Clear or Not?

Long time no draw! Hope everyone is doing well. Here is a piece I just made.



With the subtitle: Fearless is perseverance in the face of critics.

Is this too obscure? Can you read the image? Any suggestions for improvement? Thanks. -Lj

Coloring Contest!

Starting today and ending June 22nd, I am having a coloring contest for my picture book, Lemur Troops & Critter Groups. The contest is open to children 10 and under. All you have to do is copy the sheet above and give to a child to color. Once the sheet has been colored, scan it and email it back to me and I will be posting them in a special slideshow and album.

Each child who enters will be put into a special drawing for a chance to win a book related prize. If for some reason you can't scan it, please contact me for a way to mail it in.

Enjoy!

Your thoughts, requested.

Hello, critique friends!  I know this site has been silent for a while (and so have I) but I could really use some fresh eyes and minds.  I'd like to use these three illustrations for a promotional piece to send to art directors.  A few questions:

1) I've only ever sent normal-sized, normal-shaped postcards.  My initial thought is to just line these up (similar to above) on one postcards, maybe an oversized one.  But I wonder if the fact that there are three images might lend itself to something more creative.  Any thoughts?  Have any of you done (or seen) promotional mailings that were something other than a plain postcard? 

2) Is it distracting that the first two drawings have less-than-accurate horizon lines?  Does that bother anyone?  Should I got back in and fix that?  Or is it okay as is?

3) Do they work--individually and collectively-- well enough to be used promotionally?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!  Thanks, everyone!

2010 Goals

Happy New Year!

I hope 2009 ended well for you, both artistically and personally. In 2009, I helped start up two additional artist groups in real life: one is with two full-time artists who are business savvy women focused on keeping us accountable to our goals, and the other meets in person once a month to share progress on projects and get feedback. Its nice to work with and be inspired by other artists. I wanted to share with you bloggers some artistic goals I shared with those groups.

In 2010 I will:

1. Refresh my portfolio. Create a minimum of 3 finished pieces each month, and do a better job of getting feedback on my work from this blog and my IRL groups.

2. Network. Attend local gallery talks, workshops, studio tours, lectures, etc. Even if I go alone, I'm choosing to "do" this year instead of passively choosing to "don't."

3. Attend ICON 6 in July.

My goals are focused on creating and learning, so I'm putting the brakes on the promotion side of the biz.

Anyone else want to share their goals?

-Lindsay :)

HTML help!

Hello fellow artists! Hope you've had a productive summer. The Midwest was rather chilly, so instead of pool time I stayed indoors, rearranged my studio and got down to business. I just put up a fall blog header and buttons on my blog. Feedback is appreciated!

Does anyone have HTML experience? I am shaky, at best. My blog buttons are supposed to link up smoothly together but they have a white space between them. This is my code:






What needs to change? Thanks in advance!

-Lj

ETA: So, I'm noticing that my post shows the images and not the code, and the email shows the images with no space between them. But you'll see the problem on my blog. Argh!

Virtual Blog Tour for What's Wrong with Mud?

Hey everyone! 

My first picture book is here and I am going to host a 

Virtual Blog Tour to celebrate it's arrival!!

Would any of you care to participate?

A Virtual Blog Tour is a way for authors and illustrators to promote their new books through a

"circle of friends" and their blogs. You post an interview or some other post idea to help promote the book and the people who read  your blog see it. 

As the host of the Tour, I post at the beginning of the week, a list of all the blogs (linked) who are participating.

I will also be posting everywhere else I network too.. Twitter, Jacketflap, FB, etc....

The goal is to get the word out about the book and the author/illustrator and to create new traffic to all of the blogs who are participating!

If you would like to participate, email me @ nikki.shoemaker@yahoo.com 

and I will give you more details.

Also, I would like for you all to visit my new website

www.nikkisartroom.com

and let me know what you think!!!

There are a few things I have already noticed need work.. But feel free to give me your suggestions!

It is really a neat idea, and sort of fun too!!!

Need some advice

I have not posted in quite some time. I have finally finished up my fine arts degree. Yeah. I do need some advice. I was asked to do an illustration for a tribute to darth vader. I am excited but I don't know the proper questions to ask. A guy from another blog saw my work from a month ago and asked me to participate. Should I be wary or look at this as an opportunity? Also what pertinent questions should I ask. I anyone had time to look his comment is the last one on my post for IF Legendary. There is link to his blog there. Thanks for your help.