Great post! (And now you have something to hand out--turn into slides--etc. for illustrator conferences!) The part about focusing on the art that has your heart in it really spoke to me. When I was the art director at CRICKET, I did a portfolio review day at an SCBWI event. Looking at one portfolio, I knew there were some successful , fun pieces coming up (I'd seen the person showing their portfolio to other artists in the lobby), so I was more critical of some of the pieces in the portfolio at the start, but I could tell the artist was getting defensive. I turned to a piece that showed a number of kids of different racial backgrounds, and I said, "this is a great piece if you are looking for educational work." They literally gritted their teeth and said, "I hate drawing like that," and I asked, "Then why is this still in your portfolio?" Speaking of lost opportunities--I felt bad about how the review had gone and I wrote this person an encouraging note (and even apologized) . . . they never responded or followed up! On the topic of putting in more--while this one is AMAZING, please don't feel that this needs to be a norm. Your "short and sweet" posts are equally as enjoyable. Please feel free to balance these deeper-dive, insightful posts with quick "and-so-this-happened/day in an illustrator's life" pieces--or posts about sketches and illustration/design solutions that don't require a lot of additional drawing.
Love this! Been reading a lot of depressing stuff about creative industries lately, and this was a much-needed mood boost. In the end, so much really does boil down to putting yourself out there & being ready for opportunities! Thank you!
I took a bite out of this newsletter and it turns out it's filled with 100% gold! I love how you break down conversation options. I was taught (by who, I can’t remember) that when someone compliments you, saying simply “Thank you” is a surefire way to end a conversation. That advice has served me well. I love seeing the illustrated explanation. And, I wish all art students could be handed a copy of this comic when they enter art school.
Oh hey it's me again, here to GUSH ABOUT ANOTHER FANTASTIC NEWSLETTER FROM LIAN!! How are you so good at this? SO much fun to read and chock-full of great advice. <33
Excellent post! I wish decades ago when I was about to graduate college as an illustrator that I had one or two professors who would have told me and the rest of my pals what you posted. This is what every Illustrator needs to hear no matter what the genre they choose.
This is such an awesome post! I absolutely LOVED reading it, and would have even if I weren't interested in being a writer/illustrator. I can tell you had fun doing it and didn't mind it took longer than you expected wanted. And it literally made my day,
This is an amazing post. The insights here about how you made this far are deep, personal, yet can be easily understood and applicable to so many. Thank you for putting in so much time and effort just to share this wisdom. I look forward to your book coming out as I am sure it will be AMAZING!
5 Lessons From 5 Years of Illustrating
Great post! (And now you have something to hand out--turn into slides--etc. for illustrator conferences!) The part about focusing on the art that has your heart in it really spoke to me. When I was the art director at CRICKET, I did a portfolio review day at an SCBWI event. Looking at one portfolio, I knew there were some successful , fun pieces coming up (I'd seen the person showing their portfolio to other artists in the lobby), so I was more critical of some of the pieces in the portfolio at the start, but I could tell the artist was getting defensive. I turned to a piece that showed a number of kids of different racial backgrounds, and I said, "this is a great piece if you are looking for educational work." They literally gritted their teeth and said, "I hate drawing like that," and I asked, "Then why is this still in your portfolio?" Speaking of lost opportunities--I felt bad about how the review had gone and I wrote this person an encouraging note (and even apologized) . . . they never responded or followed up! On the topic of putting in more--while this one is AMAZING, please don't feel that this needs to be a norm. Your "short and sweet" posts are equally as enjoyable. Please feel free to balance these deeper-dive, insightful posts with quick "and-so-this-happened/day in an illustrator's life" pieces--or posts about sketches and illustration/design solutions that don't require a lot of additional drawing.
Love this! Been reading a lot of depressing stuff about creative industries lately, and this was a much-needed mood boost. In the end, so much really does boil down to putting yourself out there & being ready for opportunities! Thank you!
I took a bite out of this newsletter and it turns out it's filled with 100% gold! I love how you break down conversation options. I was taught (by who, I can’t remember) that when someone compliments you, saying simply “Thank you” is a surefire way to end a conversation. That advice has served me well. I love seeing the illustrated explanation. And, I wish all art students could be handed a copy of this comic when they enter art school.
Lian this is so helpful for folx starting out in freelance - in any field, really. Thanks for making the effort to lift up others w your experience ❤️
This is so so great! (and not-so-secretly applicable to other art and.. erm... life.)
Thank you!!!
Oh hey it's me again, here to GUSH ABOUT ANOTHER FANTASTIC NEWSLETTER FROM LIAN!! How are you so good at this? SO much fun to read and chock-full of great advice. <33
This is great!! Thank you for going so in-depth. Would you mind sharing what illustration website you referred to getting that initial project on?
Excellent post! I wish decades ago when I was about to graduate college as an illustrator that I had one or two professors who would have told me and the rest of my pals what you posted. This is what every Illustrator needs to hear no matter what the genre they choose.
oof, this was real good, thank you. dude's speech is uplifting af
This is such an awesome post! I absolutely LOVED reading it, and would have even if I weren't interested in being a writer/illustrator. I can tell you had fun doing it and didn't mind it took longer than you expected wanted. And it literally made my day,
Damn Lian!! You really crushed it with this post. Thank you for sharing your lessons generously!
Holy crap Lian, this is genius! You are a freaking rockstar
Omg i fall back on the neil gaiman two out of three things all the time (stares at overdue project on desk)
Wow, thank you! I savored every single panel. Gotta go change my t-shirt STAT!
This is an amazing post. The insights here about how you made this far are deep, personal, yet can be easily understood and applicable to so many. Thank you for putting in so much time and effort just to share this wisdom. I look forward to your book coming out as I am sure it will be AMAZING!
Fantastic 🤩