Stock Art on hold

In my last post I have announced that I will be getting into stock art soon. There has been a slight change of plans however. With another project unexpectedly taking up all of my time these days, the stock art will just have to wait for a while.

As soon as I am through with my sudden engagement in recording guitars for my band’s new album, I will get back to implementing my plan to become a successful stock art author.

Stay tuned!

Getting into Stock Art

In September last year I have left the life of corporate employee and plunged into the uncharted waters of self-employment. It turned out to be one of the best decisions in my life. Don’t get me wrong – being your own boss is hard work. Very hard work. But I love it. Being in charge of my own life is worth all the trouble of freelancing.

Anyhow, since I became a freelancer I have been hired by a few companies and created a couple of nice websites. It has been a great experience, working with clients directly and seeing how my work helps their efforts. But, all the time a thought haunted me: I am still trading time for money.

Finally I realized that this business model is not quite what I had in mind when I left the cubicle. There must be a different way to earn for a living than trading yourself for a fee. That’s when I became interested in stock art. 

After reading a few articles on selling stock over at FreelanceSwitch.com, my favourite website for freelancers, I came to realize that this could just be the thing I was looking for. FreelanceSwitch is a part of the Envato network of websites, which includes several stock marketplaces specializing in Flash, Vector Art, Website Themes, Icons etc.

So, I have decided to give stock art a try. This article is a part of my plan to become a stock artist, and I will keep track of my progress here at my blog. I have learned from a very smart man that using your blog as a tracking device significantly helps staying on track with your projects. Hopefully my experience will also help other people who put their efforts into earning money by selling stock.

In a nutshell my plan cosists of several phases:

1. Read interviews with successful authors, find out how they do it
2. Read tutorials and learn how the selling process works
3. Create great art and sell it
4. Get rich!

Ok I know, I am getting a little ahead of myself with number 4, but hey, can’t blame a guy for being optimistic

That about wraps up this post. In a few days you can expect an article on the stuff I have learned in phase one,  from the masters of stock art.

Until then, enjoy your lives.

TV addiction

Let me tell you this – I would be shocked by how much of my life so far have I wasted in front of the television set. An enormous quantity of my precious time has been flushed down the drain. Hours and hours I could have spent more wisely have been sacrificed to the mighty gods of TV.

So what’s the deal with this TV thing anyway? Why is it so appealing to us? How come we’d rather stare at the box for hours than spend time talking to a fellow human being? These are some of the questions that have popped up in my mind since I became aware of the disease and took steps to rid myself of the TV addiction.

Being a former TV junkie I can totally understand the mechanism behind this drug. TV is easily available. It requires a single push of a button and you’re there. TV is fun. There is always something interesting to see. TV makes life bearable. It takes your mind of the problems you face everyday. I could go on, but you get the point. To make things worse TV is legal, and we even feed our kids with it.

Now lets take a look at the other side of this coin for a moment. Here’s a brief list of nasty side-effects of the TV addiction:

• You disconnect yourself from other human beings and the world
• You waste more and more time on idle entertainment
• You don’t work on improving your life
• Your relationships suffer
• You get distracted from your purpose
• Your health suffers

There are probably many more, but even these few are reason enough to think long and hard before you use that remote control again. I have come to realize that the price is just too high for me. Of course, I still watch a thing or two occasionally, but I choose the content carefully and make sure I don’t spend too much time on watching. I rather like to play the guitar, do some web design, or simply go for a walk.

Is there something you’d like to do with your TV time?

Ki Aikido – a year later

It seems like only yesterday I have made the decision to start practicing the art of Ki Aikido, yet over a year has passed since then. I have had ups and downs, a few bruises here and there, gone from frustration to excitement and I must say – it was well worth it!

Ki Aikido is one of the rare martial arts that promotes non-violence and peace. Basically you learn fighting skills with a goal and intention to never use them A true Ki Aikido master avoids conflict at all costs. Fighting techniques are used only if diplomacy fails, and even then the goal is not to harm the attacker, yet to disable him in a gentle and caring way.

I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my one year anniversary than attending a three day Ki Aikido seminar in Belgrade held by sen-sei Kenjiro Yoshigasaki, founder of the Ki No Kenkyukai Association International.

It was a thrilling experience. During the three days we were practicing for two hours, twice a day. Sensei Yoshigasaki has taught us some great new techniques and shared some of his wisdom. I was so amazed by the things he said – some of his words still linger on in my mind.

Taking Aikido lessons has for sure been the best decision I have made regarding my self-confidence, spirit and overall health. If you are interested in making a good change in your life, look up an Aikido dojo in your town and attend at least one class – that’s how long it took me to get hooked

Another job well done

A few days ago we’ve launched the official Cafe Club Coupe website. Coupe is the oldest club in Pancevo and has been very popular over the years. The place is well known for great live concerts and saturday night parties. I saw some of my first live concerts in Coupe back in the 90s, so this project is quite special to me. 

The website is designed to follow the overall interior and image of the club. It provides information about the upcoming shows, as well as photos and videos from past events. As a special feature, we’ve created a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, so everybody can post their pics and vids and opinions.

It’s been a real pleasure working on this one. I have aranged long time maintenance as well, so I’ll be the first one to find out about upcoming shows and I’ll never miss another concert again – it’s a win-win!

Portfolio redesign… again!

I’ve redesigned my online portfolio once more. Last time I gave Word Press platform a chance, but I just wasn’t happy with the solution. It didn’t do it for me to merge my portfolio with my blog, so I’ve decided to separate the two. My blog is still available here, obviously.

For the redesign I went with a simple layout in combination with a one-click navigation. To browse through the pages you don’t even have to move your mouse pointer – you just click though.

Social networks are everything these days, so I’ve included pretty much all of the websites I use to connect to friends and meet new interesting people. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Flickr, etc. – you name it, I’ve got it!

So, head on to www.danijelgajan.com and check it out. Make sure you leave me a comment about the new website look.

Muscle power

Today, I’ve spent a whole day helping my father clean up the garden at his new house. My muscles ache from the hard work, I’ve got scratches on my arms from the bush and branches, but you know what – it felt great!

We’ve cleaned up a part of the backyard that is to become a beautiful garden soon. Between work I played with the dogs, which I enjoy very much. And at the end of the day we enjoyed a great meal my mother and sister prepared. What a day!

As a web designer I spend a lot of time in front of the screen and it’s really a great thing to get out and get those muscles into action from time to time, and for a good cause too. Is there somebody you could help out with some muscle power?

The miracle of life

Thanks to the power of technology today I had the privilege to meet my future son! By using a 4D ultrasound device the doctor was able to take a peek into mommy’s belly and there he was – our little one, getting ready for the big wide world. Truly a miracle

The inner child

Recently I have been given a task of creating a website design for a local preschool organization. I am most grateful for the opportunity to bring out the child in me while working on this project. I am having tons of fun playing around with blue skies, green hills, pretty flowers and paper airplanes flying around in the header.

In this tortured world of ours and with all the things going wrong today, it is hard to stay in touch with the beautiful things and I think it’s an essential task to keep reminding ourselves of our true, beautiful nature, every chance we get.

Of course, as soon as the website is finished I will post it on www.danijelgajan.com

A positive flow

I have finished the redesign for the job seeking website Berzica. Berzica is a free Serbian based regional service for freelancers, job seekers and employers. Freelancing is quite underdeveloped in Serbia, and the main idea behind Berzica is to contribute to popularization of freelancing as a way of doing business. The service is completely free and more than 2000 users have registered in as little as 7 months of activity.

I have once again been blessed with a great client. The cooperation went smoothly and the end result is great. I just love the positive flow of energy when I work with good, open-minded people. I am sure that there will be all kinds of clients down the road, but I am more than grateful for the good ones I get to work with these days.