Teefury.com Monster Collaboration Limited Edition Available Today 5/28/09

Yes, yes y'all! Today is the day to cop this limited edition shirt designed by many multiple artists from Teefury.com. My design is the second one to the right on the top row.

Here is what TeeFury.com has to say about where the sales go to:

"The proceeds from the sale of this design will go to Save the Children organization. They are "the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need in the United States and around the world."

It is easy sometimes to forget that we are part of a bigger whole, mostly invisible to us as we toil through our affairs just keeping our own hides secure. Similar to this shirt design, it takes a collaboration of effort to make something more grand and affect more largely than what one can on their own."


So buy a shirt, it's for a good cause, it only cost $9,it makes you look fresh, and it's a limited edition since it will only be on sale for only this day.

TeeFury.Com Monster Collaboration Shirt Out On THURSDAY

Teefury.com is a cool site that features an exclusive t-shirt design that is sold for one day at $9. It promotes the featured artist and helps you get to know the artist a bit with it's questionnaire. Everyday there is a different shirt, so if your taste in the tee of the day isn't you, then there's tomorrow.

Teefury has a collaboration t-shirt with many different artists and designers for their Thursday release. The theme was "Monsters", which was inspired by the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" that is now being made into a feature film. I have submitted my monster and after seeing what the shirt will look like, I like the placement of where it is. You can actually see a piece of my creature in the picture above. Proceeds for the tee will be donated to charity. Teefury.com is currently working with causecast.org I believe that is what made me want to submit a cool monster for this design, because the proceeds will be going to charity. I would probably have done one if it was just a collaboration, but I like the idea that it is going to charity.

THURSDAY 5/25/09 PICK UP YOUR MONSTER COLLABORATION T-SHIRT!!

Printing & Prepress Basics Article @ Vectortuts

Vectortuts are having a graphic design tutorials & articles week. One article that I think is very important for graphic designers or anyone learning graphic design is how to set up your files for print like making sure your black is rich black.

Here's a brief piece of the article:

"Interestingly enough, there are actually several different types of black when it comes to printing, but the two most widely used terms are "plain black" and "rich" or "full black." Keep in mind, "rich black" has several variants, depending on your printer's preference. If you've ever created an image in Illustrator that contained sections of black, and later placed it into a Photoshop document where the image sat on top of a black you chose from the color palette in Photoshop, it's likely you've seen this disconnect.
Plain Black
When you use black in a program like Illustrator or InDesign without choosing a Pantone color, the CMYK breakdown automatically defaults to C=0 M=0 Y=0 K=100, where black is fully saturated and the other three are completely absent.
Rich Black / Full Black
As stated before, there are several variants of rich black, but what's important to know when you're designing is that the Photoshop default for black is different than other programs (where C: 75, M: 68, Y: 67, K: 90). It's likely that Photoshop will be the place you find this difference most often if you're not intentionally trying to give a piece of your design a darker, richer tone than you get with plain black.
If you are intentionally doing so, make sure to ask your printer which variant of rich black they like to use on press, usually referred to as "warm black" or "cool black," where there are higher levels of either magenta or cyan, respectively. It's generally not recommended that you use a completely saturated level of all four colors (where C: 100, M: 100, Y: 100, K:100), as this can over-saturate the paper on press and will certainly give the press operator trouble."


To Check out the rest of this useful article go here : http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing/printing-prepress-basics/

Back in Black Apparel 2 T-shirt Exhibit

Designers Palehorse and Hydro74 released an exhibit last year with a bunch of other artists to showcase t-shirt art as fine art. They challenged what is fine art and not only did they do that, all who attended the gallery could pick up a shirt that was printed right then and there. This exhibit is back for a second time and you can order the shirts online, before the show. If you're a fan of t-shirts and illustrations, I recommend picking up a shirt. Some returning artists are Jimiyo, Godmachine, Dan Mumford, along with new comers The Black Axe, OG Abel, and more. It's definitely worth checking out the exhibit if you're in the area and/or the website if you cannot make the exhibit.

VISIT THE SITE HERE

Subway Art 25 years

I saw this on the blog of my good people Black Flag Shoppe(check them out HERE) If you're in the New York City area today, check this event out. Meet the photographers Henry Chalfant(director of the movie "STYLE WARS" & Martha Cooper.

Sports Stock Art (Free Download)

Whether you believe stock art is hurting the industry or helping the designer come up with something when a rush job is given, it's important to have some tools in the arsenal. I've released three sets, Random Design Elements, Grimey Strokes & Splatter, and Flourish Designs. Here is another download for you guys. This is a small vector pack containing elements of sports. For awhile I haven't seen any sports vector art around the net and all the stock art released all were very similar and stuck with the trend that is out. So here are some designs that I had to use on certain jobs that were sports related. These are sports that are in season. When Fall comes around, I might release some fall and winter sports vectors. So enjoy the baseballs, soccer or football for every non American, lacrosse, tennis balls, the silhouettes, banner, and cap. Go get your design on!

Download the sports stock art here

Why do you charge so cheap? Article from SOS Factory

Sergio Ordonez of SOS Factory is a designer/illustrator based out of Spain and he has written on an important subject on his blog, Pricing. If you take a gander at his site, you will see that he is talented and produces quality work. He lists his pricing on his website and apparently other designers and illustrators have been sending him e-mails complaining about his pricing. I understand where he is coming from about charging what he does whether you're only starting out or you do not have the clients that pay the price that they should be paying. He also lists his reasons for what degrades the design business. One of those reasons are design schools. It is worth reading what one designer's reasoning is for his prices. You may find his reasoning nonsense or not, but I know we will agree to disagree.

From SOS Newbie:

How much should i charge?
They always refer me to the designers ethic code, the one that tells you what you have to do in every moment… But what happens if i don’t have many clients but i have bills to pay?, Will the code author come to pay them?
Codes are fine, they help to understand the profession… but only you can price your work

CLICK HERE TO READ ON

Link to 11 Ways to Show You're a Professional

I always found to be important is being professional and making sure people see you as a professional. I dislike receiving e-mails where a client comes off unprofessional by writing like I'm his best friend. It could be slightly different if I built a close client relationship, but not when you're only asking me about my services. When meeting with clients it's always important to dress professional even if you're meeting clients that may have a very casual dresscode. I'm a fan of this article from Freelanceswitch.com and even if you are very professional maybe there's a thing or two you missed or even could elaborate more on.

11 Ways to Show You're a Professional"

Designers Get Your GEEK ON!

Eightyonedesign.co.uk posted on their blog "14 items all design geeks must have!" I must say some of the items are funny and if you're a hardcore design then this is great. From Adobe Application pillows, Soduko toilet paper, Status Update calendars, Disc coasters, and more. I'll occasionally get geeky on certain design related subjects when I'm out in the real world, but I'm not sure if I can see myself getting Graph paper napkins. On second thought, I think the Status Update calendar seems very useful.

NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK!

Today, I went back to my college to vist and while I was there I saw my former college advisor/professor. We caught up and as I was talking about trying to build a web presence, she mentioned that out of all the students that graduated I had the most knowledge and aggressive approach towards networking. I'm unsure whether I stood out from the class I graduated with or in general, but I was rather shocked by her statement. Maybe when everyone had their hopes on getting a full time job at the place they interned at or find a place that needed a graphic designer for a certain area, I do not know. What I do know, is that I wanted to build my portfolio, earn money, and build a name for myself. In order for me to reach any of that, I needed to network. It did not matter whether it on the internet or through some function, I needed to meet people and let it be known that I am a graphic designer and a good one.


I mostly on my computer and if you see me away from the computer it's like finding new life on a planet...amazing. I am on the internet and I've belong to search a couple internet forums. It is important to sign up and communicate. It does not have to be a design forum, but it would not be bad. Joining a design forum, you'll be able to communicate with designers discuss a bunch of subjects, can get some constructive criticism, and you'll see where you stand in the pack. It's always good to be able to have some designer friends, because you never know when they'll need help with a project or tell someone else about you, because you specialize in web design than the other designer for example. I do suggest joining online communities to subjects that you are interested in. Add your portfolio site in the signature while you type on whatever topic the forum is discussing. The way I see it, is you'll have at least one person click on your link, plus you'll be in a field of your interest, so maybe you can get a job with that subject. I'm a member of a music forum for upcoming musicians, it does happen to have a graphic forum where I can post my designs, so potential musicians can contact me for artwork. Be warned that you'll have some people who'll want designs for dirt cheap or will e-mail you very unprofessionally, like you were there best friend since grade school. Also, some people may expect that certain designs cost a lot less, because other designers are not treating the graphic design profession with the dignity it deserves by designing for low prices. I took one job, but before I did the client was shocked at a price I gave, because other designers were telling him it would cost him next to nothing. You may need to educate your client, but you now have a new person in your network.


There's social networking sites like facebook, myspace, and twitter to gain exposure and network. Build a facebook fan page and invite your friends to be fans of your design skills. They'll forward people to you and you can gain a new client. I like when someone messages me saying they were referred by so and so and I'll be surprised that I may not be very close with the person, but apparently I did something right if they recommended me. Whether I promoted myself hard or I was nice to them, they told someone about me. It is very important to be Nice Be genuinely nice, because people can pick up when you're acting fake. Besides, when you meet people you prefer to meet a nice person rather than someone with an attitude, it's only human nature. It may seem silly, but you will be surprised how people will have an attitude and can lose a client or a friend. Being nice also helps with your customer service when you have a client secured.


Networking is not all internet related and there are networking meetings where you can introduce yourself to various business people. These networking parties are great, because you get to pass out a bunch of business cards. I know a person who would attend these meetings and even pass other people's business cards besides his own. You'll never know who you will run to and what potential projects they can give you. Your friends and family are good network as well. When I'm with a group of friends and they bring their friends that have their own business or a project in the works, I'll nonchalantly mention that I'm a designer and I could possibly help them. You don't want to force yourself on them, because if you're chilling, you don't want a salesperson in your face twisting your arm to buy what they have to offer. Sometimes you can get into a great discussion, but you'll have to feel how the situation is going. I usually give them at least 2 business cards. I like to think that they'll pass it on to someone else, but there's also the possibility that they may lose one of them. When you make a good connection you don't want to lose it.


It is important to network, because if you don't you're only hurting yourself. The creative field is a competitive one, so not only do you have to be on top of your game, but you have to make sure you're networking game is on point as well. If you're not great at networking, do not worry, you have to practice and practice. I can not stress that you have to network online and offline. Feel free to comment and let's network!

Article Link- 42 Questions Every Freelancer Should Ask Their Clients

This is an artilce of a list of 42 questions for freelancers to ask prospective clients during the interview/briefing process. You may not have to ask all the questions, but it is a good outline. The breakdown for the questions are "Company Background," "Work Philosophy," "Project Specifics", "Work Agreement", and "Follow Ups."

Click here to read