Monday Coffee

I obviously haven't had enough coffee this week because I almost forgot to post this post. I had this all typed up last night and forgot to hit "Publish". 😅 Pretty sad because it's only the second week! I'm going to think of a picture to put with these and add that later..

Not as much to talk about this week as last. As many of you know I'm on Instagram. What you may not know is I'm doing some giveaways there. You know those images I did for Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 (#30paintingsin30days) and #kidlitart twitter chat's #kidlitart28?  You don't remember? Haven't you been following my blog? 😂 Anyway, I'm giving them away on Instagram! You can join the fun here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgedSRSFFOn/?taken-by=smart_dummies_challenge

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bgg9EYsl_o5/?taken-by=dani_duck_art

Don't live in the USA? That's okay. I'm not limiting shipping anywhere (yet) so feel free to enter.

What Progress?

I've randomly decided that Wednesdays are progress days. I'll be talking about my progress (or lack thereof) on these days. I will also be talking about what I hope to achieve for the coming week. Also anything else that may or may be relevant (because why just play in a box when you can also be on the box? 😁).

Thoughts

I have a cold that just won't go away. I could go for another coffee. Toddler on my lap for no given reason but "up".

What I'm Creating

Right now I'm still working on my portfolio. I have 10 images in there right now, so not bad. Mostly I'm trying to figure out what I want to add to my portfolio.

Possible additions to my portfolio:

B&W/ Grayscale images
Spot Illustration and Spreads
Anthropomorphised Animals
Detailed Backgrounds and Domestic/Indoor Scenes

There are lots of other things I want to add to my portfolio but these are my focus right now. I have a lot of images I could ink and stick into my portfolio so I'm going to do that. I've decided that most (if not all) of these will be done on the computer. It's about the same speed to get them done, and most places that want black and white want it to be digital.

Schedule

March 25th - Have 7-10 B&W/Greyscale illustrations completed (enough to have a page on my portfolio)
March 30th - Know where I'm sending work to. At least 5-10 places.
April 1st  - Have post card finished and sent out for printing
April 8th - 2-3 color spreads finished or almost finished
April 9th - Send out 5-10  Submission Packages

This is my basic schedule and may or may not have anything to do with really happens. The important thing is I made goals. Now to go make some of this happen!

Monday Coffee

I need to keep posting on my blog, so weekly I'm going to do a series called, "Monday Coffee". I'm hoping to post this early enough every week so that you can read it with your morning coffee or tea. I've had a lot of exhausting weeks, so this could be a lot of incoherent ramblings. You're probably tired too, so likely you'll understand me either way. 😂

This morning I'm listening to Will Terry talk about, "When to Say No to Illustration Work" on YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWBaRkjNCM0&t=238s The funny thing is it's made me feel a bit better about some of the jobs I have taken. I had a book I did for a self publisher called "The Magic Mask". The job itself didn't pay a lot, but it wasn't hard and I am currently using the images in my portfolio. There are times I have turned down work, and I luckily made the right decision. It's hard to know the line, but I think Will Terry's video covers most of it!

I know a lot of people who are using Photoshop to illustrate. If you are a digital illustrator you probably know that Photoshop is the program to use. The big problem is that paying for Photoshop on a monthly basis is expensive. I can't tell you that there is something better out there, but here are some alternatives:

1. Older Versions of Photoshop: I believe you can still buy an older version of Photoshop outright. Many of these older versions will work on a newer computer. If you go too old the disk won't read right in your disk reader. I have a version of Photoshop 4.0 that I haven't been able to use for years, so maybe don't go that old!

2. Procreate on the iPad Pro with an Apple Pen. If you are thinking about getting an iPad you may consider the iPad pro. It is expensive but some professional illustrators are switching to the iPad, because it's like a Cintiq but is more versatile. Photoshop and a Cintiq together are better quality, but this may be a good alternative for you. I have not had the pleasure of using this yet, but I hear great things.

3. Clip Studio Paint (Formally Manga Studio): I have not used Clip Studio Paint for coloring. I had Manga Studio 4EX and was not happy with the coloring portion. I do love the ink pen, though. You can create straight lines, or a more brush like line. The great thing about this is you can use the pen like vectors and adjust each line individually if needed (but you don't have to use the vectors at all). There are good sales for this. This is not being updated as they have sold the company, but maybe the company that bought them out will make newer versions.

4. Corel Painter: This program is fairly expensive, though you can find older versions of the software. This can be used to make beautiful paint like illustrations. The bad thing is the software crashes a lot. I currently have 11. I have downloaded newer versions and they all seem to suffer from the same instability problems. When it does work it's a lot of fun!

5. Krita: I love the idea of this program, but I can not get it to work on my computer anymore. It does have decent brushes and a good layout. This is a free program so it wouldn't hurt to try it out.

6. Gimp: I feel like this is sort of the last ditch resort. Gimp is absolutely free, but it's pretty clunky. I do use it for minor image editing especially after scanning.

Other programs: Here are some other programs I haven't had the chance to try out or heard much about:

Inkscape: (alternative to Illustrator -- Vector software.)
Affinity Photo
Corel Paintshop
Pixelmator (Mac)
Sketch (Mac)

There are also some free online software. I don't like the idea of this, because the software can disappear. Also there is a huge lack of privacy when you do this.

Which programs do you use for your illustrations? Do you know of any great programs I haven't mentioned here?

Day 22 of the 30 in 30

Here is a bunny! I don't know if he's cuter than my other bunny, but he's more purple. Purpler bunnies are slightly superior in many ways. Well one way and that way may or may not be color. Spoiler: it's color.

This paintings is for two challenges: #30paintingsin30days and #kidlitart28  Leslie's site for the 30 in 30: https://www.saetastudio.com/february-30-in-30-blog  This image is 2.5"x3.5" colored with Daniel Smith watercolors, inked with a pentel brush pen on Arches Watercolor Paper.  

Process Post

 I put all of this up on Instagram as I was working on it, but personally I think it's kind of neat to see the process of a painting all together in one place.

This is the the first full sketch I did for this illustration. I think I have some roughs somewhere, but those are even worse than this. 

Here is the full final sketch I created before I went into colors.

I had a lot of trouble with the paper I used. The color was not soaking in and not working right in general! I did get the paper replaced by the company but it was a lot of work to do to start over.

I traced the image and started over. When I trace my own work I'm not just tracing. I actually make an effort to change things. Some things I will erase and change completely after moving them to tracing paper.

Here is the drawing on the paper. I transferred it by using a burnt umber pigment on the back of my tracing paper (this can be done with crushed graphite as well). The drawing I did looks lovely right down to the erased bits I forgot to brush away. 

I had to go over some of the lines with graphite because I couldn't see the lines Usually I don't need to do this. Before I started painting I put down some masking fluid.

At this point I have a lot of paint on the paper, but I'm not happy with the shadowing at this point so I had to go in later to adjust everything.

This is what the final illustration looked like before I added inks. I'm not as happy as I could be about the clothing, but overall I like it.

I've been told that I should try leaving out the inks, but I think I would miss them too much. I love how different an image looks when it's complete. I'm noticing just now that maybe the colors could be adjusted to see to show off the wings a bit better, but other than that I'm happy with how this turned out. 

I don't have a title for this painting yet, so if you have any suggestions visit my Instagram page and give me a suggestion for a title!

My 2018 Goals

Here is a list of (at least some) of my 2018 goals!


1. Finish the WIPs for my Portfolio 

I need to finish the illustrations I started for my portfolio. The goal is to replace the work that's older than 2017 with all new work.

2. Complete at Least 5 Challenges

 I hoping this year to complete several challenges. The ones I'm hoping to complete are: Tara Lazar's Storystorm, Julie Hedlund's 12x12, Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30, Becky Fyfe's Chapter Book Challenge and Dani Duck's Smart Dummies

3. Send Out My Illustration Portfolio to at Least 12 Art Reps/Agents/Editors

This is contingent on my completion of # 1.

4. Find at least 12 Places to Approach for Freelance Work

Submitting work to magazines is included in this.

5. Complete at Least 3 Submission Ready Picture Book Dummies 

6. Send Dummies to at least 12 Agents/Editors

This is contingent on my completion of # 5.

7.  Keep up on my Instagram Accounts

I'm going to attempt to post on these several times a week!

8. Do at Least 1 Creative Project with my Kids Every Week

This can be big or small.

I may not be able to complete all of these, but at least I have my goals mapped out. I'm not worried about failure as much as not trying!

What are Your Goals for 2018?

A few years ago I stopped making New Year's Resolutions and started making New Year's Goals. I'm making some new goals to help me through the year. I try not to do this on the first day of the year because I'm not making resolutions but goals.

I like to make my goals as specific and attainable as possible. Since I don't have a picture book published making my goal "Getting Published" or "Getting an Agent" isn't going to work. I make goals that I can make happen. I can't force someone to publish my work, or be my agent, but I can make myself polish manuscripts, create dummies and send out a certain number of query letters in a year.

Before I start listing my new goals I'll do a recap on my 2017 goals:

1. Win Storystorm I'm happy to report that I won Storystorm last year! I get so many ideas from this event every year. I'm taking part in it again this year! You can sign up here until January 9th!   https://taralazar.com/2017/12/28/storystorm-2018-registration-is-open/

2. Win the 12x12 Challenge 2017 was the first year that I was able to complete the 12x12 Challenge. I have learned so much being a part of this group. I now have a wonderful critique group that started in 2017 and will continue throughout this year as well. I can't have 2017 without this group in my life. Registration for new members starts January 9th: http://12x12challenge.com/membership/

3. Look for Freelance Illustration Work I did get some illustration work in 2017, but nothing that I went out and looked for. I will need to start looking for new sources of inspiration this year. 

4. Finish 2-3 Picture Book Dummies I was not able to finish any dummies last year. I focused my energies on other things. Maybe I can make this a goal this year.

5. Submit at Least 6 Different Manuscripts to Editors/Agents I wasn't happy with my work enough to send it out as is last year, so I did not do any submissions last year.

6. Spend More Focused Time on Social Media I started two instagram accounts this year, so that's progress. My personal illustrator's account: https://www.instagram.com/dani_duck_art/ Where I post my artwork and different things about my artist life. And my Smart Dummies Challenge account: https://www.instagram.com/smart_dummies_challenge/ This is where I post blog posts, kidlit events and pictures from illustrators, writers and other people in (or that can be related to) the kidlit field. The tag for this is #smartdummieschallenge. The tag is to help me see your work so I can share it. I found I needed two accounts so my personal work didn't get buried in someone else's work.

7. Spend More Time With Family I did not have any freelance jobs around Christmas and I admit that it felt good. I was able to spend more time with my family and it was a crazy time. It was absolutely wonderful and I hope that future Christmases are mostly busy with family things.

SO that was my last year. How did your year go? What are your goals for 2018? Let me know in the comments!