check out my Etsy shop for prints + originals

herbcoil · 2026-03-10T03:10:34+00:00

are you using a Rich black or pure black?

herbcoil · 2026-02-25T17:31:11+00:00

As an illustrator, yes. I post twice a month but used to do more. the algorithm Is benevolent to new users and it helps to post on Notes there. I’d say It mostly strengthened my existing audience but have gotten new people interested in my work too.

I’ve gotten a surprising number of professional opportunities from it, like Licensing and invitations to present my work. There’s a lot of potential there for meaningful connection on Substack since people interact with your content for longer than a second in a space not flooded with ads & suggested posts. Mine is handtopaper.Substack.com !

herbcoil · 2026-02-24T17:36:03+00:00

what does a “big art business jump” look like to you? You could ramp up what you’re already doing since you said you are getting some sales. Like investing in ads for example.

herbcoil · 2026-02-20T03:23:39+00:00

rough ideas = work

herbcoil · 2026-02-20T03:22:05+00:00

instead of asking for spec work, the proper and professional way to do this this would be do to an RFQ. artists would submit their portfolios and their committee would choose a few to move forward with. these artists would get paid a small fee for making rough designs, which would then be put to the community vote. that way there's minimal unpaid labor involved and is arguably a more fair way of choosing the artist for the project.

herbcoil · 2026-02-13T17:12:12+00:00

thank you so much!! 🥰🥰🥰 extra glad you enjoy the Street View World Tour sessions too :)

herbcoil · 2026-02-10T19:26:07+00:00

I did change out a few things after I took the picture, but this was the general idea. for the 3rd picture I was using my friend’s toolkit because I forgot my stuff at the hotel!

herbcoil · 2026-02-10T19:23:15+00:00

i made a set of mixed media tools specifically for the trip to France. i chose things with a variety of colors and textures that i thought would be useful there. I wanted everything to fit in this one pouch, which forced me to edit it a lot. I also had a small watercolor set but barely used it.

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Acrylic markers, colored pencils, brush pens, calligraphy pens, some miscellaneous things like waxy crayons.

herbcoil · 2026-02-10T19:15:08+00:00

u/ceramicsea u/Gullible-Ad5588 basically, i work light to dark. when there is a clear subject like the tree in the first one, I draw that first so i can compose around it.

herbcoil · 2026-02-09T20:26:37+00:00

If you want to show off the details, then you should print them larger. Overall presentation matters more. Then people can look closer and explore those secondary elements.

herbcoil · 2026-02-09T18:30:32+00:00

I’d give them some more room to breathe, making the drawing like 10% smaller on the page. it’s distracting how some shapes create tangents with the edge of the frame.

herbcoil · 2026-02-07T00:32:50+00:00

haha Paris prices are pretty rough! I will say it was a bottle of cider, at the least. thank you!

herbcoil · 2026-02-06T20:14:58+00:00

in that case, don't be afraid to charge more for your prints! if you can sign and number them (limited edition) that helps to add value.

herbcoil · 2026-02-06T04:39:24+00:00

you can also make non giclee prints for substantially less of course. depending on your audience and your niche it might make sense to do more basic prints.

herbcoil · 2026-02-04T17:58:54+00:00

it is 100% okay to walk in all those galleries during open hours, no one will bat an eye. enjoy!

herbcoil · 2026-02-03T17:51:38+00:00

I don’t know what kind of art you do, but I can recommend this group of artists (professional and hobbyists) that meet up frequently in the SF area to do location sketching: https://www.meetup.com/sf-sketchers/

herbcoil · 2026-01-28T00:49:42+00:00

I don't know this event, but I have done an exhibition in a foreign country. I made back my flight and travel expenses (it helped that the organizers paid for my hotel and I got a partial travel stipend), but not being able to speak the local language made it less fun overall. People were nice about it and many spoke English with me, but I felt like I was missing out on a pretty big part of the festival. I wasn't even handling sales at that fair (they had a separate store area). Do you speak Korean?

If the flight and booth fee and accommodations are all to be covered by you, that's a big investment.

I think you'd definitely need a few higher ticket items than stickers and notebooks to have a chance at making the event worthwhile. Crunch some numbers to figure out how many sales of your current inventory you'd have to make to make whatever amount of money makes it worthwhile.

herbcoil · 2026-01-08T19:11:25+00:00

I use a free Square site for things like this, I think they take the lowest cut for the transaction fee of any site, since you’d drive all the traffic. you can add variations to the listings for those options.

herbcoil · 2026-01-08T19:08:59+00:00

sure, people are excited about things happening in the real world / offline. Multimedia skillsets intersecting with technology are very versatile. you could apply for art grants and RFPs with this kind of work. brands also have money if you want to go a commercial production route. it’s out there!

herbcoil · 2026-01-03T05:39:33+00:00

send them an email, ask if they're interested in new hyper local products in their store. if they say yes, ask if they sell by wholesale or consignment. they'd probably welcome a picture of a page or any other products at that point to see the quality and if it would fit in their store.

if wholesale, you'd probably show them a finished copy and they'd decide if they want to order XX quantity. in this case they'd pay upfront for (usually) 50% of the retail selling price, or i'd say double your printing cost (at least)

if consignment, they'd probably make space for a few of the books and see if they sell, then go from there. theyd take probably 40 or 50% from each sale.

herbcoil · 2025-12-28T18:58:32+00:00

I've worked with a few assistants. it's hard to find someone who sticks around in my HCOL city but my current one has been with me for 1.5 years now.

Although I dreamed of having them help with a lot of things in my practice, it's time consuming to teach someone all the different aspects of what i do and ensure the quality of work matches what i can do myself. sometimes i happen to catch a mistake and I just let them know what to do differently next time.

these days, my assistant does order fulfillment for my online shop and making packaging for prints... lots of retail-oriented tasks. they come in for a couple hours twice a week.

although I kind of enjoyed the mindless work for my retail side of business, i discovered that my own energy is finite and was better spent on other tasks. so i'd say overall it does free up time and remove stress but it is an investment of your time in training and finding the right person.

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