The Ugly Goat » something to think about

There’s chalk everywhere

The Ugly Goat — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:36:15 +0000

Whenever I say this people’s eyebrows shoot up over their heads, they lean in close to me, only to lean back and squint and say
“REALLY?”
And yes. Yes really. Here, I’ll say it:

I’m afraid of chalk.

Yes, I know it’s not going to hurt me. No, a chalk didn’t kill my father.
It started out as just a dislike. Then an intense aversion. Now a fear.
It makes my blood run cold, and gives me the overwhelming urge to lick my fingernails in recovery. (Yeah, I don’t understand that either).

And you know what sucks? REALLY sucks?
Chalk is everywhere!
I swear that almost every movie, every sitcom, even every documentary that I’ve watched in the last 3 months contains at least, at least one chalk scene.
Can’t they put warnings for this sort of thing on the DVD cover? Or in the opening credits? What if I had a seizure and died from seeing chalk?

Seriously, next time you’re watching a movie, take note of how many times people use chalk.
And if the number is zero, drop me a line – it sounds like the very movie for me!

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!

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!

The stone

The Ugly Goat — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:15:47 +0000

“Aren’t you scared?”
said the sea to the stone,
“To crumble and turn into dust?
Eroding away,
to be gone someday…
does it hurt? ‘Cause it seems like it must.”
“I’m not scared”
said the stone to the sea
“You live a long time as a stone.
To crumble away
to be gone someday
scares me less than an aeon alone.”
-The Ugly Goat

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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.

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.

This goes for illustrators too

The Ugly Goat — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:27:35 +0000

“My 3 magical words now: “don’t be afraid” (every morning a writer is afraid of what he wrote in the previous day…) ”

- Paulo Coelho via twitter

Everything happens for a reason

The Ugly Goat — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:37:39 +0000

It seems to me that nice, well meaning and otherwise intelligent people like to offer up the phrase ‘Well, everything happens for a reason’ when told of the woes of the world.

Can I just take a moment here and suggest that, despite being said with good intentions, this maybe be the single most fucking retarded offer of comfort I’ve ever heard?

When this is said to me, I try to take it with the good heartedness with which it was said.
But really? I honestly believe it’s only white middle to upper class people in technologically advanced countries who would even so much as entertain this notion.

The way I see it, there’s no way this can make sense. It suggests that reason is inherently good, a lack of reason inherently bad, and that there’s no such thing as a stupid reason.
So, let’s see….little Jonny Thirdworld dies in a sweatshop? OMG HOW AWFUL! Oh, wait, was there a reason? Oh yes, the reason is I need cheap t-shirts! Well, I feel so much better now. Cheer up little Jonny Thirdworld, everything happens for a reason!

A ‘reason’ isn’t the same as a good reason. And a ‘reason’ doesn’t mean it’s worth it.
Try living in a third world slum for a year (or, like many people do, a lifetime), watch the people you love drop dead around you from illness and disease, THEN see how you respond to somebody living it up in an affluent country spouting the wisdom only a fortunate few can afford to hold true: “everything happens for a reason!”

That isn’t to say that good can’t come from bad. That we shouldn’t try to find the positive in what we can, that we shouldn’t try to put what we learned through our negative experiences to good use in future.

But sometimes, there isn’t a reason. Not a good one. Sometimes the only reason is people are petty arseholes. Sometimes the reason is that a nation’s greed took all the food away from another.

Seems to me, saying “everything happens for a reason” absolves us of an awful lot of personal responsibility and guilt, and offers no comfort whatsoever to those who are truly suffering.
It says, in one glib sentence, “I have no understanding of your suffering, I have nothing left to say, I’m at a loss for what to do, I don’t wish to alter my world view to accept that random and pointless cruelty and suffering exist because they don’t in MY personal space, I can afford to remove myself from the daily woes of the average person and am possibly doing so by walking all over you little people and I refuse to accept guilt or personal responsibility for the injustices of the world that I really just prefer to turn a blind eye to.”

So people, for the love of all that is sane, don’t say this anymore.
And especially don’t say this to the people you love.

It’s Australia Day!

The Ugly Goat — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:27 +0000

Happy Australia Day, everyone! Time to celebrate the fact that we are Australians, and that as Australians, we are now joining Burma, China and North Korea in an exclusive censorship club! May we forever follow their shining examples of civil rights and liberties.

I’m aware it’s a cover (duh), but having an Australian sing it makes it especially relevant right now