Illosaurus.com

I've come across a rather interesting site for illustrators tonight. It's chalked full of ratings of different online portfolio sites, sourcebooks, mailing lists, printers, a list of links for pricing and other guidelines and of course is a great place to make friends/contacts with other illustrators from all around the globe. Not to mention it has a really great logo... what a beautiful font! Reminds me of something the Veer team would be able to put together.

Update on the website

Just a little note that I've updated my shopping section on my website in preparation of the Artwalk. I've made a pegboard carry around backdrop for my table (fits in my car) and have started getting some originals framed and/or matted for the show. I'm so excited!

Artwalk 2007

The last few days have been a blur. My sister has come home from living abroad for nearly a year and my best friend has also returned from New Zealand after living there for what she describes as "20 months". I've been wracking my brain in my latest role as "fine artist" rather than illustrator to complete paintings I think might sell at this years Artwalk put on by the Paint Spot on Whyte Ave. Sitting on my parents deck on the farm I grew up on I couldn't help thinking what a crazy great job I have to be able to paint wherever I want...

I have recieved my vendors permit and I'm going to be situated at the Varscona Theatre (or Walterdale??). The event runs from July 13-15 so stop by the farmers market and then come by for a chat (this is Edmonton for those of you who don't know where I live) as I'm right across from it. It'll be a one of a kind event for me because I've never actually sold my art before! This entire time I've been deeply involved in illustration where the client "borrows" the scanned image but I'm quaking in my boots to think of someone taking home one of my paintings! Oh I just hope they do. Otherwise my halls will be lined up like crazy with bright pictures of girls sipping wine.

Rates Calculator

I stumbled apon this great rates calculator for freelancers (link above). As it turns out I am charging almost exactly what I should be to live on. The only thing that really got me was the question "what is your billable hours percentage". I figure I'm only at 50% right now which means I'm still spending more time than I'd like to be marketing and looking for clients. Of course, this will all come in time and honestly the entire adventure of it all is very rewarding and fun! Meeting new people, discovering the world of fine art (which as it turns out is indeed different than illustration afterall) and signing contracts for new jobs...

The last couple days I've been setting up my studio outside on my deck. Painting under my new umbrella (bought for the Artwalk this July) with the birds at my bird feeder and the sun pouring around me... I swear this is my dream job in every aspect.

Prints For Sale

This weekend I am doing an artwalk preview on Whyte Ave in Edmonton, Alberta (starting at noon). Look for me right outside of the paintspot where I will have select prints (including some limited edition) for purchase as well I will be painting something on a new canvas!... not sure what yet (stay tuned I guess). If you can't make it out this weekend either wait until July 13-15 and see me live on Whyte ave, click the link above to purchase through my online store, or email me asking for a print (artist@crystaldriedger.com).

Little People

I'm currently working in my sketchbook every minute I get as I'm trying to develop a solid look for my "little kids". Just thought I'd post some for funzzies.

Illustration Friday: "SUIT"

This is a little sketch portraying "diving" suit. I also thought of "swimming suit" but as I havn't looked through the links yet I'm sure I'm not the only one!

New Look

As Greg (my husband) so rightly put it yesterday, "I feel the winds of change a blowin". Maybe spring is in such full force that everyone is reexamining their lives or perhaps it's just everyone that I know, however, it seems so many amazing things are happening to the people around me. People are making hard decisions to better their lives, or at least in the hopes of. Perhaps it is in this spirit that in the excess hours of my day (late at night) I decided to update my website to something a little more "me" as they say. It features bigger pictures and less "gobbly gook" on the sides. It's very simple, not too flashy, and yes, I am aware that I need to work out a couple bugs (*not all the buttons work... he he he). You can log onto my website via the title of this blog.

Featured in Ed Magazine (Edmonton Journal)

Today was absolutely perfect. My husband and I took the day to have a picnic outside in the park where I sketched unicorns (silly silly me) and absorbed the great weather that today surrounds edmonton. I stopped to buy the Edmonton Journal and flipped through to Ed Magazine to see if my article had been published yet... and it had! It's written wonderfully by Jason Halbauer and photographed by Bruce Edwards. It was such a fun experience having these two fine people in my basement studio to talk about my current life, how "going freelance" was and what plans I have in the future. I don't think a better article could have been written and I'm absolutely flabbergasted by my emense luck in getting interviewed in the first place. If anyone is interested in reading the article, pick up todays (Saturday) Edmonton Journal or read the article online, (link above).

Here's the first page of the article.

Blogger Issues

Some of you have been writing (thanks!) to let me know that they can no longer post comments on my blog. After researching online a bit I have found that this is becoming quite the little problem on Blogger (the site I use for my free blog). If this is a problem for any of your blogs this is how I fixed mine:

I had to manually go into each blog I had already posted under "Edit Posts" (under Posting), then "Edit" each post by clicking on the "Post Options" in the bottom left hand corner and click "Allow Comments" as each of my posts had somehow been stuck on "Disallow". If I find an easier way to fix this problem (besides using a new blog site to publish news) I'll let you know.

Cheers.

Part-time work

I have finally decided to make the plunge and look for part-time work. Being summer (ok, almost!), the sun is shining, the garden outside is planted and I'm itching to work outside, or with green things. A good break from being in my basement alone all day will probably be a positive influence. I'm crossing my fingers for either a greenhouse job (that pays more than minimum wage), work at fort edmonton park (ok, my number one choice actually), or oddly a job at westjet airlines where I can get a discount on travel and work one on one with travellers. Wish me luck!

New Drawings For Sale

Doctors and Derrieres has come to a close and there are many life drawings left in my little black portfolio case that I have started to upload to my online store, etsy. In time I will also include prints of the paintings sold at the show, if anyone is interested. To view these original paintings and sketches for sale click the link above.

Doctors and Derreries 2... Gala Tonight!

Tonight is the grand gala for Doctors and Derrieres II! If you're still interested in seeing the show or bidding on a few pieces (there are some really cool ones in there....) tonight at the Red Strap Market between 7 and 11pm is where you'll find a buzzing crowd, cocktails and of course doctors and arists to chat with.

I will be selling prints of the pieces that were for sale at the auction as well as the rest of my originals soon. I know a couple other artists are going to sell the rest of their pieces as well and we might set up an online store where you can purchase some of these splendid goodies. Hope to see you at the show!

Shown below (and please forgive the reflections on the glass) are artists: Adolfo Ruiz, Amanda Woodward and Gerry Rasmussen.

Dustball Fairies

I've been working very diligently on a new children's book with local author, Mrs. Georgie Prockiw. It's a cute story about Grandma GoGo and two little dustball fairies that she discovers in her dollhouse. I am half way finished the paintings (which I am so excited about!) and can hardly wait to see the final product.

To see some of the newly uploaded sketches feel free to click on the title above, which will take you to my flickr page.

ps: For those of you interested in a little treat buy the edmonton journal this Saturday... (look under Ed Magazine) and you'll find a little feature about yours truly. Thank you so much Jason for making the interview fun and entertaining. I can hardly believe the leg on my chair broke just as we were starting, however!

Here are some if the character development sketches for the story, which I completed long before the storyboards and sketches.





and here is a glimpse of the author, Grandma GoGo!

Paint Brush Care & Selection

When you step inside your favourite local art supply store it's hard not to be bombarded by the intense vast array of paintbrushes. I usually have to buy paintbrushes several times a year and usually have to buy them more frequently when I'm painting on rough surfaces (such as plywood or heavily gesso'd board) as the surface does lots of damage to the delicate tips...

So, what's the difference between different kinds of brushes? First of all there's two main distinctions: Natural bristle and synthetic. Natural haired paintbrushes can come from a variety of animals including Weasles, Oxen, Goats, Ponies & Squirrels (and camel does not mean it is made from camel hair but rather an all-encompassing brush made of many types of hair). Synthetic hair brushes simply mean that the hair is manufactured. Natural is often best for watercolour and synthetic for acrylics although I do not always follow these rules. I Often prefer natural brushes for the acrylic wash work I do as I find the brush head lasts longer.

When choosing your next paintbrush consider these following tips:
1) What are you painting with? (acrylic, watercolour, ink, etc)
2) What are you painting on? (is it rough or smooth)
3) Your desired effect... (texture, or perfection?)

Natural Brushes:
Kolinsky: The finest red sable brushes. Ideal for watercolour: great absorbancy and strength
Red Sable (weasle): Oil & Watercolour: Holds a point well.
Goat: Inexpensive brush, very absorbant.

There are also stiff haired brushes (called Bristles, found in both synthetic and natural fibres, I personally enjoy natural more as they seem not to "grate" along surfaces), ideal for painting on fabric, textured materials, oils, acrylics and tempera. I love these brushes because no matter how ratty they get I never throw them away. I use them for dry brush work and thick acrylic paintings because the worse they get the more comfortable I seem to be with them.

The next thing to consider is if you will want a long handle or a short handled brush. I have lots of both but usually seem to hold my brushes close to the tip for most of my work. However, when painting on plywood I like to have big handled brushes so that I can sit farther away from my work. It helps to view things from far away and having a long handled brush will take lots of the walking back and forth out of the situation if you tend to paint from a chair (like I do).

*Historically short handled brushes are preferred by watercolourists and long handled brushes are for easle work.

How to take care of your paintbrushes:
I bought a cleaner from my local art supplies store (keep in mind to buy the right cleaner for the paint you are using). It's softer than soap as brushes can't take too many harsh chemicals before the hairs start falling out everywhere. My biggest reason I have to replace brushes is because I often forget my brushes in the little tub I wash them in for too long: Don't let them soak! They'll eventually get bent tips and you'll forever be cursing the curve of your brushes if you do this. Also: do not overload your brush as it isn't healthy for brushes to get crammed full of paint all the way up to the metal part (ferrule). This eventually rusts out the brushes and makes them stiff and gross. Who wants to be putting the final touch on a painting when suddenly a little bit of old crusty black ink comes oozing out... staining it for good! Of course the more obvious rule is to not allow paint to dry on your brush. It's very unhealthy for the brush to get scrubbed like a maniac to get all the paint out (even if you do get it all out your little brush will never be the same).

Finally store your brushes laying flat or upright. Never store them with bristles down or once again you'll get a nice crocked tip which will inevitably be very annoying.

The tip I heard lately to fix old brushes where the hair has seperated is to boil some water and let your brushes sit in there for a few minutes. If the brush isn't in too bad of shape it should repair itself... NEAT!

Good luck painting and love your brushes.

How much to Charge?

As a beginner freelance illustrator I've never been more daunted by what to price my work. Do I charge what I want and risk scaring my client away or do I undercharge to "build my portfolio". Lately I've been erroring on the side of charging too little and have been wondering if my fee even covered the supplies (Yikes!). However, I have been lucky enough to find some posted rates for illustrators on the "chewingpencils" blog by Matt Glover

Australia
The MEAA (Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance) sets recommended rates for Australian artists. Only members have access to the site directly, but the Australian Cartoonists’ Association has kindly reproduced the rates

here

The Australian Society of Authors lists rates for authors and illustrators on their site

here

England
The AOI (Association of Illustrators) in London has a very comprehensive list of rates on their site

here

Ireland
The Illustrators Guild of Ireland list their rates

here

South Africa
The South African Freelancers Association has a list of rates here:

here

America
The Graphic Artists Guild has a handbook on pricing and ethical issues for sale on their site

here

I don't have much for Canadian Illustrators but I know Canadians contributed to the American: Graphic Artists Guild Handbook for Pricing and Ethical Guidelines (link above).

Individual People's Rates:
http://www.curtoons.com/logo-design-rates.htm
http://www.unlimited-ideas.com/cost.htm
http://www.electriceasel.co.uk/Prices.html

Last night I was the host for a small gathering of edmonton artists involved in Doctors & Derrieres II. Vance Yung, Sarah Jackson and Gabriel Wong brought their top drawings and we went through an intensive, "American Idol" style voting process to get down to everyone's top four pieces (we can only submit up to four framed pieces to sell at the charity auction). View our four final pieces in the below photo, labelled with each artists name.

Auction Gala Event: May 24 7-11pm.
Viewing Times: 11am-5pm May 22-23
Red Strap Market 2nd Floor

I am so excited to be working on a children's book with a local author. I am posting this image from the book, which happens to be page 01 of the story. The interesting part is that both people in this picture actually exhist in real life! Grandma GoGo is indeed our author!

I finally got round to scanning a few sketches from Doctor's & Derrieres II. These might be the four I am going to submit to the silent auction, on May 24th at Red Strap Market. I encourage all my readers to make it!

Please view the rest of my images at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaldriedger/

I was quite surprised this morning to return from my parents house (after doctoring a sick car and father) to find an email saying that I had gotten 3rd place in the ben wicks award. Not half bad! The editor told me "Your front page got the highest marks for original concept, followed by your crossroads page, also for original concept" which of course I was excited by. The thing I have to work on (which I did have a feeling about) is colour. Too little contrast, etc for newsprint. Of course! Bah, silly me. This does make me want to try again for the next contest... and maybe now I'll have an edge.