B2S shopping on a budget - Part II

So my shopping trip went as planned, right after my orientation for school. I spent a long time looking for a particular pair of jeans and shoes, and that was supposed to be it, but I was quite disappointed with the general selection. At the end of the day, I came home with a belt, a pair of flats, and some tights. After grumbling a bit and then sleeping on it, I set out this morning to complete what I had started. It wasn't too difficult to shop once I have made up my mind about exactly what I wanted, and all I needed were a few pieces to update my wardrobe for the warmer weather. So I went and returned the belt, exchanged the shoes for a more practical pair, and continued on...

5) Versatile tops and belts - Initially I decided not to get any tops, but after going through and cleaning out my closet, I found that if I wanted to make use of my tights and leftover leggings/skinny jeans, I needed more long tops. Still, I wasn't going to go looking for them, and would only consider getting a top if I randomly pass by some that I like. And that's exactly what happened in Old Navy.



The actual hooded sweater/dress I got is a bit different from this picture, it's a dull green with bell sleeves and the V-neck is not as low, but this is the general idea. It was on sale for $15, and it looked very comfortable. As much as I would like to get more fashion tops and nice business-y shirts, I knew that when I'm a month into the school year and sipping caffeine while half asleep on the bus, I'd probably prefer something more comfortable and practical.



I also picked up this top because the color jumped out at me. I know that purple is -in- this season and while I've kept an eye out for purple tops or scarves, I don't really like what I've seen...and I don't really like the color itself. This nice graphic-y teal, however, grabbed my attention right away. I like how I can dress it down because it's very simple, but there is enough detail around the neck and sleeves for me to up it one notch with a nice pair of shoes and a thin belt like the one below.



Originally I was looking for one of those big obi-style belts that everyone (but me) have been wearing for the past year or so. I thought it'd go well with the long tops I do have. But after looking through the selection and even buying one to try out, I realized that I didn't really like how it looked. I know a lot of people can pull it off, but on me it seemed a bit tacky, I'm not sure why. It looks a little too trendy for my taste. I do have the thin belt I mentioned though (bought it some time back) which I think will be adequate for now.

total spent - $35

6) Pants - I needed jeans, a nice pair that I can wear to school without it looking too worn out. And the first thing I wanted to search for were wide-leg jeans. While I do like the skinny jean look, I welcome the drastic shift since I was getting tired of being aware of every cell of fat on my thighs, and I know that for my figure, I'd probably look better in wide-leg anyway. The funny thing was, I couldn't find much of a selection at the mall, and the ones I do try on, made me look like I was wearing a bag on each leg. It was then that I finally acknowledge the fact that one should never try to chase the trend for jeans, because it's just gonna recycle itself anyway, and unlike other trends (for shoes, tops, colors, etc) there is only so much you can do with a pair of jeans/pants. You might as well just find the ones that make you look your best. Right now, I still harbor a desire to own a pair of wide legs just because they look so comfortable, but I finally settled on a pair of classic flares from American Eagle because they fit juuust right.



And for days when I'm not feeling denim, I have my gray pinstripes from H&M.



Incidentally I was very disappointed with their collection when I went in to browse. I usually find a coat or a top or even a bag that I would snatch up in a second. Maybe it was just a bad week or something, and it's probably for the better since I didn't spend extra.

total spent - $60

7) Tights - I guess I should have seen it coming, after all, tights are a logical continuation from leggings. Well this is one trend that I will happily indulge in. I really like the look of semi-opaque tights, especially ribbed ones, paired with any long top or dress. It's very cute. I've been wearing a similar look but with leggings and leg-warmers last winter, so I think I'll do a variation of that this winter. Gap had a 2 for $25 sale so I grabbed one gray and one deep purple, both with the herringbone pattern. They didn't have any ribbed, so I'll be keeping my eye out for them over the next few months.

total spent - $25

8) Shoes - To round things off, I needed some shoes for the fall since most of my shoes (that still fit) are flimsy ballet flats. I was looking for a couple of styles in particular: lace-up ankle boots, flats, or a pair of heeled mary janes. It was hard for me to decide because shoes are expensive and I needed a pair that I can wear often so they'll have to go with everything. Originally I'd bought a pair of flats from Le Chateau, they were very cute: gray with a silver design, but when I tried it on at home, they were not as versatile as I'd hoped. So I went back to the store, and after much debate, exchanged them with something similar to this:



I'd have preferred thin heels for the mary janes, or the lace-up boots, but the former felt very precarious (especially to one inexperienced in wearing heels) and the latter was a lot more expensive. These wedges felt comfortable and while I get a bit of height, it wasn't so tall that I'll be watching my step every time I walk. Now all I need are some insoles and I'm set.

total spent - $40

Grand Total - too much! As you can see, I've gone over budget. =( but I feel like everything I've gotten was what I needed and therefore worth the price. Of course I shouldn't try to justify it, but I will do better with my budget next time! If I didn't buy the pair of jeans I'd be right on track, and as such I'll consider either returning them or the tops from Old Navy. I'll probably keep the jeans since I do need them, and maybe return the tops since they were a semi-impulse buy. >_< And as a punishment: 100 sit ups and 50 push ups and no sushi for a week!

Next post may be less frivolous, since school will be starting next tuesday! =)

B2S Shopping on budget - Part I

For those of you who know me, you're probably sick and tired of hearing me say: "I'm SOooOOoo excited about school!" But it's true! I've never felt so hyped up about school in my entire life. There is only a week left before the first class, and there are tons of things I wanna do to get ready. Over the past few weeks I've been writing down some goals and sorting out my finances in preparation for this year. To be honest, I'm going to be one very poor art student. BUT, that doesn't mean I can't still have fun planning and choosing where to spend the money that I do have. And what is back to school prep without shopping?

The key to a good B2S shopping spree (for a poor student like myself) is to do away with the generic stuff; gone are the days of going to Staples to stock up on pens and pencils and lined paper. Instead, I wrote down a list of what I need, and took stock of what I already have. And guess what? I don't really need much to get started. Of course, there are always things that you kinda-sorta-not-really-need-but-want, and that's when you either make the decision to invest in quality, or settle for something less. This year I'm trying not to go over $100 budget.

1) An Agenda/Weekly Planner - there's nothing that gives the sense of organization and self-importance more than a nice agenda. Since we're in school we know we'll be following a strict time-table. An agenda is needed not only to keep track of which class to go to next, but also the meetings and "chill sessions" that will inevitably come up. The problem I have with many agendas is the amount of unnecessary stuff that is crammed inside. Yes, it's nice to have a list of all the countries in the world, but do I really need that in an agenda? The same goes for school agendas, I know it's free, and when I was at OCAD I really liked the agendas we had, but I found the ads and extra stuff very distracting. So I decided to go on a search for the perfect agenda. I was looking for something compact, simple, aesthetically pleasing, and had enough space to write in. I was also debating on whether I should get something "cute" and give up a bit of functionality for that warm fuzzy feeling I always get from cute things. I narrowed it down to these two:



A very cute one from cutxpaste and the 18-month planner from Moleskine, and in the end I decided on the Moleskine. I managed to snag a copy from Chapters. It may be possible to get it cheaper on ebay, but they're in high demand so it may not make much of a difference. I really like the former too, but found out that I'd have to fill in the numbers for each day/week/month since it's not made for any particular year, and my lazy ass just can't be bothered. =p The Moleskine is great for its simplicity, it's all black, very small and not cluttered at all despite its size.

total spent = $17.05

2) A School Bag - To be realistic I won't be able to spend much on new clothes this year, so I'll have to make do with one (or two) bags for school. I love bags. It's one of the most versatile accessory to have. Lucky for me, I already have a decent collection of cheap day to day bags and a couple of nice ones that should last me through the year. But I'm setting aside $30 in case I see one that I really like this season. I don't have any backpacks, and it's not like I like them much (it's hard to dress with a backpack without looking odd -_-) but if I find any nice ones I might consider investing in it to save my shoulders. I figure I'll be carrying a portfolio case most of the time anyway, so I probably won't need to lug heavy textbooks around. Another perk of doing art! =) My favourite places to browse through for cute but cheap bags (though sometimes a bit too small) are H&M and Forever21.

My co-workers got me this really nice Lululemon bag for my bday, which I will use for days when I go to the gym at school, or when I have some heavier things to carry around. I love how it's not that big, but it can still fit a lot. Next to it is a messenger bag that is very cute and functional, and great for days when I only have a couple of books to carry. (the quality here isn't that great since I couldn't find a pic of it online and had to use my camera >_<)


total spent = $0 (but if I had to I would've spent $30-50 for a good bag, because I'll be using it a lot. This is one of the items I would invest in for quality) The Lululemon bag was around $70 and the other one was probably $20-30.

3) A Sketchbook - I admit that this one is a guilty pleasure. For most art students, a sketchbook is generally a must. But for the longest time, I struggled with using them. I'm not sure why, but I've always found it easier to draw on loose sheets of computer paper than a nice black sketchbook. Until I found this:

A couple of my friends got me this for my bday, it's by Paperblanks and can be found at Chapters. I adore it! Mine's actually slightly different - there's a magnetic clasp to close the book, and the design doesn't extend so much into the center. It's very pretty, has great quality paper that is not annoyingly thick, and it's edged in gold. What more can you ask for? I find that I was very motivated to draw in it and I spend more time and effort on my drawings, making sure that I'm not just wasting pages with bad sketches. For me, it's a worthy investment, and I will probably be buying similar types of sketchbooks from now on. Some may argue that at $20, it's a waste of money when you can get something of that size for $10, and I totally agree! But I'm willing to spend that money because I'd rather be happily drawing nice sketches, than half-heartedly trying to fill up a generic black sketchbook while wasting computer paper. But that's just me.

total spent - $0 (but $20 if I didn't get it as a gift)

4) Pens, pencils, etc - Now here is something that I wouldn't focus too much on quality. I see a lot of art students getting high quality pencils in all sorts of gray-value and inking pens that cost a ridiculous amount of money. I've tried them, but I notice that in the end, I really only used one pencil and one pen at a time. Since we'll be going through pens and pencils like mad, it's a waste to buy a bunch of expensive ones that we may or may not use. I like to think of art supplies as secondary tools, I figure: if I suck, no amount of high quality tools will make my art look better.

For myself, the Pilot Hi-Techpoint V5 extra fine (black ink) at $3 and the Staedtler triplus fineliner at $2-3 both worked well for note-taking and inking drawings, and they both lasted me forever. The triplus has a very nice design as well.





The Staedtler pigment liner sketch pens in its various sizes are very good for more serious and refined inking, and costs around $3-4 each.





As for pencils, I like the Berol Automatic TL5 0.5mm for drawing fine lines. It's worked amazingly well for me, no problems with broken mechanism and such, and you can't go wrong with $2-3 for a pack of 2. I also like to use regular pencils sometimes, and for those I get the generic bunch from any brand, as long as it's HB I'm cool. Right now I have a bunch from "basics" and I don't even remember how or where I got them. XDD And of course, the sharpie is always handy to have around for writing signs, inking a large space, and autographs =P

total spent - $10

And that's it for stationary! I already have plenty of blank paper, notebooks, rulers, cutting material, charcoal, portfolio cases, binders, etc so there is no need to get new ones. I'll be shopping for clothes this week, so part two of this entry will be coming soon. I'll have to figure out what pieces I really need, try not to give in to impulse buys, while doing my best not to go over the budget. >_< Wish me luck! =)

Artist Alley - Tips

Some definitions in case you are new to this:

Convention - A convention (or con,) in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at a pre-arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. (wikipedia) The Cons I refer to mostly feature anime, manga, comic, gaming, and other types of communicative art as a focus for attendees who indulge in them either as fans or as creators.

Artist Alley - A section from a con dedicated to independent artists who may purchase a space (usually a table) to display and sell their creations

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The Artist Alley is a great way for artists and craftspeople to promote themselves and make some money on the side. I have had a space in the Alley for three years now, and have experienced it in Anime North (Toronto), FanExpo (Toronto) and Otakon (Baltimore.) Not the most impressive list, but I feel it had given me enough material to reflect upon.

I just came back from FanExpo this weekend. I had a decent time, punctured by some dreadful lulls and general boredom, but buoyed by some really cool moments as well. I have to say though, out of all the alleys I have been to, this was my worst performance yet. I was still able to sell, but it wasn't as great as I'd wanted it to be. I was a little bummed out, I'm not gonna lie, but it was nothing compared to the discouragement that I saw in some of the other artists who were not doing so well either. Throughout the past couple of years, I have seen and heard the same type of discouragement echoed, accompanied by anger and self-doubt. It's a very reasonable way to react to the situation but is it really justified?

Here is the way I see it:

You can't let the numbers rule you.

Sometimes we all get so caught up in the money-making aspect of it that we lose sight of why we're in the Alley in the first place. We should not be there to make money. Period. It is simply idiotic to look to the alley as a source of income unless you're a professional, in which case all of this is non-applicable. Sure, it'd be nice to have extra money, but it is important to go into this without expecting anything in return. If you're just starting out like me, the most important thing to you should be promotion and networking, and not how much you sell. Instead of an investment to be earned back, consider the money you put into it as paying the convention to show your lovely artwork (and your beautiful face) to the masses. Big companies spend millions of dollars each year on ads and brochures, most of which get defaced and thrown out, yet why do they keep doing it? because any recognition is better than no recognition. As long as your art is displayed and thousands of people are looking at it, flipping through your portfolio, taking your business card, the money is already well-spent.

Zero profit does not mean your artwork sucks.

I hear this sentiment a lot. When an artist doesn't do well, they think: my art sucks, that's why no one is buying it. Ok, so I admit that the skill level of some of those artists are not as high as other individuals, and yes, sometimes that may be the reason why no one is buying it, but my point is not directed towards those individuals, it is to those artists who ARE good - the ones who are producing great pieces of work that they think haven't been doing well. I say "think" because this is what I hear a lot: "people keep saying - oh that's nice, but no one is buying it! this is pissing me off!" And this type of comment pisses ME off. Treat the compliments you get like gems. These people have no reason to even compliment you, and if they don't think a piece is attractive, they wouldn't have said anything.

Too often artists view it as # of prints sold = how good the print is, and I think that's way too negative. There are tons of factors that prevent people from buying your work, or any artwork, that's something you'll have to get used to. To most people, art is an indulgence, not a necessity, so there will be times when they simply don't want to spend money on it. Other factors may have something to do with the popularity of fanart, and your mediocre drawing of Naruto may sell out, while your excellent original piece gets lots of compliments but zero sales. Judge your artwork by the comments and critiques you get, instead of how well it sells. And NEVER get discouraged after all that. You've been told all day that your work is good, how much more validation do you need? Sure you can think of ways to increase your sales through your presentation, or creating art based on popular characters, but don't get too upset just because you're not making good money.

Remember your purpose there; you want to improve, you want to meet people who like your work, you want to make a good impression, you want to learn from your mistakes, you want to have fun chatting with other artists. You don't want to alienate the customers with your scowling face, and you definitely don't want to doubt yourself and your skill. Because if you start doubting yourself and being bitter and depressed about the whole thing, that's just going to prevent you from doing better in the future.

So the bottom line is: recognize the fact that you're still unknown and learning. Treat every compliment like gold - they are a sign that people notice your talent. Use the chance to interact with those people and give them a card. Sales are a one-time thing but leaving a good impression whether through your work or your speech can lead to them contacting you in the future for opportunities.

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This entry is getting long, so I'll stop here for now. Like I said, I'm no pro and being discouraged and depressed because of bad sales have happened to me a couple of times in the past. But after I changed the way I look at it, I was able to move on and not let that discouragement bring me down. Of course, you shouldn't completely disregard the business side of all this, so next time I will post my thoughts on ways of pricing, value of artwork, presentation, coping with boredom, etc.

[edit] it's been a couple of years since I have posted this and originally it was supposed to have a few more follow up posts. But school took over and I lost my train of thought. I haven't attended any conventions since then, but I do plan to re-enter the scene, and when that happens I may be able to offer better and more updated advice.

Introduction

I like introductions; they are my favourite part of any piece of writing due to their handy nature of taking up space and stalling for time while I frantically grasp at an appropriate way of bs-ing paragraphs #2, 3 and 4, with supporting evidence and all that jazz. This isn't school (thank god!) and this isn't an all-nighter for some paper due 9am tomorrow morning (ah those good old all-nighters, how I missed thee not,) but I must find a way to introduce the introduction, or else we'll never get anywhere now will we?

Alright, now that that's out of the way...

I'll try to keep it simple. I made this blog for the purpose of speaking to myself. Or, listening to myself speak (same thing really.) Now before you all press that [X] or back button, hear me out. Over the years, I've developed this habit of getting into trouble and backing myself into corners. I'm not talking about getting teased for my braces or beaten up by Big Mean Johnny (although he really wasn't very nice) but the mental frustration of trying to "figure things out." I am a lazy person, but I have very high expectations of myself. Not the greatest combo there. I dream, and daydream, and plan and talk, and sometimes I make progress with what I want to do with myself in life, but most of the time I don't. Enter doubt. fear. anger. bitterness. Enter this journal.

Like every sensible person, I have learn early on that listening to Angry Self is unlikely to get me anywhere but a hole in the wall and a bleeding head. Unfortunately there wasn't anyone around willing to reach into the mess of teenage angst that was I, to untangle me and lecture me and get me on my feet. Enter Moderately-Intelligent-Self. Moderately-Intelligent-Self is my voice of reason, albeit afflicted with a sad dose of sarcasm and a roundabout way of never getting to the point. Nevertheless, she/I like to review my feelings and problems and try to work them out in my head. And this is what this blog is all about. After months of listening to myself argue with myself in my head (ok, no I'm not schizo, don't YOU ever talk to yourself? see!) I finally decided to write it all out because who knows? I'll probably run into similar problems one day and need to review the solutions I'd already come up with (I have such a horrible memory), or maybe even revise the solution with my growing maturity. Yes, that's it. After speaking to many other artists, friends, my birds, etc, I find that many of us go through similar issues. And even though talking about it may not improve the situation, we all need a pep talk once in a while to really see things in a more positive light and feel that yes, we can get through this, and we can succeed! or maybe a less positive but more reasonable light with a realization of the things we are doing wrong, and how we can fix it.

So that is what I want this blog to be: a way for me to organize my thoughts and give myself an impromptu pep talk. As well as a way for me to relax and express my opinions, or sometimes simply share experiences that I find interesting. And if anyone happens to be going through the same thing, maybe what I say will make some sense to them too.

Well I won't say any more, I just returned from the Fan Expo in Toronto (a great gathering place for artists in the comic, animation, and gaming industry,) and I have just the topic to get things started...