Growing up in Hawaii I never really felt a career in art was possible. This is my first locally published book and very near and dear to my heart. I am thankful for each and every project that comes my way but this book was the first that I've actually seen in stores so it's extra exciting!
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As a creative entrepreneur and a mother of two, my days are in no way monotonous. In fact, each day can be totally unique depending on what I want to do or put on my schedule. Total freedom sounds great doesn't it? Well, in many ways it is a blessing to have the creative freedom to choose what I want to tackle on a daily basis, but it can also make your life miserable if you aren't artful in keeping yourself on track.
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When you are interacting online it's important to remember people put their work out there for critique and not for criticism (well, most people). Here is a short list of what to think about when critiquing someone's work or when you want to put your work out there for review:
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Although I consider myself a full-time freelance illustrator and designer, I feel it’s important to always look for new opportunities to create income. The bulk of my income does come from larger illustration and design jobs but I also use passive income streams to give me a little boost!
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My first foray into freelancing over a decade ago was an experience that left me considering other job options. I was fresh out of college with little in my portfolio and even less confidence. I ended up going back to school and landing a design job with a government agency for over 5 years before I decided to try my hand at freelancing again. Suffice to say, my failure at my first attempt was mainly my fault. My “greenness” and not really knowing how the business operated resulted in my expectations being really high. Essentially my outcome was so low I was totally turned off.
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Before signing on with an illustration agency, I hadn’t really heard of or had been asked to produce spec work. “Spec work” or speculative work, is work a client may request from a designer or illustrator to submit so that the client can determine if they want to use that designer for a project. In most cases, this work is not compensated for and landing the project is not guaranteed.
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Today I'd like to share my freelance story with you all. Ever since I graduated from college, I've always had some type of creative job. I did graphic design work and illustration for a variety of companies and organizations before deciding to go it alone this March (2015). I'll be honest, I was scared out of my mind. I only had a few local clients, I wasn't being represented by an agency yet, I didn't have much of a following yet on social media and I have a young family to take care of. All I knew is that I really wanted to make a living producing images and art that brought joy to others.
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Sorry for the inconsistency of my blog posting recently. I've actually been pretty busy with client work (which you can never really complain about). Working on paid work is great but has presented me with a conumdrum. I enjoy sharing my work via my blog and social media accounts, but with paid work you usually have to sign a confidentiality agreement (thus no real posts about such work).
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Today is a quick post of a new portfolio piece I'm working on. I wanted to do something a little different, more fanciful than my last portfolio piece. Here is an initial rough sketch of my idea.
I wanted to do a piece that is more geared towards boys. I love creating fun characters so I had fun designing these scurvy sea dogs!
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