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Oh my. Y’all are amazing.
I’m going to work through and comment in a bit.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
Being an illustrator is one of my ambitions as well. I’ve never been commissioned to do anything yet. I did talk to one publishing company… but my art style did not fit the needs of the author they have…. (Once I have a few interior illustrations for my book that I am satisfied with, I will send them over to this company again.)
I’ve also been showing my artwork to some friends in the church. One man did mention something about how he should commission me to draw his daughters … Not sure how serious he was.
That would be awesome (illustrating and taking commissions). I hope it works out! Your style is beautiful.
I also totally get it about style. Mine is like a more whimsical form of traditional line art with graphite and mixed media or a very realistic style in graphite. It certainly does not fit every book’s voice.
I haven’t made pursuing an art career a focus. Firstly, because I would like to avoid art school. My dad took one and told me a few stories that I thought it wise not to learn from the world. I have taken some online courses on drawing animals (which naturally is cleaner) to help hone my skills. If you are looking to improve your art, I recommend it.
I did briefly consider a graphic arts degree at our local college, but I was almost through a liberal arts degree and did not want to redo everything. Plus you can always tell a fine arts major from a mile away…. like you said. It can be an “interesting” world.
The other reason why I am wary of jumping into a full-time illustration career is because people are not using AI.
Ah yes, the specter in the corner. From what I understood, AI was not yet preferred because it’s not original art. That could change though.
One thing you will need to do is get your name out there. Some people use sites like DeviantArt, …. Do you have any form of social media? (I dislike using social media (though I guess Kinddom Pen is sort of one), but it is a good place to start posting about yourself and sharing some artwork).
Thank you for the advice on DeviantArt! I had noticed some issues when trying to find an artist I like.
Yeah, this is basically my social media. I have another form as well that I avoid like the plague. I also have Pinterest, but have only used it to find aesthetics and drawing inspo. XD I considered Intsagram, but… it’s a lot. I’m actually a very private person, believe it or not. XD But it’s definitely something I’m going to be looking into.
Do you have any sort of website yet?
Nope! Not sure which route to take with this.
Good idea. Start small. As you grow in your skills grow and more people start to value your work, you can raise you prices.
Yeah. It’s actually kinda funny. My mother runs a small business, so I have the two sides running all the time: Why not start a small business, and the Why Not to start a small business. Terrifying.
Another thing you could look into if you haven’t already is mass-producing your art.
This is actually what got me thinking seriously about illustrating. I never finished setting it up, but last year I was intending to start selling stationary and wall hangings. I think I’ll pursue that until I get a steady level of commissions.
Could I see some more of your art, please?
Absolutely! I’ll share a link for a Canva folder.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
Thank you for the resources!
I come from a photographer’s family, so we have actually used Adobe PhotoShop for years. Unfortunately, the license went out of date and we got to find out why so many people grump about it. O.O
I’ve heard about ProCreate from a calligraphy site I follow too. I might look into it.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
I have a lot more experience making art than selling it lol… I’ve done fun commissions for free and stuff, but nothing for sale
Well, that’s a little more experience than I have. The most I have done others is cards. XD
You could charge for your stuff though. It’s really good! Your style is so distinctive. I love looking at the stuff you share.
I’ve actually been looking into the Canon Lide 400! It’s about $15 more than what you said the 300 was, but sounds pretty much the same.
Ooh, good advice on the saturation. I did coloring pages for a children’s curriculum my family wrote, but we struggled so much with the saturation. I ended up “inking” each page before we scanned it it, and my sister still had to clean stuff up. Doubling it would probably have taken care of the issue.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
Aw thanks girl, yeah idk what I want to pursue but it would be nice to sell art someday.
I’ve really enjoyed the Lide! It’s the perfect size for me. The only problem I have is that the software is really annoying, but that’s pretty common when using a lower end product. It often will try to auto crop the image even though the program isn’t smart enough to know where to crop 🤦♀️If it won’t cooperate though, you can open the advanced scanning settings and select the area to be scanned.
Yeah it’s worked pretty good for me! Oh, and like other people mentioned, you can use free programs. Krita has multiply layers too so I’m pretty sure you can do the same thing. I like photoshop the best but I use krita and medibang too!
Oh and insta would probably work great for somebody like you, you just need to find the right people. There are a lot of Christian authors on insta who might want a cover artist or illustrator. I don’t like it much for myself because my art style is more anime, and unfortunately I guess it puts me outside the Christian circle sometimes.
またね
That would be awesome (illustrating and taking commissions). I hope it works out! Your style is beautiful.
Thank you!
Nope! Not sure which route to take with this.
I recommend a portfolio page, a contact form, and an ‘About Me’ page. If you need any help with this, I am a Web Designer. (Though I should really make one for myself first.)
Yeah. It’s actually kinda funny. My mother runs a small business, so I have the two sides running all the time: Why not start a small business, and the Why Not to start a small business. Terrifying.
Ah. Well if you do, you will have her to hold your hand if you take that direction.
Absolutely! I’ll share a link for a Canva folder.
Okay! I look forward to it!
Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
Very nice! I really like the squirrel. The scientist is another one of my favourites. Your watercolour is good. That is a style I would like to get into, but never have gotten around to.
Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.
Oof, yeah technology can be it’s own personality sometimes. XD I will definitely look into the Lide and those programs.
Good to know! I guess any form of social interaction depends on the group. You want to connect on several levels, not just art form or values separately. I’m so thankful for KP. ❤️
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
I recommend a portfolio page, a contact form, and an ‘About Me’ page.
Sounds good! *takes note*
I might take you up on the help if stuff gets complicated.
(Though I should really make one for myself first.)
Lol. Yeah, that might be a good idea. Sounds like me trying to teach kids how to build a prayer life. Or sew.
Ah. Well if you do, you will have her to hold your hand if you take that direction.
Yep!
Very nice! I really like the squirrel. The scientist is another one of my favourites.
Thank you! The scientist is my alter ego. I made her up while writing Children’s Church material, and now she is a part of me. XD
The part of me that gets caught up with minor details and swaps into a nerdy energizer bunny the moment a topic of interest is mentioned.
Your watercolour is good. That is a style I would like to get into, but never have gotten around to.
I wanted to do it for years! I started playing with calligraphy and ink drawing year or so ago, and then began adding watercolor. I thought it would be ten times harder to work with than it has turned out to be.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
*gaspeth* how could you not tag me when you shared that link!!!!!
Oh man girl!! You could totally do this and make good money!I’m opening a publishing house right now. (Shush, this isn’t public info yet) *says me as I post this online*
anyways, I have an editor and cover artist working for me and I would totally love to hook you into that as well. If you’re interested then shoot me an email and I can work on setting up a page on the website with you so you can start advertising. You could also start your own website of course, but this could be a nice little starting platform. Plus I have a following already. And, I know a few of my authors will be looking for an interior artist. So yeah, feel free to contact me if you want more info or are interested in this at all.
Man is born for the fight, to be forged and molded into a sharper, finer, stronger image of God
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