We love this video from MATS Alumni Clare Vacha My experience (dramatic version) taking the Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells online course. The animation was created in Flash and the soundtrack put together in GarageBand. *** Would you like to find your design path and a wonderful community to travel along with and experience the Make Art That Sells class yourself? The next session will take place Monday 19th October 2015, registration is open here! This is the last time that Lilla will be providing live feedback, so join us now to be in with a chance of having your work reviewed in class!
Mini assignment Number 5: Orgy of Organization
This coming Monday we begin the Make Art That Sells Parts A and B courses, LIVE for the last time. (That means I’ll be doing reviews of the work in class, there will be the private Facebook group and more.) If you haven’t signed up already, get cracking’ here because it all begins on Monday. So what I like to do before I start a project is to get my organizational system ready. And that’s what you’re going to do today. Suggestions: Get a three ring notebook for all the downloadable handouts you’re going to get. You’ll get loads of forms, info sheets, tips and more, and you’re going to want to save them. Go ahead and make tabs for your binder, one for each of the 5 weeks. Here’s what I did, to show you what I mean: xo, Lilla
5 things I have learned from MATS and how the experience has earned me several artistic career “wins.”
Today, we have a lovely guest post from Make Art That Sells alumni Dawn Gonzales Here is a summary of the top 5 things I have learned from MATS and how the experience has earned me several artistic career “wins.” 1. Create/Sell your joy: Once I started this, I knew I was on to something. My very first MATS assignment was to create a design for an iPhone. I love drawing characters, and so I created my design around a self conscious squirrel and his birdhouse friend. I uploaded my designs to Redbubble.com and sold several cases! This design is still one of my favorites. Additionally, My nautical wall art project from June 2014 has become a best seller in my shop. People love whales! 2. Create art everyday. Upon Lilla’s advice, I made a morning studio practice a priority in my daily life. Not only have my skills and
Mini assignment Number 4: I miss my home planet. #myMATSprep
Sometimes I swear I’m from another planet. It’s all peaceful and beautiful there. I miss it. Fill this in: I miss my home planet. It looks like ___________________________________ (describe). I had a really cool job on my planet. I was a ___________________. My name was _________________. My planet’s name is _______________. Coming from another planet explains why I _________________. Why did I create this assignment for you? Because making art is about being a bit weird. I can’t wait to see what you do! #mymatsprep #myhomeplanet
Mini assignment Number 3: Draw your shoes #myMATSprep
Today you’re going to draw your shoes in any style you like. Draw your way. Today you’re going to draw your shoes in any style you like. Draw your way. I picked this because it’s a common item and fun to draw. Suggestions: Think about the view. You can draw a top view or a side view, for example. Draw only in pen at a café on the back of your receipt. Take only 15 minutes. Why did I pick shoes for your assignment? So often we draw for a purpose: a job, a paid assignment, as a gift for someone, for our Etsy shop. That can put undue pressure on the experience of art-making. In my course I stress that you draw for the fun of it for the first few days of every week. I give you a specific topic to draw. You love art, remember? For this,
Daily mini assignment Number 2: Market Survey #myMATSprep
Your mission today is to take a photo of something in your house/apartment that you love, that has any kind of art on it, and identify its market. I’ll go first. Here’s my travel pencil bag. It’s a zipper tote by Blue Q with art on it that we licensed by our artist Carolyn Gavin. #mymatsprep #giftmarket The “Gift Market” means things that you might buy as a gift for yourself or someone else. They tend to be smaller items, than say, the Home Décor market, which is things like lamps and pillows. Next up: Here’s a journal that I love to travel with. It’s by Chronicle. We licensed our artist Suzy Ultman for this project. This would be categorized as for the Paper Market. #mymatsprep #Papermarket Here’s a list of the ten markets I cover in the Make Art That Sells e-courses. Hopefully this will make identifying your product
THE BIG REVEAL! Announcing the 2015 Global Talent Search Winners
And the winner is… KATE MASON! Giant congratulations to Kate Mason for her extraordinary work! Her lush, ripe, saturated color infuses her patterns and product designs. It’s the opposite of a limited palette; it’s about subtle nuances of color. I love how she can have happy palettes and very sophisticated ones, too. We believe in the broad appeal of her work, yet at the same time she’s able to convey a sophisticated, charming individuality. We feel that her style is irresistible. We are delighted to now be the exclusive agency representing Kate. We can’t wait to fill her docket with commissions, licenses, and consultations with VIPs. Art directors, contact us to get dibs on Kate for your projects! Read more about the prizes Kate’s won here. We’re thrilled to announce that we are taking on two more of the finalists! Katie Vernon Can you find the gnome in the piece
Day One: Mini Assignment #myMATSprep
It’s prep time for the upcoming MATS A/B courses that begin Oct.19th! Lilla has created a series of five mini assignments to get you ready all this week before the course starts next Monday. Sign up today for the incredibe course. It’s the last time Lilla is doing live reivews! You don’t want to miss out on getting your work in front of her. Post your work for each of the week’s assignments on Instagram with the hashtag #mymatsprep. From Lilla: DAY 1. Mini assignment Number 1: Nuts for Neutrals Your mission is to gather some nuts and match the colors. Since these Mini Prep assignments are written for you, you make your rules. You can gather actual nuts or use photos from online. Your definition of nuts can even include things like coconuts! What I’m going for here is that you delve deeply into gorgeous shades of brown. Why? Because
How our MATS Alumni have been rocking it in 2015! (Part 3)
Continuing our series of alumni successes, here is part 3. So does ‘Make Art That Sells’ actually work? Do artists who take the class actually sell more art? Well yes, they do. We asked class participants for examples of their successes since taking the course, and were staggered by the response, bearing in mind that some people only took the course earlier in the year. Here is part 1 in our series. Students have since secured licensing deals in the gift, editorial, baby apparel, bolt fabric, wall art, greetings, home décor, paper and fashion markets, many have won competitions and a number have been signed for representation. It’s also really important to say that people join Make Art That Sells (MATS) at different stages of their creative journey. Some are nearly ready to seek out work, others less so. For many people the greatest breakthrough is a new level of
How our MATS Alumni have been rocking it in 2015! (Part 2)
Continuing our series of alumni successes, here is part 2. So does ‘Make Art That Sells’ actually work? Do artists who take the class actually sell more art? Well yes, they do. We asked class participants for examples of their successes since taking the course, and were staggered by the response, bearing in mind that some people only took the course earlier in the year. Here is part 1 in our series. Students have since secured licensing deals in the gift, editorial, baby apparel, bolt fabric, wall art, greetings, home décor, paper and fashion markets, many have won competitions and a number have been signed for representation. It’s also really important to say that people join Make Art That Sells (MATS) at different stages of their creative journey. Some are nearly ready to seek out work, others less so. For many people the greatest breakthrough is a new level of