All my ducks are in a row:

Insurance: CHECK
$ Saved: CHECK
Jobs Lined Up: CHECK
Motivation: CHECK, CHECK!

It’s official, starting June 1st, I will be a full-time, professional illustrator (who does design work on the side). I’m leaving my full time design job and going out on my own to run my illustration and design business while being a stay-at-home mom. I’ve been an on-the-side freelancer for 8 years, a mom for 1 year and a person with not much sleep for the past several months (believe it or not, due to all the side work and not the baby) so it’s been a long time coming.

My plans:
Draw, draw, draw and draw
Blog more
Open an online store with handcrafted goodness
Take lots of naps
Get out of the house in the middle of the day
Build my client list
Work on projects I’m proud of
Be successful

Can you feel my enthusiasm?

On a side note, I thought my ducks would be appropriate for this weeks Illustration Friday: Aquatic.

YAY!

I’m here, really. Just been busy with some projects. The above illustration is one I finished up this week for a client. I thought it would be perfect for Illustration Firday’s “nourishment.” Drawing helps nourish creativity.

This month is my last month for my Becoming an Illustrator article. It’s been exactly a year and a lot has happened. I hope to have the last one written sometime next week! It will be a good one. I promise.

I have made it a point to visit my local bookstores twice a month for some much needed inspiration. Children’s books are so expensive, but I guess that’s a good thing for us illustrators. I usually browse the younger age books and move on to the picture books. I mainly look for covers that grab my attention. I often end up in the bargain book section of the store and a couple of weeks ago I found this treasure for only $3:

I picked it up and bought it without even knowing what the story was. Turns out the story is about head lice. Interesting topic. The book was illustrated my Delphine Durand and I now what every book she’s done that Amazon carries. Unfourtunalty I haven’t been able to find a portfolio website on her. I would love to see more of her work.

As I flipped through the pages of this book, it was really apparent to me that I need to do more scene type work. I need to add more detail and play with perspective. I work best when being assigned a theme rather than coming up with something so detailed on my own. This is something I really need to work on. It amazes me the imagination Paige has. It seems like every day she comes up with a new concept and her follow through is so perfect! Take a look around her blog to see what I mean.

Here are just a few detailed scenes I’ve been looking at:
Pete Whitehead
Barry Gott (he’s got a blog now too!)
Claudine Gevry
Christine Schneider (probably my favorite illustrator right now)

And for those of you who are interested. My latest entry for “becoming an illustrator” is up.