I’m a tab collector. As of this minute I have twenty-seven tabs open in Google Chrome (including this one). They range from Kickstarter campaigns to Art Show info for various conventions. Some of these tabs have been open for more than week because they need somewhat immediate attention and I don’t want them to get lost in my bookmarks. Others I will bookmark for later. I have a lot of bookmarks, more like a museum worth. I imagine I’m not the only creative person with a bookmarks folder like this one–folders within folders.
Yeah. I might have a problem. At least it’s organized (for the most part). I thought I’d share some of my most valuable bookmarks in an on going (no where near regular) blog series. For this first post I’m going to share one of my smaller folders.
Informative Blogs
I don’t follow a lot of Art or Fantasy/SciFi Illustration blogs. If I followed all of them I’d spend all my time reading blogs instead of painting. Some of these I’m subscribed to and others I rely on either myself to check them or Facebook to let me know there’s new content. Two of the sites I have bookmarked are open in my browser tabs right now.
The ArtOrder – Jon Schindehette’s fab website. “ArtOrder is a community of artists dedicated to the education and mentoring of the art community.”
His blog posts cover creativity, portfolio tips, business guides for artists, illustration goodies and more. He also conducts challenges/contests. That’s how my little phoenix painting ended up at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live this year.
One Fantastic Week – A weekly web show hosted by Sam Flegal and Pete Morhbacher.
Most weeks they have a guest artist that joins them in talking about fantasy illustration, conventions, marketing, and of course, their week. I’ve been catching up on the previous episodes and learning a ton! I’ve also started blocking out one hour on Tuesday mornings to watch the show live.
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The other websites in that folder are just as information, but I’m going to leave that up to you to discover.
Muddy Colors – There’s an incredible Game of Thrones painting in today’s post.
Kelley McMorris – Kelley’s blog has supplied me with many excellent convention tips.
Gurney Journey – Doesn’t this need an explanation? It’s James Gurney’s blog. The creator of Dinotopia!
PACT – Professional Artist Client Tookit. This is a subscription site, but they do have free articles you can read.
CtrlPaint.com – I’ve mentioned this site in the past because of the amazing video library, but the blog is a great too!
Kiri Østergaard Leonard – If I was a better blogger my own blog would look more like Kiri’s. I’ve gleamed some valuable information from her posts.
As I mentioned, I can’t read all the blogs. But I do sometimes wonder, am I missing out? Is there a blog I should add to this folder? If you know of one, share it in the comments!
Very interesting post, Amanda. I’m ashamed of how huge I’ve let my bookmarks and favorites get. Out of control. I always mean to organize it better, but just never got around to it. Me bad. Maybe I’ll be inspired by this to organize it better.
Annie, I have to go through mine periodically to reorganize and delete. It’s easy to let them get out of control!
Some great links! I’d also recommend a visit to these if you get the chance:
— Lines and Colors: http://linesandcolors.com
— Temple of the Seven Golden Camels: http://sevencamels.blogspot.com
— Character Design / Artist Interviews: http://characterdesign.blogspot.com
— Illustration Art: http://www.illustrationart.blogspot.com
— Today’s Inspiration: http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.com
Tanja, thank you!! These are wonderful. I’m going to peruse them while I drink my coffee this morning. 🙂