Attention! marcelavargas.net is up

Attention! - new website
digital painting on Android

Yes, it has been up for over a month now, but if you haven't check it out, please do so.
Thanks, beautiful people!

visit marcelavargas.net to see my work

Take a Risk! - Piranhas

Promo - Take a Risk! - Piranhas
digital painting

I've created this piece as a promotional postcard and had it printed by the glorious people at MOO. If you haven't heard of MOO, you are missing some! They print, and print good! Their quality is nothing short of excellent, their service is fast and reliable, they offer a variety of neat products plus they are super friendly. Rad! Go, check them out, I'm sure you will love them!
And now, to mail the postcards. Wish me luck!

visit www.littlemissmachete.ca to see my work

ProSite - my review, just saying

ProSite - product/service review
just saying

Today, I would like to share with you my experience with one of Behance products, ProSite. Please note that these comments are solemnly based on my own experience and my own opinion.

IN SHORT
I love it and completely recommend it. It is an easy, stress-free way to have a professional looking portfolio without worrying about coding. All for $11/month, and if you ask me, that's money well spent! 

IN LONG
I started thinking about using a portfolio-based service for having my website to make my life easier. In the past, I had coded my own website and it'd always been a lengthy process (and some times frustrating, I must add.) Especially since I am not web designer and every time I wanted to redo my website I had to re-acquaintance myself with HTML, CSS and the like. My website was in serious need of an update and time wasn't on my side. After looking to different options I chose the somehow new Behance product: Prosite.

If you are not familiar with Behance, it is an online platform for creative professionals that I highly recommend you join. It is a nice and progressive creative community that could be of advantage for your career. Within their range of products and services you will find ProSite, "a revolutionary new way to build, host, and manage your personal portfolio website." (taken from Behance.com) And indeed it is revolutionary since it offers an easy way not only to create your website, but to manage it and keep it  up to date with your latest work. It synchronizes with your Behance Network account, which means every time you create a new project, you can make it part of your portfolio right away. And that guaranties having a portfolio as current as it could be. With the possibility of having your own domain and a user-friendly interface, you can customized your website to look professional without loosing your personal style. It will be a reflection of who you are and the type of work you produce.

THE BUTS
Like most things in life, there have to be the "buts". In this case, I found two.
1. At the time I joined, they did not offer the possibility of having a personalized email account matching your domain. That made me stay with my old and good hosting provider, ehosting.ca and a package that gives me my beloved @littlemissmachete.ca email accounts. Then, I just linked my domain with my ProSite and voilà! 
2. Although they have the great advantage of Google Analytics, I wanted to add the counter service, Statcounter, I have been using for years. Unfortunately, that's not possible yet. However, I have to say that I contacted ProSite regarding this issue and they promptly responded. Thumbs up for customer service!

TO MAKE IT EASIER
If you are thinking of revamping your portfolio website I recommend you think ProSite. I did it, and I am very pleased with the results, judge for yourself: littlemissmachete.ca 


______

Websites mentioned:
Behance Network: www.Behance.com
Prosite: Prosite.com
ehosting: ehosting.ca
StatCounter: Statcounter.com
 

visit www.littlemissmachete.ca to see my work

New website is up!

News - Up and updated!
website

Long overdue but it's finally here! My new website is up and running. I've decided to try Behance new Prosite and I really like it. I'll be posting about it in my next post, but meanwhile, go, check out my new site! Don't be shy and leave me your comments here about it.

visit www.littlemissmachete.ca to see my work

New Website is up!

Screenshot - new website

I've been working on my new site on and off for the past week. It is always a learning proces, but exciting! Specially when is up and running!
This time around is all about green. I opted for a front page to welcome the visitor and I created galleries to differentiate my work. That's the reason why it might take a bit longer to load. But it's worth it! ;o)

Here is the link: http://www.littlemissmachete.ca/
Hope you like it!

My Quest to get an Art Rep - II

gathering info
digital painting

As I said before, my quest is guided by the Escapee from EFII. Keeping that in mind, I have narrowed my focus, and good thing I did! Just googling "art rep" gave me over 29 million possibilities. I know just a few of those are viable possibilities, but still, 29 million is a BIG number if you ask me. So I'm going for reps focusing on children's books/magazines illustrations. And that gave me a start.

Reaching for my primitive side.
Deep in my genetic memory I'm sure there is something about gathering, because that's the next thing I'm doing: Gathering information (hence the illustration). Tons of it!
I'm not looking into details, admiring portfolios, recognizing names, I'm just gathering, period!

I will be back here, posting my progress and, hopefully, a first run of candidates... Hmm, that sounded political. Now I'm just hoping I don't end up with a winner that will behave like a politician (no offense): Too much talk and little action ;o)

See you soon!

My Quest to get an Art Rep

sketch - huh?
photoshop

After some consideration, I've decided to start looking for an art rep. Getting work, making contacts, following up, networking, contracts, etc. requires time. It is a business after all, and right now I have no such time. I am going to let the knowledgeable help me out. Now, getting an art rep is not a matter of looking up one on the yellow pages, so I'm calling it a quest.

Where to start? Getting informed! and my timing cannot have been better. The Escapee from Escape from Illustration Island is yet again, right there, sharing his wisdom.

Wish me luck!

Twitter - I gave in!
My twitter bird

Well, at the beginning I wasn't sure it was a good thing: too much information leads to desinformation, sharing too much, privacy, blah, blah. But then, being as curious as I can possibly be, I found myself looking for my favourite people on twitter and checking their updates. It seemed fun, so why not join? And I did. And so far, so good! I've discovered great and talented people, sites, information going around... I think it's a good asset for anyone wanting to inform, get informed, promote, network and share!!! Ideas, links, comments, good vibes... share the love!

Curiosity led to action that now leads to promotion. I'm liking it! and I invite you to give it a try, follow me if you are already there or simply check it out. I think it's a good tool to promote your work, connect to like-minded people and share some good vibes your way.

This birdie is going to my side bar and let's twitter!