The Life Pursuit: San Smith

Ask San: Art and Finance related questions

I've been getting a lot of art related questions on my formspring and in person lately... along with a lot of money related questions. It's been almost a year since I made my last "Ask San: Art related questions" post, so I figured it was time to update it! Here are my most frequently asked questions and comments about art, money and my career - some I've already answered on my formspring but I elaborated on the responses here. Hope this is helpful! 

Working for yourself and Finance related questions

1. How did you start working for yourself? 
   
   The short version of how I quit my job and started working for myself: I paid off all my credit cards the first year I started working towards this goal, and and then for the next two years I started saving money while building up a portfolio. While I did this, I had a full time job and I usually worked 50+ hours a week at it. After a long day at work, I'd come home and work on freelance in the evenings and on the weekends. Eventually I had enough work completed and money saved that I felt comfortable enough to put in my two weeks notice. I left my job in February and I had 6 months worth of income saved just in case things went horribly wrong. Truthfully, I wish I had saved more, but I don't think I could have handled the stress of what I was doing for another 6 months or year... Preparing to quit your job to work for yourself isn't always fun or easy, but it is completely do-able. You just have to figure out an exit plan that works with your goals and your current life situation.
    
2. What do you do about health insurance or your 401k?!
   
   I still have Health Insurance! I have an inexpensive medical plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. I did have dental coverage through my boyfriend's company, but he just recently changed jobs 2 weeks ago so now I'm looking for a new dental plan. When I quit my job, I never intended on going with out health insurance. I made sure my monthly budget included paying for that! As for my 401k, I haven't been adding to it since I left my last job 6 months ago. However, I do plan on doing that once I have a better grasp on what my income will be.
    
3. You are so lucky to be working at home! (or) Do you like working at home alone?
   
   I don't like to complain or talk about the negative aspects of it online, but there are just as many bad points as there are good ones about working for yourself. The good: there are the perks of being able to decide when you will take a day off without asking for permission... if you accidentally sleep in nobody is going to fire you (unless you are on a tight deadline! eeek). The bad: there is the issue of being lonely... I'm a people person, and working from home alone can be very hard sometimes. The nice side of being lonely during work hours is that you become eager to keep in touch with your loved ones even when it isn't convenient. The downside is sometimes you are too busy with work to see them, so you can end up being alone a lot. Also, sometimes work just doesn't come in! Which is the worst - it can be so frustrating to want work and have no paying projects coming through. When this happens I try to find other things to keep busy on and make money with, which can be challenging and make me miss the constant flow of work that came steady employment. And to be honest, work has been slow the past month and half so I'm probably going to get a part time job for a bit. I'm looking forward to a small consistant paycheck and having a job where I can visit with people. It'll be a refreshing change and probably help with my creativity!

Updated my Etsy shop + Formspring!

So there have been a few changes over here as of late... I'm have a new site design - and have added pages for shopping, hiring me for commissions, and much more. A lot of the text is still being developed - but I'll let you guys know when I complete pages! Something else that is exciting: I updated my etsy shop which you can now browse on my site!

I added some new original art pieces to the store and lowered prices on already existing items! I'm getting ready for new inventory in a few weeks - there will be new Stickers, Jewelry, Notebooks, Stamps, Postcards, Art Prints, and more! :D http://www.san-smith.com/shop.html Check it out! I'm really excited about it.

Also, after being asked about it I decided to open back up my Formspring for a little while. If you have any questions you'd like to ask, or want to see answers to already asked questions, click here: http://www.formspring.me/sansmith

Like my silly picture for it? I have a telephone chair in our house, and this old fashioned telephone sits on it where a real one would go... I'm always picking it up and admiring it, but I don't think I've ever actually taken photos with it! Its one of my favorite things - if I could I would love to collect a ton of rainbow colored phones and display them on one of those square Ikea Expedit shelves. I think it would look super neat!

Also, I found TONS of sketchbooks and journals at my mother's house this weekend...23 of them to be exact that date from 1994 to 2004. I couldn't believe how much of my life I had documented over the years! So many drawings, confessions, dreams, stories, photographs... it really blew my mind. I've been flipping through them slowly and reminiscing about a lot of stuff, and took some photos of my 1997 journals... except I blurred out a lot of the text because some of it was pretty darn embarrassing ;)

Ask San: formspring.me questions answered!

Alright! here are my replies to my formspring.me questions. If your question wasn't answered, it is probably because I answered it a while back on my FAQ section. I picked 18 questions from my formspring.me account, and some of them are pretty long - so I put half of my post behind a read more link! Hope you guys enjoy, and if you have any other questions - just ask! ;)

Ask San: Formspring.me questions!

1 - What does it feel like to know someone as awesome as Stephan Turano? I'm so jealous of anyone that knows him!
Hahaha. It enriches my life everyday. Especially when he comments on my blog... ;) If he used his blog more often, my life would be complete! Get to it, Stephan!!

2 - Watching any cartoons or reading any comic books lately?
I was reading Scott Pilgrim for a bit, but I had to stop due to lack of time...I really need to finish!! I also recently read the graphic novel "Spiral-Bound" by Aaron Renier, which was really cute - and I like the Nedroid webcomics. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a lot of time to read or watch things, but I really want to make more time for that later this year.

3 - Whats your beauty routine? You have lovely skin.
I have really sensitive skin that breaks out easily, so I have to be pretty careful with it. I use: Hot water and a clean cloth to remove make up, The Clinque 3 step system for oily skin twice a day (soap, toner and lotion) and Proactiv repairing lotion in the evenings. I also take Vitafusion Omega-3 gummy vitamins which helps my skin tons.

4 - Did you do the pink streak/black hair by yourself?
I did! I go into that more in-depth here: http://www.san-smith.com/2009/08/ask-san-hair.html

Ask San: Random questions !

Lately I've been getting asked a lot of questions on the various sites I frequent. Most of it seems to be hair related... I figured since I'm taking the time to respond to all of them, I might as well post the questions and answers here... I also opened up a formspring.me if anyone else would like to ask me a question! Doesn't have to be hair related ;) I'll share the next batch of questions and answers in a post!

Ask San: Random questions!

where do you get your fingernail polish?
Various places - the green in the above photo is Rimmel from target. I like to use "China Glaze" and "Finger Paints" too (both I get from Sally's beauty supply.) My favorite color is "For Audrey" by China Glaze.

Did you dye your hair red yourself?
Yes!

i adore you're hair and i love the color red... i have had red chunks in my hair for the past  years but bleaching can take a toll on it so i haven't done it in the past 6 months but after seeing you're hair i really want to do the top half that color.!! could you tell me how you did it want what brands of dye you used?? :)
To get my hair red, I bleached it with a "Beyond the Zone" 40 vol. bleach kit to a light yellow and then used Special Effects "Blood Red" to dye it. After rinsing the dye out, I put Aveda Damage Remedy cream on my hair for 5 minutes to try to repair and smooth my newly fried hair. Then rinse that and gently blow dry on a low heat - do not brush while wet!

how did you get it that bright? did you peroxide you hair beforehand?
See above answer! :) The bleaching is the trick!

Hey San, how do you keep your hair in such good condition for someone who changes their style often? I put a little pink in mine, and it's so tortured (from the bleach) it dreads.
Oh no, that doesn't sound good! :( I actually had a lot of trouble bleaching my hair this go around because half of it still had an old layer of black dye. I ended up having to bleach my hair twice which is not a very good thing to do... but I was able to get it back to a decent shine/health with Aveda damage remedy. A few other tips: I do not brush my hair when I blow dry it, i just run my fingers through it very loosely to help piece out tangles as it dries. I only wash my hair every 2-3 days, and I leave the damage remedy on it for 5 minutes each time I do that. I try to only use Special Effects or Manic panic to dye my hair since they aren't too harsh... And when touching up roots Im very careful to only bleach the new hair and not re-bleach the rest.

Your hair sounds like it was damaged from the bleaching, not sure what the process was when you did it... But I would try to get some of the Aveda cream I used and see if that helps - if not, you might need to trim the dead hair off.

I recently saw your work on jr__nal and I loved it! I found your blog and have been looking at all the wonderful things you have! I was just curious as to how you come up with all these things for your blog, I have a blog and I'm always searching for new ways to get and entertain readers!
Thanks for the kind words ! :) As for where I get ideas for my blog - I'm not really sure. I'd imagine some of it comes from other blogs I've read, some things I'm interested in the moment, or photos/movies/music I've tapped into recently. I get ideas quicker than I can blog, so when I have good ones I just write them down in a notebook for when I have time to work on it. Maybe try that? I bet you'd find you think of lots of ideas through out the day that you are excited to cover! Its easy to forget things when we actually sit down to write, so having a topic list you've been working on will be handy. Or maybe you have a hobby you'd like to share with others? A lot of my posts are based around my illustration work, which is pretty minimal on writing. Or I share whats going on in my life at the moment... Simple things that I enjoy and want to share with others. I try to treat my blog as a platform for sharing awesome information and life updates with friends. Hope that helps give you some ideas!

Ask San: art related questions

Its time for round two of Ask San! In round one, I covered questions I get about my hair colors and styles. I figured for round two, I'd cover the other topic I get the most questions about: Art. I tried to pick the most frequently asked questions and answer them to the best of my knowledge, but if I don't cover something you are curious about - feel free to send me an email!

 

Ask San: Art related questions!

What exactly do you do for a living?
From 8-5, Monday through Friday, I'm an Illustrator and Graphic Designer for a firm here in Atlanta. (You can read more at my linkedin) During the evenings and on the weekends, I do freelance illustration. I stay preeeetty busy.

How did you become an illustrator?
According to my family, as soon as I was able to hold a pencil I started drawing. I began working professionally as an illustrator in 2007, and started taking freelance illustration work in 2009.

Do I need to be good at art to be a designer/illustrator/etc?
Yes and No. A lot of it depends on what kind of job you want. If you want a really good, exciting and challenging job, then yes - I strongly believe you have to not only be good at art, but also passionate about art in order to succeed. And by art, I mean whatever type of artistic field you are interested in. So if you want to be a designer, than having an eye for what looks good is important, but you also must be interested in learning and growing with the design world. The same applies to illustration, web design, animation, etc. But this is just my opinion! If you are ever interested in studying something or pursuing a career in something, but are unsure - reach out to your school counselor, contact someone you know in the field, write a letter to your favorite artist, talk to your professor, etc. Never give up because you think may not have the right skills or aren't good enough - passion can take you a long way in acquiring skills and growing as a professional! Most people don't start out as amazingly talented artists, they have to grow into their skills - its a constant learning process. (Hope this makes sense!)

Did you go to art school? Should I go to art school?
I went to the Art Institute of Atlanta from 2001-2003 for Graphic Design, and then from 2003-2006 for Illustration. I really enjoyed going to art school - I think it is good for learning new techniques, being educated on the latest programs, learning how to meet deadlines, acquiring project management/business skills, networking, growing as a person, etc. However! Its not absolutely necessary. I've met lots of successful and talented professionals who didn't go to art school - they went to a regular type college or ended up leaving art school halfway though because it wasn't the best situation for them. Do what works for you!

What tools/programs do you use?
For painting: I use golden fluid acrylics, wood, and mixing mediums.
For drawing:I use carmine red pencils and non photo blue pencils for sketching, and Faber-Castell pitt artist pens for inking.
For digital illustration:I use the cintiq 21ux (at home) and the 12wx(at work) for drawing, and the programs Photoshop and Illustrator to do the drawing in (by Adobe).

Do you like the cintiq? Is there a learning curve?
I looooove the cintiq. It has made my life 10 times easier for digital illustration! And honestly, I really like both models. At first, I wasn't sure if the 12wx was as nice as the 21ux, but now that I've had my computer upgraded at work, I can definitely say there is no difference in quality. My only complaint is the 12wx isn't as portable as I had hoped (it has A LOT of wires to hook it up) but I'd still recommend it, especially if you need to travel or work offsite and don't want to purchase a tablet laptop. If you plan to stay put with the cintiq, the 21ux is nice due to the large screen/workspace. I highly recommend both models for digital illustrators and animators. On the learning curve: it took me about 2-3 months to feel comfortable drawing on the cintiq without doing my sketching on paper first. It's nice because it doesn't require you to learn the hand/eye coordination that a regular tablet needs, but there still is a bit of adjusting to the tool.

How do you pick your colors?
Sometimes I sample from photos that I use as reference, but mostly I work with my favorite colors as a palette. (Teal, Purple, Pink, Red, Black and Brown)

What inspires you?
Flickr photos, reading blogs, people watching, listening to music, looking at other people's illustration work and sometimes tv shows/movies/books I'm into at the moment.

How do you get in galleries?
I still don't have a lot of experience with having my art in galleries, but so far - I've just searched for "calls for artists" and applied for shows I wanted to enter. I've also done some networking and picked up shows that way, or sometimes friends tipped me off about things I should participate in. Sorry that isn't too helpful - Nubby Twiglet actually wrote a great article on how to move forward in this direction, so if you want to learn more about getting in galleries go check it out!

How do you draw hands/feet/hair/faces/girls/etc.?
I draw constantly and use references when I'm unsure on how something looks. Sometimes I'll take a picture of myself or a friend, or look in the mirror to figure out how something would look. If its an object I'm having trouble drawing, I go out and look at that type of object in person, or look at lots of photos showing the object from different angles. Practice, practice and more practice!! (And just when you think you've got it, there is probably room to improve again! Its never ending practicing/learning.) 

Who are your favorite artists?
At the moment: Katie Rice, Jaime Hernandez, Tara McPherson, Bruce Timm, Ai Yazawa, Fafi, Adiran Tomine, Derek Kirk Kim and old school teenage fav: Naoko Takeuchi. Some of my more recent favs: Emmy Cicierega, Fiona Staples, Shane Prigmore, Brigette Barrager and StuntKid.

 

Hope this was helpful!