I recently started a personal project illustrating personal birthday greetings for kids under lockdown, and posting to my Instagram channel. I announced the project on April 1 asking for names and the response has been overwhelming. The project was recently featured on the local Portland news, and since then it’s completely blown up! I’ve being contacted by people from all over the Pacific Northwest requesting cards—not just for children, but for their friends, grandparents in the hospital, people going through cancer, and those who are sick with the Coronavirus. There are too many for me to handle. So, on Thursday, April 15, I put the call out to other artists asking if they want to join in on the fun. My expectation was that I would receive a few answers, but I was wrong. I currently have at least 200 artists who have responded on Instagram asking for more info, and a majority of those have agreed to participate. Artists from all over the world are stepping up to make someone’s day go by a little bit better during these challenging times. I’m thrilled!!
- Artists: How you can get involved and FAQs
- How you can request a #BringTheJoyCard Instacard, and FAQs
#Bringthejoycards: the vision
Initially I just wanted to create something that allowed me to give back while continuing my practice of drawing and sketching during this pandemic (and something to help me avoid the news). I was going to be drawing anyways, might as well make a child smile at the same time. But since it’s taken off it’s clear that there’s opportunity here to do some real good during these times—to create some joy out of extreme fear. And to make this a global movement of artists giving back.
So, my vision for #bringthejoycards is to spark this global movement. I don’t necessarily want to be the one who owns it, but rather the one who gets it going to run on its own, and eventually become its cheerleader. At first, it was just me drawing cards for kids on my couch in my pajamas as away of avoiding the news. But now, I see it as artists coming together creating cards for people of all ages and walks of life: birthdays, anniversaries, graduations (a big one coming up), maybe even Christmas if this goes that long. Basically, if you have a big event that’s been affected during this crisis, I want an artist to create a card for you.
I’m also excited to see how this vision will take on a life of its own as more and more artists get on board.
Artists: how you can get involved
It’s clear I won’t be able to respond to every artist directly. So, there are three ways you can get involved right now:
- Join our #BringTheJoyCards facebook group. This will serve as a community where we can come together and cheer each other on. We can also use it to post needs and then assign them. I’ll be able to use it to communicate with all of the #bringthejoycards artists in a much more efficient manner.
- Join the mailing list. If you aren’t on Facebook or don’t like it then simply join my #bringthejoycards newsletter list. I’m not completely sure what I’ll do with this list yet, but it’ll probably be used to share other people’s #bringthejoycards posts, news, and call-outs for artists willing to take on #bringthejoycards assignments. To join the mailing list click here.
- Create a card for someone you know who’s celebrating a birthday/graduation/anniversary under lockdown. Post it on social media and use the hashtag #bringthejoycards. That simple. You don’t need to be a professional artist. Even better, do it for someone you don’t even know. Maybe even put the word out on your own Instagram account. But beware, you may get a ton of responses :D.
In the meantime I will be responding to artists and assigning them requests from my list. You can re-use artwork to make things easier for you, and, of course, you keep all of the rights (make sure you include your signature/copyright). It’s still your artwork. There’s no need to submit sketches or revisions. Just create the greeting and post it online—tagging the person who requested it if that info is available. If it’s not available I’ll email them the link to your post. Pretty simple.
Below are some FAQs for artists:
FAQ: Do I own the artwork?
YES! You keep all rights. That means you can re-use, license, sell the artwork—whatever you wish. Make stickers, t-shirts, prints!! It doesn’t even have to be associated with the #bringthejoycards movement. It’s your artwork, and I want you to be financially successful with the artwork you create.
FAQ: Can I use artwork I’ve done in the past?
Of course! I’ve used some artwork I’ve done already. The main goal is to show someone you don’t know that you’re thinking of them and that we’re all in this together. I would suggest that you personalize it somehow. This can be simple, like adding the name somewhere, changing a color here and there, etc… Doesn’t have to be much.
FAQ: Can I include my copyright/website url on the artwork
YES!! YES!! YES!! Please do this!!
FAQ: Do the requests have personalized information such as interests, and things:
Mostly yes. I don’t always have that information, but when I do I’ll share it with you. It’s up to you whether or not you want to adhere to it.
FAQ: Does it have to be birthdays?
No. I’ve been receiving requests for graduations, anniversaries, and more.
FAQ: Does it have to be kids?
No. If you would like to create a card for adults let me know. I also have requests for those in nursing homes and hospice care.
FAQ: I don’t have that many followers on social media.
That’s ok. Share the joy anyways!
FAQ: I’m not that good of an artist.
I’m not here to critique or judge anyone’s artistic abilities. The real value here is that you’re taking the time out of your day to create a personalized card for someone. Years from now they may look back at this time and say, “That was a hard time, but someone I don’t know took time out of their day to create this image for me. And that’s so cool!”.
FAQ: I don’t have time but still want to help.
No worries. A simple thing you can do is share this with other artists and then join the Facebook group and/or newsletter list. If your schedule opens up you can jump on board anytime.
FAQ: How do I get names to illustrate?
I have a huge list of requests gathered from the news story and am assigning them to artists to get them started. My hope moving forward is that artists will gather their own list of names if she/he chooses.
FAQ: Can I make a #bringthejoycards for someone without getting a request from you?
ABSOLUTELY!! That’s the idea. I have a list of requests to get this thing started, but moving forward I would love for this to take on a life of its own. Kind of like #inktober.
FAQ: Is this a paid gig?
The short answer is no. Basically, all you’re doing is creating artwork that you’ll be sharing on your own social media channels. There are no deliverables, no client communications, no sketches, no revisions, and the artwork isn’t going on to anything being sold. You are welcome to re-use the artwork if you want—post it on Society6 or Redbubble, or license it if you wish. I will be sharing these on my own social media channels—tagging you (until it gets unmanageable). Your “client” (for lack of a better term) might request a print. I’ll leave it up to you on how to handle that.
How you can request a personalized Insta-card message
My plate is nearly full for the rest of April/May but you can still request a card through this form on my website, and I’ll try my best to assign an artist to you. I can’t guarantee that I’ll get to you, unfortunately, but I’ll do my best—even if it’s a belated birthday greeting.
Below are some FAQs for those requesting an insta-card
FAQ: How do I request a card?
Fill out this form on my website. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to get to everyone, but I’m trying my best.
FAQ: What is an “insta-card”? Do I get a physical card?
“Insta-card” is what I’m calling an illustrated personalized greeting I post on Instagram. I know it’s kind of a lame name, but it’s the best I can come up with right now. These are not physical cards.
FAQ: What can I expect after requesting a card?
Due to the volume of requests I can’t guarantee that I will personally be able to respond to you. I also can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to assign you an artist, although I’m trying my best. When the artwork is posted you’ll be notified either through Instagram tagging, or by some other means (email, Facebook, Twitter, etc…).
FAQ: What if I don’t have an Instagram account?
You’ll be notified by email once the image has been posted. You can then share the link post with anyone you wish.
FAQ: Do I own the artwork that I request?
No. All copyrights and usage rights remain with the artist. This means you cannot sell the artwork, or make multiple copies to send outside of your home. Please respect that. For the images that I create I tell people they can print them out at home and hang them on their wall if they wish, and/or share on social media. The artist also has the rights to re-use the images for her/his own business purposes.
FAQ: Can I pay you?
I’m currently not taking any money for the images I create, although I can’t speak for other artists. If another artist creates the image for you, then contact her/him directly if you want to pay them. For those wanting to pay me I’ve been suggesting that they make a donation to a Coronavirus relief fund/organization, or simply pay it forward.
I might add some monetization methods for this in the future. We’ll see.
