Adjusting Your Art for Your Market

Finding your target market can be hard or easy depending on your business, product line, and geographical area. Even after much homework and focus groups you may find that you are going down the wrong path. I am just reading the biography on Steve Jobs of Apple and he states, “I don’t do focus groups, people don’t know what they want yet” That may be true because a focus group may be the wrong audience for your product. When I created the first comic book for my series I thought my target market was the seven to twelve years of age group, until a mother looked at the content and said she wouldn’t let her seven year old read that. I had put a hold up in the story. The father’s didn’t mind and I thought it would be fine because the kids come into my art class and draw guns all the time. Anyway for the second issue I decided the audience would be nine to fourteen. The problem is that I all of a sudden had adults reading the comic. So the third issue I decided to keep at the nine to fourteen range and that seems to be going well. I am now looking at the fourth issue and may move it back down to the seven year old stage due to the lessons I want to share. The thing is that the content you put out many times will determine the target market you are involved with. It may also move in directions that you don’t see at the moment. Take social media for that matter, Facebook was started for and meant to be used by college students.It is now used by grandmothers, businesses and more.

So initial evaluations may set you down a path with your product but don’t be afraid to adjust as required. Keeping flexible is one of the best ways for an artist or small business to get a product into the game, being able to adapt will set you apart from the larger companies that can’t adjust on a dime.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a cartoonist, illustrator, and business consultant. He creates many products through his art business for his different businesses. For more information visit his website at www.pridejunkie.ca , www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com ,www.drawingwithbruce.com

March 6, 2012
Categories: art, comics, . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

Your Art is Ready When You’re Ready!

So you have been working on your art for a while and are starting to feel the tugging at your coat strings that it may be time to start showing and possibly selling your work. Some people wait until there art is truly a masterpiece before showing their work, and I agree with that to a point. You don’t want substandard work going public. However if you are truly a creative person you should always be striving to improve your art. As the saying goes you are only as good as your last painting. So if you are always improving then you will never have a masterpiece (in theory). Once you know your work is at an acceptable level you should start to show it. You may not sell but you should start getting that feedback from the public that may be your customers down the road. This is why I tell people don’t fall in love with your art, you will look back on it and wonder why you liked it so much. Take the jump and you will find people more accepting than you think. Get out of your safe zone a little bit and you will make more progress. You could read about entering a show, or you could enter a show. I will tell you, you will learn a lot more by entering a show than by reading about entering one. The difference will be night and day. So take your work out for a test ride and see were it takes you. You may be surprised at the reaction.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an art instructor, illustrator, and cartoonist. He is the creator of the Drawing with Bruce Video Series, the Pride Junkie Comic Series. More information can be found on his website at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com, www.drawingwithbruce.com, and www.pridejunkie.ca

February 28, 2012
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics, . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

How to use different media together in your paintings.

One of the things I like to do and one that many artists especially illustrators do is mix different media together. It may not be as common now with the digital age upon us but it is still s great way of adding colour to a drawing or painting. To do so you have to be careful which medium you mix and how you mix them. My favourite for mixing is pen and ink, watercolour, acrylic, and coloured pencil. There are two ways to apply the mediums depending on the picture you are completing.

If you are doing something more fine art based then try finishing your picture in pencil, applying ink to the darkest areas of your picture, then add in the next darkest colour with watercolour, finally add in the details and blend with the coloured pencil. This will create a sort of paint by numbers type of painting style but turns out very nice if done well. I myself change it around and prefer to add the watercolour first, then add the ink, but instead of detailing with coloured pencil I like to add highlights with acrylic paint. To me there is something about ink that makes a picture pop off the page.

Different mediums give you different effects so by mixing them together you can bring your paintings to life. Try it for yourself and see where it takes you.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an illustrator, cartoonist, and art instructor in Burlington Ontario Canada. He is the creator of the Pride Junkie Series and the Drawing With Bruce Video Art Series. More information can be found on his websites www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com, www.pridejunkie.ca, and www.drawingwithbruce.com

February 21, 2012
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics, . Tags: , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

How to Save Money for Art Supplies

Many people buy things on a regular basis but put no thought into how much it cost at the end of the year. If you are in business then it is imperative that you get a handle on your purchase power even for art supplies. The best way to do that is to track what you use and how much you use on a regular basis. Once you know what you need on a regular basis it will be easier to look into vendors that supply that type of material.

I used to buy my art supplies at a local box type store when I started out, thinking that was the only place to get supplies. As my art career grew I began to find other real art stores that were much cheaper and had better variety. As my wife and started traveling I would go into art stores wherever we were and do price comparisons and check out materials. When I began my business and started teaching it would have been too costly to keep buying materials at a retail level. So I had to change my perspective.

If you are not in business the best way to save on art supplies is to join a local art group.  Many times the membership will allow you to save 10-20% on purchases at selected stores. It may not seem like much but that is the tax in most cases. The other thing is to find stores that have bargain areas or sales on a regular basis. We have that in Canada where certain stores seem to have more sales than others and this may be due to the way they buy their products, especially chains.

If you are in business then you can go a step further. Investigate on setting up a business account with a store and buy your products at one time. If they can invoice  you even better it will be better to pay at a later date. Many times that will save you over 20% on the retail price. If you teach privately or in a group setting ask about an educational discount. This may save you up to 50% off the price of materials.

If you are not sure if this is available, there is one way to find out, ask! Walk into the shop and ask the manager. Many times it is not promoted but is available. The worst they can say is no.

About the Author, 

Bruce Outridge is an illustrator, art instructor, business and leadership consultant. He is the creator of the pride junkie Comic Series, The Drawing with bruce Product Line and more. More information can be found on his websites at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com, www.drawingwithbruce.com, www.pridejunkie.ca, and www.outridge.ca

February 14, 2012
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics, . Tags: , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

Putting Yourself on an Artist Schedule

Have you ever tried to get a certain amount of work done in a short time? Maybe you are just trying to build a body of work and are having trouble moving forward. One of the best ways that worked for me early on was to either develop a schedule or set goals for completion. So maybe you will make it a goal to complete a painting a week, or you will set a side 2 hours a day to work on your art. The hard part is keeping to a schedule. I also like starting three paintings at the same time, that way when you get bored with one you can set it aside and begin working on the other ones. This keeps the juices flowing and stops you from overworking a painting because you don’t have another one to start. If you make your art creation a habit you will find you are on the way to completing your artwork instead of competing with it.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an illustrator, art instructor and cartoonist from Canada. He is the creator of the Drawing with Bruce Video Series, and the Pride junkie Comic Series. More information can be found on his website at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com

February 7, 2012
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics, . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

Sketching with Purpose

We all sketch at different times and for different reasons. Some of us sketch for relaxation, to take our mind off of day to day problems and situations. Some sketch to learn and use it as a way of improving their art, while others use it for creating layouts and other important factors that are part of the painting and drawing process. Unless you’re sketching for relaxation which is fine by the way we all should do that you should use sketching to improve your art. Every time you put pen to paper should have a better outcome than the last. Part of the reason people fall short in this area is they don’t have purpose for their sketch.

If I say will go out and draw I will probably sit on a bench and look around trying to find something to draw and do it half heartily. If you go out with purpose, to draw people, or draw a certain landscape you will find you focus more on the subject coming out with a better sketch. If you want to be different than most artists, “focus” should be at the top of the list.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an art instructor, illustrator, and cartoonist from Canada. He is the creator of the Pride Junkie Comic Series, and the Drawing with Bruce Video Series. More information can be found on his websites at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com, www.drawingwithbruce.com, and www.pridejunkie.ca

January 31, 2012
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics, . Tags: , , , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

Do I Need Electronics to be an Artist?

It is easy to get carried away with electronics especially in the arts. The problem is that people use different systems for different things. As technology grows you may feel if you aren’t using the latest software then you aren’t a true artist. The fact is whatever you use is the best-for you! I still ink with a pen and still colour with markers and pencil crayons. I use programs like Photoshop to resize, colour, and adjust images more than anything else. If you talk with a photographer they will use the program totally different to the way I use it. The best way to focus on your art is to produce your art at the best level for you with the tools you know best. The rest will come when your ready.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an art instructor and illustrator from Canada. He is the creator of the Pride Junkie Comic Series for kids and the Drawing with Bruce Video Series. More information about Bruce can be found on his websites at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com, www.pridejunkie.ca, and www.drawingwithbruce.com

January 24, 2012
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics,, kids . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

Do you See the Beauty for the Trees?

I walk every morning as a regular routine. I enjoy the fresh air, the morning dew, it gives me time to think and clear my head. Even though I do it for health reasons to get exercise each day it is also the time when I come up with new ideas for articles, cartoons, and so on. Exercising is a great way of unleashing your creativity. The other morning I was on a walk enjoying the fresh air and was noticing the beauty of nature. A couple trees had some unique shapes, and some of the knots in the wood looked interesting. I just wondered how many people actually take the time to really look at nature. As creative people those same trees can become homes for unique creatures, the centre piece for a beautiful landscape painting and more. Next time you are out for a walk look a little harder at nature, you may be surprised at what you see. Feel free to take your sketchbook with you, it may be the start of a new adventure.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an art instructor and illustrator from Canada. He is the creator of the Pride Junkie Comic Series and the Drawing with Bruce Video Series. For more information visit his websites at www.drawingwithbruce.com, www.pridejunkie.ca, and www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com

January 18, 2012
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics,, kids . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

Finding Your Style through a Mentor

Do you have a certain type of art style that you just love? A certain artist that you like to draw like but doubt you will ever meet? I have many artists that I admire and look for them wherever they may be published. Many have become my mentors and don’t even know it. So how can someone mentor you that has never met you?

Simple, they mentor from afar. Here is how I do it. Artist Tom Richmond is famous in the cartoon and caricature world as an artist for Mad Magazine. I have always admired his style from earlier days, so I follow his blog posts, I visit his website regularly to see new work, I buy Mad Magazine, and study his illustrations to see how he handles different subject matter. I met Tom at a convention a few years ago, and he recently released a book on caricature which I bought for my library. I had it signed and am in the process of reading it and going through the lessons. I have a number of artists that mentor me such as Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, and Jack Kirby. They don’t know me but they have been teaching me their whole lives. Create your mentorship by studying from afar, the connection will show up through your art.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an illustrator and cartoonist from Canada. He is the creator of the Pride Junkie Comic Series, the Drawing with Bruce Video Series. More information can be found on his websiteI at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com, www.pridejunkie.ca, and www.drawingwithbruce.com

December 27, 2011
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics,, kids . Tags: , , , , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

Creating Colour using Black and White

The title sounds confusing doesn’t it? It was meant to be but isn’t if you read the rest of this blog post. I love black and white and would do all my work that way if I could but people like colour for some reason. One of the ways that I like to inject colour in a drawing without using colour is to create it in black and white, but use a coloured paper as the base. The paper adds some colour to the picture while the ink gives the black and white feel for the drawing. If you’re looking for coloured paper try buying a pad of pastel paper in different colours. I have found the cream, yellow, and blue papers give off the nicest touch. Try it and see for yourself.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an illustrator and cartoonist from Canada. He is the creator of the Pride Junkie Comic Series and the Drawing with Bruce Art Series. You can learn more on his websites at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com , www.pridejunkie.ca, and www.drawingwithbruce.com

December 20, 2011
Categories: art lessons and tips, art, comics, . Tags: , , , , , , . Author: Bruce . Comments: Leave a Comment

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