What Can I Do to Get My Artwork Seen?

Okay, so you're a starving artist. We don't make much money, but what really makes us happy in life is our expression of creativity on the canvas, camera, or computer (or all of the above). As a graphic designer with an avid artist for a boyfriend, I learned several creative ways to get your work seen - and get some extra cash in the meantime!

It's not the easiest thing in the world to sell a large canvas of art - possible, but not the easiest. And sales are here and there - nowhere near as consistent as you hope. But there is hope!

Have you ever thought My photo/art is WAY better than that puzzle? No? Maybe you should. Because there are a lot of people in this world who enjoy putting together puzzles. I've met people who have MASSIVE puzzle collections, one of my friends even gets a new puzzle to work every week. Why not turn your work into an on-demand puzzle? You can totally do that with Zazzle. Or even Shutterfly.

How about some calendars with some epic artwork? What better way to get your artwork seen than to show a different-yet-awesome design every single month of the year? I don't know about you, but I totally dig calendars. And they're easy to make! You can use Zazzle, Overnight Prints, and Shutterfly.

These are just two examples. Explore the three websites mentioned to see the many possibilities. T-shirts, shoes, posters, flyers - use your imagination! If you're looking for somewhere to continuously display your work, I recommend Zazzle. It's slightly pricy, but if a customer likes it enough, they will buy it. Trust me. If you're looking to make some products and sell them in person, I recommend Overnight  Prints - they are very reasonable, fast, and high quality in what they do. I have never been disappointed in their products and I swear by them.

Good luck in your artful endeavors!

Bioshock 2

I just added a new game to my collection and delved into the crazy world of Bioshock 2. It's a great game so far, I just barely began to play the game and made it through the intro. I have never played any of the Bioshock games before this one, and I plan on finishing it later this month, so I'm hoping to finish the game by the end of this month, at which point, I'll write a follow-up post. For now, I was so excited I couldn't wait to write this.
My favorite part of Bioshock 2 is that you get a gun or weapon on the right hand and an ability on the left-hand. It makes for a very free-flowing combative game play. There's no waiting or delay in reloading the next weapon - which has annoyed me to no end with previous games. The graphics are as good as any PlayStation game, and the sound is amazing with my gaming headset, some parts are down-right creepy. What really draws me in, is the amazing storyline surrounding this game, it's very much like Final Fantasy in that aspect, but the way the players are wired, it reminds me more of a fantasy version of Call of Duty.
The only thing that has really bothered me so far is how fast the fuel runs out for the drill - so a word of caution to use sparingly. The gun choices are awesome, and the different tools and powers you have are imaginative. As far as enemies go, the splicers (strange people who run at you and try to murder you). I'm not gonna lie, I enjoy shooting them in the head and then yell out, "head shot"! The "little sisters" are supposed to be creepy and evil, but I think they're pretty neat and a big part of what makes the story-line so good. So far it gets 4 solid stars from me.

http://www.amazon.com/Bioshock-2-Playstation-3/dp/B001NIP3EG