So, I’m learning to paint. This is my second painting ever, and I was really just interested in learning about colors and mixing. I got some advice from some buddies of mine who are way cooler than myself, and it turned out alright I think.

A Candle - Acrylic on Cold Press

I have some exciting things in store for heavyprints.com. One of those things is vector packs of some of my favorite subject. I will be releasing my first pack soon(hopefully). Here’s a few spoilers of the sketches I started: Read more

So, I got hooked up with this awesome guy Steve Hunt. He runs a print on demand website that does T-shirts, Art Prints, and Posters. There’s a community catch to the way it all works in that you are able to vote for designs you like and the most voted get displayed on the front page. Check it out: MySoti.

I know what you’re thinking. “That’s just awesome Nick, but what does it have to do with me?” Well, that’s a good question, even if you are a smartass. I have put some of my own art up there so that you can order posters and t-shirts of my prints. Here’s one of the pieces of art that I have uploaded, but it won’t be there for very long – I’ve had someone offer to buy the art for their own company. Click it for the option to buy this and other cool things from me:

Shackled - MySoti print

Steve has been absolutely helpful through every part of the process. I can’t say enough how great it has been to work with him. I had all types of weird problems with getting my art in the system, and he took every step to help. Some of the best customer service that I have ever been Privvy to.

Another cool thing is that they featured one of my art prints in their last Newsletter:

Me! There!

In short – Steve is awesome to work with and I would reccommend him to anyone. Go there and sign up, and be sure to vote for my designs. I need all of the help I can get! Also, be on the lookout for them posting an interview with me in the future. Should be sweet!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve been busy! Here’s a little bit of what transpired this week:

Bacon For Piggy - Design for Sale

This guy is pending approval for the nice guys at The Crimson Armada:

The Crimson Armada - Zombie Chicken

Now that I have the obligatory “look at my art” out of the way.. Here’s some more of what happened this week. Read more

So, my first design just got approved for use in Hot Topic. It is one of the designs which I have completed recently that are very outside of my comfort zone. I think it came out alright for a first shot, and I’m sharing it here as I am proud of how well it went over with my client.

Also, the process of color seperating this was much different than most of my work, as I’m not generally inclined to use halftones very much. I think it came out very well though. Also, during the selection process of Pantone Colors my good friend Amy helped me out a ton. I haven’t been able to get a Pantone book yet, so I sent her the design and my preliminary color selections and she helped me pick the right numbers. Much appreciated! Go show Amy some love if you get a minute!

Oh, yeah. Here’s the design:

Kind of hard to explain it, but the past few weeks have been a serious emotional roller coaster. Hopefully they’ll smooth out a bit as I settle into design. I really hope so.

Some of the craziness that has transpired of late: First off, a big part of my plan has been to get my 401k from my previous employer cashed out to help smooth the transition to freelancing. They have been jerking me around with the termination papers and due to problems with our economy, my plan is now worth substantially less than it would have been if they had let me cash it out several weeks ago. Also, I’ve been a bit cheeky in that I have prepared a few designs for companies who have shown no interest in my work, and simply submitted anyway in hopes.  The first big company that I submitted to was Rockett. I love their work and it has been a goal of mine to be featured with some of the amazing artists that grace their designs. They loved my design! Both partners were in, even though they had more designs lined up then they needed at the time.  Suddenly, though, one of the partners decided against it and the design was turned down. So that went from Excitement to Bummer in about 4 hours. They are, however, interested in working with me.  So I’m still pretty excited.

After that whole deal, I decided to put the artwork for voting on DesignByHumans. In my opinion it was one of my best, if not the best, design I have ever done. When I posted it up on Emptees.com and DesignByHumans.com the first days response was a resounding “Meh.” I was pretty let down by it, but for some reason, the second day saw quite a few votes in my direction.

Similarly, I have been branching out my art to attempt to include more clients. I have had a fairly good response, although I feel as if I’ve had just as many people refuse any response. I think it has been effective so far, though. I definitely have managed to land a few jobs that I otherwise would not have. I will post one of them directly in my next entry. I closed the deal on my first big design the same day as I got a terrible stomach virus and was set in bed for two days. Is it karma? Haha.

Yeah. I suppose it’s just a time of change for me, and anytime you do anything truly important there’s bound to be mixed emotions. Here’s hoping for some relaxing time in the future.