I'd love to join a group like that! I'm currently just illustrating in my free time, trying to build up a portfolio while I work a full-time design job with goals of making illustration my full-time gig. I don't think I would have enough to show on a weekly basis but every 2-4 weeks would be great.

Hi everyone!

This is a difficult topic especially in this modern age where we need to be perfect, perform in all areas of life and fit it all in our agenda : eat well, do some sport, be cultivated, have hobbies, be a caring and dedicated parent/lover, be an over-achiever at work, etc.

Unfortunately we can't possibly have it all. Days are only 24h long (remove 8h sleeping, 8 hours working, 2 hours commute and 2 hours eating and see what's left for your family and yourself).

For me, making time goes with : no TV, limited time on social medias, a new morning routine - no make up or elaborated hairstyle - , less healthy home cooking, saying no to invitations from friends I am not too excited about (the events, not the friends), less reading (I miss this part!), not being too strict on house cleaning and other related chores, etc. The only thing I don't skip is sleeping and doing some sport : those give me the necessary energy to keep up with a busy professional life and to be able to draw at the start / at the end of the day.

Of course it is never enough. But it is better than a few years back when I didn't draw at all 🙂

Good luck all!

I'd like to become a better critique-er (sp?) of artwork AND writing on forums so I can be useful to others. Any podcasts or tips? Thanks.

It´s exciting to be building your own portfolio site!
I can only share my approach - there are many different ones. I use the online portfolio purely as a showcase of selected work and a place where you find my contact information. I don’t sell myself or my work there - it´s only a place to direct people to see a sample of my best work and my style.
I use social media to do self-marketing, as well as conferences and e-mail - not my website.
I work part-time as art director and I can see the other side. I review a couple of dozen portfolios when I have a project that requires illustration. Portfolios have to be straightforward, simple, load fast and give me an overview of the artist in the shortest possible time. The only thing I read is the list of previous clients, if available.
Once I´ve decided for an illustrator, I will dig a bit deeper in who the person is.
So, I´ve modelled my own portfolio on the same criteria during the years, taking down the WIP section, the blog section, the about me section and everything else that was not a straight gallery. Now I have just the portfolio and contact information, which also contains some very short info on myself.
Of course, this depends on what your intent is and what type of client you wish to attract! There are many approaches and you can browse around and find the ones you like best.

Here's the current one I'm working on. Will most likely start again because it doesn't look like her face and I don't know if I like it. I was given two resources for costume. The woman I'm drawing, in real life, is about 50-60 years old and always smiling. I need to make her look like a 38 year old who lost her mother as a young one and hasn't seen her father in 20 years. Half elf and half human. She carries a rapier, a small bow and a quiver arrows with three knives strapped to her left leg. (not sure if I can fit them) I sent her a message to send me a photo of her in character (without a huge smile). Anyway, I would love some critiques on this one. Are the clothes okay? Help with the proportions or anything else you might see that could be tweaked. I don't have tons of time to work on anything too elaborate so it might have to be a simple pose but, I apprecuate any help so I can get working on it some more tomorrow. Does the right (her left) leg look funnny? Thanks!!!!

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I'm kinda going through the same thing. I think there isn't a wealth of information on the best way to get it done because it varies a lot based on your location, what products and services are available in your area, and how involved in the printing process you want to be. That being said, here's what I can share:

I come from a print marketing/graphic design background so file prep is my jam. When you go to print, Images should ALWAYS be at at least 300 dpi at the size you're printing them and saved in CMYK colorspace. Up-resing or enlarging a finished image in photoshop may work for small size increases but (for example) will not allow you to blow up a piece you originally did at 8x10 to a 24x36 without the image quality degrading. If you draw smaller (traditionally, not digitally) one of the best things you can invest in is a really nice scanner that can scan in at 800-1200 dpi, that way you can scan in your smaller original drawings and paintings and have a little more capability to make larger, better quality prints. when working digitally, consider the largest size you could imagine wanting to print your image, set up your document so that it will be 400-500 dpi at that size, that way if you decide later that you want to crop the image in tighter but still want to maintain the same size, you have room to play. For the printers I have worked with, we have always preferred to work with jpgs, tiffs, or psds. In my personal experience, pngs do not print as well in certain situations. I was able to pick up a refurbished epson artisan 1430 a few years back. This is a wonderful printer for making art prints and it's wide format lets me print up to 13x19 (or 12x18 full bleed). That being said, the prints look best when you are using epson brand premium presentation paper. Often times it has trouble printing on other paper stocks. Same goes for ink cartridges. I tried a bunch of different paper stocks when I first got the printer trying to see if I could get good results and I just couldn't. The colors were off or the images were soft. Recently I bit the bullet and got some epson paper and it's a noticeable difference. for now I'm just starting out so It's more affordable for me to run off individual prints when I need them but I know there will come a time when the amount of time it takes to do all this work myself will far outweigh what little cost savings I currently get from not using a printing service. a thread on printing services: https://forum.svslearn.com/topic/6582/best-print-services/2

I JUST joined SCBWI! I'm not going to make the NY conference, but I'm putting the summer one on my calendar! Its starting to get real, now. I'm excited and terrified. 😃😳

I've tried to use iPad gestures when drawing or painting, but I've also tried to physically turn the page of my Kindle so it goes both ways. We are a confused generation!

good luck, let me know if you have any more difficulties and I can check the file out for you

@julia thanks so much! I've really been trying to develop a consistent look over the past 4-6 months and I think it's starting to pay off. I still have a long way to go but for forever I was sitting just under 300 followers and since trying to up my game I've increased to almost 550! Hopefully it keeps growing!

Oh....the goal was to convey....slight determination, yet innocently looking for adventure!

@cam-royce Thank you so much for your wonderful reply, the advice you've given will definitely help and i'm looking forward to trying them out asap! I think that is a lot of illustrator's problem isn't it? Not taking a breath and looking after yourself mentally and physically, I know i'm definitely guilty of that!
Thank you for the book recommendation, i'm going to have a look into that today and order a copy 🙂
What a wonderful idea about just picking one sentence to illustrate, that already feels like less pressure as you don't have too much text to deal with!

I think i'm going to make your "I am the master of my creativity, my creativity is not the master of me" my mantra from now on!
Thank you so much again, I hope you're having a good week illustration wise, I'm hoping for a productive weekend when maybe my motivation will come flooding back!

Just looked up your account. Holy cow! Love your stuff. Adorable. Throw in a few of the other things and see how your followers react. Or put it in your stories. I would hate for you to lose that consistency in your account because it is so strong. On the other hand, it may be just as strong as you add consistent verity? Add it every so often and see what happens. You can always delete it or move it to another account. If you need to start another account you want your followers to go there too. That means they need to get invested in your other style. No need to start from scratch with another style. Just my two cents. I don’t have lots of followers, but I do follow people I really like!

@eli THANK YOU ALL! This the first book I have written AND illustrated, so doing everything with little to no outside input from others can make you blind to some things. Especially since I am also working on client projects.

I guess I have to be brave and try a larger picture! I've been afraid to do anything larger than a sketch because I didn't want to ruin good paper but I guess I won't learn if I'm not willing to waste materials.

@evilrobot i like the way you think. Make an opportunity out of a tragedy.

Lovely looking website, easy to navigate and your work really stands out on the pages.
I agree with @HeidiGFX , I would lose the illustrations you have alongside your name at the top, even when I expand my browser I still can't see all of the images so it's a bit of a distraction and not needed as you already have your great work on display below your name. Plus 'Scribbles by Mike' is such a strong title!
I personally wouldn't call one of your categories 'Kid Lit Art Portfolio', maybe just 'Children's Illustration', to me that just makes it sound a bit more professional 🙂
Other than that I love the look of it all and your work is brilliant! Love the humour you portray in your illustrations 🙂

This is funny, I like it quite a bit! Personally, I think the gesture the dog is making explains what's happening just fine. If you wanted, you could make a darker spot on the side of monster to indicate that it's wet in that area - like when a stone gets wet, the color changes.

Very inspiring and deep interview with the founder of GNOMON school.
Of course, the focus is on digital art for entertainment industry but what he says applies to any person wanting to have a job as an illustrator. Hope you like it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl37_C0OI0o