BoHo Sherpa Studio 2.0

The Art Sherpa was born out of the love for teaching art with a mission to bring free art education to anyone around the world. You are our art tribe. Because of the support and loyalty of you our community, we have been able to teach hundreds of thousands of people to paint worldwide in over 250+ countries. Together, we have learned so much over the last three years and we are ready to take that experience, and with your help, create the next generation of the Sherpa Studio to carry that mission into 2018.

We are blessed with an amazing community of viewers who follow us on YouTube. Our community support, along with patrons, and strategic partners has allowed The Art Sherpa family to thrive. But, the day-to-day expenses of studio operations does not leave much in the budget for anything else. We need your help to take the next step.

Together, we would like to build a new studio set and upgrade our production. We have big dreams to create new, interactive experiences and art adventures like you have never seen before. You have watched us push the boundaries of teaching art online. We’ve set the standard of How-To Acrylic on YouTube and now we plan to raise that bar. 

To thank you for contributing to our Studio Fund, we have created some compelling Perks below. Please take a look at our plan, and if you like what we have in mind, we would love your support.

Sherpazoids Unite!

The Plan

We have broken down our studio development strategy into 5 primary goals and 2 secondary goals. The first 5 Phazes are the core goals to accomplish and reach the next level. Our secondary Phazes represent overfund goals and what we will do with those funds if we are so lucky! While we know some details may change slightly, this is our plan and we are ready to start building!

**Sherpa Note: We know we it’s spelled phase, we just liked it with a “z”. :-)

Phaze 1: Set Walls and Decor $3200

This is the core of all the work moving forward. New stage flat walls, a door, basic electricity, a new easel, interactive touch screen and some new decoration. The new set will allow Cinnamon to finally capture her vision of an art sanctum and share it with you. The new wall flats will be built to meet live stage event standards and greatly improve the safety and reliability of our set day to day. We will add a dedicated 220V-30amp service to the studio to provide the necessary power for lighting and servers. Inside the studio, we will have new electrical break out panels, stingers, and on set power distribution.

We are designing a new pallet table, 'hands' work space, and easel to help capture better camera angles. These custom build sets will allow us better use of the space we have, while making it more enjoyable for the viewer and much more comfortable for Cinnamon to teach.

An interactive touch screen is one of the best parts of this Phaze. This amazing tool allows Cinnamon to draw directly on the screen to assist in painting and drawing lessons during live shows. 

**Sherpa Note: Cinnamon believes that this will actually help her definitely teach clouds, or at least explain what those things are doing up in the sky. And probably some branches and flowers too. (maybe lighting, and oh what about underwater...)

Phaze 2: Lighting and DMX $500

Long time viewers of the show know that we have worked hard to keep color accuracy as true as possible and lighting is the biggest part of that. In our new studio, we will incorporate full spectrum, dimmable LED panels replacing our existing fluorescent lighting fixtures. The new lights are not only brighter so we need less of them, but they are much cooler as well. This translates to a consistent color balance between our camera shots, overall better lighting, and better painting conditions in the studio.

While we are rewiring all the lights, we will also upgrade to DMX512 lighting controls. That means, we will be able to change lighting focus or mood at the touch of a button, control the bubble machine, and incorporate more great stage effects like smoke and lasers! Not only will it make the set more fun, but it also makes our studio much safer. All of the electrical wires, switches, and plugs can be pulled up and away from our studio space with no need to manually adjust the lights. All of this will be accomplished from the control desk from now on.

Phaze 3: Rigging and Security - $500

Theaters used to use rope, pulleys, and counterweights to raise an lower the curtain just like a ship raises and lowers it’s sail. So ever since some creative Thespians purchased their stage equipment from the sailors (or pirates), its has been called Rigging… Just like on a ship. Now that we are getting our studio ship shape, we need some rigging too. Over the last couple hundred years theater tech has evolved, so we are going to need more than a few standard ropes and pulleys.

First thing, we will create strong anchor points for all the lights and electrical cables necessary. Runners and rails will be installed so we can drop green screens and swap out lights without much difficult. And most importantly, we will add redundant security cable points at every light fixture in case a clamp fails, the cable prevents the light from falling.

**Sherpa note: Please don't let my lights fall on me John!!!**

While we are securing things, we will be upgrading our existing alarm system. Well, we won’t go into too much detail about this, for security reasons… ;)

Phaze 4: Video Server - $2000

Improving the reliability of our streams is a big priority for us, and the stability of our computer systems is that foundation. (Who shall be named KEVIN THE KRACKEN!!!!) We have selected a factory refurbished HP Workstation to serve as that next building block. By selecting high quality refurbished components, we can stretch our server budget enough to get a serious graphics machine to handle all the new streaming features. This new server will provide three primary functions. First, provide storage space for our video clips, music, and visual effects for live shows. Second, it will manage the capture and storage of our final videos, and finally, it will allow for expanding and higher quality graphics, to be added to our live stream events. 

Phaze 5: Robocam 2.0 - $3800

Robocam set the standard in close up painting shots, and now we know how to make ‘him’ even better. Bigger lens, faster servos and one heck of a quiet iris, Robocam 2 is a huge improvement in video fidelity. Not only can we zoom in even closer (EXTREME CLOSE UP GARTH!) but we have more accurate control of gain and color correction from the studio control booth.

With the upgrade of Robocam 2, we also have a new control board that can handle even more Robocams and allow for smoother pan, tilt and zoom operations. Robocam 1 will stay in service and offer additional zoom angle shots.

Phaze 6: Interactive Sherpa Graphics (Overfund Goal 1)

Now that we have all this cool new tech, we need to build some graphics to experiment with it!  While we can't afford a real snow machine, virtual snow would be fun! (And less damaging to the artwork) We would like to develop a new set of broadcast graphics for the 2018 season that utilizes the new amazing power of our new graphics server. This will include a new intro, lower thirds (name plate) transition animation, and experimental interactive elements. This new system is capable of some really astounding interactive integration for our live stream events and we look forward to pushing these broadcast boundaries on YouTube in 2018.

Phaze 7: Robocam Invasion (Overfund Goal 2)

Like Tribbels, you can’t have just one… and who only wants one anyway! Klingons not withstanding. Bring on the ROBOT INVASION!

We want Robocam 2 on both the left and right zoom angle shots. This way, we will never miss a close up and the color will perfectly match as well. Robcam 1 will be moved to the overhead allowing all our camera angles to be adjusted remotely.

Community Responsibility

When we started planning this project, our first objective was to be transparent in our goals and what we plan to do with the donations you provide us. And we are committed to continuing that transparency if we see success beyond our initial goals.

With additional budget, we could choose a faster server, get a few more lights, and improve some of the choices we are making in the studio. We need a lot of basic things upgraded in the studio and a little extra capitol would go a long way to make that happen. Ranging from a new laser printer to both Cinnamon and John needing a good chair, we will keep everyone posted on how we use the funds to build our new community space. 

What about the SherpaMobile? We realized that before we could invest in our mobile broadcasting, we needed to get some of the basics in the main studio first. Once we get our studio secure, we will give her our full attention!

CAN WE DO IT? YES WE CAN!

It takes a Tribe.

This project has been largely made possible because of our community members, patrons, and friends of The Sherpa who have stepped forward to help us. In order to build our new set, we need access to a complete wood and electrical workshop, along with the expertise needed to run it all. But as luck would have it, John's good friend Mike (a master carpenter) offered to build all the new sets in his workshop, come install it and rewire our studio, we just needed to get the materials! WOW!!! With an offer like that, we had to explore our options. After a talking to a few more friends, more offers of help and great deals on lights, cameras and servers to improve the studio started to emerge. We have done extensive research on each stage of our plan to make sure we can successfully execute each Phaze as we achieve that funding level. With this confluence of events, we realize now is the time to accept the loving offers of help, and take the Sherpa studio to the next level.

Other Ways You Can Help

Many hands make for light work, and if you can’t contribute financially, THAT'S OK!  You can still help JUST by sharing this fundraiser on your social pages to get the word out in support of free art for everyone! Add a wish to your canvas that we fund!!

Leave a COMMENT! We love to hear from you… :)

Help find ways to reduce our studio cost! Everyday we get suggestions from our community on low cost resources for everything from servers to drywall and we need all the help we can get. If you have ideas, please send them to help@theartsherpa.com

*International Shipping and Perks*

Hey all, we did a lot of research on shipping costs for the Perk rewards and came to the conclusion: International shipping is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!

As soon as the package is larger than a letter, the cost goes through the roof. So we created the INTERNATIONAL LOVE perk level. This includes free shipping worldwide for this exact reason. If you are International, expect an additional US$100-300 in shipping cost. For this reason, we are not offering International Shipping at the time of purchase. If you are comfortable with the ADDITIONAL SHIPPING COSTS, we will ship worldwide. Your exact shipping costs will be calculated at the end of the campaign, no refunds for unshipped items. We appreciate your understanding. 

The Perks: Claim your loot!

$5 : Sherpazoid Supporter

Your name will go on a special thank you page on our website AND Cinnamon will design and teach a special painting tutorial that will only be available to those that donate to THIS fundraiser. Access to Download an exclusive wall paper, and a special Gif -(digital animated image) **SHERPA NOTE: it’s a giiiifffffttttt LOL

$25 : Studio Supporter

Your name goes on our new studio wall! We have a special place picked out in the new studio for a Patron Wall, and we are excited to put your name first! PLUS -- we you will get access to exclusive videos and live events during our studio build! You also get the your name on Thank you wall on theartsherpa.com, Access to the Supporter only art tutorial, Digital wallpaper and Gif download.

$50 : Brave Beta Tester

ACCESS to Beta Development Pages, and tester feedback forums....which also means you get to beta test all the new Sherpa Software currently in development. Of course, we give you everything above as well: Name on Thank you wall on the sherpa website, Digital Wallpaper,Gif, supporter only tutorial,- Interactivity with social media and internet is necessary to participate.

$120 : Benevolent Benefactor 

Exclusive signed 11x14 museum quality print. Cinnamon, The Art Sherpa, will design and paint this image, then have quality prints made, and she will hand sign them all !!! This exclusive image will never be available again. All Signed Prints will come with a certificate of authenticity. Everything in Brave Beta Tester is also included.

$200 : International Love

An original Artist Trading Card by The Art Sherpa. ATC's are 2.5" x 3.5" trading card sized original works of art that make it affordable to share original artwork all over the world. So to make it possible to ship a perk with FREE WORLD WIDE SHIPPING, it had to be small. :) Also includes Brave Beta Tester.

$250 : Art Angel 

Sherpa’s own hand EMBELLISHED 11x14 print. This will be the same image as the signed print and will have hand painted embellishments and of course the Sherpa will sign it. All Embellished Prints will come with a certificate of authenticity. Everything in Brave Beta Tester is also included.

$500 : Creative Champion 

You get to choose one of The Art Sherpa's original studies from a tutorial show. First come First Serve. There are 40 pre-selected paintings to choose from below. They are broken down by size and canvas board or paper. As you all know John is a Dragon and this is part of his horde, thank you John for sharing. Studies will come with a certificate of authenticity. You will also receive everything in Benevolent Benefactor

We will send out emails requesting your selections after the close of the Indiegogo event. Perk winners will be processed on a first purchase, first pick priority. 

$1000 : The OG Sherpette

You get a one of a kind Sherpa Girl painting by Cinnamon Cooney, The Art Sherpa. Cinnamon will paint one of her "Party Girls" just for you! You will have Limited Customization (Hair, skin tone, eye color, body type, dress style and colors.) No Revisions. You will be contacted via email. Originals will come with a certificate of authenticity. You will also receive everything in Benevolent Benefactor. **Sherpa Note: I am totally down for designing a guy if you really want a party guy, and OG stands for Original Girl... :P

<----- Example show here 

$1500 : E-Coffee with The Art Sherpa

One on One, Coffee, Skype, and art chatting with The Art Sherpa for one hour! Cinnamon will grab a coffee and call you on Skype, for a one hour, Art-In where you will talk about YOUR Art Journey. You will have a chance to email with Cinnamon before to call to outline some Family Friendly topics to cover. We also include everything in the Creative Champion Perks. Sherpa Note: I’m kinda really excited to SEE you and your art and talk to you about it. I never get to SEE you!!! This will be sooo much fun!!**

$2500 : Patron of The Sherpa

You dear Patron, have the super special and rare opportunity to reserve a place in the Sherpadom; Help us meet our financial obligations! Your gracious donation to The Art Sherpa will provide much needed funds to carry out her mission. As a Patron, we reserve a special place of thanks to you on our Community Wall, Patron screens and of course, YOU will be one of the first people we call when we need help! You also have a special place on our Christmas Card List! Enjoy an old school medieval patronage!

$5000 : Sherpazoid Grand Bubble Blower

Access and control over the Bubble Machine*.  Online badge, community recognition (No professional or business requests pleases), a Custom Bubble Wand will be presented. You, Sherpazoid Grand Bubble Blower or SGBB, will be given priority access to all Bubble Blowing controls whenever possible, at any event or party YOU attend! That's right, you can call fourth Texas Snowflakes whenever you feel the Sherpa needs to get down! As the SGBB, if you choose to remain anonymous, we will make appropriate accommodation! Sherpa-unobtanium!

*whenever production allows, additional technology for online play coming 'soon'

Show Study Gallery

(Full size images available HERE)

8x10 Canvas Board

9x11 Canvas Board

11x14 Canvas Board

8x10 Paper

9x10 Paper