I am barely functioning in your absence.

Shhh!

Yes, we are friends and I think Shawn is amazing. I met him at Everlasting Tattoo in San Francisco where I've gotten much of my work done by Mike Davis. Shawn photographed our session and then did the portrait which is the Cho Dependent album cover: http://www.margaretcho.com/chodependent/

I love his work both as a painter and as a tattooer and he's incredibly talented and also a really fun person. I am lucky to have been able to get my portrait done by such a revolutionary artist.

SIN FOR THE WIN!

Currently, I'm trying to get the eff away from Bludomain, but that's who I'm currently using. At one point, I might've recommended them a few months ago, but they're terrible and they have an F rating with the BBB.

Lately, I've been working with my new secret weapon Dameian (he is awesome and wonderful) - http://www.wpoutfitters.com - and he's told me that basically, Flash sites kill your SEO potential. I can't speak for any of these sites, but this is what I could find for non-flash sites.

http://foliowebsites.com/

http://www.cargocollective.com

http://html5gallery.com/

http://www.bigblackbag.com/online_portfolio_samples.asp


Annnddd some Flash templates, just in case ;)

http://intothedarkroom.com/products/publish/photography-website-templates/

http://www.clickbooq.com/gallery.html

http://bigfolio.com/websites/photography-website-designs/

http://www.creativemotiondesign.com/elite-website-designs.html#

http://www.qufoto.com/examples

http://sites.livebooks.com/site-chooser/

And I've heard great things about these because they're sooo customizable:

http://photobiz.com/webtemplates.cfm

XD Oh jeeze. I don't think I'm any authority on how to draw (I think I'm just decent), but I do have some advice:

1. Draw from life. Do tons of sketches of the actual human body. Study it. Understand how it works. Understand the muscles and bones underneath the skin that create the visible forms above it. This is something I need to do myself. I've never actually sat down and done studies like this and I know it would be really beneficial to me.

2. Copy other artists' work. That doesn't mean you should trace someone's work, sign your name and upload it to deviantart claiming it's yours. What I mean is, if you like the way a certain artist draws something, do studies from their artwork. Copy the way they draw the face, maybe start off by tracing it, then try drawing it that way on your own. Eventually see if you can draw it that way without referencing the original artwork. By studying how other artists have solved the problems you're having it can help you better understand how to do it yourself. And if you like the way one artist draws a nose, and the way another artist draws eyes, there's nothing wrong with incorporating that into your own style. I've borrowed things from many different artists to create my own style.

"Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing." - Salvador Dali