Just thought I'd introduce myself! A few months ago my husband (Renduin/Joe on this forum) was watching one of Will Terry's Youtube videos, and that was where I first heard about SVS. I finally signed up recently and I'm on my second course now. SVS is awesome!
Like many people I grew up enjoying art but mostly stopped once I reached my late teens. In 2012 I took up art again because I had stories I wanted to tell and illustrate. I dabbled around with no real direction and some really crappy watercolors (just skip the cheap stuff, it's not worth it) and got pretty much nowhere.
Up until recently I had accepted the belief that being good at art had more to do with luck rather than being a skill that could be learned. So finally, I took inventory of what I really wanted to do with the art and what my goals were, and this past October I created a list of art resources to work through. I started with the fundamentals and worked through some really helpful books on perspective (Perspective Made Easy by Ernest Norling), color (Color by Betty Edwards), and composition (Picture This by Molly Bang). I'm continuing to read these kinds of books alongside the SVS classes.
I was really excited when I found out about SVS. The focus on illustration and children's books is great and I think it fills a gap in the market. I see a lot of stuff online for digital concept art but not a lot of this type of illustration (maybe I've not been looking in the right places?). I love the balance on here between digital and traditional. I also can't wait for the new classes this year, they look great.
I'll stop before this gets too long, but I just wanted to say hello to this friendly forum and I enjoy seeing everyone's progress. I just needed to express how happy I am to have found SVS, it feels like Christmas or something 
Welcome Steff! Glad to have you aboard!
Feel free to post some of your work when you feel ready. We are a supportive bunch around here and we try to help each person at where they are. From beginner to professional and everyone in between. : )
Look forward to seeing your work!
Cheers,
Lee
SVS Faculty Instructor
www.leewhiteillustration.com
@Steff I think that's great that both of you are signed up for SVS. Along with the instruction/information, I've found this community to be helpful for providing a place to connect with other artists. Working on an image can be quite a lonesome activity and it's definitely been encouraging for myself to know that there are others out there that are currently doing the same thing I'm trying to do. Glad to have you join!
@Lee-White Thanks! I think I'll set up a sketchbook thread soon. I'm really looking forward to your watercolor classes - I'm completely new to digital and enjoying learning it, but I love traditional media and it's great to see classes for that.
@shinjifujioka Thanks I'm glad to have found a place to connect and talk about art!
Welcome. I am a very beginner artist so thank you for the book recommendations!
Welcome @steff glad to have you and hope to get to know you
@Steff welcome here Steff! happy drawing!
Welcome! SVS is great, there are alot of positive helpful people around here.
@Beatriz-Bett I hope you find them as helpful as I did! I felt pretty lost before getting into the fundamentals, so these really helped to ground me.
@Will-Terry Thanks! I just finished your Procreate course and found it to be a great intro to digital. I've been hesitant to get into digital, but this has sold me on it
@Leontine and @Sarah-LuAnn, thanks for the welcome! 
Monte Cristo....fancy meeting you here. 
Welcome! SVS is the place to be for creatives!
@Steff I think that's great that both of you are signed up for SVS. Along with the instruction/information, I've found this community to be helpful for providing a place to connect with other artists. Working on an image can be quite a lonesome activity and it's definitely been encouraging for myself to know that there are others out there that are currently doing the same thing I'm trying to do. Glad to have you join!
