Tales From an Illustrator: Expats Post

Hello Hello Everyone!

It's update time! Well part of it haha. Okay, most of you know about my column on the site Expats Post right? I shall tell a bit more about it.

Expats Post, is an online newspaper brought to life to provide the World with quality articles about lots of topics. It's a place where most of my favorite writers publish their articles. Plus, I'll publish my own column there as well. Do have a look and read please, because they are all fabulous. Yes, Fabulous. Okay, I must stop imagining them in fancy outfits...

Also, if you love to write and looking for a place to publish your work, have a look on there and sign up. It's that simple. However lovely people, this is not all. There is a site specifically for Poetry and...Art. Ah so excited here!

You know what I also did? I drew the logo for the site! Together with the feedback from the group...it turned out really cool (if I do say so myself ^_^) and I have it on a shirt as well!! I totally feel like a superhero when I wear it (not kidding here). It is a very different style for me and got a some digital lessons from the Wizard MZ (thank you for patiently answering my questions, MZ!).

Expats Art, is brought to life to showcase and promote artists of all kinds. It's all about giving visitors peeks at hidden gems in the world and making sure artists get more visitors to their own official sites. You can read more here in a post I wrote: Hello World. Slowly artists are being added while the site is being changed and altered here and there. It's going to be a big creative community!

If you're an illustrator, photographer, artist or know someone who would be interested in joining Expats Art, do let me know. The site is invite-only for now, so do contact me at tjlubrano@gmail.com please.

For staying up to date through social media, you can find us on Facebook: Expats Art on Facebook and Twitter, @ExpatsPost. Make sure you have something nice to read with your morning/afternoon/evening coffee and a wander around the sites and discover cool Writing and Art. You won't be disappointed.

Oh! You can see more of my own Portfolio on there by clicking here: The Magic Cupcake.

Write You Later.

Ciao!

Tales from an Illustrator: Reflect and Move Forward.

Ciao Everyone!

First! My column, TJ on Illustrations, is up and I will post the new column every Friday. I will do more of these types of posts over there as it’s also like my personal diary type of thingy, but less rambly. To stay up to date, do hope over and subscribe. I promise, you won’t be disappointed ^_^

Okay, with being official and all, I knew that I had to come up with a more solid plan. You can’t just say ‘Oh I will start a business and sit back and relax or skip around being happy’ No. Next to that, my budget isn’t big, so I looked into other ways to get myself more noticed and get to know other creative people. That was my main focus point, to let others know that I’ve entered the Illustration World! What’s the point in being an artist if no one knows about you?

Quick doodle

I'll the most important things in a nutshell, because I can’t write every little thing down. It would probably bore you to death. This year has been all about being seen, getting noticed, working on more commissions and researching lots of things.

There are a lot of free portfolio sites and I signed up for several of them. Sounds good huh…but the real deal is that you have to keep them updated. I did pretty well for a little while, but then more projects and commissions started coming in and well…I started to update less. You see, when I registered as a ‘one lady business’, I got a few responsibilities, like a quarterly VAT registration and an hour registration. The horror. I had to set up my own administration and it takes some time to get used to it, because you don’t want to get in trouble with the Tax people.

Even though I didn’t update as much as I wanted too, I did have an increase in views and in subscribers. Though a Big Thank You goes out to everyone who shared and re-tweeted everything I did!! This played a huge part as well.

The Frosty Ladies (2011)

Next to this, I also signed up for Zazzle, Etsy, Redbubble & Society6. I did mention Zazzle last year, but the reason why I never mentioned the others on my blog is that I didn’t have anything good to sell yet. Or at least not good enough in my mind. I kept telling myself to schedule more time for personal projects, but with my already existing commissions and the fact my grandad got sicker…I really had to juggle with my time. I did my best to keep an eye on my time management, sometimes I just didn’t have the time to do everything I wanted to do. I will have a shop soon though, but this will be in a different post :-)

I started to use my Twitter and personal Facebook account for work and staying in touch with people. And you know, I did get a better view in interest when I created my fan page. Next to this, it also makes sure that I keep updating more regularly (Doodle of the Day!!). I have fans to entertain...hehe :D

So looking back, I definitely worked on more and bigger commissions and I got to know lots of lovely people. I also got a clearer view on what I want to do and what steps I need to take in order to get there. I added all my experiences in a rapport for a fund application as well. Up till a few weeks ago, I didn’t feel confident enough to send it in. Why? One of the requirements is an art diploma. I don’t have that, so by collecting everything I did in a year on my own, is hopefully enough to convince them to grant me the fund. Fingers crossed!

Hippie Lady (2011)

My learning points? Not doing waaaaaay too much! I easily said yes to a few projects and afterward I thought 'Whyyy did I do that?!' Also, knowing went to let things go and start anew. I can ponder about an illustration for too long and sometimes…you just have to let it go. Third, it’s best to stick to a limited number of social media and update that regularly. It is really time consuming to keep it all up to date!

I hope this was a bit interesting for you to read. It's probably best to do a quick update post every now and then, because doing it like this just make the post super long! And I don't want you guys to go like 'read, read, read...oh look birdies!!'...hehe. Birds are lovely though...

Take care everyone and you can still join for the Birthday Doodle Giveaway! Just comment on the correct post and not this one...

Ciao!

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!