A grid of an illustration repeated 4 times, but each getting more and more refined. The illustration shows a cat sitting by a window, in an apartment filled with plants
It has been several weeks, but I've bashed some words out on the keyboard in the form of a blog post, for your enjoyment! 😆
Collecting Domain Names
Many of us are guilty of randomly buying domain names. Here's my thoughts on my domain name collection, including my oldest one, selling and buying back.
Screenshot from a Krita illustration: winter city park scene with a bundled-up person standing on a wooden platform surrounded by snow, trees, and tall buildings. Minimal colors and overwhelming amount of details.
Indi businesses - please stop using free email addresses
Perhaps I am being a judgemental asshole -- hey, it does happen; I am not always Mr supportive, full of sugar and cheer!
I have a problem with businesses using free email addresses.
So you want me to pay your hourly rate to fix my plumbing; order hand-made cakes; buy hand-crafted greetings cards; reserve my meat from the local butcher..... but you want me to contact you on a hotmail, gmail, or outlook email?
Come on guys, I love supporting small, independent businesses. And I will do it as much as I can. However, equally you need to support small independent tech companies. They can quickly, and cost effectively, set you up with an email address on your own domain name.
It looks far more professional. AND you support another small business, much like you want me to do.
Yesterday I saw a plumber's van. It proudly boasted a web site, a mobile number, and a gmail.com! I just rolled my eyes and thought to myself -- he's already paid for a domain name for his website, so why not have the email there too.
Another top tip
Facebook is NOT your website. You should have a website of your own, even a simple one. Running your entire business via FB leaves you at the mercy of a billionaire who can change the rules at any time.
Imagine if the setup changed on how your posts were shown via the sausage machine -- perhaps they banned your account, or wanted to start charging for commercial posts. Your business, which you have worked so hard at, is doomed; instantly.
Artists often have this shame about “promoting” what they are doing, even if it’s something they do for no monetary gain. They are afraid of bothering people, or they are doing the bare minimum when they have a new piece to show.
This is a trap I fall into way too much. But I’m slowly learning how foolish this is.
Here is a personal example:
All my illustrations are set in the same universe and continuity. For years, I’ve hidden details and recurring patterns (signs, landmarks, characters…) in order to connect them all. But here is the thing: I never told anyone about it.
Except to my partner and a few vague posts on social media, I never said explicitly that I was engaged in this project.
But here is the thing: nobody would look for clues if they didn’t know something was there to find!
What we need to remember is that people are busy: Nobody is as engaged as you are about your work.
Introduce your work to newcomers
When you want someone new to feel included in your social group, it’s good to take the time to clue them in: explain your private jokes, shared history and important context when they come up. In interpersonal relationship theory, this is sometimes referred to as “giving the keys” of the group. This is also something you should strive for if you want new people to feel invited into your work.
Action: Introduce your OC once again, even if you already did a few months ago. If your work is more theme-focused, explain once again what your symbols mean and what you’re trying to accomplish with your work.
Share old work again
Not everybody followed your journey since the very beginning, and even fewer remember everything they saw from you. They might not even know where to find your older work, even if they wanted to!
Action: Repost an older piece as it is. No changes needed. You can also celebrate the anniversary of certain projects, share some reflections/retrospectives alongside the work itself. It’s a lot of fun!
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One more important point:
In order to eliminate shame, you need to remember the value of your work. You make art to carry a message or a story, connect with people, and make them smile or wonder. If you remember that your art is there to improve people’s lives, you suddenly don’t have to feel any shame sharing it with the right people.
I could go on for a long time on this point, but please remember this.
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I, and a lot of artists and creators of any kind, would benefit greatly from talking about our work more often; not only to welcome newcomers, but also to make existing fans feel part of something bigger.
I’m still learning, but I hope those thoughts can help some of you on your journey!
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