Brochures
 

Hi All, I have spent the past year building a body of work (even while commissions were going on ) for monthly shows I booked for 2002. I used my own family for models and they eventually will be the recipients of the portraits.

Occasionally, people ask to purchase the portraits I am creating for the shows, but I refuse to sell them. I read one time that the second biggest mistake an artist can make is not having a body of work ( up to 20 paintings ready to show).

In order to promote these shows, in local libraries, complete with professionally lit art galleries, I bought a new HP 1215 printer and have produced hundreds of brochures and matching business cards which are being mailed out to old clients and placed in local businesses to attract potential customers. I intend to follow up with another mailing in six months for next years holiday gift giving season.

This is how I set up the brochure.

Renee

The real cost
 

Nice job!

I am wondering whether to have some brochures made up or if I should use reference sheets...what is recommended?

Are reference sheets more for galleries?

I think sometimes it's good to balance out what it costs to do something like this yourself compared to having a fine art printer do it for you.

When you factor in:

1- Your time to do this taking you away from producting art;

2- Your graphics work/time on computer

3- Cost of new printer

4- Cost of ink

5- Cost of the paper stock

6- Time spent folding, etc...

The list could be potentially longer. When you do all the math, it may come out MORE expensive to do it yourself.

Darla,

I've always been in favor of indidual portrait sheets (or photos) over a brochure. This way you can pick and choose what to send to specific prospects. The portrait sheets would then just slip into an elegant pocket folder.

An individual portrait sheet also allows a portrait to be seen unto itself. Sometimes on brochures, I feel attention is distracted by a number of them being on one sheet.

This doesn't make brochures invalid, just a different approach.

Renee,

I haven't commented before on your brochure. I think the floral background is beautiful. But, I do have reservations about the possibility of it distracting from your artwork.

Is the left-most panel the front of the brochure? With the little girl? That's the one I think should be on the front.

Cynthia, Yes, the left hand panel with the little girl, is the front page of the brochure. I also printed about 100 business cards with the same border. I, too, was torn between that design and a plain white with a blue border, but figured I'd try it this time. I can always change it for the next run.

Darla, It did not take long to set the brochure up and it is saved to file in my Print Artist program. I am able to change photo images so as new portraits are completed I will use them in the old one's place.

My printer which I always wanted anyway, cost about $300. but I would have bought it even without the brochure job. The ink is the usual cost, $35- $40. and I got about 40 brochures and 100 business cards not to mention all sorts of other color prints ( did not keep track) from the first cartridges. HP cartridges are known for lasting the longest. I fold and label and stamp, while I watch tv.

I sent one to friends to test them and they said the tri-fold came through the mail looking good.

I plan to send a "Get ready for the holidays- Buy a Portrait Early" kind of brochure out next June or July, 2002.

Plus, the brochures will be left on a music stand in front of every month's exhibit along with my business cards and price list.

I actually enjoy the setting up and printing out part so I'd rather do it myself. This way I can edit whenever I feel like it.

Renee

If you'd like a pattern, I would recommend something very simple, tone on tone. I've seen this is a muted gold or beige stripe and it was very elegant. I'd also look for different fonts, something more elegant. Bernhard Modern is an elegant serif font. Avoid too much in the way of script fonts I would say.

Ok, my creative urge took over and I did a sample for you. I couldn't help myself; that's the only way I can justify the time because I have plenty of other work to do. :)

The fonts used were Boulevard (muted gold) for the script and Bernhard Modern (dark green) for the serif.

The border around the portrait is a gray-green. Also, maybe "portraits" should have been in the gold and Bernhard Modern like "family heirloom". I'm undecided on that. Or smaller and in the gray-green of the border.

Geez, now that I've loaded it, I see the colors are similar to the forum! Guess I'm consistent in my color preferences.

Cynthia, All I can say is "Wow! I love it!".

Do you recall which store you saw that pattern in? There was nothing like it at Staples. Thanks.

Renee

The paper? Oh, I just made it up. I didn't realize you had bought a preprinted paper. Kinko's has a really nice selection of papers.

Here's a few that aren't as good, but reasonable:

http://www.paperdirect.com/PaperDire...perprodid=1764

http://www.paperdirect.com/PaperDire...perprodid=1629

http://www.ideaart.com/cgi-bin/sgsh0...769&SKW=MS3203 (the main site is http://www.ideaart.com)

You might be able to buy something from a printer, but you'd have the problem with the pattern being behind the portraits. Sorry, I was missing info.

But, maybe one of these other papers above would work.

Cynthia, Thanks for the links. Did you use a specific format to get perfectly squared stripes? I have to create and duplicate each stripe and I don't see how to get them perfectly lined up.

I bought a much softer background at Staples and changed the fonts according to your suggestions. I had a lot of trouble photographing this one, kept coming out too light and the persective is off somewhat but at least you can see the changes. I like it a lot better. You are a whiz at designing.

Renee

Renee,

Definitely an improvement! But, I still think the phone number so bold and in that font competes with your name above.

What program are you using to do this? I just made the whole thing in my graphics program...Paint Shop Pro.

Cynthia, Thank you. Yes, I see that and have now changed the phone number font and size. Plus all the fonts now are Bernhard Modern Bold and Larissa. I remember being told that before about not mixing more than two fonts. Also, I changed several of the passages to green. I tried Amber and it didn't read as clearly as green on that paper.

Darla, Here is why I produce my own brochures. I have edited this brochure about thirty times. I would dread to think what that alone would have cost at the printer! ;)

Cynthia, I have heard good things about Paint Shop Pro. I used Print Artist to create this and perhaps it's time to buy Paint Shop. Is that in a software package at the office supply stores? Or do you buy it online? Well, it's the right time of the year to suggest a new software! :santa: :D

Thanks for all the help! I love my brochure now.

Renee

Renee,

The thing to be aware of is that there is no way to print all the way to the edge of the paper on your printer. That's a printer thing, not a Paint Shop Pro restriction. So, even if you made a background pattern, you wouldn't achieve what you want. You wouldn't be able to do it in the program you're in even if the software capability was there.

I'm not familiar with the program you're using and how intuitive it is in relation to doing a brochure. But, Paint Shop Pro has no orientation towards a particular type of output. You're totally on your own with that.

Printing idea
 

Renee,
I had a thought about printing your own brochure. If you printed it on your own printer, even though your background wouldn't go all the way to the edges (in print lingo, you want your design to 'bleed' off the paper), you could print as close to your edges as your printer allows, then trim your paper so your design then would go all the way to your newly cut edge. Your end product would be a bit smaller, but that might be a way to achieve the look I think you may be after. If you could use 8 1/2" x 14" paper you could trim it down to 11" on one side anyway.

Or . . . you could have your brochure printed in 4-color at the printer and only have him print the 4-color artwork (the photos of your portraits) and a background if you wanted. Printing 1000 of these isn't much more than printing 100, costwise. Once the plates are made and it's on the printer, it's just a matter of paper usage (mostly). Once you have 1000 of your brochures with only pictures, NO type, you could then run the brochures through your printer at home and print in black type whatever you like. You could just do as many as needed and then when you need to, change your type and print out more.
Hope this helps,
Joan

Joan, Thanks. I spoke to my local printer about reproducing them for me. They started talking big numbers for scanning my image files. It would have cost over $600. just to scan, for four images. Plus, as new portraits come off the easel, I like to update the brochure and change the photos.

I actually have fun creating with my print programs and watching it come out of the printer. I love what Cynthia did with my brochure and I showed the new one to everyone. They agree it looks so much classier.

I don't really care about saving a few dollars. I'd rather have the freedom to change my mind at anytime and the satisfaction of knowing I did the work. Am I weird? :bewildere :D

Your idea is valid but I just don't think I would have the patience to square and cut every brochure.

Renee

Trimming paper
 

Renee,

Sounds like you just about have it figured out! I just want to mention one thing, the printer will usually trim paper for you. I just did our Christmas cards, had 125 printed up and he trimmed them to 10x7" size. He charges $1 per cut, even if you have 125 of something. So, four cuts for four sides equals just $4 for all that cutting. They have a big machine that can cut 100's of pages at once. I had to quickly xerox 20 more cards to send out so I took my card stock to him and he cut those 20 for me. (They score and fold paper too.)

I just wanted you to know that you wouldn't have to cut each brochure by hand. Kinko's here in Houston also cuts paper for the same cheap price. It sounds like you don't need this info now, but maybe someday it'll come in handy while you're designing your own brochures or cards.

Happy Holidays,
Joan

Good topic!
 

I have been printing mine out 10 at a time to pass out to friends and acquaintances. I have a lot of POTENTIAL clients and they are interested in my progress.

As I add new and more interesting work to my portfolio, I replace photos on the brochure.
I use CorelDraw and have really simplified it from what I once thought were simple colored blocks behind the pictures, to this.

Renee and I exchanged ideas during the holidays and this is THIS WEEK'S evolution of the multifunctional mini portfolio:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/i...iggiecover.JPG
The back panel in the middle is designed as a mailer, which I mostly encourage them to do, if they take some, and the general pricing is on the inside flap.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/i...2/bigginny.jpg
I have labeled them by size, medium and appropriate price.

Some how it is not getting through. I start at 8x10 SINGLE HEAD and add 50%-75% for additional elements (to keep it simple) and many STILL don't get it that bodies are more than heads, and TWO heads are TWO heads.

BUT that is MY marketing problem, I should aim at a higher common denominator. Please, keep this thread going, it is very informative!

Debra, Glad to see you here!

I wanted to say that after my January show, I had to replace the brochures every week as everyone kept taking them. Business cards too.

Two calls came in, one for "Riesling" on my website. I quoted her $1200. ( the price I set to sell him at) and haven't heard from her since!:D

The other was from a lady who kept asking me for the "next lowest price". :! When it didn't get low enough ( too bad ) she said the famous "I'll get back to you". Hah.

But, all the brochures are out there and I am on to another style of painting anyway, so they must be thinking "Someday, when my stocks come back up".;) I think the brochures are a great idea.

It took me a long time to get my prices up and I am not lowering them. I know what my portraits/paintings are worth now and I feel confident that when the right client comes along they will sell.

Renee

Congrats Renee!
 

Stick to your guns and don't sell yourself short! If people quibble about price, they're not the clients for you.

Debra

Love your work! I do have several comments to make about your brochure in particular, and portfolios and brochures in general.

1) I am concerned about your prices. I couldn't clearly read all of the information, but your numbers seem to be way too low. I tell my "just out there" students, (you are already beyond that stage...) to start at $500 for an oil head and shoulder. After they've done a few and are comfortable, to jump to $1000. You need to differentiate yourself from the quick draw artists. There is nothing wrong if that is your chosen course, but if you want to be a professional portrait artist, you need to be charging a price which will allow you to make a living. (Surprisingly, many of the problems you and Renee alluded to, i.e., people getting cheap on you, are directly related to your charging too little. You need to price yourself into a different cliental.)

The portfolio or brochure:

2) Separate categories If you want to do animal portraits, have a portfolio/brochure with just animals. Have a separate portfolio/brochure with just charcoals. Have a portfolio/brochure with just children. I would not have animal portraits in with your human portraits (unless they are both in the same painting). I would not include non-portraits, i.e., the figure pose or still life. You are better off having a portfolio/brochure that has six portraits of children than a scattershot that has everything.

3) Standardize your work. There is a typical portrait. It is dignified. It follows conventions. There is the head and shoulders, the head and hands, the seated 3/4, the standing 3/4, and the full length. Price by the size/body part. I would stay away from the full grin smiling portraits. (Grins are fine for the charcoal, which I see as less formal and more experimental than oil). Don't do candids. Look carefully at the body of work that Cynthia Daniel has on the Stroke of Genius sites. Produce enough work to have a solid portfolio before you solicit commissions. You will be judged by the weakest painting in your portfolio. Eliminate any paintings that are not your best. If you only have one good painting, only show that.

4) I suggest to burgeoning portrait artists that they paint five to eight head and shoulders of children for their first portfolio. The head and shoulders paint up fast and the easiest "sale" is to the parents of young children. You can get commissions right in your own backyard. To fill your portfolio with head shots, I suggest you paint your own children, your nieces or nephews. Paint your neighborhood children, but do charge money (even if it's only $50). The parents will love everything you do if it's free, but the second you charge money, they'll have an opinion. It's important to get used to hearing the clients opinion. (They are usually right...)

5) Photographs of the subject do not belong in your portfolio. On this I have a very strong opinion, and I am sure this will cause some controversy, but I personally don't think you should include photographic references of your work in the portfolio/brochure. To most viewers there is an automatic assumption that you have created a likeness. If you include a photograph, you are challenging and encouraging the viewer to compare the two. You are also making the point in the strongest way possible that what you create is a painted photograph. If someone insists that they want to see the photographs, I will show them a different photo from the one I used in the painting. My point is, yes, it does look like the person, but I am not encouraging hypercritical inspection. If you have a strong brochure/portfolio, people will assume that is what the sitter looks like.

This is probably enough for one post.

Peggy

Peggy, Thank you. All good advice.

Well, I am glad I held my price on "Riesling". The first lady never came back but today a fellow called and bought Riesling at the price I set, for his wife for Valentine's Day. I am glad I waited.

Renee

PEGGY!
 

Thank you for sharing your brochure information. I am in the middle of making up a new one and you have been a tremedous help!

Debra, I agree with Peggy your prices are WAY too low. Your work is beautiful.

Thanks for starting this thread Renee, it has been very helpful!

In putting together a portfolio, you need to ask yourself a few questions.

Whose body of work do you most like? Who are your idols? What kind of paintings would you like to be doing in ten years? Think about what kind of portrait you would like to be painting. This is the critical question. Do you admire loose brushy work, or wish you had the time to spend developing a more nuanced portrait? Decide what you want to be doing in ten year, and do it NOW!

THE PORTRAITS IN YOUR PORTFOLIO WILL BE THE PORTRAIT YOU WILL BE COMMISSIONED TO PAINT.

Decide what you want your career, your body of work, to look like, and start NOW to fill your portfolio with that work. The sooner you have that portfolio, the sooner you will be commissioned to paint that work.

I suggested painting kids because that is the easiest way to fill a portfolio. If you want to do corporate commissions, paint a bunch of exquisite 3/4 corporate portraits. Society portraits? Paint those. Your portfolio is the single most important selling tool you have.

One additional thought.

You will be judged by the weakest piece in your portfolio. Eliminate all but the very best portraits. Be brutal. If you only have one good portrait, show only one painting.

Peggy

Peggy Baumgaertner writes that "You will be judged by the weakest piece in your portfolio", and I think that's an enormously valuable bit of advice. The portfolio isn't what you'd show yer Mum, who would love to see any progress in this goofy profession you've chosen instead of accounting or law. Leave the kitchen sink pieces out of your professional presentation. You're asking people to look at the very best that you can do, and you're saying, I can do this for you, too. Any "intermediate" grade work, no matter how pleased you were with it at the time, isn't "portfolio" work. (I happen to have a few things that I was thrilled to accomplish at the time and that I'm not ashamed to show [and that I've displayed ad nauseum to friends and relatives]. . . but they are not pieces that would market my current skills and attitudes and determination as a portrait artist.)

Your next piece is about 90% guaranteed to be better than the one before it, no matter how enamored you were of that earlier work. Show people your best work, and then present them with something even better, if you can, but at least equal to your best. It's all you can do. And gosh, post an image here and get some feedback if you need it, before you deliver the final. It's a great deal of fun for the rest of us to watch and learn from people doing the hard work.

Cheers,
Steven