Here is Imhotep...known as Joseph to the Hebrews
This is the 7th of 8 illustrations for the upcoming book, What Really Happened During Ancient Times.
As usual, I combined elements from at least two pictures to come up with this.

www.darladixon.com

We Need Your Help!
Need Votes of Kids Ages 8 - 15

If you have been following the blog, I'm illustrating a book for homeschoolers ages about 8-15, called What Really Happened During Ancient Times. One of the illustrations is of Eve. As you know, nobody really knows what Eve looked like. I have two rough versions of the illustration and I'd love to get your feedback on which one you prefer.

I don't ask you for any contact information. I especially would love to get the vote of kids in that age group, 8-15. You may not even know why you prefer one version over the other, and that's okay. I need your gut feelings too :) I welcome your comments and it's anonymous so don't be afraid to be really honest!

So this is your chance to help decide what Eve will look like in the book!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

My Little Guy is a star!

How Do I Price My Art?

Dear Darla,

I've been working on art all through high school, and have been hired a couple of times by family friends, my principal, teachers, etc. to do portraits, so I figured that it would be worth a try to earn some money this summer by doing art. I'm hoping it'll work out, but we'll see. Do you have any tips or suggestions for doing this sort of thing? Also, how do you price your pieces?

-J.M.

Dear J.M.,

Pricing your pencil portraits is a tricky thing...there is some kind of an equation for figuring how to price, based on your expenses, what you want to get paid per hour, etc....but it doesn't take into account what the market will bear, plus all the time and possibly training it took you to get your art skills to a high level.

If you price too low, then people think you're no good...if you price too high, then people think we are full of ourselves...however, there are a lot of people who equate price with quality. I started out charging $60, then I went to $75, then $150, and now I charge $250 as a base.
If someone wants me to illustrate a book or something that will be published, I figure that it has advertising value for me, so I discount...a lot. It depends on the situation.

The Graphic Artist's Guild also has a book available for pricing: Graphic Artist Guild Pricing & Ethical Guidelines book

Anyway, I wish there was an easy explanation about how to price your portraits...but I haven't figured that all out myself! The best advice I guess I can give is to look at portrait artists on the Internet...find some whose ability and skill are close to your own...find several of those in different areas of the country, and average them to figure out what you should charge.

Hope this helps!!!

Darla
Graphite Pencil Portraits and Illustrations
www.darladixon.com

RELATED LINKS:


Graphic Artist Guild Guide to Pricing and Ethical Guidelines

Art Marketing 101

How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist

Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer

Graphic Designer's Guide to Pricing

No Mathematical Formula will ever Calculate Art Prices

Unbelievable! I have found two artists in the past week who are plagiarizing from my website.

I guess it could be considered flattery, but it's annoying. I wrote mine, why can't they write their own? Laziness?

I have a button right there on my website that says "Copyscape, DO NOT COPY"... I can find exactly where they have copied my text - Copyscape highlights it for me on their page. I can use the Wayback Machine to prove that the text was on my site before it was on theirs.

Maybe they feel it's a challenge when they see the CopyScape information and my copyright information at the bottom of each and every page of my website.

The question is, do I feel like hunting them down today? Nah, not today. But I just had to vent and if they come to my blog to copy text, maybe they'll see this.

I'm honored that my writing is that good that they want it for their site, too. But they can pay me for it or they can hire a writer.

www.darladixon.com

Erastothenes finished...I used mainly the side view references I had for him, but I turned him face forward for the portrait. Sometimes I look at it and he reminds me of Lee Greenwood and other times I see bits of Phil Collins! It's gotta be the hair.
My favorite parts of this one are his beard and the clothing.

This artwork is for the book, What Really Happened During Ancient Times, to be published by Bramley Books, a division of Knowledge Quest, Inc.

Today I plan to start on the book illustrations Eratosthenes or Joseph.
I feel more 'drawn' (ooh, pardon the pun) to start on Eratosthenes.

I have three references for Eratosthenes, and I was going to share them here in the blog with you, but Blogger is having technical issues. (If I start a photo uploading, and I can give my baby a bottle and change his diaper, by the end of that time, the photo should have uploaded. If not, there is a problem).

What I wanted to show you is that two of the three photo references show Eratosthenes with male pattern baldness. The other picture shows him with lots of hair. So I think I'll head for a middle ground and give him Phil Collins' hair.

I plan to mainly work from just two of the pictures of him, and 'morph' them together. One of my references is a profile and I'll try to integrate bits of his features from that too.

It will be an interesting day. Baby care, toddler care, laundry, vacuuming, wash the dog, dog to the vet....and somewhere in there, draw. But I will, somehow. I think the challenge makes me feel even more triumphant when I am still able to accomplish my work goals for the day.

Here's a calligraphy piece I did a long time ago. Probably in about 1990 or so...I started out doing calligraphy for people - mostly addressing wedding invitations and such, but it would make my hand cramp and my back ache! So that made me less eager to do any more calligraphy.

If you have seen my Yahoo username "darligraphy," it came from combining my first name Darla with the word calligraphy.

I didn't write or design this calligraphic work myself...I copied (or attempted to copy) it from a book on calligraphy as a practice piece.

I have always liked this poem, I think it's true.
I have no idea where the actual artwork is now. You can imagine how many pieces of art I have collected by now.

I have to get a shower like a commando so my kids won't wake up.

I quietly grab a change of clothes and sneak, a la Pink Panther style into the bathroom. Tippy-toe footsteps 'doink doink doink doink'

Close the door before turning on the light or the light will creep into my 9 month old baby's room, and he'll sense my presence and command it, loudly.

Oh, I also need to fix his bottle before I get in the bathroom. Because I can almost expect to hear him crying by the time I emerge dripping.

Carry my original art in your pocket!
This Original Art Card is Available on Ebay

CLICK HERE to view and/or bid!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE
and/or Buy It.

Here is the finished Eve illustration. She's version 2.0 officially, but non officially, she's really probably 4.0 because I did a lot of sketches LOL. This is a digital shot and I took it near a window, so the right side of it looks a bit washed out, but it's not.

Even though I'm not done with all the illustrations yet, they are getting set to have the book cover designer start working her magic with what I have finished so far. That is always so exciting.

I am unfortunately hitting a speed bump...my scanner is being obstinate. Thought we just needed a new cable, but now we have a new cable and it doesn't seem to be working either. So now suspicion is directed toward the port for the cable in the back of the CPU. Oh the angst here, oh the drama. Grrrr. So either BramleyBooks.com is going to scan the artwork, or I'll figure out some other option on this end. Either way, we'll get it done.

It seems like every year I have some technical difficulties. My printer has also suddenly started printing in stripes...so I guess it's time to clean the printer heads. Now where did I put that printer manual...?

Related Links:
How to draw hair or fur

Here is a rough sketch of the illustration of Eve for the book, What Really Happened During Ancient Times to be published by Bramley Books. This is the stage in the drawing process that I always refer to as the 'muddy' stage, because it's just when I have started blending with the chamois or the tissue. There are no highlights yet, and some parts will get a lot darker and some parts will end up a lot lighter than they are now. The hair is minimally sketched in to determine the 'flow' of it, but no details are fully decided or put in yet. I may even give her more Persian and African features than she shows here.

Here is the book illustration for Constantine, all done...unless we find that changes are needed.

If you want to return to see him in a previous post when this pencil art was in progress, CLICK HERE.

Today was Primary Elections in Georgia. I took Little Guy and he attended his first Primary. The election official hands you a piece of paper with two boxes - and you need to check one of them - Democat or Republican. I was looking all over it for other choices (LOL) but there aren't any.

Too bad it can't be like a sliding scale with ultra liberal on one end and ultra conservative on the other, and you just make a slash mark where you fall in between there. I really tend to be more Libertarian in most things. So I made the choices I felt to be the least painful.

It would be easy to just say to myself, "I'm tired, I've got kids, I don't want to bother - it's just the Primaries!" But what would our world be like if all moms - all people - got out and voted? What kinds of changes would take place? Yes I know we are all busy, but what happens is that the people who are most likely to vote are the older generation - who unfortunately won't be around long enough to see the effects of most of their voting - whether the results are good or bad! I told my daughters to never take it for granted...after all it wasn't too long ago that women didn't have the vote...and would they like to live in a country where women aren't allowed to vote? What would happen to their rights if they weren't allowed to vote? The same thing that happens when women choose not to vote! Don't use your children as an excuse that you 'can't' go and vote. Because you have children is even more reason to go and vote.

So if you haven't been voting and you're not happy with the direction things are moving in, then you better start voting. It's no wonder you aren't happy...how can they act on your views when you aren't officially making your views known? For example, here in Georgia, there is a section on the ballot that asks if you would support increasing the state gasoline tax if the funds were designated for new roads. So if you don't go and vote on that, don't complain about the gasoline taxes going up, and don't complain that the roads are terrible!

I also voted FOR the Fair Tax...check it out: http://www.fairtax.org/
Read all about it and see if it doesn't make a lot of sense to you, too.

Today I went to get my fasting blood test at my doctor's office. Little Guy (9 months old) went with me and there were a lot of 'awwws' about his excessive cuteness. My doctor sees a lot of geriatric patients and they especially LOVE seeing a baby! It made me think that cute babies are under utilized as anti-depressives for senior citizens.

I stopped by and saw Mattie and Joyce where I used to work (same building, different floor), but not too long, because I know Monday is their busy day.

By then, I was about ready to drop - the last time I ate something was 9:30 last night, and I had gotten up at 5:30 this morning. I was a bit shaky.

Then I went to the grocery store. I needed some deli meat and cheese so I got some samples. That made me feel a lot better. When it was time to leave, every female check out clerk wanted me to pay for my groceries in her line! The world just opens up to you when you have a cute baby. I recommend that everyone take a cute baby with them when they do errands!

I do love taking Little Guy with me, it's fun to see the world through his eyes. The lights at the grocery store apparently are FASCINATING!!!

That's about it. No other big news in Snellville except people here continue to be plagued by the inability to know what to do at four way stop intersections. They are just completely baffled by the concept. Yes, as you might have already guessed, that is one of my biggest pet peeves.

Morale O Meter

Work in Progress: Contantine Pencil Portrait Illustration


Here is what I have done so far for the pencil portrait illustration of Constantine for the new book, What Really Happened During Ancient Times, to be published by Bramley Books.

What I do is combine the features that are in common from the references.
Major features that these reference images have in common are the lines between the eyebrows, the lips, and the cleft chin. The eyes are also fairly round and have sleepy eyelids.
As I drew him, it was interesting to note how many of the features are similar to Sylvester Stallones'! Especially the lips.

A lot more detailing to be done, as well as the background, but I think it's a really good start.

I set up a Cafe Press shop so long ago that I sort of forgot all about it!
When I get time, I plan to have more of my artwork available on items from this shop.
http://www.cafepress.com/ddixonart

Artist Blogs: Why Every Artist Needs a Blog
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Should You Quit Your Job for Your Art?
This quiz will help you figure out if it's time to make the break from day job employee to freelance artist.

I'm going through kind of a blogger's writing slump...there is a lot of stuff going on, but I'm not sure anyone really wants to read about it! Some of today's happy news is that our little boy who turns 3 years old next month, is really catching on to the potty training! With Pull Ups costing $15 for 33 of them, I am really glad he is able to just use one or two of those per day. He has been dry for two nights in a row...so finally it is catching on. Whew!

I discovered a site called YouTube.com and looked up Pencil Portrait
I think you'll enjoy this video by Amritv on how he draws a pencil portrait.
His techniques are different from mine, but it's still pretty interesting and a well done video.

I also liked this one showing pencil portrait art by an artist in Spain. She doesn't show her techniques but the video is still fun to watch and her artwork is beautiful.

You might also like this one of a caricature artist at work on location.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July! Planning to go to the beach?
Here's a handy Beach Checklist for the Fourth of July
and have a safe holidaywith the kids.

Planning to party? See these 4th of July party ideas
Jaclyn has more party ideas as well as 4th of July party ideas for children!

But what if your child's birthday is on the 4th of July? Terrie has some great tips.

If you just want to kick back and rent a movie to watch, here are some good movies for celebrating the 4th of July.

Want some cool patriotic art, tote bags, t-shirts, and other neat stuff, all handcrafted? Then visit Etsy.com, where so many terrific flag and American patriotic items are featured today on the main page of the site. Also check out the American Eagle print I have for sale!

Want to find out stuff you may not have already known about Independence Day?
See the Wikipedia article with links.

Whatever you do, have a great day and remember our Troops!

Look out world, here comes Noah! He withstood all the wisecracking remarks about building the ark.
Noah teaches us to listen, follow directions, and trust in the Lord.

This book illustration is also 4.75" x 7.75" and is in graphite pencil. I used 2B and 6B Tombow Mono (animation) pencils and my trusty mechanical pencil. I brought out the highlights using a PenTel ClikEraser and kneaded rubber eraser.

The kneaded eraser is a great tool to bring out soft, subtle effects in hair and in making the rainbow. I am probably going to add the peace dove holding the olive branch/twig, but not sure yet. I kind of like the simplicity of this the way it is. I thought about putting some water in the background, but because the illustration has to be all black and white, I thought it might make the drawing too busy, and the water might not 'translate' to the viewer as water.
(when in doubt, leave it out is my motto).

For art reference, I used a public domain/royalty free photo I found of an elderly man in a robe. I made changes to his face, his beard, and his walking stick. The head wear and a few design details added from an old painting of Noah.

He has the right to just stand there now. You try building an ark to specific measurements, put up with all your neighbor's negativity without resorting to cursing, gathering up all the creatures on earth two by two (yes, even the rattlesnakes), sail around for 40 days and 40 nights with all your kids and in-laws! He deserves to relax and kick back. Actually, I'd draw a La-Z-Boy recliner with massager for him except the book publisher won't let me. Something about 'historical accuracy.' Harumpf!
Picky, picky.

Have a good day!
Darla

Book Publisher: http://bramleybooks.com
http://knowledgequestmaps.com