Alvalyn Lundgren, Author at Alvalyn Creative

10 Business Networking Strategies for Introverts (and Everyone Else)

Building a business requires connection with people: prospective clients, colleagues, mentors, customers, and sometimes even family members. When we connect, we share information, ideas and inspiration. We problem-solve. We listen…

How To Create A Complementary Color Scheme

Are you ever unsure how to create a color scheme? Do you tend to use color directly from the tube because you don’t know what to mix it with to…

Alvalyn Lundgren
color / tips

Keys to Building a Better Portfolio

Art and design students focus on developing their portfolios during the final terms of their education. The portfolio is the most important tool when entering the professional world, and will…

Alvalyn Lundgren
design / Freelance Road Trip / freelancing / tips

Color Basics: 10 Absolute Truths About Color

Color is fundamental to life. We not only see color, we experience it. To apply color appropriately in art and design, you need foundational knowledge about how we see color,…

3 Types of Freelance Contracts and Which Ones to Avoid

Because pretty much everything runs on design and other forms of visual communication, the role of the visual communicator (designer, illustrator, photographer) is more in demand than ever, and also…

Number 5: Illustrated Portrait Step-by-Step

One of my latest illustrations is a portrait of Albert Pujols, who plays first base for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim MLB team. I referenced a photo I captured…

Alvalyn Lundgren
art / Illustration / Portrait / Process

Creating Rituals To Do Significant Work

I'm currently reading Cal Newport's Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success In A Distracted World, in which the author makes the case for engaging in serious, uninterrupted times of extreme focus…

Add Energy To Your Drawings With Structural Syntax

Whether drawing from photographic reference or from life, we can easily adopt what I call a line-by-line approach to drawing. We look at our subject, observe, draw a line or two,…

Making the Most of a Creative Review

You can get more out of a creative review than just a go-ahead to move to the next phase of the project. In coming together with your client to assess…

The Art of Influence: 5 Ways to Affect Your Outcomes and Attract Clients

If you want to be successful, you need to be influential. Influence can be positive or negative, and everyone has influence. The key for success as creative freelancers is to…

Optical Color Mixing

There are two ways color is mixed to make new colors. One is commonly known as admixing. The other is optical mixing, also known as optical fusion or perceptual mixing.…

Do You Need A Marketing Plan?

Q: As a freelancer, do I need a marketing plan or can I just wing it? A: Indeed, you do need a marketing plan. Marketing is vital for your business…

Introduction to Light Logic

Light logic is a system of using value pattern to create the illusion of real space and form. It is simply the idea that light interacts with form in a logical…

Alvalyn Lundgren
design / drawing / Illustration

Creating Compositions That Communicate

Whenever we create design and art we are composing. Composition is the make up, arrangement or structure of a work, whether it's music, writing, or visual art. Composition is often…

Create A Social Media Connection Strategy

When you’re in business, you use social media differently than you do personally. I was an early adopter on many social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Back then the…

A Freelancer’s Guide To Retainer Agreements

When you work project-to-project, you can experience inconsistencies in your schedule and revenue flow. One way to mitigate those gaps is with retainer agreements. These agreements are being used more…

Blue Steel: Anatomy Of A Portrait

In my article, Show Your Work, I talk about how showing your creative process increases your value to clients. If you are selling your creations to customers and collectors, sharing…

Alvalyn Lundgren
Illustration / Portrait / Process

Using Visual Planes in Design and Art

Planes are probably one of the least known formal elements of design outside of the classroom, but understanding what they are and how they’re used is crucial for anyone engaged in…

Contracts Protect the Freelancer and the Client

As I write this article I'm in the middle of a contract negotiation involving copyright and licensing of one of my character designs. I worked with a local organization for a…

Taxing Topics: A 9-Point Q&A For Your Schedule C

The first 3 1/2 months of the year are known in the US as tax season. If you are an independent creative professional, that means you get to fill out your…

5 Surprising Things You Didn’t Know About Color

Although we see in color, have favorite colors, and use color for practical reasons every day, we aren't necessarily aware of what color is, how we see it, and how we…

Alvalyn Lundgren
color / design theory / tutorial

How To Show 3D Volume in 2D Space Using Spatial Devices

How to create space… specifically, how to create the illusion of volume in 2-dimensional art and design. In this tutorial I present 3 spatial devices, or methods, for creating…

Drawing Basics: Portrait Drawing Tutorial

A demonstration tutorial from my sketchbook using a bearded man as the subject.

Alvalyn Lundgren
drawing / tips / tutorial

3 Reasons Why Creative Freelancers Should Go Bold Or Go Home

A long time ago in a faraway place called Pasadena, CA, I sat in a classroom and heard my instructor say, “You can’t sit around waiting for someone to hire…

Alvalyn Lundgren
advice / Freelance Road Trip / freelancing / marketing