It’s been a little while since I’ve written about things what I’m doing here. I’ve mostly written about things what I’ve done, or at least what I’m about to finish. And then, I’ve posted only about half of those. Which isn’t really fair. I post a heck of a lot of stuff to Facebook, where I tend to get the most immediate replies, but that’s only about half my readership.
So, let’s make this a bit more of an actual blog again!
Here’s what’s up:
Business has been picking up slowly since I reopened Grass Dog Studio as Sodt Studio for contract design work. It’s a nice pace, and easy to keep up with. I do, however, need to make a stronger effort to get things up to a full time speed. I don’t really want to base all of my work on commissions. I’d much, much rather make art and then sell it, but that’s a long term goal. In the mean time, I need to go out in search of people in need and try to fulfill those needs, so I’m working on polishing up my contracts and business practices so I can do that.
On September 14 and 15, from 10am to 5pm in Pioneer Park, I will have a booth in Ferndale Washington’s Art in the Park event! This means that I will be displaying and selling my illustrations, handing out business cards, and demonstrating my illustration techniques. If you can make it somehow, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a blast!
Along those veins, I’d really like to make a convention tour schedule and find a way to have tables at a bunch of small press and fan conventions throughout the year. I’ve got a couple of other artist friends who are into the con circuits, and I can probably partner with them for car pooling and table sharing sometimes, and at least comparing notes as to which conventions to attend. But, unless my sales go through the roof, I can’t afford plane tickets or even terribly long car rides, so I’ll be starting as local and small as possible.
One of the reasons for this? I’m about to receive the final proofs of my first comic book while wrapping up the last few pages of my second one! (I’ll need to design a cover for the sequel, too!) Cons are a way to get books into the hands of strangers. Maybe only a handful of strangers, but it’s part of the process. Right now, it wouldn’t take much to double my current readership. Cons are probably a better way to gauge marketability of a comic, though, at least within the market of that convention. And that’s useful, too. I have a suspicion based on past interactions that the Epic of Sally might find its best market in non-traditional audiences, those who maybe feel that most comics have not been written for them and yearn for something different. I do have a couple of comic book fans who have been my most enthusiastic and helpful supporters, though! So, ignoring the cons may be a mistake.
Something I also have to do is find a way to fund more massage therapy. If I don’t, I may have to put my art on hiatus again for a year or so while I recuperate and save up for more treatments. I’ve been trying to ride a bicycle more often as well as pick up my drawing production, and my muscles have been tightening up and spasming faster than I can stretch and relax them. And the bicycling is important for health reasons, too, so I can’t just drop it, either. I don’t really want to get into all of that here, but it’s a thing I need to consider.
In light of all of this, I’m facing the realization that I may need to raise my rates again. I’m not going to do that right away, but those of you interested in acquiring one of my illustrations or hiring me to create something for you may want to consider doing so sooner rather than later!
The FenReport originally appeared on Drawing Contraption on 2013/08/22.