How Important Is A Website To A Concept Artist?

I spend a lot of time checking out websites of artists in the film and television industry. In fact, the majority of my posts are based on them. There are so many, I started a blog roll to help me keep track of them.

Every now and then I run into an artist that doesn't have a web presence. It surprises me.

How could an incredibly prolific artist like Ed Natividad (Ed contacted me and his site is ednatividad.com) not have a website? Why would an artist have a blog and not update it for two years? How could a legend like Ralph McQuarrie have an up-to-date and comprehensive website and others don't?

Obviously, it depends on how important the site is to the artist. So, I reached out to some artists and got answers from both ends of the spectrum.

Warren Manser has worked on major films like Transformers and says that his site is extremely helpful to him. This is mainly because "the film industry changes very fast." Besides helping clients up-to-date on his work it constantly introduces his work to new people. "I've also been getting emails from non-film related projects." In his words, "Diversity is good." Keep an eye on his site because he's planning on expanding it to include more information to compliment the imagery. So, some artists feel it's essential to their work.

Of course, networking plays a big part in any successful job and some don't see websites as being equal to that.

Martin L. Mercer worked on such films as Predators. He said, while a web presence can be useful to show prospective clients, he values something more. He said, "overall in my experience its who you know not how good your web page is."

So, if you're an artist in the entertainment industry or just a fan I'd love to hear your thoughts on your favorite art website.let me know in the comments.

Speaking of websites, make sure you visit the websites of Martin L. Mercer  http://www.martinmercer.com and Warren Manser  http://www.WarrenManser.com.