CAN: Cincinnati Animation Network

Learning to run an art business represented by this illustration of Alice Through the Looking Glass, by Ralph Steadman The artistic brain works in mysterious ways. We as artists come up with weird ideas that no one else even bothers to think about, and we make connections between things that don't make logical sense sometimes. We are motivated and affected by color and mood and imagery in a way that non-artists don't understand. On top of this we also need to focus on these abstract subjects throughout our lives in order to develop our creativity and talent. What ends up happening, I think, is that artists end up somewhat sheltered from reality, because we are busy creating our own! A Rude Awakening  Then one day you realize that you need to translate this unique outlook into an art-related business in order to stay alive and keep food on your table (or else risk giving up spending a majority of your time on the arts). You realize that business is all about forms an...

Image from www.artsyshark.com It’s pretty obvious why giving your product (your art) away for nothing in return is a bad move for your business. But, what about those clients that DO offer you something, it’s just not money? What if it’s a royalty, or a piece of ownership in the project? That’s not the same as offering nothing, right? Well it’s not exactly the same~ but it’s often a dead giveaway of something about the person who is offering it to you- that something is a secret that maybe the client doesn’t even know about themselves. What is this secret? The secret is: this very offer shows that they have no idea what they are doing! And if they don’t know what they’re doing, they’re probably not going to be successful in their goal. Giant Red Flag #1 “I am just looking for help to get this going and then it will take off” Why this flag is red: There are institutions and individuals out there who make a living by lending people money- a couple of these institutions ar...

***Important-directions to the room we're in!  When you get to Essex Studios, and you're standing in front of the genie in the parking lot- turn right and walk to the wooden steps. Climb them, and enter the building at the door at the top of the steps. Once inside, walk straight back until you reach the back wall, then turn right and walk straight. Studio 268 will be on the left side!  See you tonight!***** We are having a meetup! Important facts: 1) Bring your portfolios for review and your questions for answering. 2) Win Stuff + get free stuff 3) Bring your art supplies that need to be re-homed This is taking place at Essex Studios, Studio #268 (thank you to David Harz, it's his space) at 7:00 pm on Thursday Jan 28th aka in a couple of days. 2511 Essex Pl, Cincinnati, OH 45206 The door to Essex is kept locked but we will be there to let people in at 7:00pm,. If you RSVP I will look out for you. If you're going to be late or if you arrive late you can also t...

Hey guys- as everyone is freaking out about the holidays and getting gifts together for family and friends I am taking a moment to think about goals for the new year- mine usually involve learning more, getting business stuff done that I need to do, Getting cooler jobs, trying to buy equipment that would make my life easier, and trying to do things to keep my life enriched because that stuff feeds the creativity. So for a moment screw others lets think about ourselves as artists shall we <3 Ok, or be a better person and also consider your friends for these too :P Groupon contacted me because they exist for people like us, so I went looking to see what they have that would be useful for animators. And omg I found about a thousand things from art supplies to cheap tickets to art museums to affordable website building (and coupons for toys, ahem- I mean collectibles). I narrowed it down a lot, it's easy to get sucked into their site. Here's what I found Resolution1: I...

He's probably trying to sell her an explainer video. Business Proposals and Marriage Proposals have similarities. They are both an offer that will hopefully lead to a leap of faith in the form of a "yes" on the proposee's part. The proposer puts thought into the presentation and tries to emphasize the positive in order to influence a "yes."   When saying yes to a marriage proposal, the target is trusting that you will be awesome to be married to and that you will not waste the life you are requesting. And in a project proposal, the target is trusting that you will be awesome at completing the project you are proposing and that you will not waste the money you're requesting.  Before any money changes hands or work starts there needs to be a proposal at least. The proposal is like a contract, only it's more informal. I tend to use proposals, but if I were dealing with larger projects where my risk is greater I would use a contract. Contrac...

So last night a bunch of animation folks squeezed into Flaming Medusa Studios to talk about art business stuff for 2 hours. I shall attempt to recap what was said for those who couldn't make it.  I expect after this is done it will be a pretty handy post for anyone who is starting freelancing. David Hartz (animator, fire sculptor, and professor of animation at UC Blue Ash) was also awesome enough to come and he was very helpful with providing his insight as well. And we begin. I have been hanging out with lawyers a little so let me also say that I am not a CPA or MBA or Lawyer so this is just based on my experience, but I'm no expert. I'm just telling you what I do. 1) INVOICES Invoices are important. If you are working as a freelancer or independent contractor (same thing) on a project you must give the client an invoice in order to get paid.  You don't get automatic paychecks if you're a freelancer like you would as an employee. I have had artists no...

Make money, not starvation! The idea of this meeting is to go over some basic business stuff like how to start a business, why to start a business, what it means to start a business, basic business terms, payment and invoicing, and how to apply business principles to your art. And also what some basic business principles are, because no one bothers to teach us these things in school:) March 28th at 7pm. at  Flaming Medusa Studios 3047 Madison Rd Suite 206A Cincinnati, Oh 45209 email Darcy at   cincycan@gmail.com   to rsvp! I need to be sure I have enough chairs set up....

Image from:  http://www.mydesignshop.com/design-critique-services Just a reminder that the Cincinnati Animation Network's  portfolio review  is this Thursday Jan 30th from 4pm to 6pm.  We will be meeting in room 3A of the main branch of the Cincinnati Public Library. Allison Craig  (a super talented animator at Titmouse) and  Christina Wald  (a super talented illustrator who runs her own illustration business) will be there to give feedback on portfolios and answer any questions or concerns you may have about working in animation/illustration. And I ( Darcy Vorhees ) will be there too, doing the same. The room we're in has wifi, so that's good. I will bring a PC laptop so we can look at stuff online.  If you want to bring printouts or a select group of originals or a laptop or other device to show your work on, feel free. I'd prefer not to have to transfer files onto my computer though. Christina suggested that parking on ...

Hi everyone!  A few things- don't forget to follow our Facebook page to see some nifty tips for freelancers and notice of other animation related stuff that doesn't make it to the blog. We also have a couple of events coming up.  First, there is a free virtual seminar that is being hosted by Mark Simon and Stephen Silver called "Don't Work For Free".  It will go over: How to make more money as an artist The problems with contests Which sites for artists to avoid How to protect the rights to your designs 10 action steps for all artists and creatives What to say when employers want your work for free It is at 9pm eastern time on Jan 21st (tomorrow!) and you can register for free by going to this link . We will also be having a portfolio review session with a few pros in animation and illustration on January 30th from 4:00pm to 6:00pm at the Cincinnati Public Library Main Branch, room 3A (on the third floor) In case it's helpful, the add...

The Cloud approacheth. Hey everyone! So we were talking about the Adobe Cloud changes that were coming up and we are going to put together some information in the hopes of basically petitioning Adobe to not suck. Since then I have found and signed this petition:  https://www.change.org/petitions/adobe-systems-incorporated-eliminate-the-mandatory-creative-cloud-subscription-model It also has more information about it that I read first like faqs from adobe etc.  I don't feel like just signing an online petition will necessarily do anything though, but it can't hurt. I also found his facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/adobecreativecloud And I have also found some numbers:  Basically, if you are someone who updates your software version every couple of years the cloud would be ok for you.  If not, then it's a drain of money. If I had purchased cloud instead of the last version I purchased, I would have paid $4000 by now fo...