Mucha Rose silk scarf - the 3 days painting process

So here are some pictures I've taken during the painting of the 'Mucha Rose' silk scarf. This one is in Art Nouveau style, very complicated and it takes me 3 days to paint.

DAY ONE

This is only to make the lineart - the gutta outline.

 Doing the outline with gutta is the hardest step. Lots and lots of gutta goes into this Art Nouveau picture.

DAY TWO

 Painting begins! Adding the first layer of paints takes the whole day!

 After the gutta had dried, I painted the face. This is probably the most challenging part, and it has to be done just right.  Then comes painting hair :) How I love her hairstyle :)

The girl is ready, now come the flowers! It takes the whole day to paint the scarf with the base colors. 

DAY THREE

The silk paints are heat fixed and then the scarf goes for it's first wash :) Now the fun with the outline begins!

Painting the hair and eyes with deep brown is a delicate but rewarding work. I think the outline makes the picture come alive!

...and the 'Mucha Rose' silk scarf is finally ready!

As you can see this scarves is based on Alphonse Mucha art, I recreate his models with additional design to create a scarf. This is one of my favorites still really I feel more like a carpenter or as a student of great master when I paint it.

Peacock scarf - Day 1 of painting!

The Peacock scarf is one of my favorite, but it takes more than a day to paint! :)
Here's a sneak - peak on my creative process, Day 1. Enjoy!

Applying gutta - has to be precise! After washing, gutta leaves a white contour, I will paint the blue - gold lineart tomorrow.

 Painting blue feathers!

 .... lots and lots of blue feathers!

Here comes the golden - brown colors. Blues with gold makes my favorite color set!

 A lot of details! This literrally takes the whole day :) 

Yay, the painting is done for today! 

Stay tuned for the next entry: the colorful lineart!

Match the photo with the Website!

As I observed recently, the same photo can have different effect on the various Websites over Internet.

Selling on-line leaves us with no choice but to have great photos and promote!
.........promote!
................PROMOTE!

There are a lot of social media and galleries, that can be helpful, but the trouble is that the photo working miracles on Facebook won't work so good on ETSY or Deviantart.

How to match your item photos with your social media pages and galleries? 

Here's a few tips!

ETSY

There are 5 photos that can be used, and I am sure buyers look at all 5 :) But obviously, the first photo, that becomes your thumbnail, is the most important.
YES: The photos should be square or horizontal, with a neutral background (white, gray or delicate wood). The photo should be natural, without a watermark or your signature / icon.
NO: Compilation, photo manipulation, frames etc simply won't work.

My most popular ETSY item and photo, the 'Trees in Blue' silk scarf

DeviantArt

As I observed, my most popular pictures are the ones with a lot of details. Photo-manipulation works great! YES: DeviantArt is all about composition, colors and complicity.
NO: None of my close - ups or single item shots are as popular as my combined (GIMP edited) images.

 One of my most popular DeviantArt... but not on ETSY - the Pareo version of Trees in Blue.

Facebook

Facebook loves close - ups and details and add - ons like your avatar or signature on the picture... or even a quote from your positive ETSY feedback.
Oh, and a peek behind the curtains :) Show your workshop, your creative process, your sketches!
YES: Details or close - up, strong shading to be visible on your friends walls. Pictures while working.
NO: The picture itself should not be to big, because FB does not show the original size of the picture and small fonts may be unreadable.

Night Queen silk scarf while painting... worked well on FB but won't work on ETSY nor DeviantArt.

Let me know what are your experience! What do you think?

What about the Pinterest? 

What about a Blogpost? 

Peacock scarf and... how to pimp up your close up?

Peacock silk scarves with lighting effect - thank you Photogramio! 

Recently, I have found a fantastic webpage called Photogramio  for editing photos. It's user panel is very cool, try it! :) it looks like a old - fasioned photo studio and it add effect similar to Instagram.

I had a great time playing with it and now I wanted to share with you one of the photos of my ready-to-go Peacock scarf.

 Edited close-up of  Peacock scarves and the un-edited photo.

The picture was first re-sized in GIMP (from 350dpi to 72dpi which is a standard monitor resolution). Then the picture was brightened - up a little with contrast and brightness options.

The Photogramio was used to create the lighting lens effect. I like it as it makes the picture more umm... magical -I suppose - is the word I am looking for ;)

Please let me know what do you think! 

I am testing this edited picture now as a front photo for this ready to go silk scarves. I am very curious will it affect Peacock scarves popularity? 

Big scarf FLOWERS

Here's the very special silk scarf I've painted as a custom order for a wonderful couple from USA.

 Handpainted silk scarf FLOWERS on ETSY

The scarf became their bridal canopy! Oh, I feel so honored. The couple stated that the scarf will eventually become their heirloom :)

This silk scarf is big: approx. 203 x 61 cm (80x24 inch) and I had some fun placing it on my small desk (160 x 60cm) ;) This scarf has a stained - glass feel to it and it was achieved by double painting.

Firstly, I painted flowers and backgroud using silk paints and water based gutta outline. Then I fixed the paints, washed it and ... yes, painted again, this time with black just to make the contour. I really like the finished piece, but it was twice the work... hence the price.

I am going to use this double - painting technique more often, hopefully this spring when there will be more time for creating new designs... and a lot of inspiration from nature.
 For next few months there is an idea of bordered scarfs... but that's something for the next blog post ;)

Ohh, if you wish there are more pictures of this scarf on my Pinterest Board!

Good Photography for Etsy #2

Good pictures sell your products on Etsy

Yes, that is easy to say, but let's face it, we have limited resources while taking pictures. 

The camera (oh, why are they so expensive) the lighting (if I use the artificial light, colors won't be good) the location (oh such a small apartment)... and so on!

Silk scarf Hortensia the edited photo and the unedited version. 

On the right you can see a part of my bookshelf and how dark my apartment really is :O

What can we do to make the photos better? 

 Here's some good tips I've collected from Etsy Teams and various forums:

Use delicate, light background. 

Period. Your white wall is probably the safest option. 

Do not use your floor, it scares the customers off to see the item on the floor or in other unhygienic place! 

Do not use red or yellow or other strong colors as a background, they will change the perception of the item's colors.

A & D colors are the same. B & C are the same. Would you believe it? 

Use natural light 

So maybe a terrace or the balcony? Sometimes the window light is sufficient. If the camera is good, you can probably get more colors and make the picture brighter during computer editing... but beware, if the photo is dark, there could be some quality loss.

The Freesia silk scarf picture was too dark.

There is no way for me to make it more light without loosing quality and orange - coral colors. Meh, it was a dark, cloudy day :(

Take as many photos as you can

 

102 photos just to get 5 good for this Hortensia scarf on ETSY

It's easier to find a good photo in 200 than in 20 ;) 

I must confess there are times when I just don't feel like taking pictures and I am doing it without thinking. That's not so good neither. There can be 200 bad pictures, so put your work into it! Take a good aim! Take close-ups and shots for the entire item. Try something new!

***

The basic for Etsy photography are quite straightforward, I think. Well, the picture editing part is something REALLY interesting :) please stay tunned for my next blog post!

Kimono inspired silk scarf FREESIA

New silk scarf - Freesia - this time inspired by Japanese art of Kimono painting.

Handpainted silk scarf Freesia on Etsy

This scarf is something new for me as I am under an influence of... 'Shogun' by James Clavell. I looked into Kimono desings and was swept off my feet! Again, Japanese art, style and perfection made me speechless.

This orange & white scarf is decorated with Freesia flowers and bordered with coral - orange outline. I was pleasantly surprised how beautifully the silk works with a dark border - the draping of the silk is much more visible.
I am going to explore this Kimono inspired idea for a scarf design some more this winter. I'd love to make a series of different colors and flowers... and I think the next one will be hollyhocks!