HOW TO BECOME A SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT by subwaysurfer

" How to I get more views on my YouTube videos?""how can I get more tweets on twitter?"" how do I get people to read my blog?". These are the questions that loom in the back of the mind of each person striving to not just exist online, but to have a presence, and succeed, whatever that may mean to yhem...
While relaxing today, I watched Gladiator, one of my favorite movies, starring Russel Crowe. While viewing it I was startled to hear a line in the movie that offered some insight on how to become a social media expert. Following is the excerpt originally posted on my facebook page. Enjoy.


Elgin Bolling
MAXIMUS: You were a gladiator? PROXIMO: Yes, I was PROXIMO: . I wasn't the best because I killed quickly. I was the best because the crowd loved me. Win the crowd, win your freedom. MAXIMUS: I will win the crowd. I will give them something they have never seen before


Elgin Bolling BEST advice for becoming a social media expert
14 minutes ago · Like

Elgin Bolling WIN THE CROWD! thats talking about the online community who looks at your blog, your text messages, ALL the material you put out there.  Do things with THEM in mind, rather than always thinking about yourself! Give em something they've never seen before, and they go to your webinars, buy your ebooks, download your podcasts, comment on your you tube bids, tweet you, read your blog, and friend you on facebook. Apparently I have a long way to go....Heres to all you online gladiators out there!
12 minutes ago · Like

SPRAY CAN GRAFFETTI CHARACTER by Subwaysurfer

According to my stats, THIS particular character, is getting a lot of attention from certain viewers and has become one of the most viewed, and probably downloaded pics on the subwaysurfer Blogg. This just goes to show you that you NEVER can completely guess what peope are going to respond to. Ive ALWAYS been a fan of Graff art and writing since the seventies and eighties, and elements of the style have appeared in my caricature work. I did the original spray can just as a drawing for myself, and uploaded it because I thought it ould be kinda cool. Apparently, other people think so also, which is why I did an updated version.

DOWNLOADING AND SWIPING PICTURES AND ARTICLE POSTS
Im not one of these, come at ya will all guns blazing if you swipe some of my pics off the site and use them in your blogs or to accompany your articles. In fact, the web being the social media beast that it is , I have come to expect it.

FEEL FREE TO SAMPLE WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOUR ARTICLES AND BLOGGS WITH CONDITIONS

Lets be fair about this. Im a professonal artist. I do this for fun AND profit. If people are lifting pictures without even ASKING permission, AND not compensating , thats not cool. I am reasonable and can work out deals financially via paypal that are affordable, AND will even be willing to draw something custom made. I recently stumbled across one of my pics used by a fan to illustrate one of his articles, which was, quite excellently written, by the way! LOL! I contated him on compensating me for the pic, the price was more than reasonable, and now we have a working business relationship built on trust and respect. Thats all Im asking.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO SWIPE INCLUDE MY URL AS A LINK
Give me credit for what I have taken time to create. Web Traffic is as valuable a commodity on line as a monetary reward.

IF YOU'RE USING MY ART ON YOUR SITE,LET ME KNOW SO I CAN GIVE YOU A SHOUT OUT!

Like I said, Internet traffic is a valuable commodity. You help me, I help you. Lets keep the traffic flowing in a positive direction.

Enjoy the illo. Feel free to share.

subwaysurfers purple reign

A couple of caricatures studies in purple, including Canadian Rapper, DRAKE! I was gonna draw PRINCE but that would have been too obvious....

Nikki Minaj video and Caricature Project by Subwaysurfer

I can FINALLY talk about it! my "mystery client" I eluded to the other day is none other than Vocal teacher/entertainer . Erik Dillard of the hit youtube show, THE ERIK DILLARD VOCAL CLINIC. For those of you unfamiliar wth the show, Erik gives fantastic, insightful, idiot proof methods to improve your singing technique, AND whatis UNIQUE about his show is that he breaks down the vocal techniques of your favorite artists. In this segment , via a viewers request, he broke down Nikki Minaj, and having worked with him on previous projects, commissioned me to draw the caricature of her. I was not given a clue how he would incorporate it into the show , but I knew it would be great and he didnt disapoint. Just ANOTHER example of being able to "take caricature out of the theme park" and use it for other creative ventures.

These Pictures were created with a combination of tools including the Double sided Utretcht Design Markers, amd colored in the Art Studio App on the IPAD. I swear by ALL of these tools now for giving me the color quality and line effects I need to make my illustrations come to life!

ipad caricature of JACK LA LANNE by Elgin Subwaysurfer Bolling

Jack La Lanne,boasted that he'd live to be one hundred and was only four years short of making that goal! Hows THAT for setting a goal and coming close to reaching it. As I stated in a previous post, Jack was the Godfather of sooooo many things that we look at as just "normal" today. It goes without saying that he is the Godfather of Fitness in America. Whats inspiring is that he wanted this not just for athletes but for the common man. Jack devised imagainative fitness programs and exercises that were within ANYONES fitness level and budget.We hear a lot in the finess industry today about modification, and tailoring a program to fit your individual needs, goals and lifestyles.... YOU DONT KNOW JACK! He was the FIRST to do that! Jacks core audience was women, as his show aired during a period when traditionally in America, women would be home, and their husbands at work. Now we have an entire finess industry tailored sspecifically to women....YOU DONT KNOW JACK! He was the FIRST to do that! Branding is a word that is usd a lot today in marketing, especially online. In order to stand out from the crowd, you must be able to maket , or brand yourself in such a decisive way as become memorable....YOU DONT KNOW JACK! He was the FIRST to do that! Jack had this jumpsuit that he always wore that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, but made him instantly identifiable. That jumpsuit was like a uniform, a type of "superhero" outfit, which was what he was, in a sense. The man held numberous fitness records that established him as an authority. Unless you have been living in a cave somewhere, you know that America is nutrition crazy now. It seems on every corner is a juice bar, a fruit market,a vitamin store,or organic food store. YOU DONT KNOW JACK! He was the FIRST to do that! Jack was a big advocate of juicing right from the start , at a time when most of us thought it was strange and disgusting to liquify and drink celery, carrots and apples, and he always advocated the importance of eating food in its rawest forms, and ghetting away from refined foods and especially sugar.
I feel bad for a lot of people in this generation because , YOU DONT KNOW JACK! at least not the way I "knew" him, and like som many others my age knew him. At the risk of sounding corny, he was a perfect role model. I never heard one word of scandal associated with his name/ This is something unheard of for a celebrity with less than half of his star power. I think what Jack had was that thing called, integrity.

JACK LA LANNE RIP by subwaysurfer

Elgin Bolling I'm telling my age, now.. But as a kid I remember the first time I say anybody doing jumping jacks, it was when Jack did it. He did the exercise at the beginning and ending of his show, and I remember doing it with him! Jack was, for many of us old timers, our initial introduction into fitness
11 minutes ago · Like
Elgin Bolling Jack was unique in that he gave practical inexpensive fitness exercises using your own bodyweight, and simple household items, like chairs, books, and water bottles to create resistance. Not only that, but he gave nutritional advice, as well as strategies to enhance mental fitness. The guy had this holistic approach to wellness, and was able to consistently communicate it in 30 minute segments.
7 minutes ago · Like
Elgin Bolling The fact that he was able to articulate and demonstrate simultaneously, and naturally, made him a media darling. In today's technological, YouTube,era, we take for granted, when Jack did this, back in the day, the medium of television was still relatively new. Jack wrote the script, in my Opinion, of how to effectively do an infomercial.
4 minutes ago · Like
Elgin Bolling Due to his own personal branding strategy, by the time he introduced his fitness studios, he already had a core group of potential customers. What a marketing genius he was, and just for staying consistent with a simple idea.

YOU CAN IMPROVE...
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a few seconds ago · Like

Rockaway Artists Alliance Writers Group President, Dan Guarino

I know I should have been paying attention at the voters meeting, but couldnt resist doing this caricature of Dan Guarino while sitting there!

Rockaway Artists Alliance President Geoff Rawling Caricature

Mixed Media Artist, and President of The Rockaway Artists Alliance, Geoff Rawling has an irresistable face for caricature. I drew this picture of him while waiting my turn to come at a poetry reading at Ft Tilden in Breezy Point , Queens..

ANOTHER ipad Caricature of Canadian Rapper, DRAKE by Subwaysurfer

Those Heavey  Lidded Eyes, That Sad Mouth, The Large Box Head... Drake Is an Irresistable Character to Draw Alright! LOL So Glad that I was commissioned to draw this! LOL Heres another shot at him. Drake If you see this, I aint hatin' buddy, but since you are a celebrity, you should expect things like this.

This caricature recently caught the attention of the folks at lulu online look here

http://iluluonline.com/photos-hilarious-caricature-art-starring-drakes-face-nicki-minaj/

ipad caricature of DRAKE By Subwaysurfer

Drake has a face that was made for caricature. Dont know if anyone else has ever drawn him. This too is part of a freelance assignment for the same client who wanted one of Nikki Minaj. Whatever he's cookin up, its gonna be GOOD! Really enjoyed drawing this!! I think I'll do another just for fun! LOL!

The initial line work for this was drawn with the Utretcht Design Markers, uploaded, and then colored in the Art Studio App on the IPAD. I swear by ALL of these tools now for giving me the color quality and line effects I need to make my illustrations come to life!

ipad caricature of Female Rapper Nikki Minaj

Im currently working on a project with a client who requested a caricature of Female Rapper Nikki Minaj. I normally dont listen to this genre of music too much so I didnt know who she was. When i got some  reference photos, I couldnt wait to draw the caricature. I dont know what the client has in store... actually I do, since weve worked before,LOL! it ought to be good. It was a challenge caricaturing Nikki, because like most attractive women theres its hard to eaggerate  facial features. However, Nikki has these superhuman, ah.. attributes that make her instantly recognizable.

These Pictures were created with a combination of tools including the Double sided Utretcht Design Markers, amd colored in the Art Studio App on the IPAD. I swear by ALL of these tools now for giving me the color quality and line effects I need to make my illustrations come to life!

GENDER BENDER NEEDS TO RETURN TO SENDER! caricature of man/woman on the Subway

Okay, Im not making a value judgement here, just callin em as I see em, and then, of course draw them. In a city as diverse as New York, when ever I ride the Subway trains I have come to expect the unconventional, the out of the ordinary, the outlandish, and the just plain strange. Yet with all my experience as a "visual caricature antropologist", the subway being my laboratory where I study and record human behavior, sometimes even I get shocked by the thing I see.
Folks, there are a lot of cross dressing , gender benders in NYC. They add color and life to the mosaic that IS New York City, but even among alternative lifestyles there certainly MUST be "rules of conduct, and presentation" and THIS had to be a definite NO NO!

HE/SHE entered the car carrying a large brown handbag, wearing a Hoodie, Oversized pants, Bown Brogan Shoes, a Baseball cap a bad Wig AND Noticable Razor stubble.

Did I comment on the stooped over posture and the fact that they were close to three hundred pounds?

At least the handbag matched the shoes.

But for all intensive purposes, this person looked like, to use a popular village expression, "A HOT MESS!"
If you're going to go out gender bending, I say, make sure you go ALL the way in the direction that you are shooting for, and be careful to cover up any NOTICABLE flaws as to your true identiy.

Razor Stubble is a dead giveaway, as is hair on your knuckles.

Who NEEDS cable? All I gotta do is ride the Subway! LOL!

ipad caricature of woman with a big chin

ipad caricature of a pretty girl by Elgin subwaysurfer Bolling

There are those times when I draw a face and i see an undefnable "star quality" to the face that im drawn to pun intended. This young lady was pretty, not glamrous in the fashion model sense, but what I call urban pretty for lack of a better word. there was that feminine quality combined with that no nonsense edge that only enhanced her overall appeal. I drew this in a smipler cartoonery style that worked perfectly.

Drawing lesson if you practice you WILL GET BETTER by subwaysurfer

Like all artists, I sometimes get in "one of those moods" where "nothing" is going right and i feel as if Im just standing sitll, not progressing, not getting any better. It's easy to feel that way if you DONT keep a visual record to chart your progress, lucky for me, I do.
I ran across a 2005 sketchbook the other day and turned the page to a drawing I had done of Gary, a very talented Painter/caricature artist from Puerto Rico that I drew at a past NCN COnvention. My First one, to be exact. I was actually amazing and a little horrified to re-discover that I actually drew ...er... that BAD and go paid for it!! LOL! I redrew the picture over again , just to see if I could do it better. The results were startling to say in the least. I was able to actually SEE how much I'd learned in just a few years. You truely CAN change if you're motivated enough, and work hard enough on your weaknesses. Maybe two years from now I'll pick up this recent drawing and say to myself, "THAT'S HORRIBLE!! HOW IN THE WORLD DID I HAVE THE NERVE TO POST THAT!!!???"

ipad gift caricature for client by subwaysurfer

this lucky fan took advantage of my year end digital ipad caricature sale and got his version by a subwaysurfer original.

 I have decided to extend the sale for a limited time. get YOUR digital caricatue at the insane discounted price! email me at cartoons4u2@aol.com for details!

ipad caricature of a scared indian woman on subway

I swear she was clutching her bag SO TIGHT and staring straight ahead with the most intense expression I'd ever seen on anyone I was trying to draw. Then it occured to me all at once that she MUST have thought I was a mugger getting ready to snatch her bag, rather than an artist who was snatching her likeness! LOL!
Picture colored in Artstudio app using the Ifaraday stylus pen on the ipad

IF YOU LOVE THE LOOK OF THIS DIGITAL CARICATURE, WHY NOT GET YOUR VERY OWN? PRICES ARE VERY EFFORDABLE! JUST SHOOT ME AN EMAIL AT CARTOONS4U2@AOL.COM FOR DETIALS!

Editorial Cartoon for The Wave Newspaper..... SNOW.....again..

this editorial assignment was given to me last week in response to Mayor Bloombergs disasterous handling of the NYC Winter snow storm that crippled the city last week. The paper came out today... just in time for the NEXT round of snowfall... we'll see what happens next... hope Lady Liberty likes Vanilla Ice Cream... she's about to get another snow cone....

So how are you handling the snow? Is it a winter wonderland, or a frosty nightmare! I'd love to hear your stories, and may even illustrate the best one! Please comment!

If you download this toon, please link my URL to the site where it's being used. Keep in mind I also can make affordable customized toons for your blogs, articles and websites,.

ipad caricature of a woman who looks like a toad by subwaysurfer

There are some women who even MAKEUP can NOT HELP!... I bet when she walks into Mc Donalds the counterperson asks her, "Do you want FLIES with that?"

Yeah... I know.... I gotta work on my standup routine......


IF YOU LOVE THE LOOK OF THIS DIGITAL CARICATURE, WHY NOT GET YOUR VERY OWN? PRICES ARE VERY EFFORDABLE! JUST SHOOT ME AN EMAIL AT CARTOONS4U2@AOL.COM FOR DETIALS!

ipad caricature of a big blond bodacious amazon by subwaysurfer

this is the colored version of one of the most popular pics on my site here. vieweres cant seem to get enough of viewing this Amazon I drew at a party in black and white , so I decided to finaly color her in. I recalled doing a tamer version of this at the original party, and as soon as she left my seat I IMMEDIATELY drew THIS one for myself ,and of course, you viewers here! Heh, Heh.... This gurls pop would have snapped his cap if he saw his "little girl" depicted like this... but being a dad myself, I know that sometimes fathers have blinders on and just cant see their baby gurls the way the REST of the world sees them.....

IF YOU LOVE THE LOOK OF THIS DIGITAL CARICATURE, WHY NOT GET YOUR VERY OWN? PRICES ARE VERY EFFORDABLE! JUST SHOOT ME AN EMAIL AT CARTOONS4U2@AOL.COM FOR DETIALS!