Tales from an Illustrator: Just keep Doodling!

Surrounded by papers, ink pens, paint pallets, sketches…sometimes when I stare in the distance it feels a bit surreal that what I love to do, is my work now.

You know, looking back, the way up to my decision of quitting my studies was very difficult, taking the final decision wasn’t. Lack of courage, fear of doing something completely different without having a degree, was it the right thing to do & what would people think of me; these types of things clouded my mind for a long time. I guess the only thing that makes it difficult for most people, is to actually go through with it all. For me, there’s no turning back. I do not want to turn back. I took this adventurous leap and I can’t honestly think to go back to where I was a year ago.

Even though you’re good at something, you are not successful overnight. It all takes time & patience and A LOT of hard work! You don’t get projects falling in your lap nor clients ringing your doorbell saying they have a job for you. It’s constantly finding a balance in working on personal projects, researching the market, applying for jobs etc.

You know what also helped me is to have the mindset: ‘I am an illustrator’. It helps me to focus on what I want to do in the long run. And in short, in order to get there: I just gotta keep doodling! The tiniest drawing can help to improve your skills, so you got to move forward and always believe in yourself, that one day…it will all pay off ^_^.

Of course starting to do something for yourself, doesn’t have to be a business. It can be anything, like a diet, a hobby, a new way of living. You will always have people around you who support you or who will raise their eyebrows (I seriously typed rainbows at first). Personally, I try not to pay attention to people who are skeptic regarding what I'm doing now. You have to keep in mind why you’re doing it in the first place. In the end, you are the one who’s responsible for your own decisions and who's making a difference for yourself right? That’s the base for most things in life. You need to start with yourself to make the world around you a better place.

I'd love to hear some thoughts on this. Did one of you decide to make a change in your life that wasn't welcomed with open arms? Do you think the most difficult part in doing something new and different is actually the part of going through with it? How easy do you find it to push all the negativity & skepticism from others aside?

Oh oh in other news! I’m working on a second site behind the scenes. Will update when it’s done of course, so stay tuned :D.

Have a great weekend everyone.
Ciao!