Make a date under the sea

well, i've been doing my best to hone my skills on the computer to colorize my sketches and thanks to some help from some friends i've been chipping off some of my techno lameness and learning the ropes...albeit the basic ones! but i've been able to separate the layers between my outlines and background (thanks ben! haha)and learned how to better shade/highlight. i'm still getting used to it all but this was my first one. i've got a cartoon that i also did and will post later.

the big news for me is i have finished writing out my second full novel and it turned out better than i expected. i now have the fun task of editing and i'm currently plowing my way through that so that is why i haven't been able to mess around with the cartoons as much as i would have liked. well, that's all for now and hope u all are having a great weekend! :)

If you're feeling sunk drop me a line!

i'm very excited that i got a new Wacom tablet and have been playing around with it to color in my cartoons. i'm still learning all of the features and getting better control with the pen and such, but so far i'm liking it. here is one of the first few cartoons i've colored using it, but i'm not really completely happy with the finished product as it is now. i want to learn how to do a better job with the shading and highlighting; like i said it's sort of been me bumbling through the program so i hope over time i'll get a better hold of it. in the mean time i do like that it gives the drawings a more polished look. and you can see this in its card form at PigSpigot.

on the writing front i'm still plowing forward with my latest novel idea and am sort of mapping out the rest of the plot in my head. i'm liking how it's turning out thus far but want to add in some unexpected twists; but they are going to require a little research so i'm putting my thinking cap on and hopefully i'll reach the end soon. :) that's all for now...you all are having a great weekend!

Getting back to a bit of the toons

Just a quickie post today so this blog doesn't go completely ignored while I keep trying to heal up from my leg injury. I'm pretty pleased I was able to do a little SOMETHING over the past week and a half, even though in perspective I feel like a slacker. First it was really tough to concentrate with the med's and I was just so tired from the surgeries, but slowly I'm starting to be able to concentrate better and I was able to get some writing done. Still I'm taking a break from projects for clients and taking the time to start working on a new novel idea I've had. I don't want to put too much stress on myself with having to meet strict deadlines because I still get really tired and don't want to make promises I couldn't keep.

I've been wanting to do more art, but since I'm literally laying down on my back the whole day it's tough to get the right angle and control with a clipboard on my lap. I'm hoping soon I'll either get a little better at that or find a way to set up a better working condition. So until then I'm just doing some cartoons and I've just finished two outline sketches for a couple projects. One is an idea for a Pink Hair for Cancer campaign at a hair salon where women are encouraged to put pink streaks in their hair to help the cause. That actually sounds really fun and I wish I could do that. The other is an idea for a font that one awesome musician, Ali Heyer, came up with and she wanted a memorable cartoon character to go with it. The font is called Presto Magic, hence the title there. :)

So verrrry slowly but surely I'm trying to get some stuff done and I've been working on some other sketches for one of my art buds who I was joking around with while in the hospital and I owe him some drawings, and I'm doing some thank you cards for all of the wonderful doctors and nurses who helped me insurmountably these past weeks and are continuing to do so in the upcoming months. Hope all is well with you and do what makes you happy!

Don't sell yourself short

I read two really great blog postings today from some freelance writers who have had plenty of experience and are in fact mentors themselves. The premise is that there are more and more opportunities for people to write articles online for say $5 or even $1 to be used basically as mass churn out for SEO related hits. It's more of a quantity than a quality thing these article mills are looking for and they are able to find plenty of eager beavers to fill their needs. The thing is though, if you are serious about being a writer spending your days writing these low paying jobs are realistically only going to net you something that could be less than if you were out there working at the local burger joint.

I am still learning the ropes of the freelance writing business myself and I found that both On Writing for Peanuts and Content Mill Writing... got the point across to a tee. There are always people willing to write for low wages but are they necessarily 'writers'? If you read some of the work it's not going to be something most publications or more noted resources would ever consider printing or putting up on their sites. But the intended purpose of those articles are to just have something SEO friendly that can be cut, pasted, and reworked multiple times to just get traffic. That's great if that's what you want out of your writing, but if you are more serious and want to pursue a freelance writing career you most likely want to be spending your time elsewhere.

I admit to having worked out for pennies in my writing but I didn't know there was something better. I was under the guise that these were going rates for anything online (okay, I admit I didn't work for $5 an article, but not much more for some of them!) and was frustrated in that I was breaking my back and not really creating anything that I was particularly 'proud' of or putting my passion and talents to good use. So it was refreshing to read that others acknowledge that there are so many low paying markets but that you can still find plenty of places that are looking for 'serious' writers. Sending out queries and pitching articles to print magazines and other sources online is far better than selling your writing abilities short and working for far below minimum wage. This freelance writer just wants to thank these fellow writers for giving the newbies hope and sound advice.

Back into the swing of things

Sorry to be a bit of a blogger slacker this week! I've been busily working through some freelance writing jobs that finally started to roll back in after the holiday break! It's like they say, when it rains it pours, right? If I was getting antsy not having enough work to keep me busy before, I've got that problem solved..hehe. It's good in that I was feeling guilty as to not making much money the past few days so getting back into the groove is good, if not a bit tough at first.

While I've been productive in terms of writing jobs for other clients I have been still doing a lot of thinking in what I ultimately want for myself. In the down time I was able to do a lot more art and it really made me happy and I think I would like to incorporate that more into my job and daily going-ons. I have some children's books that I've written and one with all the illustrations done, and other ideas that I'd really like to pursue. I put it on the shelf a while back when I was getting more freelance writing jobs and needed to pursue things that would give me a profit right away instead of having to wait months and months to hear back from agents or publishers. That's where I get stuck; I need to continue to send out queries for my writing projects and to do that I've got to take time out between writing jobs. It seems there just aren't enough hours in the day!

A Little of This and a Little of That

Just a quick one today as I'm actually happy to say I've been busy. :P I think that it can be tough sometimes finding freelance writing work around the holidays because people are just about to head off for vacation or are out of the office and aren't able to reply to a query. It can be hard when you are left with time to fill, and then when you do get a freelance writing job it seems they all come in at once and there just aren't enough hours in the day! It can be unpredictable at times, but that's the nature of the beat I guess.

I'm trying to be able to do more art and stuff between freelance writing jobs because I miss not being able to do that as much. I'm actually happy I found another place to sell some cards to which gives me an excuse to doodle away instead of keep looking for freelance writing leads. I usually feel guilty if I'm not 'working' and instead having fun drawing and creating, so I'm happy I can find some paying freelance art jobs when I can. I would like to be able to venture further into that line of work as well, but like freelance writing it's about getting your foot in the door and that can be tough!

Okay, well I'm off, but wanted to do a quick one. If anyone is out there reading and would like to share what they're doing around the holidays, in terms of freelance writing or art feel free to leave a note! Heck if you'd just like to say what you're doing for the holidays in general don't be shy either. ;)

Pigspigot Card Contest

Okay, I'm not gonna lie I'm SUPER EXCITED because I won the Naughty Santa Contest at Pigspigot.com! This is a great site I spoke about earlier for freelance artists to get their work out there and create a buzz, hopefully leading to some more freelance art jobs. ;) Anyways if you haven't checked this site out yet, I recommend you do and upload some cards of your own. They have other contests, one coming up in January, so put your thinking caps on. And even if you aren't so artistically inclined you can send out the ones that are already there and available from other freelance artists.

You can check out the results and see some of the other Naughty Santa Cards here: Contest Results.

Hope you guys are all having a great day and ready for the weekend!

Freelance Writing Jobs You May Not Have Thought Of

There is no doubt an ongoing search for work when you are a freelance writer, and finding jobs can be a bit hit and miss. Freelance writing jobs are definitely out there but sometimes it seems finding them is tough or the particular gigs aren't up your alley or are ones that actually pay that much! I do most of my writing work online for websites and blogs and I was looking for ways to sort of diversify my jobs. I've mentioned a site that I frequently go to, if not daily, for new writing jobs and I am going to speak of them again!

I found a really great post from the Freelance Writer's Journal which is really thorough in siting numerous places where writers can find different work. A lot of the suggestions I hadn't even thought of, and it was great in giving me ideas of where I could further look and connect with businesses and people in need of freelance writers. So I want to post a link to the article and hope it helps you too generate a few good ideas and leads!

Freelance Writing Gigs

Freelance Artist Opportunities

Along with being a freelance writer I do love to dabble in the arts too! I've always been one to doodle in the margins of my papers, and loved to draw, paint, sculpt, and create. I like working with different mediums, writing and words being oen of them, but drawing does hold a special place in my heart. I like to do more realistic art pieces but also find that doing funny or quirky cartoons is fun and relaxing too. I like to write little stories or books for my family and friends and then add in cartoon illustrations.

Okay, so where is this going and what is the point of the post? Well the thing is, just like freelance writing jobs there are freelance art jobs for plenty of different niches. Obviously you can be a bona fide artist, but there are other opportunities as well. There are graphic designers that are needed, logos to be created, cartoons to be sold, and then the greeting card industry. There are tons of freelance artist work out there, and if you have a passion for drawing, painting, digitizing, or any other form of visual arts you can look into it. As an example, there is an awesome site: www.PigSpigot.com that lets you upload your own greeting card designs. They are usually not the more traditional looking ones and definitely have an edge and I like that. They don't pay for their submissions at this time so anyone can upload and create then send their cards and you can use those as examples of your work to submit to other companies. But Pig Spigot does hold card contests for the best designs and always have some awesome prizes. There are numerous greeting card companies that are always looking for submissions and you may want to inquire.