When it rains, it pours.

Hello, gentle readers. Thanks for putting up with my week off; I’m back and raring to go, promise!

This week’s post starts off with this last week; I don’t know about you, but I wound up going through a two-week period of feeling lost. I’m sure you’ve all felt it before; one day you’re on top of everything, and then the next you feel stuck. The art’s not fun, it’s not coming out the way you wanted it to, illustration jobs feel like a chore more than a pleasure…it’s scary times. If you’re like me, you don’t feel particularly marketable to any other job field, so that’s doubly frightening.

So what do you do? I’m really curious what others do, so please comment if you can; but I’ll go into what I’ve tried to do to stave off the beast of burden known as a dry spell.

1) Don’t beat yourself up about it. These things happen, so you kind of just have to deal with them; (I think) it’s a natural process. Most likely, it’s temporary; accept this and try and work around the feeling.
2) Let yourself breathe. There’s a chance you’re overworked and overwhelmed; and if you need some time to recover, do so. If you have a free moment, take it and hold it captive for you and you alone. I needed sleep and lots of it, but I took it when I could because ultimately I felt better, and dreamed up some good ideas in the process. Take time: don’t feel guilty about it– you need downtime as well– as much as we might want to be sometimes, we’re not robots.

3) Write a list. For me, this is exceedingly useful. Not a list of things to do– that’ll depress you when you’re not in a creative mood– it’ll feel like a death sentence. Instead, write a list of why you’re feeling stuck. Look at your work– what do you like about it? What feels like it’s not working? Have you whittled down and lost something along the way? Try to be as objective and specific as possible– don’t just say you hate everything and that you suck. In my situation, I started noticing that I felt like I was getting too tight with things, and repeating some things as an easy way out– I missed spontenaeity and some of the sense of humor I used to have in work. And I miss physicality– after working to create final digital pieces only for so long, I missed making screenprints; and so I laid down a groundplan for what I wanted to try and incorporate more of (working with physical art, trying to experiment more with shapes and contours as separate entities, more patterns, etc), which I’m hoping to enact soon.

4) Sit down and make some art– just for you. Nobody needs to see if you don’t want them to- no art directors, no editors, nada. Just work on something totally for fun– experiment, play, and see if stretching your arms in a different direction will point you into the right way.

5) Change your surroundings. I set up my studio differently, and while I felt a bit disoriented at first, I found it easier to concentrate.

6) Indulge your senses. Read a book, take a daytrip, go outside for a walk, cook something special, listen to something new– we’re creatures with urges to sense our world, and sometimes if you let in something new or interesting, it’ll start spurring you onto a new idea, or added motivation.

That’s pretty much all I know to do– I hate when I get into these patches, but they happen and I’ve learned to accomodate them. Not that I ditch jobs I already have– I power through them and give it my best, but the prize at the end is getting to figure out why this spell is happening– usually it signifies something, something needing to change and evolve, so it’s all for the best.

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As a semi-shameless plug, there’s been a lot of Meg-related art stuff for sale or view on the net lately. I’m linking them here!

10 Beasts! letterpress set from Tiny Showcase/Fantagraphics

Rampage Surprise to-do notepads on POGONIP (my new etsy shop)
Rampage tee on Threadless Select

WILD KINGDOM comic for Nerve.com’s special comic issue

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On Thursday, I’m going to post some questions more than anything else. I need to start compiling some things, so hopefully your opinions can make a difference!

Temporary break!

Apologies for all those who tune in:

I’ve been feeling under the weather this week and that combined with assignments piling in, I’m postponing posts until next week. I was hoping to squeeze in time today but I need to get this work taken care of. Check back next Tuesday for your regular installment of TRADE SECRETS.

Thanks for the understandingness.

-meg

PROMO: the nitty-gritty of promotional items (pt 2 of 2).

So, in our last post I talked about what to do in order to make promotional items. Right now I’m going to list the admittedly short list of places I know that can help you produce things.

Paper-goods:

1) Psprint.com : they do letterhead, brochures, calendars, stickers, greeting cards, and notepads, among other things. I’m using them to handle my notepads until I can find a source that can print other sizes too and does a good job. (Anyone?)  Turnaround seems to be about 2 weeks, I haven’t seen how the notepads turn out but I hear they do a good job.

2) Greenerprinter.com : The eco-friendly alternative; they do brochures, greeting cards, calendars, booklets, etc.

3) Paper Presentation : If I’m remembering correctly, I visited this place in NYC back in November; if you live in the city I highly recommend, it’s where I found my new favorite sketchbook, but also, they had a slew of paper supplies, bookmaking, scrapbooking– lots of tools that you could apply towards a handmade project. Another good store in NYC is Kate’s Paperie; if I lived there I’d tell you more, naturally.

4) Jakprints.com : I was told they do good work; they have a slew of options, including all sorts of paper goods.

Stickers:

1) Stickerguy.com : Has black and white and red and black custom vinyl stickers; their turnaround is anywhere from 2-8 weeks though. Be prepared for a wait.

2) Stickerobot.com : Stickers and postcards and business tags and clothing hangtags…. I ordered samples from them and the quality was all right but a little too plasticky/throwaway for my liking.

I don’t know of any places that make paper stickers, like little ones, so you can let me know if you know of any…

Buttons:

1) Hello Voltage : Run by my good friend Ricky, Hello Voltage does all sorts of buttons, but he loves to print buttons for his illustrator friends. He’s constantly trying to improve the business by experimenting with different printing methods and button shapes, and he works quickly and the results are great.

2) Busy Beaver : Another good button maker; Busy Beaver currently has square buttons, which I can tell you look pretty sweet on a jacket.

Tees:

1) Mammoth Printshop : I’ll be ordering tees from here sometime in the next month or two, I hope. Their quality is excellent!

2) Acme Prints : Based out here in AZ, these guys have a lot of different things they print but tees seem to be what they started with. Check ‘em out.

These are a bit brief I apologize; but I’m still waking up and my mind’s drawing a blank for more resources. Can you think of any good places for printing or supplies for promotional items? (I’m always on the hunt for good places) Sometimes it’s also good to check craft stores and just wander the aisles until you see something that’ll jog your imagination to think of what to make… a finding, a piece of paper…

Check back next week; I’m not sure yet what the topic will be about,  so, it’ll be a surprise!