Critical Eye

[ellenmillion]

So I made my new ecards page, and originally I had 'Missing You' as one of the designs, because I figured it was a common card-sending theme. I coded up the page, made all the images, was thoroughly content that all was right in the world. Then, I had Jake preview the page, and, over his shoulder, my design stood out like a sore thumb. And not in a good way. The other designs were all colorful, and eye-catching and lovely. Missing You is... well, just lineart. It remains one of my better sellers, and I like it a lot, but next to some of the gorgeous, colorful work I've got, it looks really... flat. I removed it from the ecard list.

So now I'm feeling all kinds of insecure and am wondering if I've been unfairly using some of my work that I wouldn't accept from anyone else. Understand that I have always been aware that this could easily happen, and have always taken great care to see that I remove any marginally selling work of my own, even when I might not normally if it had been someone else's. Fairy Queen is a great example. It was still selling regularly, both as cards, and as stationery, but I was distressed that my work was such a bulk of the catalog, so I snipped out a bunch of my least-selling designs, even when they weren't overall EMG least-selling designs.

Some of my stuff is there just to fill holes. I end up with gaps of theme in my products, and I produce the work myself, since no one else does, or just keep older work that may not be as good as some of the new work. Bookmarks are a great example. They don't pay much, and it's not a shape people naturally work in, so I don't get many of them submitted. So I still have available a bunch of stale work by me, since I don't have time to make new ones. They still sell, so I don't have any real *reason* to remove them, but I see all the flaws and problems with them every time I look at my own page.

I suppose the solution is to do some kick-ass new work. In color.

I really want to go back to the lineart dragon set and add color to them like I did with Candle. But better. I am so in lust for a tablet. Jake and I decided that we could buy one, because EMG can't afford to buy me one yet, and likely not for a long time, so we're putting away $200 a month, which means we'll have enough for one by Christmas. I'm so psyched! And now, of course, I'm finding all these things that I want one for. Right NOW. *stomps feet* *sighs* I'll probably break down and color all of them with pencil, because I'm too impatient to wait until December.

Then, I get stuck with the decision of keeping the lineart, or not. I didn't keep Vanessa's line-art past the one catalog, because 99% of the orders were for the color versions, not for the singlecolor versions. I wonder if that will happen with my dragons, too. Then I find myself wondering... should I have the singlecolor cards at all? It used to be that I was limited by printing methods to the singlecolor. And it's still understandably cheaper, which is always a plus for the more cash-strapped of my customers. Should I begin phasing them out? That would certainly take care of the problem of my art being too high a percentage of EMG products. At one time, they read more clearly in the catalog, which was another reason I stuck with them. I suppose they still do, but now that I'm getting rid of the catalog, that's just not an issue. I think I need to put this in my next survey poll.

I would really, really, really like to know if you have any opinions on this matter.

Comments

[sibylle]

from a rather prosaic business point of view, I would say - keep selling / advertising the things that have the most sales, no matter who did them.

[delusiongirl.livejournal.com]

I agree - if they sell, why change what works? I wouldn't go hacking through EMG with a machete! Probably what will make you happiest as an artist is if you work on new art and phase out the old gradually, or perhaps work on new versions of older, popular designs. It is Ellen Million Graphics, afterall, you should have the most designs offered. You're in the middle of a growth spurt as an artist and it's totally understandable that your feelings on older pieces would change. How many years old is Missing You, anyway?

Sometimes I think it's not so much the execution of the drawing that people go for - it's how clearly illustrated the idea and emotions are and how well they translate.

It's no secret that I like lineart. Color is nice, but sometimes it clutters and distracts. Few things beat the simplicity of a well executed ink piece, for me. I think the single color cards have a nice appeal to them, and that mostly comes from the charm of the design, not because it happens to be colored or not colored.

But then again I'm an artist, I appreciate the work behind good inking, and it seems like the public at large is attracted to poorly executed bright colors like a moth to flame, the uneducated boobs.

Good luck saving for the tablet!! You'll LOVE it.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I had to check... that design is *seven* years old. If I hadn't improved in the last seven years, I'd be awfully disappointed in me.