Nautical Illustrations

So, it's been a while since I've created any stock Illustrations but, recently, I had the opportunity to do some because of a freelance commission.  I was contacted by a company who had found my illustrations on Shutterstock.  They had purchased one of my worm illustrations and were using it on their website.  They wanted two more specific illustrations and couldn't find any stock Illustrations that would work or match the style of my worm cartoons.

Since they were content in using stock in their web design ( as apposed to owning the full exclusive rights to the art) I offered to illustrate these at a lower cost than normal if I could keep all the rights to the illustrations. That way I can offer these for sale on various stock sites.  It works out well for both parties, the client gets a good deal and I can continue to make money off of the illustrations long into the future.

If you'd like to download a copy of the sailor you can do so right here on IstockPhoto.  The pearl is also available on Istock. I'll be adding them both to my Shutterstock portfolio in the near future too.

And if you're interested in commissioning me for some custom artwork you can contact me by email: Jeffmorin.art@gmail.com  I'm gonna be drawing anyway. I might as well be doing it for you!

A Sign From A Wise Man

The other day, my pal Dylan sent me a link to a video featuring Ice T.  Ice was talking about the term "Fuck It!" and how saying it can empower you and force you to push yourself to take risks. While viewing the video I noticed an ad, in the corner, for Istockphoto. Featured on the ad was one of my illustrations!  This blew my mind right out of my eyeballs.

Now, I know that the advertisement is probably reading my browser history and is just showing me images I've viewed before, (one of which is my own), but that's beside the point!  The ad coupled with the words of  the great wise man, Ice T, has got to be a sign.  It's a sign that I should just say, "Fuck it!" and start doing more stock illustrations already. This is the righteous path as prophesied by Ice T.  And that's precisely what I plan on doing!

New Stock Illustrations

Here are a few new illustrations by yours truly, that are available for download on Istockphoto.



Yeah, I make stock illustrations. You want to fight about it?!

I know there are a handful of illustrators out there that aren't too happy with the microstock business. They feel like it prevents them from getting commissions because clients have the option to download stock for much cheaper. I disagree. The truth is, someone willing to purchase your royalty free illustration at a low cost probably isn't going to want to commission you for an original piece anyway. In fact if there wasn't any stock-illustrations to choose from they would probably just download a stock-photo.

Interestingly enough, I've actually had a client find my work through Istock and commission me for an illustration job. They were completely willing to pay my normal rates and they've been a repeat customer too.

So why not take advantage of this changing market, get illustration out into the public view and make some extra cash on the side?

For the last year and a half I've been making around $30 bucks a month on Istock. It's not much but It's surprisingly consistent. That's why recently I've decided to shift my focus a bit and work on stock illustrations when not doing freelance work. I'm hoping that I can make this a good chunk of my income so that when I finally quite my day job, I'll be able to survive the slow months as a freelancer. The trick is coming up with the right themes and subject matter to illustrate in order to attract those potential downloads.

You can go check out some of my other stock illustrations RIGHT HERE.

Smelly Feet Stock Illustration

This is the latest illustration I did for istockphoto.com. I've been creating stock illustrations for about a year now. I've heard that the illustration world frowns upon doing stock, but I don't care. It's a really good way for a starving artist to make money on the side while also honing your skills. At first I didn't think it was worth it because I wasn't getting very many downloads. Then I started adding more files and the downloads started to come more frequently. And the cash started rollin' in! Actually, I haven't made that much money on it yet but I seem to get a handful of downloads every month. I've only got 24 files uploaded and I've had 54 downloads, but for the first six months or so I only had 3 or 4 files uploaded. So my download success rate doesn't seem too bad.

Once I'm finished with Chapter two of my comic Rudolph the Hideous Abomination I think I'll work on some illustrations before I start Chapter three. Then once I'm done with the comic I think I am going to spend a few months just working on stock illustrations. I want to turn this into a big chunk of my income if I can. It's the only real for sure thing I have going right now.