New Years Resolution: Self-Promotion

2010 was a very good year for me: I made huge jumps forward in both the quality and consistency of my work, sold quite a few originals at Illuxcon, the illustration exchange and my first gallery showing and have gotten to work on bigger and better projects than last year; including Magic: The Gathering and my first novel cover (more on that to come in a few weeks).

One area I have been slacking quite a bit in though (or perhaps avoiding because of how I often perceive my own work) is self-promotion. My recent successes have given me both the confidence and the kick in the ass to start really getting my work in front of people. This isn't really a new years resolution per se, most of these ideas and plans have been in the works (or at least in my head) for months. But this seemed like a good time to formalize the plans and announce everything. So without further ado, here is what is in the works for 2011:


Plans for the blog. Which include a lot more content and way more frequent posts in an effort to attract more followers:

-behind the scenes... in-depth descriptions on the creation of some of my paintings, not just a generic step by step on how I usually work. But rather I will focus on one painting at a time and go through how the process evolved. What went wrong, what went right what I would have done differently, along with thumbnails, sketches, color studies and photo ref from each project.

-My life-drawing studies, both new and from the archives. I haven't mentioned or show this stuff at all on my blog yet, which is a shame since it was and is still such a huge part of my development.

-Time lapse videos of my painting. This might be a little slow going at first because of NDA's, but I plan to start filming my painting process a lot more and eventually have it be a regular feature.

-Random musings and philosophies on art - Just my thoughts and experiences related to certain topics such as style, commercial vs. fine art, why I work the way I work, If you paint a painting in a forest and no one is around to see it... you know, that kind of stuff

-FAQ's: similar to above: my somewhat in-depth answers to the age old questions man has pondered for centuries, such as: what brushes to you use? how long does that take you? and where do you get your ideas?

-Inspiration: From my biggest influences to artist I just admire. One by one I will talk about certain artists and what I take away from their work.

-Technical stuff- how to's on some of the more mechanical aspects of painting: mounting a sketch to a board, photographing oil paintings... as well as reviews and suggestions for cameras, printers etc. written specifically for illustrators.

-requests, suggestions... I am always open to these, in fact I welcome them. As well as artists, I would like this blog to appeal to fans and collectors. So please don't be shy with suggestions on features that you would like to see, what would make you suggest this blog to other collectors?


Other online self promotion: I plan to have a much more visible presence on some of the major art forums and communities this year. I spent some time today registering and uploading art to a few. If you are member of any the sites below please feel free to add me as a friend or contact or favored deviation or whatever it is exactly you are supposed to do on these sites.

http://www.facebook.com/artofmike
http://twitter.com/michael_c_hayes
http://michael-c-hayes.deviantart.com/
http://michaelchayes.cghub.com/
http://artorder.ning.com/profile/MichaelCHayes

(If you are a regular at these sites, and you see I am missing out on some feature or somethingorother that is helpful in generating traffic, please let me know... I am still trying to figure out all the different sites and their quirks)


Website redesign and overhaul: Still trying to figure out exactly how I want to go about this, but it is time to do something different and probably a bit more simple with artofmike.com. Thinking about having it act as a simple portfolio and a portal to all the social media. Suggestions?


Convention appearances: Huge plans here, lots of traveling in 2011. I will be exhibiting my work at the follwing this year: (Pheonix, Vegas and Dragoncon haven't been 100% confirmed yet, but will most likely be happening)

Wondercon San Francisco, CA April 1-3

Wizard World Anaheim Anaheim. CA April 29-May 1

Pheonix Comicon Phoenix, AZ May 26-29

San Diego Comic-con San Diego, CA July 21-24

Dragoncon Atlanta, GA Sep. 2-5

Las Vegas Renaissance Festival Las Vegas NV, Oct 7-9

Illuxcon 4 Altoona, PA Nov 3-6



Ok... that's it, that's all, hopefully all my efforts will pay off and I will be rich and famous this time next year. Happy New Year everyone!