MONTHLY HEADER #66: Best of 2010!

As 2010 comes to a close, I'd like to thank all of the artists and readers who have participated in the CONCEPTSHIPS project. Who would have thought this blog would come so far so fast. I hope you like the new higher definition layout(s)of the sites. Here is a compilation of some of the best works posted throughout the year... Click on the pics to see the individual art galleries. Thanks everyone... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!























































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Fairy Tale Paper Theater

During my work on the Imaginarium paper theater, I came to appreciate paper theaters as an art form. I especially like the 3D effects the theaters are capable of achieving. This fairy tale paper theater is a good example. Through the two archways, Cinderella is seen leaving behind her glass slipper while the prince and his castle are glimpsed in the distance. The scenery in the theater can be changed to also show scenes from Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The template for this theater was originally offered in the 1920's by the Danish language magazine Familie-Journal. Patricia M at the Agence Eureka blog has scans of the four page template starting here (the other pages may be viewed by clicking on the thumbnails at the right of the page). The build photo above is by Patrick Pasques.

Art Dog Blog Top 5 Posts From 2010

A lot of bloggers are posting their top 10 list of favorite posts from the last year. I decided to keep it short & sweet and post my top 5 favorite posts from the Art Dog Blog.

• Where Do Creative Ideas Come From

• Ears Matter in Pet Portraiture .... they really do! It is not all about the eyes.

• Talking About Your Art ... we all need practice at this.


• Vanity Tools For Social Media Hounds

• Challenges for Pet Portrait artists ... this one is all about photography


In skimming through my past year of blogging it seems that I started out pretty strong in Jan. with lots of actual writing. I got lazier as the year progressed and defaulted back to a lot of art image posting. It is so hard to keep up the discipline of blogging and even harder to maintain a constant practice of writing.  I think if you are keeping up an art blog it is ok to give yourself a pass and just post images on occasion. The important thing is to just keep posting frequently. I hate finding a really cool new artist and then when I check their blog link I discover they have not updated their blog in months. Of course when time is limited and it is a choice between being in the studio and being on-line updating a blog, I know that the studio time is much more valuable.  I hope I can maintain a healthy balance in 2011.

"Big Tommy"
© Rebecca Collins / artpaw.com

 

Official Tron Legacy Lightcycle Paper Models

Disney has added two more lightcycles to their collection of 3D Tron papercraft! On top is Kevin Flynn's personal lightcycle, said in the Tron: Legacy movie to be "the fastest on the grid". Below that is the lightcycle belonging to Flynn's archenemy, CLU. The templates for the lightcycles may be downloaded here and here. Previous official Tron papercraft by Disney included Sam Flynn's lightcycle and a recognizer.

Related Posts:

Sam Flynn's Identity Disc

Tron Bit

1:1 Scale Tron Helmet

Sark's Identity Disc

Pet Portraits 2010 / April May June

© artpaw.com / "April"

© artpaw.com / " May"

© artpaw.com / " June"

With today's posting I have shown half of 2010, or 114 portraits.  I hope to create and post the remaining 6 months of collages by the first of the year.  I hope some of you guys see your pets here and will leave a comment.

Pet Portraits 2010 / March

© Artpaw.com

March was a fun month. What a wild assortment!

Pet Portraits 2010 / Feb

© Art Paw

Wow, I had a lot  of great subjects last Feb. In making these collage groupings I am discovering old art backgrounds that I have not used in awhile. I need to reorganize my background images and better organize all my original art files. I just received a copy of Adobe Lightroom3 in the mail from the PR department at Adobe. I plan to crack that open very soon and see if it will help me with my organizational needs.

Half-Life 2 Papercraft: HEV Suit Arm Armor

If you have been waiting for the next release of the Half-Life 2 HEV suit papercraft I have been working on... the wait is over! ^^ This is the third release of the series. I have one, maybe two, more releases to go before the suit is complete. The template for this arm armor may be downloaded here.

Previous Half-Life 2 HEV Suit Papercraft:

HEV Suit Thigh Armor

HEV Suit Shin Armor

Pet Portraits 2010 / Looking Back

Looking Back to Look Forward.....

Looking back at 2010 commissions is easy with my on-line smug mug gallery. It looks like I uploaded a total of 237 commissioned pet portrait projects. Zowie. I am going to be creating monthly collages of the year gone by this next week.  By looking at the numbers and seeing what last year looked like I will be able to gauge my busiest months, and maybe throw more advertising dollars around during the slower months.

It looks like last January was very busy with a total of 22 portrait projects in-house.  Usually the year starts off very strong because everyone is showing off their holiday portraits to family and friends and then they want to order. I am going to have to get back to work very soon if this January is going to be able to compete with 2010.

This year I am going to be playing around with the business  model a bit. I am very proud of the work I did this year and yet I really want to do better and better work as I move forward. One of my biggest challenges is still trying to get really great high resolution photos to start from.  I think my prices may almost double this year and I will then offer deep deep discounts to people that can send high quality photographs to work from at the proper resolution. I first have to create a lot of help pages on the site and help videos to explain image resolution and give out great tips on how to shoot and send good photos.  This is going to be a top priority.

The other obstacle to getting better at my job is balancing the time issue. Everybody wants their custom artwork super duper fast usually for gift giving. Every now and then I have a project I am really grooving on that I would like to spend weeks on, not hours, and not days, but weeks. I have found that very few clients want to wait weeks and months for their artwork, it seems everyone needs it next week for Uncle Bob's Birthday.  I may play around with a higher end pet portrait option that takes much longer and it may involve my glass mosaic work.

So My Art Business Wish List for 2011:

I want to be able to take more time with each portrait project.
I want better high resolution images to work from.
I want to do larger works.
I want to experiment more with both style and materials.

I want to look at better ways to work with animal charity groups and get back to
working on projects that will help pets in need.
I want to make either the same or more money as I made in 2010.
Yes ... I want to have my cake and eat it too!

Mosaic Monday: Riley Dog Sculpture with Bowl

Riley Dog Sculpture with Bowl
Originally uploaded by animal.artist

Click through on this image to see more great mosaics over at Flickr by Suzanne E. Noll. Or find her at: http://www.animalinstinctsart.com/

I know that I have featured Suzanne's work before, but this latest creation  stopped me in my tracks and I just had to share it. What a happy image to start the week off with.

Digimon Papercraft: Viximon and Dorimon

Here are a couple of simple Digimon papercraft by Chrono-fox at DeviantART. On the left is Viximon and on the right is Dorimon. Viximon is the in-training form of Renamon. Dorimon is the in-training form of Dorumon. Downloads of the papercraft templates for both of these are available here (Pepakua PDO format only).

4th Not So Wiseman Paper Toy

From Illustrator Von Glitschka comes a humorous paper toy for the holidays: the 4th Not So Wiseman. As the story goes...

You've heard of the three wisemen, but never the fourth. See, he didn't do so well as far as a gift-giving went. Instead of gold, frankincense or myrrh, he stopped at the dollar store for coal. Let's just say that a very special baby in a manger was not so impressed.

The simple, one piece template for this goofy fellow may be downloaded here.

Happy Holidays from CONCEPTSHIPS!

Santa has been spotted just inside the Kuiper belt. He should be here soon! It looks like the blog will break five million page views shortly before Christmas day... NICE! I hope all of you have a fun and safe weekend... Thanks for supporting CONCEPTSHIPS!



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Merry Christmas From Art Paw!

My Big Tommy From a couple of years ago.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Well today I am officially saying I am closed for the holidays. I will still check in on e-mail once a day and send off Gift certs that get ordered, but I am done with pushing pixels around for a week or so.  I may do a few blog posts, but for the most part I want to be reading books, going to museums and listening to music.

Next week I am going to dust off my mosaic nippers and start on some new glass projects, or maybe just finish some old ones.  I need a break from the digital art for a week or so and I need to rest. I am really excited about 2011.

I hope you guys are all planning for a restful and creative Holiday!

Concept spaceship illustration by Titus Lunter

Crahzz concept art



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Lock In 2010 Portrait Prices Today!

After much back and forth debate I have decided to raise my portrait prices in 2011. It has been a few years since I messed with my pricing and canvas costs have gone up along with other expenses. I will of course always honor old Gift Certificates so a great way to lock in this year's pricing for future work is with a Gift Certificate.

Click here to order a portrait now for you loved one or for yourself, you just send your pics in when you are ready for me to start on your project.

Art Paw E-Certs arrive in your in-box within 24 hours of payment.

Limited Edition Santa Claus Paper Toy

This limited edition Santa Claus paper toy is being offered by the Mister Black Tee t-shirt company during the 2010 holiday season. The style of this Santa matches the company's trademark t-shirt graphics. Also available is a paper toy of the company's logo which looks a whole lot like Mr. T. ^^ Both toys are available here.

Concept spaceship environments by Chris Cold

Vivid colors of Chris Cold. Concept vehicle.

















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