I thought I'd just take a minute to share with you a few simple things you can do to better market yourself on Carbonmade. It only takes a few minutes to do these things and it'll help you gain exposure. Keeping your portfolio up-to-date with new work is obviously the single most important thing, but there's other stuff you can do.

We're the first to admit that our portfolio search is a work in progress and doesn't always yield the most accurate results. But since it gets a lot of traffic from potential employers and others, it's helpful to fill out your About area. Specifically make sure to include your Location (e.g. New York, NY) and Areas of Expertise (Illustration, Photography, etc.). These terms are both used heavily in searches and easily clickable on the right-hand side of the search page. We get a lot of people searching for "New York illustrator" and other similar search pairs when hiring.

After finding your portfolio, potential employers and others will often read through your About area to learn more about you. You'll want to make sure you mark your portfolio as Available for Freelance or they may move on to the next person. It goes without saying that including a quick bio and a link to your e-mail are both important, especially the e-mail bit. A quick bio will help them learn more about the person behind the work. Remember you're "selling" yourself as a complete package, so filling out your entire portfolio will help when looking for a job.

I hope that helps!

A little unpublished secret here at Carbonmade is that you can use your own domain name if you're on the Whoo! account -- this removes the .carbonmade.com from your URL. You can see an example of that by checking out our very own Dave Gorum's portfolio. We don’t have the most elegant solution to setting you up on your own domain right now, but if you shoot an e-mail to us at support@carbonmade.com I'd be happy to help you. You'll need to register your own domain through GoDaddy or through one of the numerous domain providers out there. Enjoy!

Carbonmade reached 100,000 members last week. I was sick, so I didn’t have a chance to thank you all. We just want to say thanks for supporting us throughout these years. You’ve all been great friends and your kind e-mails and tweets have not gone unnoticed. We really appreciate it more than we can put into words.

We ran this little "share your Carbonmade story on your blog" contest a couple weeks back and we were overwhelmed with great entries. Your stories are always exciting for us to read. Reading stories like how Emily got a job in New York City with her Carbonmade portfolio and a phone interview -- because she couldn't afford to make the trip -- just brightens our day. Emily is great: she even praised us when we screwed up! She had written to the Consumerist a couple of weeks back about how "Carbonmade Quickly Responds To Error, Fixes It In Less Than 4 Hours." Too kind!

So thanks to all of you who wrote us with your stories. I want to specifically thank Emily, Jamie, Tim, and TracyLynn for their write-ups. All of you, and lots of others, have been upgraded to Wooh! free of charge! Thanks to everyone and please continue to share your stories with us via your blog, email, and/or Twitter. We're so happy to hear from you.

Having been in a generous mood lately, I thought I'd give away a few Wooh! Accounts to current Carbonmade people. We're actually running a fairly active Twitter account (please follow us) and have given out free accounts in the past when we've simply asked you to tweet out your portfolio to your followers. I thought we'd do something along the same lines with bloggers.

So here's how it will work. Many of you have blogs, so we thought we'd ask you to share your thoughts about Carbonmade on your blog (please make sure to include a link to your portfolio). Specifically, we want to hear about how you use Carbonmade and what you've gotten out of using it. Tell us a story! We love hearing stories like Keane Angle's a few months back.

We're going to run this contest over the next two weeks. The number of winners is not determined yet because we want to make it a ratio of the number of people who actually do blog about their Carbonmade experiences, but we'll definitely be naming at least two winners. Please e-mail us directly at hello[at]carbonmade.com with a link to your post! The winners will be announced on this blog with a link to their post along with their portfolio.

Just about five months ago we crossed 50,000 members, and as of earlier today Carbonmade has over 75,000 creative people who are active on our site. We also passed 1,000,000 images, which only a year ago was just inconceivable to us. While this blog post isn't as exciting as news to come, we want to take this chance to thank you all again for using Carbonmade. Please continue to e-mail us with any questions, to follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS feed for future announcements.

Good day! How are things going?

I've been busy. I just spent a week in NYC attending the Pictoplasma Conference and seeing friends. Now I'm back in LA at my job at American Greetings and working on a ton of personal projects.

How did you get your start in illustration?

I'm not sure there's an easy answer to that. I've always been compelled to draw and doodle. In high school, my art teachers either labeled me a trouble maker or just didn't like me. It was really a travesty. I was basically a good, creative kid who was into punk rock and liked art, but the art classes were horrible. So when I got to college (Truman State University in MO), I went in with an undeclared major. I ended up taking a drawing class and a design class and found out that art classes don't have to suck. And I graduated with a BFA in Visual Communication.

I spent 2 years after college as an Art Director. In essence, I was the entire art department for a small company that printed t-shirts for college fraternity and sorority parties. Seeing nothing better on the horizon, I went back to school to be an illustrator at Portfolio Center in Atlanta.

After graduating from Portfolio Center, I landed my first bona fide job as an illustrator at Funny Garbage in NYC.

What inspires your work?

Jeez...that'd be a really long list. Just about everything that I see or hear influences my work in some way...whether I respond to it positively or negatively. A short list of some of the stuff I like, in no particular order: punk rock art, bmx and skateboard magazines, street art, graffiti, comics, underground comix, cartoons, pop art, psychedelic art, vintage movie posters, candy packaging, detergent packaging and I'm sure there's a whole slew of things I'm forgetting at the moment. If you think you see a hint of some kind of art or artist in my work, it's most likely one of the things that's in the stew.

What the heck is the deal with monsters?

I'm still figuring that out. When I started Savage Monsters Industries, I was collecting a lot of vinyl kaiju toys from the Ultraman series. Villains are inherently much more interesting than the good guys. And I figured that monsters are something that I'd never get tired of drawing since they're all made up anyway. With Savage Monsters, I was (and I suppose I still am) trying to create an entertaining and engaging site that could also double as a portfolio site.

You're a flash guy. What do you think about Microsoft's Silverlight?

I may be a Flash guy, but I'm still a total Luddite. I had to look up Silverlight and I still don't know what it is. I pretty much just draw and animate in Flash. I've got VERY basic programming skills. I've learned that if I know too much about programming and technology, I'll be called upon for those skills, thus, less time doing what I love to do...create.

How would you describe your style?

I try not to describe what I do. Most people's eyes glaze over when I'm talking about my work. I get responses like "So...you're a lawyer?" (That actually DID happen) It's much easier to show someone a picture.

Boiled down, maybe my style is Basil Wolverton meets Dr. Seuss.

What's the goofiest monster you've ever drawn?

I wish I knew. I've been going through all my sketchbooks from the past 10 years (over 110 books) and I've been finding some good stuff.

What's in the future for you?

That's one of the great things. I have no idea. I never would have guessed that I've been the places and done the things that I have so far.

I'm currently working on self-publishing several books of my work, developing properties for tv and for licensing. And I've got lots of pet projects like t-shirts, stickers, trading cards, vending machine toys and other things in the works. Always too many ideas and too little time and finances to bring them all to fruition.

Thanks for chatting with us!

For more of Dave's work check out his Carbonmade portfolio: http://davesavage.carbonmade.com/

Hello! How are you doing?

I am doing great! Just keeping my self busy most of the time but also trying to enjoy life at the same time.

How did you get your start in design? Was Art School helpful?

Well, art has been part of my life since I was a child. I started doing my professional works when I was 16 doing logos, self portraits, caricatures and other genres. Since then, I decided to go to art school and work for films, animations and games. Well, to answer your question, Yes, art schools and workshops are helpful. Although, dedication, respect and hard work is a big part of it.

What inspires your work?

Well, mostly anything that makes me stop what I'm doing. I am obsessed with nature, structures, life and it's textures. Mostly all films, television and games are also big influences, from concept art to the final product.

How would you describe your style?

I try to focus more on color, form, texture and composition. I like to to jump around from realistic, caricatured, illustrated or stylized but i tend to try other genres.

How would you distinguish between design composition and composition in painting?

Well, in my knowledge, design composition refers as the coordination and planning of shape, form, space, value, textures and colors in a two dimensional form. As for composition in painting refers almost the same as design composition although the main goal is to create a focal point, distance and a light source in a three dimensional form.

You've been freelancing since 2005. How's that going?

It's going well, I'm using it as my secondary job and also it keeps me busy at home.

What types of projects do you most like working on?

Well, anything challenging, creative and fun to do. Illustrations, portraits, caricatures, concept art, textures, 3D and even sculpture.

Would you be willing to explain what you mean by concept art in reference to your own work?

In my own work, I try to create a story, ambiance and feel in a painting. Showing composition, form, structure, design, color and value are also the main in ingredients on making concept art.

What's in the future for you?

Alot of things are going on right now so its hard to say. Right now, I am working for Naughty Dog as a Next-Gen Environment Texture/Shader artist working on a PS3 game. I will be still doing Illustrations and concepts as a freelancer. Also, I'm thinking of teaching for part-time in the near future.

Thanks for chatting with us!

For more of Genesis's work check out his Carbonmade portfolio: http://lazaruz.carbonmade.com/

How did you get your start in illustration?

Starting at my earliest memories, I have always had a passion for drawing. I remember that when I was a child I spent hours drawing characters from stories and fairy tales I made up for my friends or my little sister. Literally, I was a girl with a lively imagination: the idea of taking a blank piece of paper and knowing that anything is possible, well…it was and it is amazing to me!

That said, drawing has always been something very ‘spontaneous’ and I’ve never thought seriously to become an illustrator. As a matter of fact it’s totally by chance some years ago I accepted to work on my first commissioned piece and my illustrations have been featured in collective art-books.

What inspires your work?

My work is a collage of styles and influences. I don’t have a formal artistic training and the result is my way of drawing is a sort of collection of subjects I studied, places I visited, paintings I like, novels and comic books I read, all those things that I liked and I like without any particular connexion to art, sometimes. I mean for example music and reading have always played an important part in my artistic life.

About art, I think the most relevant influences you can find by looking at my work are a passion for Art Nouveau, Renaissance Italian Painting, European comic books, gothic and classical fantasy themes, popular fairy tales and it’s self-evident I like Japanese manga very much, too.

Nature elements, I mean plants for example, are something that also inspires my work. Drawing trees and foliage and flowers is more than a simple passion. I like so much having a walk in the woods and watching all the different kind of plants you can find around. I bought and I buy lot of books about gardens and plants! I think in a past life I was a botanist! Some years ago I made up a plot for a comic book when the main character was a young woman expert in botany. The story was set in the 19th century and it was full of travels and adventures and …plants of course! I should probably find the time to work on it…if only I had time for my own projects ^_^

Finally, being a very imaginative person, I'm literally with my head in the clouds the 90% of the day, I'm easily influenced by anything!

I can see the Art Nouveau you mention. What about the Pre-Raphaelites?

Of course, I think this art movement is very intriguing and my artwork has much in common with it. Basically because of its close connexion to Italian painting of 15/16th centuries, and the passion for subjects like myths and folklore, the visual imagery associated with the use of sepia and brown coloration, the richness of details and decoration.

You seem drawn to the erotic element in Victorian art. Which written and visual influences would you cite?

About the written one my first suggestion is “The Crimson Petal and the White" by Michel Faber. It's a postmodern novel, published in 2002 and set in Victorian-era England.

Basically, I always have had a weakness for Victorian period and 19th century in Europe and of course I read the most popular novels written in those years. I think my passion for this era was born when I started reading Jules Verne’s works at 9 years old! But it's after reading "The Crimson Petal and the White" that probably the erotic element has started to be present in my work. Although it can be said that Victorian ideology was sexually inhibiting, the Victorian era produced more inventive forms of eroticism visible in aestheticzised sexual symbols where the sexuality is permissible within the category of the aesthetic. This dichotomy has always attracted me. My visual references are the most popular artists like J.W. Waterhouse, Sir L. Alma Tadema, E. Dulac, G. Doré, A. Beardsley but basically I'm fascinated by the same themes, like classical myths and fairy tales, for example.

My style is very eclectic and the Victorian ages are known exactly for their heterogeneous revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of influences from Eastern cultures and art. Finally, it's a sort of "elective affinity", you know?

What types of projects do you most like working on?

I like working on individual illustrations mostly. Images done for short stories, novels, fairy tales... those are the most stimulating projects to me. Recently, I’m attempting myself by working on different projects like illustrating tracks from music albums or graphic novels.

How would you describe your style?

Hmmm, something confusedly related to a wide range of ideas, styles, and suggestions, probably!

What's in the future for you?

I’m not a person who likes making plans of her life, in general ^_^ All I do as illustrator has done by chance, without planning anything. I literally live day by day: life is so unforeseeable! Maybe tomorrow a popular publisher will get in touch with me for illustrating a book, maybe not. Meantime I go on doing what I like, that is drawing!

Thanks for chatting with us!

For more of Nati's work check out her Carbonmade portfolio: http://nati.carbonmade.com/

Hi Matt! Thanks for using Carbonmade for over 2 years! How's life? How's your new home?

Yo! It's probably closer to 3 years now since I first signed up with Carbonmade. I jumped on pretty early.

Things are good on my end. My baby girl is getting so big, so quickly - she's now 7 months. The new home is great! We're in a cozy old house on a quiet, friendly street. It's a great fit for my little family. I've got some pretty sweet office space in the basement as well.

How did you get your start in design?

I got into design and web development at the same time back in 1997. I had just formed a band and we wanted a website, so I signed up for an Angelfire account and started poking around in the "advanced editor" (which was merely a text box with HTML) and learned HTML through trial and error. Since the web was mostly text and animated GIFs at the time, design didn't come until later. I had actually planned on getting into video production, but once I got online, it was game over. I knew that's what I wanted to do.

What inspires your work?

Everything, really. Someone recently asked where I came up with the colour scheme for my redesign, which was actually inspired by a set of luggage that my wife picked up a few months ago. Originally, I had gone with dark text on a lighter background, but when I saw this rich brown suitcase with pink lining, I just loved it!

How would you describe your style?

When my previous design attracted so much attention, I was afraid that I was be held to designing grunge websites for years to come. But thankfully that hasn't been the case. I try and cater to my clients' needs as much as possible. But when they really don't have a set direction they want to go, I usually fall back to the eroded, beat up look. While the whole "grunge" thing has definitely gained ground over the last few years, it's still not overly popular to the point that people are sick of seeing it. But more importantly, I haven't seen a whole lot of really good grunge designers out there, and I would definitely say it would be my strongest style.

What types of web design projects do you most like working on?

Blogs for individuals, definitely. I prefer working one-on-one with people, and that sort of project allows me to stretch both my design and development muscles.

Why do you choose to freelance rather than work at a big design firm?

Commuting sucks! I worked in Toronto for 5 years while living in a suburb about half an hour out. Problem is, when you add rush hour traffic to the mix, the commute doubles, which results in 2 extra hours added onto my work day spent sitting in a car. Not fun. And with having a family, I would leave early in the morning and return after dinner in the evening, which meant very little time to spend with them.

Freelancing gives me the flexibility to take on the type of projects that I'm interested in, and pass on the ones I'm not. Unless I was in a managerial role at a design firm, I wouldn't have that luxury. And if I were in a manager position, I likely wouldn't be doing much design or development work, which is what I love doing.

Freelancing does have its down sides, though. Not having a steady pay cheque is obviously the biggest one. And when things slow down, it can really take a toll on your nerves.

How has having a blog, using twitter, flickr, and social media helped you?

Despite all of their problems, Twitter is still the most valuable social networking tool out there, in my opinion. Not only is great for getting feedback, advice, or making announcements. It allows you to connect directly with people that you might not otherwise have the chance to. It's also changed the way I blog over the years. I now focus more on lengthy articles and use Twitter to get smaller topics I'd like to mention, but don't want to blog about out there. People reply and share their own thoughts, so it's just like having comments on a blog post.

I've been trying to make an effort to use other services like Facebook and LinkedIn a little better. I've never been overly active on either of them, and am trying to utilize their strengths a bit more. The problem is mostly in finding time for them.

How has gaming influenced you as a designer?

I'm not sure that it has, actually. There isn't really a lot I can take from UI elements used in games that would be appropriate for web. But sure, some things relating to style and aesthetics in games have inspired me. For the most part, I find menu systems and such to be quite ugly and cumbersome. The odd game stands out - Codemasters have been doing some amazing things with game UIs lately with DiRT and GRID. Now if only someone would show them where the caps lock key is. ;)

Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, GameCube, Playstation 1/2/3, or Xbox/Xbox 360?

Back in the day, I was a Nintendo fanboy all the way. These days, while I have a Wii (and a PlayStation 3), I spend most of my time with my Xbox 360. I just finished up my second play-through of Mass Effect and have already started my third, and I've been back and forth between GRID, Unreal Tournament 3, Battlefield Bad Company, and some of the latest Xbox Live Arcade titles, like Braid and Geometry Wars 2. Really looking forward to picking up Mercenaries 2, Viva Pinata 2, Spore, and The Force Unleashed over the next few weeks.

What's in the future for you?

It's really hard to say, given that I've changed gears quite a few times over the past 3 years. But I think I'll be freelancing for some time to come. I've been doing a lot of brainstorming on ways to earn some passive income, so you're likely to see some side-projects coming out of me over the next few months. I've also talked about releasing WordPress, and I plan to pursue that sooner than later now that my redesign is out of the way.

Thanks for chatting with us! And best to your wife and two daughters!

For more of Matt's work check out his Carbonmade portfolio: http://mattbrett.carbonmade.com/