| Archive - October 2006 How much did Dale's 1st Tablet PC system cost?Posted Oct-31-06 06:24:59 PST Updated Oct-31-06 06:25:42 PST Basically, you can get a good Tablet PC in the $1400.oo range, but of course,
there's more to it than that. You want to read customer reviews & shop on
Amazon & DealCatcher (AKA: PriceGrabber). This is generally the only way to shop for a Tablet since it's rather impossible to find anywhere to try one out. My convertible Tablet PC is a factory re-furbished 2004 Toshiba. I hope to get a new one soon mainly because it makes me a little nervous to have only one. Whatever you buy, keep it
under warranty (pay to renew a service protection plan) and get it covered for
theft & accidental damage (not part of the standard warranty). A Tablet PC
is not a notebook & separate tablet system. The tablet is built into the
entire screen and the tablet feature is always active. It comes with a stylus,
of course. Take care of it. Replacement styluses are pricey. I use the Canon
ip90 portable battery powered 8.5" x 11" photo printer (about $250.oo). The
battery system & bluetooth wireless kit are separate purchases. There may
be one or two other brands of comparable printers. I don't know more than that
about that question. I don't normally use a camera. I waited several months
before I had the bucks & courage to buy a projector. I got an Acer for maybe
$800.oo. I shopped around for that the same way I did for the PC. A year later I
bought a $70.oo portable screen. Maxing out the Ram, buying extra PC &
printer batteries and software (get cheap, legal software on ebay) adds up to
several hundred dollars more at least. The software I'm using to draw caricatures at parties is Alias Sketchbook Pro. Fortunately, all my serious breakdowns (5
not counting the death of my Canon ip70) occurred between jobs in the first 9
months and were repaired under warranty before I missed any paid gigs. Don't use
any recycled, generic or 2nd party inks, they'll kill your printer. That's why
I'm on my 2nd printer. It should last me a lot longer since I learned my lesson.
I use 8.5" x 11" glossy photo paper (shop around for that any way you can think
of to cut costs but try each brand in a small purchase before you stock up or
you'll get stuck with a lot of paper that jams your printer or offends your
tastes), it really represents the party caricature images most accurately. Even if you like
matte, bond or plain paper, I don't recommend it for this. You should be able to
figure out how often you'll need to replace paper. The color ink on my printer
needs replacing an average of once/party, even if I'm not drawing in color.
There seems to be no way the software or printer I'm using will print black
without adding color ink to it. Black ink seems to need replacing less often.
Before you ever decide to buy any printer, shop around to see what it's ink will
cost you & compare with other options. Ultimately, my operating costs are
probably about $10 or $20 more/week for paper & ink, but it's worth it
unless you love the way you already do things. I didn't. The projector bulb is
supposed to last a few years given the amount of use it's getting & a
replacement is more than $300.oo I think. I have one in stock just in case. I'm
not carrying much more junk than I used to. I actually raised my advertised
prices for felt marker drawings $20.oo/hr. because I hate markers & had
enough of them after 17 years. The options I offer my clients range in price
from $115.oo to 185.oo/hr. For details, visit my website. The average I end up
making at trade shows & parties is $150.oo/hr, so if any of our colleagues accuse me of cutting their
throats, they can kiss my @$$ & go to #&%%.
One more thing: Why am I using a PC instead of an Apple? For 15 years I was
a die hard Apple using Windows hater. Still, Apple makes no tablet PCs (yet)
& Windows is not as bad as it used to be.
If you enjoy the way you work, don't change it. I went digital because I
hate markers & love my PC. It's not faster or easier, just better, but only
if you like working this way. A lot of people wouldn't. I believe that's the
best & most honest run down I can give on this subject. If you try this but
don't follow my advice to the letter, it'll waste you a fortune.
Finally, whatever you do as an artist, do not fail to join & maintain
an active membership in the Graphic Artists Guild. There is no more important
thing you can ever do for your career. Tell them I sent you. That won't help
you, I just want them to know I sent you. Caricatures from photos & illustrationsPosted Oct-30-06 08:31:10 PST Updated Nov-08-06 14:24:58 PST Would you be able to draw a caricature if I mailed you a picture of someone to you? I want to reproduce it on invitations to invite people to a party. What would you charge for this & how many pics will you need? A) What I charge for this depends on a few things; -1) How soon can you send the photos & how soon do you need this done? (How soon does your printer need my art to meet your deadline?) -2) I get the impression you've seen www.dalegladstone.com? What samples were like what you want? For instance, work like the samples on the page w/Jack Nicholson are more expensive than work like the samples on the page w/Elvis. Please send me your fax # with your selection. I'd like to send you an invoice so you can send a deposit with the photos. It's best to send as many photos as possible because it's better to let me judge which images will best help me render a good likeness. Please put in writing any details I must include in the art. Also put in writing anything I must not include. The reason for this instruction is best explained by the following story: Once I was asked to do a marker drawing of a man at his desk. No instructions were given regarding his attire, so I drew him in a jacket & tie. When the client saw this, they said, "Oh no, he musn't be dressed that way, no jacket & tie..." With a marker drawing, the only way to fix this would be to put him in a black turtleneck or do the whole drawing over again. They didn't want a black turtleneck. They finally understood why I had to charge them for 2 drawings to give them what they wanted, but I wish to avoid such unhappy situations in the future. That's why I always ask clients to put their do's & don'ts in writing. Not all changes require a double fee. Some are even free. I only charge for needed changes that are not my fault. How much I charge depends on how much work is required & how much time is left to do it. I recommend sending as many snapshots as possible and allowing me to choose what is the best reference. Of course, I'll listen to your suggestions in that regard. If you only send me the one photo you think is best, it may show a nice smile, but something like dark hair might be lost in a dark background or something. The worst photo you have with a person's eyes closed or glowing red might be the only shot where I can see what their hair or chin looks like. Another photo where they might have a big coffee mug in front of their face might be the only shot showing their eye color... so send me lots of photos so I can get all the visual reference I need to render a good likeness. Caricatures by Dale Gladstone of New YorkPosted Oct-24-06 16:31:25 PDT Updated Nov-06-06 06:10:39 PST I usually draw caricatures on my "tablet PC" & print the 8.5"x11" glossy caricature drawings on my portable bubble jet photo printer. As far as I know, I'm the first party caricaturist in the New York area (the whole Northeast, really) to do anything like this and only one of a handful in the whole country, or even the world. The frames I offer are black carboard pre-cut mats. The software I'm using is Alias Sketchbook Pro. The PC is just a very expensive tool. I'm still doing the drawings by hand by any reasonable standard. If you prefer something more nostalgic enough to pay extra, I can draw with fast-drying permanent ink felt-tip markers on 11"x14" ledger bond paper. My tablet PC is a special kind of laptop that allows me to draw, write & do all my computer work directly on the monitor screen with the special tablet stylus pen. When I use the tablet PC instead of markers, it produces results that are in many ways much better. For those reasons plus the fact that I'm tired of working with markers after 17 years, I bought my tablet PC and for customers who prefer marker drawings for some reason, I will charge extra. The PC is only a very expensive tool. The tablet PC also allows me to offer you some other very nice extras I can't deliver any other way: People often ask for extra dawings, especially if they are posing with friends or relatives from outside their household. If I'm working with markers, I usualy have to tell them there isn't enought time to draw anyone twice. With my tablet PC, I can just tell the printer to spit out another copy and I only charge $2.oo (black & white) or $3.oo (color) for extra copies, paid either by the host or the guest, as the host wishes. I can also provide a CD-Rom containing all the drawings from the entire party to the host, guest of honor or anyone else for $50.oo per disk. The software I'm using is Alias Sketchbook Pro. I can also connect a TV, video equipment or my projector to my tablet pc so the drawings I do are projected live, stroke by stroke, on a big screen or wall. If no such screen or blank wall is available, I can bring an easel & canvas to project on. This practice makes what I do a real spectacle & illicits the most impressive response from people. To begin with, Caricatures by Dale Gladstone...Posted Oct-23-06 15:55:55 PDT Updated Oct-23-06 15:56:53 PDT Dale Gladstone is the best party, picnic & trade show caricaturist you'll ever hope to find in New York City or anywhere. His results & options are unparalelled, his prices are fair, his speed is hard to beat and his dependability is top rate. Dale Gladstone's caricatures can even be projected or displayed live with any kind of video system to create an unforgettable, entertaining spectacle the likes of which you've likely never seen. Dale Gladstone's caricature art draws a terrific crowd & is something they'll be talking about for the rest of their lives. If anyone needs extra copies of one of Dale's drawings, they can be made available instantly. Group drawings of practically any number can be composed in surprisingly short order. At the end of the event, you can even have copies of all the caricature drawings Dale did for you on a CD-Rom. Contact Dale Gladstone for prices, options, lots of samples, info, even video about the best caricatures in the world. This is my first ever blog entry. It'll get better, I promise. |
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