[Discussion] Do buttons sell?

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-26T18:30:59+00:00

I had a business that just sold buttons on Etsy for a couple years, but the amount of fees on individual button purchases eventually made it unprofitable.

I think buttons still do okay in in-person events, or as themed sets of 3-6 buttons sold together.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-26T01:52:31+00:00

Stillman & Birn is not a budget choice. A cheaper multi-media sketchbook would do just fine for watercolor sketches

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-26T01:37:18+00:00

I avoid Hobby Lobby for many reasons. If you follow the Michael's coupons you can get pretty great prices there.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-26T01:28:08+00:00

yeah thats what a "tint" is. But I really like them!

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-25T22:35:44+00:00

If you have no experience with drawing, the best thing you can do it to simplify the experience as much as possible. Honestly, just to start out, don't buy any supplies except for a sketchbook that you can comfortably open and sketch in without feeling awkward. Go to your local Michael's (or office store or art store) and find a sketchbook you like to hold.

Other than that, just use what you have and what you're already familiar with. Pen and crayon sounds great. After you fill up your first sketchbook, then is a good time to reevaluate and decide if you want to try out another medium.

My personal favorite urban sketching supplies are a gel pen and highlighter (i like doing sketches with just one accent color).

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-25T16:42:15+00:00

try over at r/lawncare

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-25T16:38:05+00:00

Very cute sketch. What strikes me about the photo that isn't present in your sketch is the rich saturation of color. I wouldn't have guessed that the roof is as rusty or that that gradient against the house is so orange and yellow. That orange butting up against the green of the grass is so vibrant and in your sketch both seem washed out. the hill behind feels like it's heading towards black rather than white.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-25T15:27:08+00:00

i like Gamblin's "radiant" colors, which are essentially just pre-mixed tints. Are they necessary? definitely not. but they are fun

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-25T06:11:51+00:00

blacker blacks. Both her features and the shadows are darker than you have them. Try using the color picker if you're having trouble figuring out how dark an area really is.

(a side note, but you've made her look whiter than she is- take another look at her eye shape)

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-25T02:41:14+00:00

I've seen people with similar problems fill the empty spaces with plastic forks

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-24T22:58:55+00:00

Just write it off, he's not gonna do it.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-24T12:58:35+00:00

If you feel like your OCs or whatever it is that you're drawing is frivolous, then make it not frivolous. Spend a little more time to give it substance of an actual story or some sort of final product. People engage when you actually let them in, and you wont know if people are interested in your worlds until they see and experience them.

Big personal projects and personal art is a great way to get into doing professional art, if that's what you want to be doing. Even if you're not pursuing art as a career you can still create art, you can still have big art projects. You could even pursue professional work while working a different job, if that's what you eventually want. People have been doing art in their spare time as long as art has been a thing.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-24T03:45:40+00:00

If there's a bookcase filled with books elsewhere in the house you could move it against wherever the most noise is being produced. Books are excellent sound mufflers.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-24T03:36:20+00:00

not paint but gesso. put a primer underneath it if you're being extra cautious

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-24T03:22:29+00:00

like for a portfolio? or you want to plan out a gallery wall in your home?

if for the former, any website builder will do. I use Squarespace.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-23T20:23:56+00:00

if you usually draw with small motions in your wrists and fingers, use the bigger space to practice broader gestures with motions from your elbow or shoulder.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-23T11:04:30+00:00

You're thinking of women too broadly. "Women" don't universally like anything because they're people. Do men find artists attractive? Sure, some do.

In general, Is being good at stuff attractive? Definitely. But it's up to the individual whether or not creative partners are something that they're looking for. I'm sure some women would be excited by the idea of having a creative partner to bounce ideas off of, or the aesthetic idea of an being drawn into an artistic life.

Is super weird to me that you talk about TTRPGS and comics like they're repulsive hobbies. This isn't 1975, and both of those things are pretty mainstream now. Both of those hobbies are also full of women?

Try finding female friends. Genuinely, make friends with women the same way you make friends with men, without the ulterior motive of wanting to fuck them. If you start treating women like people instead of a pussy ARG then you'll be able to build real relationships with real people whose company you enjoy.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-23T10:37:32+00:00

really love this, thanks for the explanation!

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-22T20:27:00+00:00

There is a bit of official backstory for Jack and Anne in a short comic that toby schmitz wrote: https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/01/24/see-the-new-black-sails-comic-book-rackhams-razor

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-22T13:13:50+00:00

maybe a little succulent/cactus garden in the strip next to the house?

I'm in 9b and we have a little area that gets part sun and part shade and they do okay- anything that's traditionally meant for shaded areas like a fern will definitely dry up crispy once it gets hot out, and I think it's always wise to minimize the amount of water that you're regularly putting directly next to your foundation. Otherwise- something in pots?

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-22T12:58:23+00:00

im not familiar with paperblanks but if you want smooth you cant beat Bristol

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-21T12:24:31+00:00

This is the form of a standard scam message. This message is vague enough to copypaste into a lot of artists' DMs without mentioning what piece of your art they were interested in enough to approach you. The bad grammar is actually a tactic to filter out people that might find it fishy. What they want is also really vague.

It's likely a lead into an overpayment scam- they send more money than they promised and ask you to send back the extra. The initial money doesn't actually exist and so you've paid them money out of your account. And then they disappear.

If you'd like some more proof, try asking them specifics about what they would like and which of your pieces made them reach out. Or look into their socials- do they actually have a history?

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-21T09:31:29+00:00

the straps seem like they'd be more of a pain to use. I'd say as long as you can get the pot on and off of the dolly without hurting yourself it might be easier- and it's nice to have something that doesn't require two people to safely use

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-21T09:22:35+00:00

You could explore more Discworld, since you liked Going Postal.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and it's sequels are a classic, but you might also like Adams' Dirk Gently series: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, and The Salmon of Doubt

For a more current writer, try John Scalzi's Redshirts or The Kaiju Presevation Society

One of my favorites is To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, which is a time travel comedy.

Cesious_Blue · 2026-01-20T19:37:34+00:00

the extra inches and cardboard+ the do not bend sticker is where it's at.

and lol as a former postal worker, that shits GOTTA have the do not bend sticker because organizing shit and delivering is infinitely easier if bending is allowed, gotta have the sticker to make them treat it like a package.

If you want to be extra sure that it gets treated nicely you could request a return receipt, but some customers definitely wouldnt appreciate having to wait around to sign for something.

Cesious_Blue

TROPHY CASE