Mike Boldt's Blog, page 11

#spiderman Sketch cover for Jason here. Super intimidating but...

#spiderman Sketch cover for Jason here. Super intimidating but love these gigs. #calgaryexpo #doodling

I was fortunate enough to do a number of art swaps with some up...

I was fortunate enough to do a number of art swaps with some up and coming talent. #calgaryexpo #goodtrade

Great time this past weekend at the #calgaryexpo thank you to...

Great time this past weekend at the #calgaryexpo thank you to everyone who stopped by. Here’s one of the commissions I did.

Well, we’ll see how this goes.

Well, we’ll see how this goes.

I’ll be at the Calgary Comic Expo this weekend folks with some...

I’ll be at the Calgary Comic Expo this weekend folks with some new books, prints and a sneak preview of my next book too!

Prince and Buddy Holly were the inspiration behind the design of...

Prince and Buddy Holly were the inspiration behind the design of Little Jack Horner, the main character in the first PB I ever illustrated. Two extremely talented and inspirational artists who passed young. While I may not have been around for Buddy Holly’s passing, Prince’s will leave me viewing this differently from now on.

What is the true cost of piracy to an independent creator?

mrockefeller:

shantisart:

kyletwebster:

I just saw a torrent site that had more than a thousand illegal downloads of my Photoshop Megapack … in 24 hours. Seriously, how many people use Photoshop out there?! I mean, of course I’m upset, but I’m equally baffled by this number - I didn’t realize that many people had an interest in making digital art. It’s nuts.

Artists stealing from artists. I can’t understand it.

And I am always afraid to raise my already insultingly low prices BECAUSE I am afraid of more piracy. So, what am I supposed to do here? 

The sad truth is that I either DO need to raise prices to make up for the gross number of thefts and keep my income stream from diminishing (which would, of course, make them less affordable for students and young pros), or I need to completely change the business model somehow to somehow fight piracy. I don’t know how to change it, exactly, but since piracy of my products has been steadily increasing every year since I started, I need to figure something out.

Final thought: If just 5% of those people had bought legally, I’d have made $750 today. Okay, okay - that thought will definitely not improve my mood.

If you are a victim of piracy of your creative products, and you have some thoughts on this topic, I welcome them in comment form. Also, if you agree that this behavior is disgusting, and that we artists should be supporting one another, rather than acting like cannibals, then PLEASE REBLOG. Perhaps, if we make a little noise, it will at least make people reconsider using torrent sites when they realize that working artists are behind all of the creative products they love: music, art, film - all of it.

Thanks for reading.
- Kyle

$15 for a lifetime set of tools for your digital art is not much- support Kyle.

Kyle’s tools are the best out there and have been invaluable to me- and they’re extremely affordable. Please support your fellow artists!

We’re only fooling ourselves if we believe there’s any real benefit to pirating. Support Kyle. Support artists.

89-ish days away from my next book release (in case you forgot...

89-ish days away from my next book release (in case you forgot to keep track)

inked a doodle

inked a doodle

Doodling took me back to my childhood yesterday - comics, epic...

Doodling took me back to my childhood yesterday - comics, epic fantasy, and Disney.