Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year 2013

NewYear2013

It’s been an interesting year. I just took stock of all the artwork I did – the good, the okay, the bad – and the number comes to 744.  This doesn’t include the unfinished work set aside for rethinking. I’ve also managed to finish the first drafts of two fantasy and one YA novel – 30,000 words each right now, but the final works will be between 50,000-75,000 words – and I’ve four picture books nearing completion.

2013, if all goes according to plan, will turn out to be more productive.

Friday, December 14, 2012

The Sparrows

Sparrow1

I have some new friends. Here’s one of them.  When I wake up and go to the kitchen at dawn, they are already waiting in the window and set up a loud, complaining twitter, letting me know I’m a minute later than I was yesterday and they’ve been waiting for their breakfast too long. I get a cup of grain and they hop away until it is strewn on the window sill and then they fly back, twittering in appeased contentment. There are occasional flare ups and then there is some shoving and pushing and pecking at each other to get at the grain first. I remember what Charles Darwin said in ‘The Descent of Man’ -

“We have seen that the senses and intuitions, the various emotions and faculties, such as love, memory, attention, and curiosity, imitation, reason, etc., of which man boasts, may be found in an incipient, or even sometimes in a well-developed condition, in the lower animals.”

I see the human passion for over-eating here, and I wonder where on earth they put it all away. Because the dawn feeding isn’t enough, they are there throughout the day. I have a strong suspicion that they have a lookout posted in the azalea just outside, and every time someone comes into the kitchen, an alert is given and the whole troupe arrives, chirping with entitled expectation.

They grow bolder and more curious every day. They come in and discover where the grain tin is kept. Self-service will be in vogue soon. They fly about and check the real estate. I wonder if they are going to move in and raise a family and make me an auntie.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Creating an Effective Illustration Portfolio

IllusPortfolio3If you want to succeed as an illustrator, you will need to have an effective illustration portfolio. Clients will assess your skill level and decide if they want to work with you based on what you have to show in your illustration portfolio, and, for this reason, it is important to give a good deal of thought to what you include in it.

A portfolio is always a work in progress. You will always need to keep adding, removing, and improving to stay relevant in a changing market. A thing to remember though is that you cannot be all things to all people, and neither can your portfolio. You will need to streamline your portfolio according to the market or markets you want to work in.

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Quote of the Day– Absolute Statements

AbsoluteStatements1                                                                                               - From ‘The Sunshine Time’, my upcoming novel.

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