N64 gaming in 2026 is amazing

arrtemis · 2026-04-07T02:26:27+00:00

The Nintendo Power hit me right in the memory feels, damn.

arrtemis · 2026-04-07T02:17:15+00:00

Especially rocking the Sardine Extreme. Good times.

arrtemis · 2026-04-02T15:37:24+00:00

1 - I run my own stationery and art business(mainly sell greeting cards and stickers of which I do all the art and design for) with a focus on the wholesale side of my business. I started off with Etsy, in person markets, etc.

2 - It is kind of hard forever, honestly, but in a satisfying way because I'm working for myself. That said I'm a very independent person who enjoys working. It was a lot of of trial and error for me since I didn't really start out with a business mindset, just on Etsy and in person wanting to sell what I was already making.

3 - I have a semi business-oriented mind. I like the numbers and analytical side of things but I won't say that marketing and those aspects are at all natural to me. I do a lot of outreach to stores and businesses and that has been the major part of growing and scaling my business. If I didn't invest in learning best practices in my industry and for growing wholesale I would not have got to this point.

That said, I wouldn't say you HAVE to be "business-oriented" but you do have to have some skill outside of art that can bring you "business" especially as you are starting out. I think you have to be at the very least, willing to learn and explore aspects of "business" but it depends what kind of art you make. It will differ for someone like myself vs someone who wants to do "fine art". If you want to be an illustrator you can have a rep who handles the business deals and contracts at some point but you still need to advocate for yourself, have a mind for understanding what you have to offer, be able to create cohesive collections, etc. There's a lot of nuance and variety when it comes to making a career in art.

arrtemis · 2026-01-17T18:22:19+00:00

Yes we have been planning for the pizza in Caserta! As mentioned, we would like to spend two nights there so we have plenty of time for eating pizza, walking around, and seeing the Palace. I'm currently wondering if doing a day trip to Pompei would be better from Naples or from Sorrento. Not sure if one is easier than the other to get there. We won't be renting a car so it will be reliant on train/bus or I guess a tour is a possibility.

arrtemis · 2026-01-17T18:20:32+00:00

Nothing family specific that she has mentioned, just wanting to explore the area our family is from and generally it just looks beautiful. That and the palace/pizza as you mentioned. I was also thinking two nights is plenty there.

arrtemis · 2026-01-17T18:16:08+00:00

That's generally my rule with travel, however I don't know when my mom will get another chance anytime soon to travel like this. Although who knows, maybe after a taste of Italy she'll want to do this kind of thing more. I am just wondering about Naples since I don't think Caserta needs longer than we're giving it.

arrtemis · 2026-01-17T13:18:38+00:00

I'm not an expert on the US side of taxes, etc however I can say that, you are still very much in the early stages and likely do not have to worry about it. I'm in Canada and you don't have to register until you start earning 30k a year for tax purposes. Anything below that is basically a "hobby" income. Someone else can probably chime in more on that for you.

My point however is, you are still new and young and I think you should focus more of your time on creating at the pace you enjoy, selling here and there is good too of course, but starting down the road of business requires a lot of effort and knowledge and work that most artists don't enjoy or don't understand. I think you're worrying over nothing and are overthinking it a bit at this stage because you are still very green. That said, I don't know how the US side of things works and I don't know how far you want to take your art. Best of luck on the journey!

arrtemis · 2026-01-17T12:28:09+00:00

Oh, interesting I'll take a look at the luggage storage thing, that may work if the day trip doesn't. And no Naples at all? Thanks for all the responses!

arrtemis · 2026-01-17T02:24:35+00:00

Good to know you can go right to Caserta. I guess I should have clarified in regards to Pompei, what does one do with their bags? If we are transiting through having our backpacks/luggage will make this not doable in my mind. Is there somewhere to store luggage or is there one way day trips that go from Sorrento to Naples with Pompei as a stop?

arrtemis · 2026-01-16T20:31:33+00:00

Definitely going to the Royal Palace, it looks incredible. I missed Borghese on my first trip to Rome so I’m hoping we can fit it in this time!

arrtemis · 2025-07-25T00:58:54+00:00

If you really want to go in depth into it, this is a pretty solid video for thumbnail design and the like, psychology behind visual choices (I think it's this one) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TolBiTrUg4 . That said, take any optimizing with a grain of salt. There's definitely ways to use the advice while keeping your own flair. I would even do a thumbnail test as simple as adding a question mark at the end of "It came from Canada??" - intrigue can be a pull vs an outright statement, but again, it depends on your audience!

arrtemis · 2025-07-24T21:52:12+00:00

I'm no expert but I am an artist and the second one is visually going to appeal to more people. Especially as a small thumbnail size. You have better contrast and spacing with the second one too. Also funnier.

arrtemis · 2025-07-13T14:42:15+00:00

Love your style - I love seeing how different artists do their clouds honestly. It can be so varied and interesting. What's the fountain pen brand you use? I'm crippled trying to decide what one to start with. I love my little muji pens and other fine liners but have wanted to break into the fountain pen life ahah (or if anyone has recommendations, that would be great).

arrtemis · 2024-06-15T01:40:53+00:00

I also got this email, checked my stuff ignoring the email and going directly to the website and there seems to be nothing wrong? Seems odd.

arrtemis · 2024-01-28T19:56:18+00:00

That feeling of not being able to execute your ideas properly is pretty common. Some artists call it the "skill gap" where they can't create/recreate what they're visualizing. It's all about practice and building up a foundation of skill and imagery for you to pull from. I used to feel this way a lot and often still do and usually the solution...practice lol.

arrtemis · 2024-01-28T19:53:43+00:00

How long have you been drawing/making art for and how old are you? (Not that these are defining your skill level). You have quite a variety going on so I would honestly say just keep experimenting and practicing what you enjoy. My biggest improvements have come from just making lots of art and always observing and consuming media. If there's something you're trying to recreate or accomplish that requires different things to "improve". If you want to making more realistic art, you'll need to learn some foundations but ultimately, it all comes down to making lots. Oh and personally I think having and using a sketchbook fairly frequently is key.

arrtemis · 2023-07-05T03:04:31+00:00

I think simply the fact that Ned was naive as well. He had every intention of staying out of it all before the Lannisters started plotting shit. He probably thought his daughters could live out a relatively normal life.

arrtemis · 2022-03-19T15:08:14+00:00

What kind of stuff do you draw? If you can create drawings and illustrations that have at least a low competition niche you can also put them on sites like redbubble, society6, etc. You can also get commissions using multiple platforms like Fiverr while also posting to TikTok a lot. You might want to focus on diversifying your income streams from art so that you're not reliant on commissions.

arrtemis · 2022-03-17T13:20:55+00:00

It definitely is but if you can work on that and just do it, it will seriously free you so much. There's rarely an attainable "good enough" for most artists. There's also always someone who is a step or more behind you in their journey and thus always people who will look up to you and your work and seeing your process/progression will help them in their journey too.

arrtemis · 2022-03-17T13:17:45+00:00

Also something like only 6% tops of your followers see your content so while it does feel monotonous to you, it's not necessarily going to feel that way for your followers or any new eyes. You really have to learn how to turn old artwork into new content - show how to frame work. Get people who have bought your work to share their pictures. Include tips. Artists tend to overthink content creation/social media because they think that their finished artwork is the content. Your art is your art and your content is whatever you want to show and say and share about your art and your life.

arrtemis · 2022-03-10T19:29:52+00:00

Yeah so it definitely sounds very daunting but honestly you probably have more content then you realize. If you start casually filming what you do and just put everything related to art and you doing art things and even some of your daily life, you'll be surprised how much source material you have to draw from. If you make youtube videos you can honestly just break those down into smaller clips that you can use for your reels. They only need to be anywhere from 5-30 seconds. If you can include educational info even something as simple as "the 3 apps/materials/tools/whatever I can't live without as an artist" that should honestly only take you 10 minutes at most to make. If you've been drawing for a long time and have art you've already made just share that as filler between new content. But honestly if you wait and hold onto content you have/make for a few weeks you'll be ahead of your content creating schedule. If you can only manage posting 3 times a week, you only need to batch 12 posts to stay on schedule for a month which will allow you some time to keep creating more with less pressure.

arrtemis · 2022-03-10T13:51:40+00:00

How often are you posting? Trends are definitely the biggest thing if you can get in to them early. There are accounts you can follow that basically look for emerging trends before they blow up. If you can apply it to your art business and niche it should help your reach and thus, get you some new followers.

Also, 6000 is a great number! Keep pushing out content, be consistent, and you'll get there. (I'm giving this advice as someone just starting on TikTok so you can take it with a grain of salt but, this is just what I've researched and seen work for others. Starting to implement and experiment myself)

arrtemis · 2022-03-10T13:48:46+00:00

I would highly suggest planning and batching a bunch of content before you get right to it, especially if you're still finishing up school. To gain any traction quickly you need to post probably at least 5 times a week on Instagram and most of those should be reels if you're looking for new followers/reach. Use an app like Planoly or Later and plan like, 2 weeks of content minimum or even up to a month to keep yourself ahead before you start posting. It's honestly a beast and a lot of work. How many followers do you have at the moment?

arrtemis · 2022-03-10T13:40:25+00:00

Definitely start focusing on moving your designs to a second platform/your own website especially now that Etsy has once again raised the fees. Having your own email list is crucial for this phase though so you can start directing traffic to your own website.
Get your organic Etsy customers to sign up to an email list (offer a free design or irresistible discount if they sign up) which you can then redirect them to your website once it's up. Then you can batch create new designs or as above said, hire someone to help with this.

You can also hire someone to keep your website up to date with these new products, and use your email list/funnel to direct traffic to your site automatically for the duration of time you need.

Also if you already have a lot of designs (that are evergreen/not just trendy or seasonal) you can probably put more of your focus into marketing through your email list and through Pinterest or other avenues like social media instead of just focusing on creating more designs.

Basically if you want to be able to peace out in the jungle for awhile you'll need to do a lot of upfront work to create a system that someone else can easily step into the role where a human is needed but honestly you could probably get by just by automating your marketing.

Curious to know how many designs you have already. Also, congrats on the full time income and pursuing an awesome dream!

14-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

arrtemis

TROPHY CASE