’t forget to factor in the cost of shipping.

Use Google to your advantage

Even when I find a well priced item online or in a store, I always try to avoid paying the listed price of the item.
How? Google.
(And yes, Google IS my answer to everything)

Let’s say I’ve found a great printer for $200 at buyingthings.com, with $20 shipping.
Instead of checking out at $220, I Google “discount voucher buyingthings.com”.
Often I find referral programs, promotion codes or discount vouchers that make my purchase cheaper. It might be a 20% off voucher, it might be a free shipping voucher…or, sometimes, I might not find one at all.
Still, often I DO find something that will make my purchase cheaper (sometimes significantly cheaper!), and it’s taken less than a minute of my time.
Win!

Don’t forget barter!

This is especially good if you know other freelancers, craftspeople and the like with skills and goods you don’t have, but are likely to need.
Personally, among other things, I’ve swapped website updates for handmade soap and candles, and used a painting to pay for custom jewellery I had made for somebody as a birthday gift.

Now, before you try all these, you should know that I am, by my own admission, a naturally stingy bastard.
So this sort of bargain hunting comes naturally to me, freelancer or not. But I’ve never valued this ability more than now when I know that my income isn’t stable.
And with a bit of cunning thinking and a desire to hold onto every last dollar, you can sniff out some amazingly good bargains and suddenly find yourself affording things you never though possible on a freelance income.
Now go forth and stinge!

Another time lapse video

The Ugly Goat — Fri, 21 May 2010 07:45:57 +0000

Still learning to use time lapse software!

This time I’m painting a dog in photoshop. I’m unable to show the full image (or the finished image) just yet, but you can see bits of what I’m doing here, and the finished image should be available for release reasonably soon.

More to life

The Ugly Goat — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:41:25 +0000

A lot of shitty things have happened to me in 2010.
A lot.
2010′s latest gift to me (a concussion and a cracked cheekbone) caused a friend to suggest that this is the universe telling me I need to slow down.
That I’m working too much, and I need to look after myself.

I thought about this for a bit.
I actually don’t think, as far as illustrators go, I DO work that hard. Do I?
I mean, usually get up and am at my computer by 9. And I’m usually there at 6pm. 7pm. 8pm.
But I DO take breaks. I check the PO Box. I go for a walk. I go out for coffee.
I even spend some time every evening watching some DVDs or documentaries with Seth.

I mean, sure, there’s never a day I DON’T fire up the computer and at least check that no clients have sent me urgent messages. Or maybe just tweak a painting for 15 minutes or so.
And a few weeks ago, when I had a whole weekend away from my computer and work, I almost had a panic attack about it.

I know that’s not healthy, but hey, I’m an illustrator. I’m freelance.
It’s hard!!
It comes with the territory. Suck it up princess and get to work.

Still, it’s been on my mind. So today I asked Seth:
“Do you think I work too much?”
“Yes”
“I…oh. Yes? You don’t even need to think about it?”
“No. Yes. I told you that before. I keep saying you’re spending too much time at the computer.”
“But it’s where my work is!!!”
“I know.”

My initial response was to feel anger.
Don’t people understand what my job is? That I’m a freelance illustrator and designer? Don’t people know how hard that is? Don’t people know what odds I’m up against? Don’t they understand that there are more neurosurgeons about than full time illustrators? Do they know what that means, and how much time it takes to be able to reach that level?
Don’t they care?

And you know, I realise, the answer is no.

No, they don’t care about that.
They care about me.
They couldn’t give a rat’s if I make it into this competition, or that one. But they sure as hell do care when they see somebody they care about hell bent on obsessively working themselves to death.
And while it might not be a heavy workload by ‘industry’ (I despise that term) standards, it is by sane people standards.
I guess I would do well to remember that.

And I guess it might not actually hurt me to unplug my computer one day a week for some rest and recovery and…dare I say it…relaxation?

I’m going to give it a go.

Beware the SCOPE CREEP!!

The Ugly Goat — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:15:37 +0000

Scope creep can be the bane of the freelancer’s (any freelancer’s) existance.
What is it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ia7mad/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Essentially, scope creep refers to the way a project tends to slowly but surely change scope as you undertake it.
You agree to design a basic website for Mr Guy.
Part way through the project, Mr Guy decides a forum would be really cool, can you add that to the website?
Oh! And we’re going to want business cards. You can do that, right?

Slowly slowly, request by request, your project has started to grow like it’s been exposed to comic book radiation, without mention of deadline extensions or pay increases and suddenly you’re wondering if you could maybe quit freelancing and get a nice job working with explosives, for the peace and quiet.

Sounds bad, right?
It needn’t be.
It can actually be an opportunity for more work, and a happier client. Win win!
What might help make it a good opportunity (rather than a never ending nightmare) is keeping these things in mind:

Your client probably isn’t trying to screw you over on this

Sometimes we assume clients know exactly what they’re doing. I mean, we know OUR role in this, don’t they know theirs?
In actual fact, very often a client has never entered into a project with a freelancer before, has no idea how the whole shebang works.
They’re trusting that you do, and with each extra task they add, they’re merely communicating their needs for the project with you.
And actually, communication is good!

The key is to try not to get frustrated.
Don’t view them as demanding or difficult – remember you’re on the same side, working to get the same project done.
They’re just letting you know what they’re thinking.

A lot of the time, a client won’t even realise that what they’re asking actually entails a whole lot more work – after all, chances are if they were industry experts, they’d be doing the work themselves.

Realise they’re just stating their needs, and be genuinely receptive to this.
Respond in a friendly and helpful manner.

Makes your terms clear

If you can do the extra work for the client at no extra cost, you’ve probably just made your client very happy indeed!
However, not everybody can do this. Especially when the scope creep is profound.
I have, for instance, been commissioned to do a portrait and then, a month later, through one request leading to another found myself up to my elbows in php for the same client’s webpage.
So before you drift off into a never ending saga of adjustments and new projects, make the terms of these new requests clear.

With this sort of thing, it’s completely ok to say “Sure, I can make those adjustments. Let’s discuss them in detail so I can understand exactly what you need, and send you an adjusted quote.”
Or to say you’re happy to tackle the new suggestions, and here’s the adjusted deadline, changed to provide time to complete the extra tasks. How does that suit you?
If other deadlines make accepting more work impossible, you can politely say no, you can’t meet the new requests. Or, as I’ve done in the past, even make suggestions for breaking the project up into parts.
I could, for instance, get the website up and running by the originally agreed upon date, meet my other commitments, then get to work on the business card in a month’s time when the other projects are done.
This is a really great opportunity for increased work and a happier client, so long as you make terms clear as soon as changes come up, so that both of you know where the project is going and what the expect.
You’re the professional – act like it

I think a mistake we often make as freelancers is leaning on the client to take control and steer the project.
I fully believe this is our responsibility, and that if the client wanted the nightmare of dealing with the nitty gritty, they’d do it themselves.
This isn’t to say that you should boss your client around, or ignore what they have to say – listening is VITAL – but I see it like this:

If I take my car to a mechanic, I expect to hand my car over to him and have him do whatever needs to be done.
I don’t know the details of what needs to happen, where he’ll start first or what bits he’ll test or what tools he’ll use. I just trust that he’s a professional that knows what he’s doing, and when my car comes back it’ll be in tip-top shape.
Let’s imagine then that my mechanic finds my brakes need replacing – something not budgeted for in the original service cost.
He tells me that he’s found they’re worn, they need replacing, it’ll cost $120.
“Yes” I say “I can afford $120, please go ahead and replace my brakes. Thanks for letting me know they needed it”.
Imagine then, the nightmare it’d be if my mechanic took my car, had a look and came back to me for direction all the time.
“Do you want me to check tyre pressure?”
“Should I open the hood?”
“Do you want the washer fluid topped up?”
“Should I look at the engine?”
“Do you want the breaks replaced?”
And then, if he expected me to make an offer of how much I think I would like to pay to have the breaks replaced.
The first mechanic, having listened to me and understood that I wanted my car looked at, inspired confidence by just getting on with the job, and upon finding that some extra work ahd to be done, made it clear and simple what that would involve and cost.
Clients want to feel that same confidence in us.
Clients expect that, as professionals, we will make everything they need to know crystal clear to them, including sending bills, updated quotes, adjusted deadlines, etc.
Don’t force them to have to try to guess at what the terms of the project might be – it’s unfair to both of you.
It’s your job to spell it out, and doing so means you both know what page you’re on, and inspires confidence in the client-freelancer relationship on both sides.
Avoid excessive scope creep by asking the right questions the first time around

In most projects, there’s often a small amount of scope creep no matter what you do, but by making sure you ask enough questions and pay enough attention to your client right at the very start, often you can avoid huge project changes by getting it right the first time.
Don’t just listen to what information your client offers you, ask them further questions about their needs, then make suggestions and ask for their thoughts.
Do your very best to make sure you’re understanding exactly what needs to be done from the start, and you cut down on what will surprise you part way through.

Know when to say “no”

A very small precentage of clients aren’t going to be happy no matter how much extra time or effort you give their projects.
These are those rare times where you have to realise you can’t win, and end the relationship.

For the most part, both you and your client can avoid the scope creep and find a workload that keeps you both happy through good communication right from the start.

How a web design goes straight to hell

The Ugly Goat — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 01:59:25 +0000

A link worth checking out.
How a web design goes straight to hell

I can related both as a web designer and as an illustrator.

The Ugly Goat » art

Char Reed Illustration – Helping animals in the gulf

A Sneak Peak

Comfort! Yes! Yes comfort!

Strength in numbers

They were in the same boat as me.

Support each other.

Sharing customers won’t loose you business.

Repay the support given to you! And pay it forward to others who need it.

Resolving my issues with motivation

It’s all about motivational equilibrium!

Internal motivation

External motivation

The misery of imbalance

The rewards of equilibrium

Stretching the freelancing dollar (or, being a stingy bastard to survive)

Go for essentials

Stop buying from retail stores

Shop online

Use Google to your advantage

Don’t forget barter!

Another time lapse video

More to life

Beware the SCOPE CREEP!!

Your client probably isn’t trying to screw you over on this

Makes your terms clear

You’re the professional – act like it

Avoid excessive scope creep by asking the right questions the first time around

Know when to say “no”

How a web design goes straight to hell