September 26, 2004
faq
1. Do you mind me posting your work on my website?
Not at all. Just as long as it’s properly credited, unaltered (yes, you can alter the size to fit your site, no worries) and links back to gapingvoid. Check my Creative Commons License for more info. Also, I’d rather you make a copy of the images and host them on your own server rather than “stealing” my bandwidth. But if you can’t do that for whatever reason, then go ahead and “hotlink”. I’m not too fussy about it, to be honest. If you want your stuff to be read, then you have to make allowances etc.
2. I really want a certain image on a blogcard. Could you make it for me?
Sorry, no. Blogcards don’t make enough money for individual commissions. In fact, I make no money from them. Everything is ploughed right back into paying for bandwidth. I just publish them mostly for the fun of it. That being said, I plan to be adding new designs to the stable, so if you have a favorite one, feel free to drop me an e-mail.
3. Are all your drawings drawn on the back of business cards?
Yes and no. I draw some of them on other people’s printed cards, but mostly I draw on blank pieces of high quality bristol board, cut to business card size. This goes back to the early days when instead of handing out my company’s business cards, I would just make a wee doodle on a blank card with my contact details on the back. People remebered it more, somehow. So blank cards have always been “business cards” to me. Depends how you want to define it.
4. Are you a full time cartoonist?
No. It’s just a hobby.
5. Are you married?
No. Very single at the moment. Never been married. No kids to my knowledge, either.
6. What’s your day job?
I’m a “blogvertising” consultant.
7. I’m new to gapingvoid. What should I check out first?
This is what I generally point people to:
The About Page: History of the cartoon-bizcard format, plus a list of my dozen or so sentimental favorite cartoons, with the story of how each one came into being.
The Hughtrain: “The market for something to believe in is infinite.” A rant about the new realities of marketing.
How To Be Creative: Tips that have worked for me over the years. The book proposal is here.
The Sex & Cash Theory: “The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.”
Old Site: Before I got into this whole blogging thing, I posted about 400 drawings on an old-fashioned website. Worth checking out.
7. What do you look like?
Some wonderfully unflattering pics of me are here.
You can do merchandising with very little effort at CafePress.com
Hey, silly idea, but I’d be glad to mangle your merchandising efforts for you. Now, I think in terms of love for the product and all, I’ve got it. I mean I like the website and the cartoons, but it’s not just that. I love cool t-shirts and biting humor, and I’m going to start to make some of my own designs specifically for t-shirts and things in a few weeks. The beauty of this idea is that I’m in China right now, so I can find places to get many t-shirts made cheaply. I can afford to finance this on a scale large enough to maybe takr it somewhere. I’d love it if I could put some of your designs on them, and I’d love a chance to merchandise and market something I like and respect (sucker points!). If you’re interested at all, email me.
quick plug
I just want to give a quick plug to a great blog site that I read often. The man who blogs is a marketing type that has kind of a cult following. He is known for doing little sketches/cartoons on…