DaniDraws.com

What do you do when you see your artwork being used without your consent?

I recently had the chance to find out.

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An art blog should showcase your work and keep people excited about it. Is it working? Or are you just boring everyone? To keep things fresh and interesting on my own sketch blog, I try to take a moment once in awhile to evaluate a few things.

Here’s a few guidelines I’ve come up with, so have them in mind before you put up your next post.

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This was a little Photoshop painting experiment where I tried to use as many layer tricks as possible. In the split-screen view, you will see my painting on one side and a close-up of the Layers palette in the other. See if you can spot all of the effects/tools/shortcuts that I use.

Video: Monster Portrait (Quicktime, 3:30, 15.05 MB)

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Tara, the owner of the Graphic Design Blog, asked me to contribute to her site. My post was featured yesterday:

http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/design-case-studies-dani-jones/

It is a behind-the-scenes look at an illustration from my latest picture book, The Best Mariachi in the World (Raven Tree Press, 2008). It is similar to the post I made earlier, The Making of a Children’s Book Illustration.

A little about the Graphic Design Blog:

“Graphic design blog is to share views on design books, websites, graphic design programs, graphic design training, design employment, freelancing, ideas and all things graphic design.” It’s a good-quality blog with lots of interviews and tips. Be sure to check it out.

Do you have a favorite brand of paper? Have you found a particular surface that works well for a specific medium? Have you ever used an unusual material in order to save money?

Leave all your tips and tricks in the comments section. For my answer, read on…

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