I am an interaction designer and like what I do but as fate would have it starting last month I am getting a chance to enjoy being a stay at home mom for a bit. I am also loving having more time to dive back into art. Mostly I am illustrating stories and characters inspired by my oldest daughter who just turned 4. In fact I love it so much that I have decided to use this time in my life to try to take my doodling to a more serious level with the goal of breaking into the field of children's illustration. The purpose of this blog is to chart my progress, get critiques and meet others who are also attempting to realize their dreams (assuming anyone is interested enough to read this).
I have some formal training but have not really put it to use in the past oh 10 years or so, so assuming I am starting from zero here is my high level plan of action:
1. Practice, practice, practice - commit to sketching every single day. Participate in Illustration Friday every week. Have my work critiqued by others and accept criticism gracefully :)
2. Find support - join a critique group, look for illustration forums and blogs.
3. Research the industry - make use of almanacs and illustrator yearbooks, join Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
4. Look into other avenues of getting my work out there: greeting cards, etsy, pinterest, cafepress.
5. Post on this blog at least twice a week to keep myself accountable, even if it's nothing more than "kids were monsters so got nothing done."
6. Don't be shy about promoting myself. This one is going to be a toughie for me...
I know this list is incomplete and I will adjust it as I go along.
Any major undertaking takes time and I am giving myself a 12 months timeframe and defining success as having something of mine accepted for paid publication. Ultimately I'd love for illustration to become my primary career and to also be able to work from home and spend time with my girls as they grow up. In this economy, however, we'll be reassessing my ability to not seek a full time day job on a month-to-month basis.
I will post any and all of my doodles here but... we are just finishing up a remodel of our house and the scanner is not hooked up to the computer yet and might not be for some time, so for now I will take pictures with my phone and post them that way. Better than nothing and I am sure my readers (aka Mom and hubby) won't mind.
Wish me luck!
I have some formal training but have not really put it to use in the past oh 10 years or so, so assuming I am starting from zero here is my high level plan of action:
1. Practice, practice, practice - commit to sketching every single day. Participate in Illustration Friday every week. Have my work critiqued by others and accept criticism gracefully :)
2. Find support - join a critique group, look for illustration forums and blogs.
3. Research the industry - make use of almanacs and illustrator yearbooks, join Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
4. Look into other avenues of getting my work out there: greeting cards, etsy, pinterest, cafepress.
5. Post on this blog at least twice a week to keep myself accountable, even if it's nothing more than "kids were monsters so got nothing done."
6. Don't be shy about promoting myself. This one is going to be a toughie for me...
I know this list is incomplete and I will adjust it as I go along.
Any major undertaking takes time and I am giving myself a 12 months timeframe and defining success as having something of mine accepted for paid publication. Ultimately I'd love for illustration to become my primary career and to also be able to work from home and spend time with my girls as they grow up. In this economy, however, we'll be reassessing my ability to not seek a full time day job on a month-to-month basis.
I will post any and all of my doodles here but... we are just finishing up a remodel of our house and the scanner is not hooked up to the computer yet and might not be for some time, so for now I will take pictures with my phone and post them that way. Better than nothing and I am sure my readers (aka Mom and hubby) won't mind.
Wish me luck!
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