Brian's Art for Animals 2008.
Seems to be the thing to do, to reflect on the past now since we are about to be in 2009.
I often wonder when I visit other artist sites, How much do they make? How much do they sell? Do they do this full time? Etc. And since recently I got e mails asking to be "forwarded to Brian," I think some may think this whole "Brian's Arts for Animals" is bigger than it is. It is just something I do on my free time and with basic gear (photos: Canon Rebel XT, and videos Canon Video Camera 1080i) to help raise awareness for just how cool the animals we share this planet with are.
So we will start with my photos:
My main page is:
http://www.bcprints.com.
In early 2008, I paid around 200 dollars to have it updated.
I also have a lot of pictures on my Myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/bripi
And I am also on Facebook, CNN I Reports, Current TV, and Care2, among some others sites here and there.
Sales for 2008:
Eight 8x10 prints & Seven 11x14 prints. So not much, but that is ok, as I like it that people look at my pictures and write nice comments on them. I haven't looked into soy inks or a better eco friendly way to print off the prints anyway,
I donated pictures for auctions in 2008, for the Snow Leopard Trust, The Maryland AAZK chapter, Big Cat Rescue's "Fur Ball" and the ARL Rescue Center in Penn. So all in all, I think I broke even with the pictures after I paid for postage, supplies, and the site to be re done.
I sold no animal pictures as stock images, even though I keep trying to do that as well.
Some have suggested I get a big café press type store to sell my images on shirts, and other items. I have mixed feelings about promoting my stuff, as I want to promote the great wildlife organizations out there already. And does the world need another t shirt design, or mug? Not sure?
In Jan of 2008 I lead a 2 week safari to the Mara in Kenya. I got to bring over $200.00 of supplies to the Olare Orok camp (due to political turmoil it was hard for them to get to any type of store), but their situation like so many camps is dire due to the worlds economy.
Now the video part:
In September I became a You Tube partner which means they place Google Ads on my videos and I get paid for it. I am not a big fan of marketing and over advertising, but you can always close the ad and they do allow me to finally earn money off of my videos that take up all my free time to produce.
So, on my You Tube page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/briczar22
I have around 40 animal videos that have a combination of over 6 million views.
I am proud of that, as there are millions of videos on You Tube to choose from. I am happy if they make the 50,000 views mark each. Some haven't yet, and some have well surpassed that amount.
I have made over $2,000.00 on Google ads since September and around 25% of that I have donated to animal conservation groups like (feel free to check out these great sites):
CCF
http://www.cheetah.org/
AWF
http://www.awf.org/
Wildlife Direct
http://wildlifedirect.org/
And soon to be sending monies to a great rescue/sanctuary in South Africa called San Wild.
http://www.sanwild.org/

I have also donated small amounts to rescues here in the US including:
Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary
http://www.junglefriends.org/
& The Wildcat Sanctuary
http://www.wildcatsanctuary.org/
I can't tell you all how much I appreciate you watching my videos, as it feels great to be able to give money to some wonderful organizations helping our wildlife! The other money left from what I earn goes into my eco traveling fund. This basically helps me pay for my trips. I hope to go back to Lewa in Kenya in early 2010. My personal finances have been low this year, so if that gets getter I want to be able to donate 50% and have 50% go into the travel fund.
I sold for some wild serval cat footage for $50 which they used on Animal Planets- Cats 101 show. (Even though I wasn't happy with the result of them saying the Savannah cat would be a good family pet, but what can ya do?)
I donated footage to a woman working on a film about captive tigers:
http://www.thetigernextdoor.com/
And also shoot some footage for a cool indie movie out in 2009 about house cats:
http://www.psychokitties.com/
I recently approved some of my Rhino footage to be used for free on the Philippine's largest television network ABS-CBN News program "HAWK'S EYE."
And throughout the year I got numerous emails from students asking me if they could use my photos/videos for their reports for school, which I am always happy to say yes to.
In media news I was interviewed by CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/video//video/ireports/2008/07/22/ireport.for.cnn.c.july.19.cnn
(Minutes 3-6)
And other than that just plain old word of mouth and forwarding my videos have gotten me some much needed attention. I use a lot of my time answering all sorts of animal related questions from various e mails and I continue to run the Myspace pages for both the Snow Leopard Trust
http://www,snowleopard.org
And Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
http://www.lewa.org.
Two groups that not only protect wildlife but raise the quality of living for the local communities who share the land with these animals. They also send kids to school and allow woman to take part in business for the first time in many of these local tribes/communities history.
I use Charity Navigator to help look up info on those I donate to as well.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
My wife and I donated hours of our time to help transcribe some footage for an up coming feature about the Snow Leopard Trust.
So as you can see, it has been a busy year for Brian's Art for Animals, and I am getting ready for an even busier and hopefully more prosperous year in 2009. If anyone has any ideas and or contacts they can help me with in order to gain more press/sales. Please e mails me. Thanks.
Well, that is it for the business side, so if you want to read a little about my personal side (if you are like me, you want to know a little about who you may buy something from as you can't trust anyone Auto CEO's, politicians, Wall Street etc…in these times of greed/money worshipping) then continue on... if not, thanks for reading this far 
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So as many of you know I left Tampa and Big Cat Rescue after a great 8 year run. I loved the cats but it was time to come home. A long 8 years of hard work and doing all I could to give my all to those beautiful animals. After getting married in late 2007, I moved with my warm blooded Florida wife to chilly Chicago in March 2008. The only work I have found is temp work in the animal field. Obviously temp work doesn't pay much, offers no benefits, and I am trying my best to get a permanent position. This year for me and so many others have been rough financially to say the least.
This summer I gave up eating chicken. (I had given up eating cows and pigs years ago as a way to be more animal friendly and kind to the planet and all that) Living in a meat loving city like Chicago doesn't make it easy. I don't label myself a "pseudo veggie" as I don't like labels that much and also if I am traveling and meat was prepared and the only thing offered I will dine in as I don't ever waste food. I think everyone shouldn't feel the need to change the world all by themselves; we all just have to do a little something. For instance, my meat loving wife gave up eating pig and any fast food meat, and that is cool and I appreciate her efforts.
So I always take those "what is your eco-footprint" quizzes and score well. When I moved out of the woods in Florida and close to the big city here, I thought I wouldn't be able to live as "Green" as before. But now I take public transportation 80% of all my trips and our heating/cooling, electric bill in very low as we have other apartment units around us closing us in. I recycle all I can, and try use as few resources from this planet as I can. It is very important for me to leave a small footprint, and I am doing my best. If you are going to tell others to care more about the planet (I for sure talk the talk), then I feel the need to walk the walk myself.
In July I got the chance to fly up and visit Wildcat Sanctuary and I shot this video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymMdJUEQdVA
I will be trying to visit other places and shoot more traveling videos as well.
And I also wrote a lot of letters trying to get better protection and attention to the plights for both the wild and captive tiger among other animals. I am sure I forgot to mention a few things. All in all 2008 was a busy year, but a fun one. Thanks for your support, and remember to support wildlife conservation.
-Brian "Brian's Art for Animals"