So hey, internet, we're just gonna forget about September, ok? Between a new baby, two older kids, a full time job, finishing up Princess Candy book 3 and the inability of my brain to put together any coherent thoughts during that time, September and most of October were a bust as far as regular updates go. Not what I had hoped for this little experiment, so I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things now.
In the time between finishing the third Princess Candy installment and getting started on the next I've been trying to update my portfolio site, work on new pieces for said portfolio and build a contact list for an upcoming mailing. 2009 has been pretty busy so these have all been things I unfortunately neglected. I've also managed to do some writing for a web comic project that I'll probably be announcing early next year. Anyhow, I haven't just been sitting on the ol' duff.
You can see some of the fruits of my labor here at my portfolio site, updated with a smattering of newer images and a bunch of golden oldies.
Since I'm focusing my attention on the children's market one of the best resources that I'm using to build my mailing list is the 2010 Children's Book Writer's and Illustrator's Market book. If anybody out there is reading this and has any other suggestions please shoot me an email or comment below.
As for new pieces, I'm trying to finish some up before I start on the next Princess Candy book but honestly, I've been in a bit of a rut. I have plenty of sketches of pieces that I need to get moving on but I'm over thinking them, wondering if they're the right pieces to market myself with or if I need to change up my style a bit. Consequently, I end up paralyzing myself with these considerations and don't get much accomplished. At least that was the case, until yesterday when I was listening to Thomas James' fantastic podcast, Escape from Illustration Island and he was interviewing Jonathan Woodward who runs the blog Zero 2 Illo. Jonathan has been using Zero 2 Illo to document his transition from a freelance graphic designer to a freelance illustrator, putting it out there as a resource for other aspiring illustrators. During the course of the interview, which was great (as always, Escape from Illustration Island is a phenomenal show), Jonathan explained that he blogs about his work schedules and posts deadlines for himself because if he didn't, he might not get the work done. Hearing that, I decided that some self-imposed deadlines would be just the thing to get me to pull the trigger on these illustrations.
So here's the skinny... each week I'm going to work on a new piece, and post it here every Friday as my Perpetual Motion report, column thing. I'll use that to go over the process, post sketches and whatnot, chat about other stuff I've observed along the way. Hopefully, the issues of style and marketing that I've been mulling over will work themselves out through doing the work rather than through all my navel gazing. Even if each image isn't star search material, I should end up with some nice additions to the portfolio. Sound like a good plan?
That's it in a nutshell. If you're still reading then I salute you for your tenacity and fortitude. In the future, there will be fewer words and most certainly more pictures. For now, I leave you with this space kid.
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