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ellenmillion*yawn*
Mornings are not my friends.
I feel like I'm on an upswing... if only out of sheer stubborn refusal to accept being depressed. Been there, done that, the t-shirt's not that great.
I also got some work up on the webpage. Have lots more to put up, perhaps today if it's slow here. Working sporadically on a Photoshop tutorial for my coworkers, to be presented in a workshop next month. A big project just went out and the boss is now in a meeting.
Considering November very seriously. Still would like to make it RuWaTaMo, but am considering setting a slightly lower NaNoWriMo goal, too... maybe just a 10k story suitable for Krysia's webbooks. I could do that. Couldn't I?
Also considering the rating/audience of EMG. On-line, I suspect an older audience than my in-person market so far. This will be different at Dragon*Con, etc, but we don't have any local events that pull in the adult/older teenager crowd. So I have to wonder, what about these on-the-edge pieces? I've gotten a couple of pieces lately that are fantasy, appealing, skilled pieces, that contain a fair amount of skin, or sensuality. I think they'd sell to the right people, but I have lingering concerns about alienating my younger audience... or more importantly, their parents. Most kids are not ordering off the Internet, they are bringing their cash allowances to the fair. I wouldn't bring (much) of the more risque pieces to the fair, but even there, I have some people who like the theme of EMG, but are looking for more pin-up style pieces. I'm not going to even touch carrying truly lewd pieces. And the exposed nipple is still a line I won't cross. But I see how well Morning Glory and Daughter of Blooms do, and think... ya know, sensuality really is appealing, and it grabs an audience that doesn't really want a lot to do with the other - more cutesy - stuff. Been stewing over this for a while. Still stewing, in my standard over-thinking, self-second-guessing sort of way. Will probably put an age and interest poll up with the next drawing. Which I ought to do soon.
Second concern I have. Are the pictures at EMG too small? I have had, count 'em, one complaint that a customer couldn't make out enough detail on a print. (I wrote back and offered to post a detail especially for them, but they didn't respond.) When I posted an image a while ago to get some opinions, however, I had a couple of people mention that it was too small to tell what was happening. Same size I post on my site. Maybe I should have better details on the designs available as prints... Hmmm... I wonder if it's actually inhibiting sales. Maybe I'll add that to the next poll, too.
Need to go back and sort through some of the older designs at EMG and see what of the newer items they should be offered as. (ie: stickers and t-shirts, etc) Also about due for a purge of the lowest sellers, but I'll wait until I close down submissions in Nov. to do that. Probably even leave them up through December in the hope of Christmas sales. Purging designs is almost as bad as writing rejection letters. It might even be worse. :/
Eh... to work!
Mornings are not my friends.
I feel like I'm on an upswing... if only out of sheer stubborn refusal to accept being depressed. Been there, done that, the t-shirt's not that great.
I also got some work up on the webpage. Have lots more to put up, perhaps today if it's slow here. Working sporadically on a Photoshop tutorial for my coworkers, to be presented in a workshop next month. A big project just went out and the boss is now in a meeting.
Considering November very seriously. Still would like to make it RuWaTaMo, but am considering setting a slightly lower NaNoWriMo goal, too... maybe just a 10k story suitable for Krysia's webbooks. I could do that. Couldn't I?
Also considering the rating/audience of EMG. On-line, I suspect an older audience than my in-person market so far. This will be different at Dragon*Con, etc, but we don't have any local events that pull in the adult/older teenager crowd. So I have to wonder, what about these on-the-edge pieces? I've gotten a couple of pieces lately that are fantasy, appealing, skilled pieces, that contain a fair amount of skin, or sensuality. I think they'd sell to the right people, but I have lingering concerns about alienating my younger audience... or more importantly, their parents. Most kids are not ordering off the Internet, they are bringing their cash allowances to the fair. I wouldn't bring (much) of the more risque pieces to the fair, but even there, I have some people who like the theme of EMG, but are looking for more pin-up style pieces. I'm not going to even touch carrying truly lewd pieces. And the exposed nipple is still a line I won't cross. But I see how well Morning Glory and Daughter of Blooms do, and think... ya know, sensuality really is appealing, and it grabs an audience that doesn't really want a lot to do with the other - more cutesy - stuff. Been stewing over this for a while. Still stewing, in my standard over-thinking, self-second-guessing sort of way. Will probably put an age and interest poll up with the next drawing. Which I ought to do soon.
Second concern I have. Are the pictures at EMG too small? I have had, count 'em, one complaint that a customer couldn't make out enough detail on a print. (I wrote back and offered to post a detail especially for them, but they didn't respond.) When I posted an image a while ago to get some opinions, however, I had a couple of people mention that it was too small to tell what was happening. Same size I post on my site. Maybe I should have better details on the designs available as prints... Hmmm... I wonder if it's actually inhibiting sales. Maybe I'll add that to the next poll, too.
Need to go back and sort through some of the older designs at EMG and see what of the newer items they should be offered as. (ie: stickers and t-shirts, etc) Also about due for a purge of the lowest sellers, but I'll wait until I close down submissions in Nov. to do that. Probably even leave them up through December in the hope of Christmas sales. Purging designs is almost as bad as writing rejection letters. It might even be worse. :/
Eh... to work!
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-11 03:43 am (UTC)I don't think all the pieces necessarily need a detail, but maybe the more complex ones. Tiger's Bride, for example, looks so spiffy in real life, and it doesn't come off as well in the online image. :-/
The PG-13 thing . . . You're right that sensuality sells. I think that's what people look for - not nudity exactly. You can have lovely, eyecatching work without the nudity. It's sort of like people being sexier with their clothes on, I guess. I think you might get yourself in a sticky wicket if you chose to accept more revealing work.
I think what's neat about Morning Glory is that you can look at it and see a pin-up, or you can look at it and see a kitty with flowers. It crosses boundaries by appealing to adult and kid alike, because they interpret it different ways. It's both "cute" and "sexy".
Ultimately, your selection is limited by what you get from your artists. If you gave specific information to your artists - "This does well, this doesn't," for example - you might get more of the people-pleasing designs. I know that being to the fair and seeing what people buy/don't buy has had an impact on what I will offer to EMG in the future. Maybe by communicating more specifically about what people buy or are looking for with your artists, you'll guide them to produce more popular work, thus benefiting everyone.