CDowd: Art, Illustration & Design http://cdowd.com Art, Illustration & Design Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:20:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 The Week in Tweets for 2010-07-24 http://cdowd.com/the-week-in-tweets-for-2010-07-24/598/ http://cdowd.com/the-week-in-tweets-for-2010-07-24/598/#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:15:00 +0000 CDowd http://cdowd.com/the-week-in-tweets-for-2010-07-24/598/ An archive of this week’s tweets…

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]]> http://cdowd.com/the-week-in-tweets-for-2010-07-24/598/feed/ 0 Lilith Dark Update http://cdowd.com/lilith-dark-update/582/ http://cdowd.com/lilith-dark-update/582/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:05:41 +0000 CDowd http://cdowd.com/?p=582 Lilith Dark WIP art

So as you know I have been working on my new “web based graphic novel” (erm, webcomic) Lilith Dark for a few months now. I have what I think is a good buffer of weeklies, and I have a pretty firm grasp on the first major story arc. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be working on scripting and drawing to have an even bigger buffer of pages. My biggest worry is that I’ll launch the comic, and then have no time to keep up. I don’t want Lilith Dark to be known for being late.

My original goal was to be ready for the Baltimore Comic-Con on Aug 28th, but that will be too early for me to launch. It’s looking more like mid-late September. Until then, keep your eyes on the official Lilith Dark Twitter & Facebook pages for art sneak peeks and insider news. Lilith Dark friends & followers are always the first to hear about the latest LD info.

Lastly, I just want to say a huge “Thank you” for all of the awesome feedback I’ve been getting about Lilith Dark. I have not received this much support for any other project I’ve been involved with and the buzz is continuing to grow. I feel like I’m really going out on a limb with this project, and all of the positive feedback really makes me think that I’m making the right decision. Thanks!

~Charlie

Lilith Dark color preview art

]]> http://cdowd.com/lilith-dark-update/582/feed/ 1 My New Webcomic Lilith Dark http://cdowd.com/my-new-webcomic-lilith-dark/553/ http://cdowd.com/my-new-webcomic-lilith-dark/553/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:25:06 +0000 Charles Dowd http://cdowd.com/?p=553 Lilith dark by CDowdI would like to formally announce that this Fall, I will be debuting my latest project, Lilith Dark. Lilith Dark will be an ongoing serialized webcomic strip based on the world of young Lilith Dark, a highly imaginative and adventurous little girl. Lilith Dark is a character near and dear to me, and I hope that you’ll all check it out once it’s released. My goal is to release one full color page of art per week, most likely on Wednesdays.

Over the next few weeks, you can keep an eye on LilithDark.com for more details, and you can also find Lilith Dark on Facebook and follow Lilith Dark on Twitter, where I’ll be posting sneak previews of art, character concepts, and more.

Thanks to all of you who continue to show support for me and my work. I hope that you’ll enjoy the next chapter with me!

~Charlie

Lilith dark by CDowd

]]> http://cdowd.com/my-new-webcomic-lilith-dark/553/feed/ 0 Job Interview Prep For the Young Artist or Designer http://cdowd.com/job-interview-prep-for-the-young-artist-or-designer/544/ http://cdowd.com/job-interview-prep-for-the-young-artist-or-designer/544/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:00:03 +0000 CDowd http://cdowd.com/?p=544 The other day I had a seemingly very talented art & design student stop by my office for an interview. Very nice kid whom I’m sure will eventually make a very nice living in the world of web and graphic design. The one thing that made me crazy about the interview was her unpreparedness. Now, before you all blast me for attacking an inexperienced student, let me just say that this post is not meant to be an attack. I’m writing this post in hopes that some bright eyed art & design student might stumble across it and learn something about the interview process. The fact of the matter is that most art schools don’t even bother to teach students how to conduct themselves in a professional environment, so that’s what I’m here to do. Keep in mind that these are just my personal opinions. Please use your own best judgment when following advice from strangers on the interwebs.

1. Don’t pad your resume with BS
OK, so you are young and lack experience, and you want to give your resume a little “zazz”. I totally get it, and I’ve done the same thing. But if you’re interviewing for a graphic arts position (or any related field), don’t bother listing every tiny detail of your current position at Wal-Mart. I know what you do there, you stock shelves and run a register. Don’t tell me that you, “Provided professional and courteous customer support, as well as offered direction to solve customer needs.” Really? All you did was tell the lady where the diapers were, c’mon! Just say you worked at Wal-Mart and handled inventory, stocking, and register duty. That’s it. The rest is BS and I don’t have time for it I’m super busy! If you worked at McDonald’s, just say so! Don’t make it sound like you worked for Chef Gordon Ramsey. You flipped burgers! Guess what? I did too! We all did at some point. It’s OK.

2.Let your portfolio make up for your lack of work experience
You’re applying for a design gig, so regardless of where you worked, I need to see the goods. I want to know that you can sit down in front of a computer screen and get right to work. I don’t want to have to tell you where the brushes are in Photoshop. Your portfolio says to me that you know what you’re doing, and dammit you do it good! This will make up for any lack of work experience in your resume.

3. Only show me the good stuff
You might have four years worth of art to show me, but guess what? Nine times out of ten the first three years of art are junk. I don’t want to see it. I want to see what you did in the last six months, and out of the last six months I only want to see the absolute best of it. Your portfolio should not have fifty pieces in it, maybe ten or twelve but no more than that. Frankly I’d rather see five dynamite pieces than a dozen mediocre ones. Trust me, less is more.

4. OMG put your work on a CD-Rom
Once you widdle your work down to the best of the best, take photos, or scan them and put them on a disc. Please do not come into my office with a 5′x3′ painting of your cat, or a 40″x28″ print of your digital work. Put it all on a disc. My office is small and my desk barely fits in the room as it is. Leave that big stuff at home! I can just look at your stuff on my computer. Oh, and when you save the files, make sure they are jpegs, and please save them at a decent size. No tiny thumbnails or fancy carousels, just regular boring jpegs no smaller than 800x600px. Don’t make me think too hard because frankly I’m probably late for a meeting with the boss as it is, so don’t come in and make me learn how to look at your work, just present it. Fancy is not better, it is mostly just annoying.

5. Never apologize for your work
Under no circumstances should you ever apologize for your work. You are trying to show me that you are the best applicant for the job. If you tell me that “oh I’m srry my work is so bad I will gets better sumdayz” guess what? You don’t get hired. I’m not saying that you should walk in like the king or queen of design, but show some pride in your work! It will go a long way.

6. Have a website before the interview
If you don’t have a website with your work on it right now, I will not even consider hiring you. IMHO, you must have an online portfolio. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive, but I need to be able to find your work online. Not on Facebook, but on a website designed to display artwork. There are tons of free online portfolio sites to choose from. I recommend that you go to WordPress.com and sign up for a free blog. Post your work there. It isn’t perfect, but at least your work is out there. Maybe I’ll be impressed and I’ll subscribe to your feed and call you back in six months. Without a website, you’ll never know. I guarantee that your paper resume will be in the trash by the end of the day.

7. Have a professional email address
Gmail is the current standard. Hotmail is not. If you have an AOL address, you are not right for this job. Don’t use your school email either. That will be deleted when you graduate, and then I can never email you again. And for the love of all things holy, if your email is vulgar, nonsensical, or just plain stupid, I will not hire you. Megasexkitten-at-someEmail-dot-com is a disaster. Change it immediately.

8. Clean up your Facebook page
Yes I will be searching for you on Facebook, Twitter, et all. If you have a photo gallery of you beer bonging anything, or flashing your inappropriately placed tattoos, or your profile pic is you making that god-awful “duck-face” that girls always make, I will not hire you. ‘Nuff said.

9. Take a bath
This is an office, you can’t be a smelly art kid in the real world. If you wake up the morning of the interview and wonder if you should brush your teeth, the answer is yes.

10. Relax
Look, I was a dumb kid with no experience once too. We all were. Don’t be so nervous! My resume was probably worse than yours is. Just chill out, be yourself, and things should go fine. We all have to start somewhere, right?

]]> http://cdowd.com/job-interview-prep-for-the-young-artist-or-designer/544/feed/ 0 A Ripple For The Gulf http://cdowd.com/a-ripple-for-the-gulf/532/ http://cdowd.com/a-ripple-for-the-gulf/532/#comments Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:33:29 +0000 CDowd http://cdowd.com/?p=532 ripplecdowd

Here’s my contribution to the Ripple campaign started by Illustrator Kelly Light. Buy it for only $10.00 US and help clean up the animals in the gulf…

UPDATE: Looks like the card is sold. But there are still a ton of cards by exceptional artists available. Go to the Ripple blog and buy some for a great cause. Thank you all for the support.

The Ripple campaign was set up to:

“help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Every penny is donated. The two Non-Profits that are benefiting are The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies and The International Bird Rescue Research Center.”

As I stated in my email to Ms. Light,

“I grew up in Texas and spent pretty much my entire youth swimming in the Gulf. This spill is a total catastrophe and will likely affect the area for generations. If selling a sketch card can help, then it is the absolute least I can do.”

This is not a political statement of any kind. There was a horrible accident, and it doesn’t matter who’s fault it was. The goal of Ripple is to help the animals that have been hurt, plain and simple. To buy my card, or any of the other amazing pieces of art donated by dozens of other artists, just go to the Ripple website and follow the instructions in the top right hand side of the page. Ms. Light will handle the donation portion, and once your donation has been confirmed, I (or whichever artist) will mail the art out to you directly. All cards are available for a measly $10.00 US and 100% of the proceeds go to one of the aforementioned charities (your choice).

The card itself is drawn in ink  and measures the standard 2.5″x3.5″. The card is titled “Ripple” and has been signed on the back. Thanks for helping. The Gulf of Mexico is my home away from home and the oil spill is a complete disaster.

~Charlie

]]> http://cdowd.com/a-ripple-for-the-gulf/532/feed/ 0 Social Networking for the Artist http://cdowd.com/social-networking-for-the-artist/518/ http://cdowd.com/social-networking-for-the-artist/518/#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 13:05:31 +0000 CDowd http://cdowd.com/?p=518 holeinleaf_web.jpgAs many of you are aware, Facebook is currently under fire for their haphazard approach to privacy. While I don’t disagree with that (as of this writing, Facebook privacy is a cluster), I still believe strongly that social networking is important for artists to market, promote, and communicate with their audience. For this article, I will attempt to explain a common sense approach to social networking for both business and pleasure, while still maintaining your own privacy, and the privacy of your users.

1. Start a Facebook Fan Page
OK, so now “Fan Pages” are just called “Pages”, and yeah people don’t have to become your “Fan” anymore, they just have to “Like” your page, but you know what I mean. If you have a business, be it selling your art, commissions, or promoting your comic or webcomic, YOU NEED A FAN PAGE! Keep your personal Facebook account ONLY for close friends and family. Your Fan Page is for your clients and fans that buy your stuff. I love my customers, clients and fans, but I do not want them to see photos of my children, or photos of me from high school that old “friends” decide to post and tag. That’s just not safe, or smart. Even when I break the no kid pics rule, I do so fully aware of the risk I am taking. Be smart.

2. Use Facebook Connect
Facebook Connect allows your website users to log into your site with their own personal Facebook account. They can post comments on your blog, and use their Facebook avatar, and have the option to post their activity on your site to their Facebook stream, in essence helping to promote your website to their friends, potentially increasing your website traffic. If the user just isn’t cool with signing into your site with their Facebook creds, then they simply don’t. They would have to click the connect button on your page to make the connection, so you are not infringing on their privacy, you are simply offering a convenience to make their experience on your site more interactive and familiar. If they choose not to use the Facebook Connect feature, they can still post comments and be part of the conversation, and maintain their complete anonymity. It’s a win win for everyone.

3. Incorporate Twitter
Guys, Twitter is here to stay. Sign up, use it, embrace it. Especially with all the problems and controversy over Facebook privacy lately. Twitter is the next best alternative, and it’s a great way to reach out to your audience. In my experience, I’ve also found that Twitter users are actually MUCH more social than Facebook users anyway. Let your users interact with you on Twitter, incorporate it into your blog, and tweet yourself silly!

4. Add a LIKE button
I think “Like” is sorta dumb, but what are ya gonna do? Facebook owns the web, and they want us all to “Like” everything. Don’t miss out on this minimal modification. Just add the Like button and let your users click it if they choose to. It will feed to their Facebook stream with a link back to your website. It’s a good thing.

Here are some links to the social media plugins I use on my website, CDowd.com. There are hundreds out there, so try using Google to find some others. Keep in mind that I run a self hosted copy of WordPress, so these may not work for you if you run something else.

WP-FBconnect Integrate Facebook and WordPress with Facebook Connect. Provides single-signon, avatars, and newsfeed comment publication.
TwitMe This plugin allows you to automatically post your new posts on the twitter website.
Twitterlink Comments Plugin to show a link to follow the comment author on twitter if they have entered in their username at least once in the comment form
Add a LIKE button Requires minor template hacking
Wickett Twitter Widget Adds a Twitter feed to your sidebar

Post your favorite tips & tricks in the comments below.

]]> http://cdowd.com/social-networking-for-the-artist/518/feed/ 3 Award Winning Illustration http://cdowd.com/award-winning-illustration/525/ http://cdowd.com/award-winning-illustration/525/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 13:25:00 +0000 CDowd http://cdowd.com/?p=525 Don't Tell MommyOn Friday, May 21, 2010 I received two awards for my work. The first was a third place award for my animation titled “Ladybug”, which stars a sad liitle guy and a ladybug(Watch the animation below), and the second was a first place award for my digital art piece titled “Don’t Tell Mommy” (click the thumbnail to the left to view).

I want to publicly, humbly, and sincerely thank the folks that voted for my work in this year’s CCBC Digital Art Showcase. I admittedly question whether one can truly “win” at art, but I also admit that it is truly meaningful to receive recognition and adulation from my peers and mentors. Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement.

[See post to watch Flash video] ]]> http://cdowd.com/award-winning-illustration/525/feed/ 2 Gallery Reception May 14 http://cdowd.com/gallery-reception-may-14/479/ http://cdowd.com/gallery-reception-may-14/479/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 14:15:51 +0000 Charles Dowd http://cdowd.com/?p=479 immaculateNothingI am proud to have some of my latest art on display in this year’s CCBC student art show. It’s an honor to have been invited back to participate with my exceptionally talented former classmates in this collection of select art students.

I am debuting 2 brand new works, and 2 digital prints that have never been on public display. Six pieces in all, plus many other works by some of my closest friends. The show will be on display through May 21st. I encourage you to stop by the gallery and discover some incredible emerging talents.

Details:

April 26 through May 21, 2010: Works by selected Art, Design and Interactive Media transfer students. Reception: May 14 from 5 to 8 pm. Click here for more info/directions/etc.

Follow me on Twitter & Facebook for more info.

UPDATE: For Fans of my Facebook page, I have just uploaded one of my two new pieces that are currently on display. Just click the Fan Exclusives tab. Not a fan? Then come out to the show and see it in person!

]]> http://cdowd.com/gallery-reception-may-14/479/feed/ 0 Alice in Wonderland Sketch Cards http://cdowd.com/alice-in-wonderland-sketch-cards/476/ http://cdowd.com/alice-in-wonderland-sketch-cards/476/#comments Thu, 13 May 2010 13:04:08 +0000 Charles Dowd http://cdowd.com/?p=476 Alice falling down the rabbit hole

Last week I debuted my series of Fairy Tale sketch cards, and this week I humbly present to you the second half of the project, my Alice in Wonderland sketch card set!

I created this 9 card series to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. The Treasure Chest Foundation provides “Toys and smiles to kids with cancer”. It’s a great organization and I encourage you to check them out and send them a tax deductible donation.

The cards themselves will be sold as part of the 2010 Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo. Click here for info on the event, and how you can purchase a Treasure Chest full of art.

Click a thumbnail below to start the gallery.

The cards were all drawn in pen & ink. Keep an eye out for the Puzzle Chase Cards! Only available in the Treasure Chest go so get one!

]]> http://cdowd.com/alice-in-wonderland-sketch-cards/476/feed/ 0 Fairy Tale Sketch Cards http://cdowd.com/fairy-tale-sketch-cards/465/ http://cdowd.com/fairy-tale-sketch-cards/465/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 13:30:30 +0000 CDowd http://cdowd.com/?p=465

At long last, I am proud to present my series of Fairy Tale sketch cards!

I created this 11 card series to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. The Treasure Chest Foundation provides "Toys and smiles to kids with cancer". It’s a great organization and I encourage you to check them out and send them a tax deductible donation.

The cards themselves will be sold as part of the 2010 Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo. Click here for info on the event, and how you can purchase a Treasure Chest full of art.

Click a thumbnail below to start the gallery.

The cards were all drawn in pen & ink. Some of them are puzzle cards, so you can collect and trade with your friends to get the whole picture.

]]> http://cdowd.com/fairy-tale-sketch-cards/465/feed/ 3