It’s 2012! I hope you had a great 2011. This is the time of year when I review my goals from last year and see how I did. Here we go…

Earn $3000 in a month with my stock art/passive income.
Well, this one kind of got squashed. I ended up leaving some good paying agencies like iStock, Fotolia and Vectorstock because I have been trying to focus on and support the better paying agencies. My income took a hit because of that, so I failed on this one.

Make $500 in a month at myStockVectors.com.
I was close on this one, but never achieved it. My traffic has been growing lately, so hopefully it will translate into sales.

Increase my freelance earnings by 15%.
Hmm… I guess I forgot this one was on here. I didn’t see a huge surge in freelance work. I may have to adjust my prices if I’m going to make this one happen.

Learn and submit 3D illustration files.
I worked on this one, but didn’t get very far. It was a little more work than I wanted to put into it to learn the programs. I may revisit it at some point, but there’s not much time left after freelance work and stock image work gets done.

Get to 4000 stock art files.
OK. I did this one. So, I’m not a complete failure. I had 4300 images at the end of the year.

Well, that wasn’t a very good job with my goals. Oh well, let’s get on with the new goals (some of them are the same as the old ones):

Double my stock portfolio (8000 images).

Increase freelance earnings by 15%.

Make $500 in a month at myStockVectors.com.

There they are! My new goals for 2012 are ready. Barring any end of the world shenanigans, I hope to work hard to accomplish them.

Happy 2011! It’s a new year, so it is time for new resolutions. I posted my 2010 resolutions here. I thought I’d review how I did on those goals and make new ones for 2011. Here’s how 2010′s goals went:

Earn $3000 in a month with my stock art/passive income.
I was hoping to continue my amazing growth from 2009 into 2010, but it didn’t happen. Things slowed down for me in 2010, and I fell short of this goal. My best month was around $2900, so I wasn’t really that far off. Also, I didn’t count all the money I got from Veer’s “Dash for Cash” which would have pushed me well over this goal. I guess this one will go back on the list for 2011. Failed (Barely)!

Get some Flash files online for sale.
I was looking to expand my stock offerings with Flash files this year. Unfortunately with iStock’s announcement about royalty changes, I decided to shelve this goal. There aren’t that many places to sell Flash, so I didn’t see the point in working on this. Failed (Abandoned)!

Equal or exceed my income from before I quit my 9 to 5 job.
This was probably my most important goal. It was on my 2008, 2009 and 2010 resolutions list, but no longer. I accomplished it, so I can finally check it off my list. Success!

One out of three isn’t too good, so I should probably create some easier goals. Or, I need to work harder. Here are my resolutions for 2011:

Earn $3000 in a month with my stock art/passive income.

Make $500 in a month at myStockVectors.com.

Increase my freelance earnings by 15%.

Learn and submit 3D illustration files.

Get to 4000 stock art files.

OK, so that is a lot. I guess I just have more goals to fail (I mean accomplish) in 2011.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2011 Cory Thoman.

It’s a new year, so it is time for new resolutions. I posted my 2009 resolutions here. I thought I’d review how I did on those goals and make new ones for 2010. Here’s how 2009′s goals went:

Finish off the 1000 stock images goal from 2008.
This was a pretty low bar goal, since I finished most of it in 2008. I completed it early in the year, and actually topped 2000 images online. So, I guess I crushed this goal. Accomplished!

Increase my passive income by 50%.
My passive income from stock art and other things was about $12000 in 2008. In 2009, it was about $18000, so I guess I squeaked by on this one. I was really happy with the progress I made on my stock portfolio. Accomplished!

Equal or exceed my income from before I quit my 9 to 5 job.
This goal was on my 2008 and 2009 resolutions list. I guess it is going to be on my 2010 list as well, since I didn’t make it. Every year it looks like it is going to happen, but I fall short. Failed!

Two out of three is pretty good. It’s better than I did last year when I accomplished only one. Here are my resolutions for 2010:

Earn $3000 in a month with my stock art/passive income.

Get some Flash files online for sale.

and of course…

Equal or exceed my income from before I quit my 9 to 5 job.

Well, that’s it. Maybe, I’ll do them all this year. Feel free to post your resolutions below.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2010 Cory Thoman.

A comment appeared in my spam filter recently. It turns out it wasn’t spam and had a link to some useful information about freelancing. So, I pulled it out of the fire or gave it a stay of execution. OK…so, I just clicked a little button that said Not Spam, but you get the point.

Anyway, it is a blog post by Peter Beach, a 25 year plus veteran in illustration. He writes 18 great tips that every freelancer should check out. It is a pretty long read, but I really liked this article. He gives a lot of specific advice and links to sites that helped him get work. Here’s the link and hopefully he’ll write some more.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2009 Cory Thoman.

Last year, I wrote down a few New Year’s resolutions for 2008 here. I went back to review how I did.

Equal my income from before I quit my 9 to 5 job.
I was on track for this most of the year. Things slowed down a little in the summer, but I still seemed to be on target to achieve my goal. Then, business completed died in August and September. In the end, I missed my goal, but I only fell a couple of thousand dollars short. It was also my best year as a freelancer, so it is hard to complain too much.

Get 1000 stock art images uploaded.
I didn’t think I was going to make this goal when I wrote it down. And I was right, but it wasn’t for the reason I thought. The reason I didn’t make this goal was that I stopped uploading stock images for several months. I wanted to work on other things in my free time (like this blog). I started uploading again in the fall when I didn’t have any work and got a ton of illustrations done. At the end of the year, I had about 830 illustrations online. I came somewhat close considering I’d abandoned this goal for several months.

Have 100 posts on this blog.
At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t sure if I had a 100 ideas for blog posts. Well, I guess I did because I ended up with 132 blog posts, about 200 comments and lots and lots of spam. I’d like to thank everyone for reading and posting your thoughts (Except for the spammers! Seriously, I don’t want or need your magical pills!).

One out of three resolutions accomplished. I guess I didn’t even meet the Meatloaf standard of “two out of three ain’t bad”. Oh well, it is a new year, so I guess I need new goals. Here are my resolutions for 2009:

Finish off the 1000 stock images goal from last year.
Equal or exceed my income from before I quit my 9 to 5 job.
Increase my passive income by 50%. (I’d love to double it, but I’m just not sure I know how.)

Well, that’s it. Hopefully, I can accomplish more than one goal this year. Feel free to post your resolutions below.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2009 Cory Thoman.

Promotion is the key to success as a freelancer. The 2009 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market is a good place to start. It has lists and information about art directors for magazines, books and more.

You can also check out the 2009 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market. It focuses on the children’s book market.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2008 Cory Thoman.

Whether you’ve written a children’s book or have the masterful illustrations to go in a book, you need to get your creations out there to be discovered. The 2009 Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market can help you get your work seen by publishers. It has a list of publishers to send your manuscripts or artwork to.

Not a children’s illustrator? The new 2009 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market comes out in October and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2008 Cory Thoman.

Here are a few tips that I’ve learned while being a freelancer. Hopefully, they’ll help you make a little bit extra.

Keep Looking for Work
I know this seems obvious, but it’s easy to overlook. When I first started freelancing, I relied too heavily on a single client or a single job. This always led to downtime in between jobs. My strategy now is to look for next week’s work this week. This strategy may take time to get rolling, but it helps keep the jobs constantly flowing in.

Take on Jobs that You’re Good At
Sometimes it’s nice to challenge myself with something new, but for the most part I’m on the look out for jobs that are easy for me. It makes it simpler to quote a price, and you know you can complete them with very little stress or problems. As an artist, I always try to play to my strengths on paying gigs and work on my weaknesses in my free time.

Sound Billing Practices
Another freelancer once told me, “It’s all about the invoice”. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the artistic side of things, but remember you’re doing the job to get paid. Try to stay consistent and be professional with your billing, record keeping and prices. Clients are only human. They’ll forget to pay a bill or misplace your project quote, so be organized and send out reminders. Set up business practices that make sure you get paid. I usually like to get half upfront and get the final balance before I send out the print ready artwork.

Experiment with New Ways to Find Work
The industry doesn’t stand still, so neither should you. Go out and read magazines, forums and blogs to see what other artists are doing to get work. Take their suggestions and see if they’ll work for you. I’ve tried sending out postcard mailers and have never gotten great results. But, I still like to experiment every so often with a new mailer. I’ve tried a few of the freelancer job sites out there. Some have worked and some haven’t. My point is that things change. Maybe, your artwork gets better, your website is more professional or your style is suddenly trendy. What didn’t work for you in the past may be successful for you in the future.

Create Additional Revenue Sources
There are only so many hours in the day to work. Let your artwork work for you. Sell stock art, sell prints or get royalties from an illustrated book. Whatever your plan is, experimenting with a good way to get passive or residual income can really help fortify your annual salary. Companies like iStockphoto have really made it easy to jump into the world of stock art. I know it has worked out well for me.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2008 Cory Thoman.

As an artist, I’m always drawing. Sometimes, it is for a freelance job, and other times, it is just to experiment. There is no shortcut to getting better. You just have to get your pencil, paint brush or mouse out and create. I’m not sure if it matters what you draw. Just as long as you are practicing. That being said, I’ve compiled a list of fun places to go and put your artistic talent to work.

Illustration Friday is a great place to go for a weekly illustration theme. Your idea for the theme can be as bizarre as you want. Just post a link to your image.

Speaking of bizarre, The Big Beautiful Wonder Woman Blog showcases art of DC comic’s favorite Amazonian in a plus size form. Why? I’m not sure, but head over there and add your rendition.

Finally, Throwback Thursdays takes their obsession with Saturday morning cartoons to new heights by reenvisioning the characters in fun and imaginative ways.

So, get your pencil out there and start drawing. Feel free to share your favorite place on the web to unleash your creative juices.

As a freelancer, you are responsible for how much you get paid. That being said, you have to realize that clients have certain expectations of what your services will cost. It’s a trial and error to get that balance of price that both you and your clients find fair. So, you are set once you find that ideal rate, right? Well, not exactly. Eventually, you’re going to want or need a raise. So, how do you know when to raise your prices?

One indicator you can use is simple supply and demand. If you are consistently busy, then it might not hurt to raise your prices. You may lose some of your clients, but the ones that stay will be at a higher rate. As long as your raise isn’t outrageous, most of your clients will stay. Most clients like to work with someone that they are familiar with and that they can trust to get the job done.

Another way to determine if you need a raise is to look at your financial records over a few years. Hourly rates and flat fees are deceptive because they don’t account for slow times, busy times and the occasional vacation. Looking at your income over several years can show you what you are averaging during the ups and downs. Is that the income you want or need? Remember, illustration is a business. Like any business it is supposed to be profitable. How much would you have to increase your prices to achieve the higher income that you’re looking for and will clients pay that new rate?

In the end, it’s up to you to decide whether it is a good idea to increase your prices. You’re the boss and nobody knows your business better than you. If you do decide to give yourself a raise, remember to be firm with the new prices and to inform your clients beforehand.

This post was written on IllustrationInfo.com. Content copyright 2008 Cory Thoman.