@Frost-Drive these should all be available at your library -- I checked them all out digitally with Overdrive.

@Griffin Here are some places you can find examples of postcards:

https://subitclub.com/postcard-post-archive/

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23mailersandcoffee&src=typed_query&f=top

Also, next Thursday is the next #kidlitartpostcard social media event, even though you can't print & send at the moment, this event has been getting pretty good traction:

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/kidlitartpostcard/
http://www.ginaperry.com/blog/2021/5/26/announcing-kidlitartpostcard

My approach to my own website is one that I wouldn't recommend to anyone who is not an absolute nerd (I code for a living so doing my own site this way was a natural for me; but understandably not for everyone else). However, prior to this I used Adobe Portfolio (comes with any Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for what I understand) and for a non-coder it was okay. You can even host your own domain name there for added professionalism. I just switched because I wanted more control design-wise and felt comfier with code over time.

Regarding Wordpress, I've used that in the past too, not in wordpress.com but as in hosted WP installations (many web hosts these days will throw in WP installs for free; the company I use, Dreamhost, does it). WP's advantage is that it features hundreds of thousands of plugins that allow enabling WP to do pretty much anything. On the minus side, the mishmash of posts, plugins and databases WP eventually becomes turns it into a headache to maintain after a few years, IME.

Most people seem to choose Squarespace for portfolio use these days, anyway.

@K-Flagg I agree. I try to discourage my own students from doing a lot of contests for that very reason. @Frost-Drive I'd recommend just doing stuff for fun right now, like Inktober or Slowvember.

I really like Robb Mommaerts work, he is a master of inks.

I also like David Sierra, his work has a vintage air to it but it's really nice.

Mitch Leeuwe has a more commercial look, but he also has great and inspiring tutorials.

There is also Lorenzo from the Etherington Brothers, he has lots of tutorials and tips that works for a wide range of styles but it goes great for children and juvenile targets.

There are a few others I really like but I would need to do some digging for their links :P.

If you do it under the same name, it could be problematic. Lets say your name is credited in a children's book. Some kid liked the art so much that looks for you online and ends up finding some spicy stuff.
You should judge it yourself, is it ok for your target audience to find online the other stuff you do? It might be that you dont really have anything distasteful that shows by searching your name, but if you do... It might be wise to use a pseudonym.

@donnamakesart Definitely agree. It made me concerned about the students they'll be teaching. If they're bullying adults, God help their students.

Even if it is bullying, I wish it was something I could ignore and forget...

@LauraA Hey that's a cool solution! And yes, I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable they are. I hope your overall experience is positive!

HI Elisa!
This is tricky. I am running into sort of the same thing. Basically I am learning that I have been getting better way faster by doing MORE lower paying jobs. I am learning speed, skill, and communication at such an exponential rate compared to when I was just trying to work on my portfolio. I am not at the level where I can make what I want to per project yet... but I feel like I am playing the long game and I am getting there. I don't know what your art looks like (I'd love to see!) or what your financial situation is. I also see I your picture you have a baby (I have three- I get the time thing!) but that's what I have found in my own life. That was probably not super helpful lol. But, you're not alone in your ponderings... Best of luck!!

I think what you're looking for are watercolour triads. Choosing 1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 blue from which to mix all your colours in a limited palette. This will ensure your colour palette is harmonious. For example this is a colour wheel I created with just three primaries and a little colour study of a character I did using this limited palette.

Aussie Triad.jpeg

Gretel colour study 1.jpeg

And here's a fantastic resource that will elaborate on the topic and provide many more triads!

https://www.janeblundellart.com/watercolour-triads.html

I could spend all day every day just playing with watercolour triads 😝 I hope you get as much delight out of them as I do!

@lpetiti Sounds good!!

good. I think there is a second part to that one also. I think its called creative composition 2.0

@willicreate Thanks very much ! I had the intention of them all working in the same kitchen in a mediterranean setting like Italy or south of France, so I guess they could be brothers. I'll perhaps put some text on the page explaining that or change the title to make it more obvious. Thank you 🙂

@jthomas I personally think the action could start at around four or five. If the story has a good hook and flow, I flip through pages quick. What troubles me is I don’t know who Jaz is as a person. From the first chapter I get his strong sense of justice and can be headstrong, aka a hero type. But what makes Jaz 'human'?

You don’t have to answer all the questions in chapter two. Having a mystery can foster audience retention. It would be better to allow Jaz to have his adventures before reintroducing the mother. To show how the crystal got into the pod, the easiest thing to do is show the antagonist exit the pod bay and then setup the charge. No dialouge needed.

Speaking from personal experience, I think you should move on to working on chapter two. It's better to have a draft of a completed story than to risk a project get stuck in development hell.

@Griffin hi! I’d recommend separating them. Have 1 page for the children’s illustration and another for your MG and YA

@burvantill Love that you're going with just your name! That is awesome! Definitely rock star status. My name is too common for that, unfortunately. 😂

Share more when you have it!

I just watched the video again, so much good info in it! In addition to what @carlianne said about things being perfectly symmetrical being less interesting, it seemed to be a recurring thing that people use the point of view of a drone hovering 20 feet above the ground as a default. It could be that a person’s eye line is lower than first expected.

When I’m standing outside, my eyes are only 5 feet off the ground. So if my front door’s knob is also 5 ft off the ground, that will be at the horizon level. Anything taller that will appear above the horizon. My home is like 50 ft tall, so almost all of it is above my eye line/ horizon. The numbers aren’t important, but having an idea of where a human’s eyes would stand could be good to keep in mind.

I think the idea is to be purposeful about the POV to fit the narrative. In the video they commented that some looked like establishing shots for a sitcom intro, so if that’s what you’re going for, the 20 ft helicopter hover camera may be what you want. If you’re a little kid walking up to a haunted house, exaggerating the low angle may be scarier. If you’re spiderman on the roof of a skyscraper, a high camera angle from above could be exciting. If you are going for something like a folksy style, linear perspective may just not be that important, and forcing the drawing into vanishing points could be distracting. I think deciding the effect you want comes before deciding the camera position.

OK thank you! I do have and use photoshop when doing final edits for my art prints, I just don't have the capability of drawing with it the way I do on my ipad with my apple pencil (which is what I use for procreate). I'll try to do the lessons with procreate, then. If it's lessons that aren't just photoshop specific.

I'm going to give it go! It was my first year last year and I didn't quite get to the end, so this year I'm going to try to be a bit more prepared 🙂 I like the idea of taking the character we're doing for this month's prompt and creating a story for them using the Inktober prompts. 🤔
Loving your idea of the alphabet poster @chrisaakins!

One little comment from me. I thought his eyebrows were sunglasses because they are both the same size, straight across from each other and the line consistancy is the same all the way around. Perhaps a break up/variety in the lines or shape would help to read them more as eyebrows. Looks like his voice would sound like Eeyore!