Creative Commonality

If there’s one aspect of art shows I don’t like, it’s that the art is often very costly. As a result, only a select few are able to purchase it which flies in the face of my ideals on a number of levels.

Willfully contributing to this system gnaws on my conscience a little. The circumstances make me wish there was something I could do to change the way people consume my work. I’ve been toying with the notion of releasing my personal, uncommissioned works under a Creative Commons license.

Unfortunately, a large portion of my income is to be derived from print sales and, now that I’m working as a freelancer full time, I can’t really risk that money. Last time I checked, my wife and I like to eat!

A good compromise, I think, is to do everything I can to support other people who have the same goals. I’d like to announce my services free of charge for any band releasing their music under a forgiving Creative Commons license. The artwork I create for the bands in question will also be released under a non-commercial, no derivatives license.

I may not be a good fit for every project and I suspect the amount of people asking for help will be daunting. With that in mind, I hope to help as many bands as possible. I thought it appropriate to start with my friend’s band, Soul Pollution, and the above flyer shows a hand lettered logotype and a bonafied-original illustration I created for him.

Leave a link to your Creative Commons licensed album download in the comments (and a contact address in the comment form) and I’ll promise to help in whatever capacity my time allows! Flyers, album art, hand lettering - all the things I usually charge for.

I look forward to hearing from you!