Illustration Friday is here again and the theme is "magic" I thought I'd show you a piece that I did several years ago that I thought was appropriate. This was created when I first got interested in illustration. I took an on line course by Susan Hartung and this was one of the assignments....to create a magical scene from a story passage she provided. I would highly recommend this class if you are interested in becoming an illustrator. Be warned, she is a tough cookie but boy is she spot on. I learned so much from her and probably the best thing was the experience of having someone evaluate my pieces and critique. That was one of the hardest things for me initially...to show my work and have it judged.
This piece for instance....I was in a crit group and I got the thumbs up from all of the members. They absolutely loved it and couldn't wait for me to submit and see what she (susan) had to say. I was so proud...one of the best pieces I'd done so far! (did any of you watch "a christmas story" and how proud Ralphie was with his term paper about the rifle he wants to get?? That was me, imagining a glowing report . A+ A+ A+ !!)
NOT...she absolutely butchered it to pieces. She really hated it, it was obvious. I was gutted to say the least. You want to know what she said, right? Okay, it's been a few years so I'll paraphrase...
The doorway to the hole , definitely didn't read well to her. muddy colors of the hole (yes it's supposed to be a cave) would have been better in blues and purples. Box colors overworked. mass of frogs disappearing into the background , not effective. And the scarf flying out of the box was terrible...looked more like a flying carpet.
That tough critique helped me in so many ways, I can't tell you. I hadn't had a "real" assignment from a publisher yet and this really helped prepare me. No matter how wonderful you may think a piece is, there are going to be people that don't. You can't please everyone all of the time and the trick is to detach yourself enough from a piece and remember that you are providing a service.
Just recently I finished a book for an educational publisher and the AD drew right over the top of each frog that I had drawn. That was a tough one to swallow but again has helped me grow as an illustrator. ( I still like my froggies better but that's not the point).
Happy illustrating!
I personally love this piece. But thanks for the great story and the link to the online class! That might be just the thing to keep me going this year!
Posted by: Giao | December 30, 2004 at 10:49 AM
you have grown so much as an artist over the last two years, keep exploring and enjoying the process! I can see that whismy and character even in the early work.
Posted by: heather | December 30, 2004 at 10:55 AM
Hi girl, I don't no which I like best the post or picture. Thank you!
Posted by: Joe | December 30, 2004 at 12:11 PM
i love your froggies. i'm a wee bit afraid of comments as well, that's why i started doing illo fri.(conquer you fears, right!) but i notice that it's habitual for me to do very cursory work...that's why i admire artists like yourself that follow through, and so well! cheers!
Posted by: Kerry | December 30, 2004 at 05:44 PM
I'm with Heather...I can see shades of your style and whimsy in there, but your current work is much more confident.
Posted by: janee | December 31, 2004 at 02:24 AM
Good for you for being able to accept absorb a critique (justified or not) and come out on top! That takes real courage and maturity! I had an illustration instructor once who said that being successul as an illustrator was 10 per cent talent and 90 percent attitude and obviously, you have a winning attitude! And your work is so lush and llovely and full of charm! Especially your felt illustrations! Happy 2005 Roz! May it deliver on your every bliss!
Posted by: wee (aka melanie) | December 31, 2004 at 07:59 AM
Love the whole concept and the piece.
And I think the color is just perfect.
Posted by: jingles | January 01, 2005 at 07:58 AM