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    Portfolio Feedback Request

    Questions & Comments
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    • mcucchi
      mcucchi last edited by

      Hi friends 🙂

      I just added some images to my portfolio and I was wondering if anyone would have some time to take a quick look.

      I feel a little conflicted because I see my work as being a little too old/weird for a picture book audience but younger/more whimsical than "adult" illustration. I am very inspired by the likes of Chris Riddell, Brett Helquist, and Chris Mould lately so I've sort of determined that the mid-grade/young adult world may be a good fit. I would also be open to commercial/licensing work because I've been a designer for the last 12 years.

      Would this portfolio successfully attract those jobs? Am I missing stuff? I have ideas but I've been staring at it for way too long haha. Perhaps someone with fresh eyeballs can give me some insight that I hadn't considered before! Any time you have would be amazing. Thanks everyone!

      moniquecucchi.com

      portfolio: moniquecucchi.com
      instagram.com/crookedandbeautiful
      shop: crookedandbeautiful.com

      Jeremy Ross Nyrryl  Cadiz 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • Jeremy Ross
        Jeremy Ross @mcucchi last edited by

        Hi @mcucchi, I really like your first piece with the bicycle and animals, definitely geared towards children’s picture books.

        Many of your other pieces feel geared towards middle grade, but I absolutely love the sketchiness and hatch work.

        Some of the pieces with more detailed faces feel like they would be used in magazines or editorial publications.

        Your work is really good but you may have too much variety, unless of course that is your goal.

        Who is your target audience?

        https://www.instagram.com/jeremyrayross
        https://www.jeremyrayross.com/
        https://twitter.com/jeremyrayross
        https://jeremyrayross.substack.com/

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • mcucchi
          mcucchi last edited by

          Hi @Jeremy-Ross, thanks os much for the feedback!

          I'm definitely most interested in mid-grade. A dream assignment would be something like "A Series of Unfortunate Events" or one of Neil Gaiman's kids' stories (think "The Graveyard Book")—anything weird and fantastical.

          Failing that, lol, I'm happy to do commercial, licensing, or editorial work. I've been a designer for several years.

          The variety question bugs me as well. I'm not sure if I should go all in on the mid-grade stuff or if it's worth keeping some of the more commercial-looking pieces in there to show depth.

          portfolio: moniquecucchi.com
          instagram.com/crookedandbeautiful
          shop: crookedandbeautiful.com

          Jeremy Ross 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Jeremy Ross
            Jeremy Ross @mcucchi last edited by

            Hi @mcucchi, glad it helped.

            If middle grade is your goal, my suggestion would be to include your best 12 - 20 illustrations with some mock-ups to show how they look in a book for agents and publishers to get a feel for the finished and polished look. You might want to move picture book style illustrations to a separate page.

            https://www.instagram.com/jeremyrayross
            https://www.jeremyrayross.com/
            https://twitter.com/jeremyrayross
            https://jeremyrayross.substack.com/

            mcucchi 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • mcucchi
              mcucchi @Jeremy Ross last edited by

              @Jeremy-Ross Great ideas! Thanks 🙂 I hadn't considered mockups.

              portfolio: moniquecucchi.com
              instagram.com/crookedandbeautiful
              shop: crookedandbeautiful.com

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Nyrryl  Cadiz
                Nyrryl Cadiz SVS OG @mcucchi last edited by

                @mcucchi hi! I like your work. You have a lot of great pieces but a lot of them are one-offs, or single characters just standing there. You lack a lot of narrative works. Try illustrating more characters interacting with their environment or other characters. Also illustrate more sequential pieces showing the same characters over multiple illustrations. This will show that you know how to draw your characters consistently.

                Portfolio: nyrrylcadiz.com
                Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nyrryl_cadiz/
                YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbJCF1Im8ZO7hpGWTKOJMuA

                mcucchi 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • mcucchi
                  mcucchi @Nyrryl Cadiz last edited by

                  @Nyrryl-Cadiz I totally agree with this!! Great call. Thanks!

                  portfolio: moniquecucchi.com
                  instagram.com/crookedandbeautiful
                  shop: crookedandbeautiful.com

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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