Thats a Little Darker Than I Like My Arts Willow

Hallo beautifuls!

In this post I will answer the questions I go asked well-nigh by email in an effort to help people transport me less emails! (Hee hee and of course: to assistance yous all with your creative business endeavours, may all your creative dreams, soar and become true with stars, strawberries and cream on top! Merely pleaaeaeaeaease stop asking me questions nearly it be- cause I am on the verge of insanity every bit information technology is already with the little kiddos, a household to make clean and a business of my own to run anyway! ;))

How I produce my Art Prints

Probably the number one question in my inbox is 'how do I print my prints', wellll, here ya get:

I impress my prints myself at habitation (meet process below). I don't have a printer identify print them out for me, though that's also a route you could go downwards. I prefer to do my own considering;

a. You make more turn a profit when y'all practise it yourself and therefore worth my while.

b. I accept creative control, know what my print will look like and tin can add together extras in the package

So this is how I do it:

1. I scan my original art piece unless it is a big sheet, then I photograph it with either my Nikon D80 or my Catechism 60D. For scanning I currently use a Canon Lide 100 Scanner. If I take a piece of art on watecolour paper that is larger than the scanner I'll browse it in parts and 'knit' information technology together in photoshop. I and that with scanning you become a much clearer image, brilliant particular and colour (sometimes adjusted in photoshop). No matter how good your photographic camera the clarity is never every bit well-baked as scanning, and then if and where I can I scan rather than photograph.
2. I might make a few adjustments in Photoshop depending on how the browse/ photo came out. Note: make sure to have your monitor/ screen CALIBRATED. The colours you meet on your screen are sometimes non what your printer/ Photoshop thinks they are. Then you may have adapted a whole lot only to and out that the print comes out much darker than you had it on the screen. Calibration across da nation is apparently the answer.
3. Paper – I print my prints on yman'southward Fine Fine art Inkjet Carte 190gsm or on double sided high quality watercolour newspaper (Bockingford) 190gsm with high quality durable inks (canon uses inks that are 'ChromaLife 100+' which means the print is fade-resistant for 100 years).
   4. Printer – I used to impress on an Epson stylus d120 photo printer. Now I print on a Canon IP4600 (I just upgraded to a CANON PIXMA IP4950 as my IP4600 packed upward) – all are very good. If a customer wants a larger than A4 impress I might club i o an online printer or become to the local print place here.
   5. Sending/ shipping. I send my impress in a protective cellophane sleeve protected by 2 thick pieces of cardboard and an A4 envelope.
   half-dozen. I often include little business cards or postcards in my packages. I become my ordered over at moo.co.united kingdom whose quality is superb. (If yous want to club some, click on my link and you'll go 10% o on your rst order!).

How I toll my original paintings

The second most frequent question I get asked!

This is a personal choice/ preference and tin vary profoundly from artist to creative person depending on how popular your art is and how much you just desire to charge for it.

My formula -roughly- is: I expect at the materials used, the size of the piece of art and the amount of time I spent creating it. I also decide on an hourly charge per unit for my time which is used to summate the original price of the painting.

So the formula = costs of Materials + gear up price for size + hourly rate x how long it took me. Give or take a flake here and at that place. Make sense?

Some artists, however, charge thousands of pounds/ dollars for their original art. This is related to status/ how coveted your art is by collectors/ perceived value & worth of your art work.

Do a google search on this to find out more. There are interesting debates on this.

How I toll illustrations for a book

A question asked less oft, still I'll reply it hither.

Volume illustrations are tricky because not only do you lot need to think well-nigh pricing, you lot also need to think almost 'who gets to go along the rights' and if your illustrations are total colour/ bw simply or some colour only etc.

Download this handy (or maybe confusing) footling spreadsheet to see how I price my illustrations for books. Use this as a guide, you tin become lower if yous're just starting to or yous may want to accuse a lot more. Upwards to yous, naturally.

How I create my videos + Camera Set up + Lights

I used to moving-picture show my lessons on a JVC Everio Hd Camera and a Canon 60D. My JVC recently died, I still recommend their webcams, but I now use a Canon Legria HFG25 for my lessons and the Canon 60D for the F2F stuff. I used to edit my videos in windows moviemaker on a laptop, I now edit everything in Final Cut Pro on a Mac. – Camera fix upward: When I just started I used to have a the camera on a tripod, which stood on my desk-bound with the photographic camera facing straight down onto my paper. I would then rotate the footage in the video editing programme. I now have some snazzy equipment that hangs above my fine art making desk. Information technology's a metal bar that is design to 'curl things' back and forth. I have a camera arm (Manfrotto) hanging on it. For lights I have a continuous lighting kit like this.

How I started selling art and how I grew my creative business organisation

Manifestly, in that location is A LOT to this. If you are someone interested in setting upwards your ain creative business organisation, you may be interested in joining my up and coming business concern course. Just some of the basics: I started to sell my art on etsy.com. Open up a store and then starting time letting people know most information technology. I also started doing free, inspiring art tutorials on youtube which people loved and made them interested in my art and instruction. It'south all about being known liked and trusted. Good luck with your creative business! :)

How I stop my h2o color newspaper from buckling/warping

All-time way: record it downward on all iv sides before you starting working, this style it'southward stretched into position and information technology merely can't warp. If yous can't tape information technology downward: don't become too heavy on the water, water makes your paper warp. If you use a lot of materials piece of work on strong sturdy paper made for heavy materials; minimum 140lbs. Also: don't despair too much, quite open warped/ buckled paper smooths out after yous're finished. Yous can as well identify information technology nether a heavy pile of books to polish out more.

From Itaya1 : I wanted to offer a suggestion for helping artwork lie at when working on watercolor paper. I use 140 lb newspaper and volition glaze one side with Gesso and let completely dry out while gently pressing it down in the centre with the tip of a paint brush handle. This only takes a few minutes. When that side is dry, I then ip it over and pigment with Gesso on the back side and volition practise the same with a paint castor handle to assist flatten information technology downward as it is drying. Once it is pretty much dry out, I and then lay something heavy on it and let it keep to dry. Every time it comes out smooth and at and ready to paint on either side and will not buckle when yous apply your paints! I practise primarily piece of work with acrylic paints and non sure if I've washed this with h2o colors so might need to experiment with that.

How I stop my journal pages from sticking to each other

Mine don't tend to stick much to each other. But I notice they stick more than when I've used a lot of acrylic's paints. My proposition is to put other types of sheets in between the pages like rice newspaper or something other that is soft-ish. This will protect them and terminate them from sticking.

What materials did I use in x video

I don't know/ recall, but I'll tell you the materials I used the nearly and love:

• Watercolour crayons: Caran D'ache Neocolor Ii
• Acrylics paints by Daler-Rowney and Golden
• Derwents watercolour pencils
• Faber-Castell watercolour pencils
• Supracolor II Then watercolour pencils Caran D'ache
• Gel mediums by Aureate & Liquitex
• Fav brushes: Pro Arte – Acrylix – England
• Fav paper: Hot pressed watercolour paper 140lbs – The Langton – Daler-Rowney/ Water- ford & Saunders
• Spray inks: Dylusions
• Liquid Acrylic Inks by Daler-Rowney
• Graphite Mechanical Pencil: Pentel Sharplet-ii – 0.9 – Weight: 2b
• Black gelpens: Uniball Vision Aristocracy 0.8
• Markers: posca/ aquamarkers/ tombow/ sakura

My favourite periodical (the black i with the green demark) is a Roberson Watercolour Sketchbook, sadly they are simply available in the UK apparently. Y'all tin club them here.

What music did I use in x video

I don't know/ can't remember, just if you watch the video to the stop (on youtube) I ordinarily mention the band proper name/ music source. The music I use nowadays well-nigh prominently in my youtube and lesson videos is the music by Kevin MacLeod from www.incompetech.com – He allows people to use his music royalty free for both personal and commercial purposes (though I donate money to him on a a frequent footing to express my gratitude). I have besides bought a license to use the music from jewelbeat.com so the music I used in my videos is either from Concluding Cut Pro, incompetech.com or jewelbeat.com. I also sometimes buy licences on audiojungle.net.

Should you apply a fixative on your paintings/journal pages?

I'll exist honest with yous here: I'thou a fixative dummy. In fine art school we sprayed fixative over charcoal drawings for the obvious reasons: smudging. As I understand it; paintings that contain acrylics practice not need fixative every bit -effectively- acrylics is plastic and won't disintegrate/ discolour over time. That said, I've just bought a fixative by Winsor & Newton 'Artists" Satin Varnish which I volition utilise on some of my mixed media paintings for protection. I'll practice some more inquiry on this and any tips, feel free to get out in the comment department! :)

Info on fixatives from Ey:I take something to offering re: fixatives! If you're layering with water reactive stuff, like Dylusions or Adirondack colorwash, watercolour paints/crayons/pencils, or Gelatos, and yous don't want them to smear, apply a 'workable fixative'. My fave is Krylon. Aforementioned applies to layering with pan pastels or chalk pastels. A quick layer of fixative volition foreclose those layers from smudging.

Info on fixatives from Sunny : I also use Krylon'south workable fixative when using water-based products. I also utilise Krylon'southward Crystal Clear spray varnish on large pieces where brush-ons are harder to use or I've used h2o-based materials. (Note: do not use Krylon's varnishes on paper. It makes the paper look greasy.) When doing paintings where 95% of it is acrylic, I use Americana's Triple Thick Gloss Coat varnish. It's super thick (obviously) and information technology makes a hard, non-yellowing, protective, almost plastic layer over the whole thing. It makes it look almost machine made and it makes glitter POP. I also use Liquitex varnishes (gloss) for the sides of my canvases considering the Triple Thick is likewise much for that. Promise that helps!

Info on fixatives from Micky Wilde : As for varnishes and fixatives, I think I've tried everything on the market place lol. Krylon was what I used to use simply they stopped selling it in the UK due to some regulations affair? You lot can all the same import it and a few places might all the same have some but it's generally not worth the hassle. I now use pebeo spray satin picture varnish on all my mixed media paintings and pebeo spray matte picture varnish on my fine art dolls. I seriously dearest pebeo, I was a krylon junkie until I found pebeo and now I would never go dorsum. I and the scent less offensive too.

Info on fixatives from Lucy Chen : I use Golden's varnishes to protect my acrylic paintings. And if you read their production info sheets, you lot would know that they recommend you lot apply a permanent not-removable layer, which is a mixture of So Gel Gloss and water, first before y'all apply the varnish. This way, y'all painting stays intact if the varnish layer needs to be removed for restoration of the art later. And they specifically propose not to use matte varnish direct Because the matting agent can mistiness the painting if applied direct.

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Ok, that's nearly of what I'm being asked a lot a lot a lot. If y'all have another pressing question or desire to add to this mail with your hints and tips leave me a message and I'll update the post. Mucho thankies ja ja.

Hope this helps you lot gorgeous bunch of my great art gang tribe. I love you! Stop emailing me! ;))))) Large hugs. x

Tam ten

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