Jumping In: Our First Craft Fair...Sorta

Monkey + Seal get a lot of questions regarding what it was like to show at our first craft fair. Believe it or not, we started out very humbly, with only two zines and two comics. Monkey had a little comic called "Comic Shorts," the first issue of "The Bad Date Zine," and his "True Ghost Stories" zine. Seal had the beloved "The Story of Seal." That's it. Oh yeah, and we had lots of 1" pinback buttons.

However, even though the SF Zine Fest where we got our humble origins was all the way back in 2007(!), we constantly have had "new experiences" at craft fairs. We had our first Alternative Press Expo, our first Bazaar Bizarre holiday show, our first anime convention, etc. etc. Each time, we find a new audience, new vendors, and new experiences in terms of setting up our booth, new product, signage, and all the other stuff that we think about when we sell someplace.

One thing that we have never done before, however, is do an out of town show. All of the places we've sold have been in the city limits of San Francisco. This is mainly due to the fact that we don't own a car, so we haven't been very keen on racking up transportation costs to vend elsewhere. However, during the summer of last year, Monkey heard that Spectrum (a very competitive illustration/concept art annual) was going to have their first conference, and were looking for vendors.

Monkey jumped at the opportunity, and the two of us decided to throw our hats in the ring and see if we'd get in. We did, and now we're busy preparing for what is easily the biggest show of our lives. It's a three day event in Kansas City, Missouri, where we will be vending next to some of the biggest names in the fantasy art arena. If you know anything at all about fantasy art, we're down the isle from JP Targete, Chris Rahn and Jason Felix, and we're about 8 booths away from James Gurney. Also vending will be people you just might have heard of: Dan Dos Santos, Stephan Martiniere, Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo, Todd Lockwood, and just like a bajillion other awesome artists who we look up to and are inspired by.

Suffice to say, it's hard not to be intimidated by the competition. Not only that, we're having to learn how to manage booking airfare and hotels, getting our goods over to Kansas City, etc. etc. However, we're doing our best to set ourselves up the best we can for success and even though we're "not ready," will we ever be ready for this type of competition?

Although it's terrifying, expensive (more on that later), and difficult, no matter how tight our portfolios are, no matter how prepared we might be, it'll always be a new type of event, and we will never be truly ready. So, we can just do the best we can and go for the gold. Just like everything else in life, sometimes you have to make that deadline for yourself that you can't escape and just go for it. Sure, maybe your first mini comic might not be very good. Sure, maybe your first convention experience will lose you money. Sure, maybe the first gallery you submit to might turn you down. However, if you constantly wait until you're "ready," you'll have missed your opportunity. Better to live with no regrets, than to wonder "what if?"

So, here's the part where you can help us "totally pwn" (Seal just stared blankly at this phrase) this Spectrum Live! event. We're bringing a bunch of new products, and since this is easily the most expensive event of our careers (with travel and lodgings, shipping, etc., we're at around almost two month's worth of rent), we're offering you all first dibs on some of our newest stuff to help offset our costs. We weren't really going to launch any of this until after we "tried it out" at Spectrum, but you all are our supportive fans, and we wanted to let you get it before anyone else did.

So help send us to Kansas City, and check out all the new stuff here. As a preview of what's to come, we've got a brand new tie design, two new Monkey prints, two new Seal prints (one of which is being released before the show that it's in even opens!), and our Create or Die shirt, re-released in a classic black and white version.

Live with no regrets, and grab some great stuff while it's on sale here!

Life Doesn't Have a Montage Or a Magic Pill

We're going to make a bit of an assumption here that we all agree on something: life isn't the movies. No huge protests over that? Okay, good.

So life is not the movies, and we probably wouldn't want it that way. Why? Well, we'd be exhausted all the time if life was that exciting - you know, with all the infiltration of ex-CIA spy rings, escaping from zombies and chainsaw-wielding cannibals, and going to weddings four times a week where something dramatic and shocking happens every single time.

However, there is a type of movie (and television show) that you probably either love or hate (we love 'em): The Underdog genre. You know the story - some total underdog has a dream and manages to gain some sort of trait/advantage/knowledge from their tragic past/current situation and then is able to beat out the seemingly impossible odds to reach their dream. Slumdog Millionaire, One Piece, Paul Potts and Susan Boyle (and now Jonathan Antoine) are all such great entertainment because they tell the story of someone who society says should not succeed but fight for their dream and in the end, come out on top. It makes you feel all inspired and warm and fuzzy inside.

The thing about movies though, is that all the hardship, the long hours, the grueling work - it's all abridged. We usually get to see the training ala-Rocky in the classic montage scene or in the occasional flashback. It's all nicely packages to make you feel good. But when you're done watching, how long does that inspiration last?

More often than not, real life quickly takes over, and you find your canvas untouched, rehearsal seems like such a long bus-ride away, the little cursor blinks over and over again on your blank "Untitled document." We turn to distractions, chores, anything else to keep us from having to sit down and do the work.

We get it: doing the work is hard. Showing up everyday, even if you're tired, is hard. Pushing through the painful/ugly/tedious/annoying stage isn't fun. Playing a concert in a bar with two people watching you is tough. Not selling anything, again, at your gallery show while people snatch up other artists' work is difficult. This is the reason why films have montages. No one wants to watch someone slowly get better over long periods of time. We want to see some action!

But life doesn't have montages. To get better, we have to put in the practice. A lot of people also fall into what we call "The Trap of Beginner's Luck." Chances are, at some point in your life you'll probably find something that comes easy to you. Maybe it's bowling, or painting, or surfing, or singing, or making sculptures out of mashed potatoes. People will tell you that you're really good at it, and that'll make you feel good and want to pursue it more. However, if you do decide to pursue it more and more, you'll find that you're no longer around people who are novices. Suddenly you're around people who practice at their craft, and practice often. Then you realize that you are going to actually have to work at this, and then you get discouraged since you thought that this was going to be easy.

Even if you have decided that "Yes, the hard work is worth it" (and we sincerely hope that you have found something worth working hard for), the challenge to keep up that momentum is still there. Feeling like you're not doing enough? Frustrated that you haven't "made it" (whatever that means) yet? Well, you can't magically make stuff happen over night, and you have so many hours in a day, so there really is only one thing to do: Get over it.

Not to be jerks, but really, that's all you can do. You have to just keep working hard and keep on keeping on. Just keep on practicing, keep on hustling, and keep on chasing your dream, and you will (we promise) slowly get closer and closer.

For a practical solution, keep a journal, or samples of your old work. Seriously. It may sound stupid and a waste of time and space, but make a habit of revisiting your old work at least once a year, and you'll be surprised at the results. We look at stuff we did in our freshman classes (holy crap, that's five year ago!) and the difference to what we do now is amazing. Because we are living our own lives, the changes are imperceptible - we gradually learn more techniques and get more experience under our belt; we put in our 10,000 hours. However, when you compare old work with new work (especially after five years), you'll see how much you've improved.

So while we can't promise a magic pill that'll suddenly find you success, all we can tell you is to keep on fighting the good fight, and before you know it, you'll be leaps and bounds closer to your dream than you would have ever imagined.

How to Rid Yourself of Wet Blankets

Do you know someone who constantly brings down the mood? Someone who might make you feel insecure about yourself, or your dreams, or your job, or anything? Basically, do you know any wet blankets?

Chances are, unfortunately, that you probably do. Not all are malicious on purpose, most actually aren't. Some might try to help with unsolicited advice ("You know, you could make a lot more money as a doctor than as an artist. You should really think about medicine." Another type of wet blanket is the kind that tries to make everything a competition, even when it's not. Others might spout lots of statistics that rains on your parade ("You know, art schools have a high graduation rate, but only x% actually get an art job after graduating.") Still other wet blankets might get your goat by saying things in false support like "I'm not telling you not to follow your dream," or "Yeah, that painting looks pretty good, but...oh nevermind, it's great, honest!"

Poo poo on these wet blanket! "But Monkey +Seal," you might be thinking, "of course poo poo on them, but how do I deal with these jerk-face donkey butts?" Well then, if you are thinking that, you must read on!

So, how to deal with wet blankets? There are a few ways to doing this. The first is protecting yourself from wet blankets before you even really have to deal with them. If you can identify these people early on, don't share you ideas with them because you know they'll shoot them down. What's the point in being generous with people who will try to bring you down? There is none! Don't show your dance recital to people who are gonna hate on your choreography, and don't take your sketchbook out of your bag around people who are gonna take it without asking and then criticize your drawings. Skip the jerkwads!

"But Monkey and Seal, what if I work with these buttholes?" Well friend, if you are in a situation where you can't just avoid the party-poopers, you need to identify their behavior as what it is to emotionally distance yourself from them. If you absolutely have to listen to the poop they're gonna say, if you brace yourself for the idiocy, you can create some emotional distance. It'll still be crappy, and you should try to avoid wet blankets if you can, but if you have to deal with them, here's some more tips:

You have to realize that the reason these people are wet blankets and keep hating on you is that whether they know it or not, it's not really about you at all. When someone is harping on your dreams, or your art, or basically just bringing you down, most of the time it's not really about you, but it's about them.

You see, you have to remind yourself that it's their own lame worldview and sad paradigms - they're really just unhappy with themselves and they tend to take it out on everyone else. Their ideas are never awesome enough, so they have to make sure that you know that yours aren't either. Maybe they're unhappy with themselves or were discouraged somewhere along the line, but regardless they're just downers, and it really has nothing to do with the quality of you or your work.

Alternatively, if their garbage-talk is bringing you down, you need to honor your emotions and take care of yourself. Identify the negativity and call it out for what it really is: pure negativity and self-hatred (on their part). Others will want to quickly patch you up by saying "Oh, it's a learning experience," or maybe "Well, that's sorta standard in this industry," or "That's just how he is," but NO! Don't listen to them! The wet blanket is a wet blanket, and that's that!

Administer some self-care stat! Go take a bath with your rubbery ducky, or snuggle with your blankey, or do whatever it is that you do to make yourself all cheery and happy inside. Eat a pint of vegan ice cream and wash it down with some cookies! Take a shot (or two, or three, but only if you aren't driving or have something you need to get done later). Whatever it is, make your inner kid happy.

If all else fails, talk to someone who is going to support you and help you remember that the wet blanket is the crazy person, not you. If you don't know if you can trust anyone, there's always a therapist (or you could also vent via email to us).

Finally, sometimes push comes to shove, and the wet blanket just needs to get put in their place. You officially have Monkey + Seal's blessing to put up a fight if need be. You can call them out on their poopy behavior and regardless of whether or not your actions change their behavior, your heart will know that you stood up for yourself, and that's a really powerful step in itself. Besides, if you call them out in front of a lot of people in a way that isn't full of name-calling, but is very factual, you can very possibly shame them into reform.

So avoid your wet blankets and love yourself. Don't try to dry out the wet blanket, it'll only get smelly and mildewy and eventually will become a wet blanket again. Dangerous!

Artist Envy: A Dangerous Concoction

If you have a lot of friends who are artists, good for you. You are surrounding yourself with people from your tribe and these people will share many common threads. Many will know what it's like to do a 36-hour day in order to meet a deadline, or will know what it's like to really feel the need to finish a portfolio. Others might be able to commiserate with you on your artist's block, or maybe they can provide you with useful tips on new techniques or supplies.

However, having lots of artist friends can be a bit of a drainer as well. While you have many similarities, perhaps you have too many similarities. Perhaps you both submitted to a gallery and only one of you ever heard back, or maybe one of you got a part in a play but no one else did.

We'll admit it, it's hard to be happy for someone who got what you wanted. After all, we have our own unique needs and wants. So today, we want to talk about managing artist envy.

Envy, used properly, can be a great motivational tool. If you see an artist achieving what you want for yourself, it's only natural to feel envy. If you use that feeling to push yourself to do the work and to take your own work to the next level, then great! View the other person as an inspiration that you're striving for and work towards your dreams. Most likely, if you ask, that person will even try to help you to achieve what they already have. After all, awesome people are willing to share their secrets, especially with people who want to get where they already are. Think about it: awesome people are always looking to become bigger and better, so they're very receptive to helping you get to where they are right now.

However, if used improperly, envy can be destructive and totally no bueno. If you look at that other artist as an opponent or an obstacle, then you've already cut them off as a source of knowledge and aid. Additionally, you're creating a negative mindset that not everyone can achieve their goals. Once this becomes your mantra, every time you don't get what you want, it will be a defeat, which you'll brood on, probably causing more defeats. Also, you may become inspired to use underhanded methods like lying or manipulating or stealing or other not-so-good behaviors to get what you want. And once you get known for being underhanded, people won't want to partner up with you. You've now committed to getting there by yourself, and like we've said before, you can't get anywhere alone.

When you realize that the better person you are, the more people are willing to help you out. When we ask for advice from other artists, it is our policy to make sure that we take advantage of the help they've given us, and let them know how much they've helped us along. That is why it's important to see others succeeding as not only friends who are doing well, but also as valuable sources of tips and tricks and advice.

You may be asking what you can do for your friend, if they're giving you such valuable advice and relating their own experiences to you. Well, you can start by following their advice and making sure they know how much you've helped them. And who knows? Maybe some day you'll be in a position to recommend them to another studio, or maybe you'll come across a great opportunity that's not right for you but would be right for them. Return the favor and I guarantee you'll soon have a circle of artists that you can count on to go to bat for you.

So be generous. Be happy for your artist friends who are succeeding, and they will be happy for you in return. Create a community of creative collaboration where everyone is working to help each other obtain their dreams! Believe us - there is always room for one more.

Monkey + Seal FAQs Answered!

Today is Monkey + Seal's 7 year anniversary, so we'll be taking the day off to celebrate. We've decided to massage our own egos by writing up this little FAQ to appease all your burning Monkey + Seal questions!

PS - It's also Seal's birthday! Happy birthday Seal!

Question: How long have you been painting?

Seal: I started dabbling about twelve years ago, but I didn't really paint seriously until about three years ago as of this Spring.

Monkey: I used to draw on my face with crayola markers when I was three, but I didn't start seriously pursuing painting until my Still Life class in 2009.

Q: How did you get to where you are? Did you go to school?

M: A long, round-about way of going to UC Berkeley to study chemical engineering, then realizing that I loved theater, then realizing that I love visual arts and storytelling even more, then going back to school for a second Bachelor's degree in illustration at the Academy of Art in SF. Along the way, I switched my major to Biology (which influences how I think of anatomy and creature design), got a job at a craft store that got me into the SF Zine Fest and the crafting world, and found out how cool silkscreen printing is. Also, lots and lots of support and help from friends who I've met along the way.

Actually, this is such a formidable question that I might post a lengthier answer in the near future.

S: I always knew I wanted to be an artist - I was a big fan of animation and film. After giving up my dream several times, I finally went back to art school in 2007, and finished in 2010.

Q: What made you go back to school?

S: I felt, at that time, that it was "now or never" and wasn't happy where I was. I didn't want to regret not pursuing art, so I made the choice to return to school. I needed structure in my learning because I really didn't have the foundation skills to really learn on my own.

M: My drawing skills were totally lame. I nearly BS'd my way into a painting MFA program without having painted in my life, but I ended up opting for the longer, harder route of actually learning how to use color, render form, tell a story, learn composition, etc. etc. etc. Thus, I knew I needed an ass-kicking structure that would teach me how to put what I see in my head down on paper.

Q: Why do you call it a "Art Cave?"

S: Because our house is cold!

M: Our apartment is dark (we get no direct sun at all) and we live on the bottom floor of a two-story Victorian. Upstairs sounds like there are rabid beasts trampling around, so I imagine this is what it is like to be in a cave. Also, we have so much stuff it sometimes feels like we're in this dark cavern of art supplies.

Additionally, our Art Cave is also the place in our head where we hide from life, as it can be easier sometimes to just squirrel away and make art rather than deal with people, obligations, work, etc. etc. etc.

Q: Seal, what is Monkey like at home? Monkey, what is Seal like away from the public?

S: Monkey does silly dances and grows six tentacles and is typing and screenprinting and is reading a book all at the same time.

M: Seal likes to play in the bath, and likes her chai tea while she paints and plays Japanese television shows in the background. She also makes cute, funny noises.

Q: Who is Monkey? Who is Seal? Why?

S: It's always the other one.

M: What does that even mean Seal? Anyway, I'm Rick, Eve is Seal, or vice-versa, whatever, and it's because I (Rick) looked like a Monkey in his baby pictures. Eve looked like a baby seal when she was little. Thus, Monkey + Seal.

Q: Does Seal like fish? Does Monkey eat bananas?

S: I like goldfish (the crackers) only. Save the tuna!

M: Surprisingly, I'm not a huge fan of bananas. I love banana-flavored candy and artificial flavoring, but I'm not huge of bananas. I do eat them, as they're a great source of Potassium and are great for being on-the-go, but yeah, I like lots of other fruit way more.

Q: What was your biggest challenge to being an artist?

S: Feeling like I want to master everything quickly but realizing that you're at the level that you are at, and that there is always more for you to learn.

M: Learning that there are no short-cuts. You just have to practice, practice, and practice some more. Then, when you're all exhausted from practicing, you gotta do it again. And again. And again...

Q: What mediums do you use?

S: Acrylic, gouache, pastels, and my favorite being Painter X. Wait, that's not true, it's Painter and acrylics together.

M: I primarily use acrylics (with gloss medium) for all my fine art stuff, and digital (Photoshop) for most of my illustration and design work. I actually really don't like Illustrator, but I am slowly learning to embrace Painter. I'm also starting to try and use acrylics for my illustrations, but have yet to really finish a piece that way.

Q: How do I get an art job?

S: Learn the foundations, and practice. Reach out. The world doesn't know what you're doing unless you tell them and surprisingly, someone will hear you.

M: Practice like a nutjob. Read as much as you can on marketing. Learn how to sell yourself. Constantly look for opportunities and take as many as you can without killing yourself. Oh yeah, and never stop the practicing.

Q: Any last thoughts?

S: If you choose to pursue art, it's a long road, but it's rewarding. You have a unique voice, so there is always something to contribute to this world - to art.

M: I really talk a lot. I also like watermelon, and regardless of what I like, you should embrace your inner artist and make sure that you do something creative today. Small steps make a big difference, and remember: there are no shortcuts to greatness.

Honor Your Personal Clock

If you follow Monkey + Seal's personal art pages (ie, not Monkey + Seal but Eve Skylar and Rick Kitagawa), you'll know that a lot of posting happens around, say 1-3am. Why? Is it because of optimum web traffic? Definitely not. It's because that's when we have time to work on our personal stuff.

When people ask us about our working schedules, we get a lot of people surprised that we often sleep at 3-4am, and don't get up until 10 or 11 (or noon, if we can help it). However, we find that it's really important to honor your own personal creativity clock.

Some people are night owls, others are morning people, and there are others who nap a few times a day but work early and late. Whatever your personal creativity clock tells you, if at all possible, try to follow it. If you're a morning person, don't try to stay up late to finish something, get up early to tackle it. If you're a night person, waking up early is going to kill you, so maybe you should try and power through into the wee hours.

"But Monkey + Seal," you may be asking, "what if my job/kids/whatever" gets in the way? Well then friend, you need to do some moving of stuff around. Honestly, it is possible to turn into an early riser. If you are strict with yourself and keep waking up at the same time every morning for a month, regardless of when you get to bed, you can train your body to wake up at the same time each day. However, if you are the most creative at night, you will be doing yourself a disservice. Perhaps your work schedule will fall more in line with a majority of the people you might be doing business with, but you'll be losing out on your optimal time for creating.

No matter how well rested Monkey is, while he is more productive in the mornings, he doesn't really get creative until around 9pm. What this means is that it's pretty pointless for him to wake up early if he doesn't have to. He performs better by doing a lot of his brainstorming and creative work between 9pm and 2 am. Also, naps completely mess up his sleep schedule, and he can only nap when he's extremely sleep deprived. Seal, on the other hand, has two creative spurts: one in the morning and one late at night after dinner. For her to keep focused and creative, she needs a nap in the late afternoon to keep fresh since she's working early and late at night.

Because we freelance, we're able to shift a lot of things around to fit our own personal schedules. But if you're in school or have a set job, a lot of times your schedule might not be as flexible. In this case, the trick is to move around what you can do to make time for your own personal work. If you're a morning person, maybe that means waking up extra early to put in an hour or two before work, or making sure you don't stay out too late on Friday night so you can put in an early Saturday working on your art. Whatever it takes, we encourage you to prioritize your creative work and carve out some time during your optimal creative peak and make some magic.

Planning Your Way to A Dream

To many people, the path to a dream feels very nebulous. Because so much of our emotions are tied to our ambition, we often treat it as we might an impulse and just sort of "go with the flow." While this is all fine and dandy, we suggest imposing some order upon your path, so that you might find your way a little quicker.

Many of us want to quit our jobs, live off our art, travel, etc. But how many of us have a concrete plan in place? Banks won't give out loans to small businesses without a business plan, as it's a risky investment. Due to the way our world works you need to start thinking about the concrete steps you need to take to get your art off the ground. Whether or not you want to be a non-profit or a huge corporation isn't the issue - if you want to be successful as quickly as possible, then you have to start talking a little business.

Let's look at a fictional person, and let's call this artist Sabrina. She wants to live off the sales of her paintings. Since she hasn't sold anything yet, she's looking into the options of selling prints of her work to make them more affordable. She also works 6 days a week at her minimum wage retail gig (which she absolutely hates) to survive.

Now, prior to getting a plan in place, Sabrina has been printing prints a few at a time at the local copy place whenever someone asks her for one. She has an Etsy shop, but doesn't update very often. She's been putting off creating a website, as the technical aspect of it scares her and she doesn't have the money to hire a web designer. So how is she going to change her life around where she can escape the retail job and just paint all the time?

Sabrina need to put a plan into place.

The first step in Sabrina's plan is to figure out her living expenses, and how much money she really needs to survive. She needs to figure out the bare minimum (food, shelter, clothing, student loan bills, etc.) that she needs per month to make it through. She also needs to figure out her ideal income (where she gets to go out to eat, hit the bar with friends, watch a movie here and there, etc.). She needs to figure out her budget because that's how much money she's going to need to make off her art.

The second step is to do the cold hard math. Say Sabrina's target income (where she'd feel comfortable completely leaving her job) is $2500 a month. Now, if she sells her originals, which take her three full days to paint, she thinks she can reasonably sell them for $600. She currently sells her prints at a profit of $8 per print. Because she works all the time, she doesn't get three full days to work at something, so she prioritizes it and works on it a bit each day, even though she's exhausted after work. So let's say the painting takes a week to finish, so she can make four paintings per month. How many paintings does Sabrina have to sell to make it by each month?

If Sabrina sells four paintings a month will make $2400, but if that's through a gallery, she'll only take home $1200 due to the 50% cut most galleries take. She's not sure if she can sell two paintings a month even with mad hustle, but she thinks she can sell one. So that's $300 through her friendly local gallery. That means, she has to come up with $2200 a month through print sales. Which means, at $8 profit each, she has to print, ship, and sell 275 prints per month (or about 69 prints per week, or about 10 prints per day).

Sabrina needs to evaluate whether or not she thinks this is possible, and if not, then she needs to re-evaluate her marketing, her pricing, her sourcing, or all three. She could also re-evaluate whether or not she's willing to make less before she quits her job, and where she can cut corners in her budget if need be.

You see, maybe Sabrina can sell her prints for more, so she has to sell fewer of them. Or perhaps her art translates well into greeting cards and she should look into licensing and wholesales. Maybe her art has an appeal to interior designers, and she could sell her originals for more. If her job is especially soul-sucking, maybe she'd be willing to give up her book-buying habit and instead visiting the library more, or maybe she doesn't really need that phone upgrade. Perhaps she thinks she just needs a better, strategic marketing plan.

Whatever it is, Sabrina needs to face the scary unknown of what she has to do to succeed. Most of the time it's a lot easier to bury your head in the sand and wonder "Why haven't I made it yet?" but it's important to really face the reality that you need to think of art like a business - with a budget, a marketing plan, and a well-thought out course of action. Then, which is a post into itself, comes the real challenge - putting it all into action.