Hello! (Portfolio + Introduction)

Nyrryl Cadiz

I love your style and your skill is impeccable. Your watercolor skills are AMAZING!!! I'm not an expert and please feel free to disregard my opinion but I think you'll be needing more narrative pieces. I LLLOOOVVEE the ones you already have but I believe you'll be more successful if you create more especially if you want to illustrate books. I wish you best on your journey.

Teju Abiola

@nyrryl-cadiz Thank you! I totally agree about me needing more narrative pieces! I decided to pursue Book Illustration just this last summer/semester, whereas before I'd been trying for VisDev and had been trying to work on skills for that field and—unsuccessfully—make different work than this. I'm still learning how to tailor my school assignments to a children's book portfolio, and now that I have more time, I can work on beefing up my portfolio. I will be taking a Children's Book Class next semester and hopefully get more guidance in this. I need to work more on the content and not just technique.

Lee White

Nice to meet you Teju! Lovely work!

I'd like to welcome you to our group. I can't wait to see more of your work throughout your last year at school! I'd love to see you enter some of the competitions we have here on the forums.

Teju Abiola

@lee-white Nice to meet you, Lee! I always want to enter the competitions, but I've been so busy! I will certainly try in the upcoming year.

smceccarelli

Absolutely beautiful, lovely pieces throughout, both digital and traditional! Cheering you on and welcome to the forum!

tombarrettillo

Welcome Teju! Very nice work. Really like the Fox and the Crow illustration, and the digital illustration of the school room. Don't be too quick to criticize yourself. Remember you are still in college, working on unrelated assignments, which naturally are going to require a bit different execution. You even say in the captions for your digital stuff that they are different approaches, but I do see a lot of similarity in your watercolors. Explore and let things happen naturally. You will eventually find a way of working that you enjoy and come back to. And honestly, develop your digital art differently. You already seem to have a unique style coming thru in it that is different than your watercolor work. Go with that. The more you try to fight how you naturally work in a particular medium, the more frustrated are going to be. Good luck!

jallott

@teju-abiola Welcome! Absolutely beautiful work! I really love your style with the watercolours, especially the sketchbook studies- Amazing!

Teju Abiola

@tombarrettillo Thank you, Tom! I agree that I wouldn't want to try to replicate my watercolor work digitally, else there'd be no point in using one over the other (and I've hardly seen any digital watercolors that are very convincing). I'm trying to develop a visual vocabulary that is evident regardless of which media is used. Not really referring to process or style even, more of a language that infuses my work in all its forms. I just haven't drawn enough yet to attain this, I think.

It means a lot to me that you can see a style starting to form in my watercolors; I can't say I ever know for sure how anything I make is going to turn out. I've never been one who had an unconscious or deliberate 'style', but rather just kinda saw what happened. Not the best if I want a client to know what they're gonna get

Teju Abiola

@smceccarelli @jallott Thank you!

Sarah LuAnn

Now I really want to try my hand at some illustrations for Aesop fables. Beautiful work! Watercolor intimidates me, so I’m doubly impressed. ️ Welcome!

I love your work! Very emotional and vivid!

Gary Wilkinson

Welcome to the forums Teju and thanks for sharing your work. You have some beautiful pieces and great work on the facial expressions! Hope to see more and good luck with school!

IanS

Wow! Your work is really really strong. So so good. I don't think you'll have any problems picking up work. In fact shame on those who don't take you on. Oh, and hi! Welcome to the forum.

Lawnz

@teju-abiola Echoing pretty much what everyone else has said so far: Your work is fantastic, Teju; I love it! Can't wait to see more.

Pamela Fraley

These are fantastic. I love watercolor and I love how you use it. Can’t wait to see more!!

julian beresford

@Teju-Abiola welcome to SVS and great portfolio

MOO

Welcome! Love your illustrations

aska

Amazing stuff, welcome!