Our artist directory was created to give our members an opportunity to promote themselves and get their work out there, where people will see it and come to appreciate it. In today's world, becoming well-known often means having an Internet presence. Does this mean you need your own custom Web site? Yes and no. It certainly helps to have a well-designed home page for your admirers to peruse. But what if you don't have the time to learn how to develop a Web site? What if you can't afford to hire someone to build one for you? Does this mean you're dead on the Web? Absolutely not. There are currently many ways to get your work out into cyberspace without handing over your life savings or curtailing the time you devote to your art, your family, your friends, or your career. One way is to create a nice little page on our Artist Directory. Read on for other ideas!
Suppose you're a painter. You want to become better known in your community, get people interested in what you're doing, and maybe start making some money. You have a show in a local gallery and want to be sure lots of people know about it well in advance. Funds are limited, however. What are some ways you can gain exposure?
Facebook started as a social-networking site in competition with MySpace. Unlike MySpace, Facebook has maintained a more professional image. The idea is that MySpace is mostly for teenagers, while Facebook is for more serious, thoughtful adults. The latter claim might be debatable, but what counts here is that Facebook brings together literally millions of people from your town, your state, your nation, and all over the world. In other words, more people to see your art. With a free Facebook account, you can easily fill out your profile page, upload unlimited photos, post notices about events you’re involved in, send bulletins, post videos, link to other artists, and generally amass a sizeable following of friends/fans. Scores of Facebook groups help you to find other people who have similar interests or live nearby. It’s a great way to stay connected with people you know, establish new connections, and keep everyone informed about your latest artistic creations.
The obvious first step in getting people to appreciate your artwork is making sure they’re seeing it on a regular basis. Advertisers understand that repeated viewing eventually results in recognition. You should understand this, too. The more often people see your art, the more they will remember it. That 8 x 10 foot painting you’ve just completed can be shown off at galleries, art markets, festivals, and maybe, if you’re already famous or extremely lucky, at a museum. But other than that, the opportunities for the public to see your actual art pieces first-hand are limited by practicality. This is where photography comes in. If you digitally photograph that same painting, a whole new world opens up. Now you can post it, not only on your Facebook page, but also on Flickr, along with all your other paintings. Flickr was originally designed to connect photographers, allowing them to share their photos with each other, perform peer-to-peer critiques of work, make suggestions, and generally improve their craft. Unlike Facebook, Flickr does not compress or otherwise change your photos when you upload them. They aren’t reduced in quality. You can upload at maximum resolution if you like.
Though a basic Flickr account is free (allowing you to upload 200 photos and organize them into a couple of sets), a Flickr Pro account is essential to really get the most out of the service. A FP account costs $25 a year, which is pretty affordable. What do you get?
Unlimited image uploads with a maximum file size of 20 megabytes per image—plenty for a 12 inch full-resolution JPG image A fantastic built-in loader, that lets you upload hundreds of photos at once An easy to use organizer that helps you order images in folders, called sets, tag them with key words, add captions, and decide what segment of the public will be able to see them--permission settings.
What does one need to say about YouTube? It is the place for video on the Web, hands-down. It’s free. You can upload as many videos as you want. Millions of people will see those videos.
But why is this important for an illustrator or a painter or a sculptor? As before—exposure, exposure, exposure. Think about how you can interest people in what you do and how you do it. Video media provides a whole new realm of possibilities. Have a friend shoot some video of you working on your current painting, putting together an installation, blowing glass, making pottery, or welding together a metal sculpture. In doing so, you expand the human element of your art. Whatever it is you do, if people can see you do it and experience a little bit of your creative process, they will be much more interested in your artwork. Have someone interview you on camera. Start a series of How-To videos. Post clips of your gallery receptions. Every new angle will attract new people.
Need video equipment? We provide rental at affordable rates. Need a computer to edit your videos on? You can use our media lab for $15/month. Need instruction on how to shoot and edit video? We frequently offer video classes.
“an open and inclusive website where you can share your art, photography and design with the world.”
More specifically, on RedBubble you can:
Receive encouragement and positive feedback on your work Sell your work online in the form of framed prints, posters, canvas prints, t-shirts, greeting cards or calendars
On RedBubble’s About Us page, they state:
“Over the last 2 years RedBubble has shipped 232,800 items of art! We take care of all the hassle. Give us your digital file and we will turn it into the finished product, deliver it to your customer and take care of any customer service problems. You control the pricing of your work – and decide how much you’d like to be paid (RedBubble doesn’t charge a commission – we charge a simple base price).”
That last paragraph pretty much says it all. If you want to sell your work in a variety of formats, this is a great way to do it. No dealing with printing companies. No building of custom frames. No going to the post office to mail bulky packages. No money hassle. No dealing with buyers, period. RedBubble does it all. It’s free. It’s easy. All you have to do is cash the checks they send you when people purchase your products.
What if you could sell high quality coffee table books to showcase your artwork? Back in the day, such an ambition would have required a serious cash investment. Printing companies generally had minimum print runs of 500 books or more. If your books didn’t sell, you didn’t make back your initial investment, much less turn a profit. Luckily, with the advent of digital printing things have changed!
Thanks to revolutionary companies like Blurb and Lulu, you can now design your own book layouts and offer them for sale online without paying a cent. Blurb has an increasingly good selection of book options. You can download Blurb’s free design template software, called Booksmart, or create your layouts with something more professional, such as Adobe InDesign. Once your design is complete, you simply upload it to the Blurb site, set the selling price, and you’re ready to go! Blurb has a variety of examples on its Web site.
Unlimited image uploads with a maximum file size of 20 megabytes per image—plenty for a 12 inch full-resolution JPG image
investment, much less turn a profit. Luckily, with the advent of digital printing things have changed!