Friday, March 25, 2011

Update

My plans to go to Tokyo we cancelled due to several events in the city being closed to conserve power. So instead, my boyfriend and I are headed to Las Vegas. We’ll be there until April 5th, so I probably won’t be updating until after we get back.

On another note: The book illustration project I’ve been working on has been shelved. The editor has a lot on her plate and wanted to put the project on hold until later… just when I finally got the book from the library, (I guess inter-library loans can take a month to fulfill, who knew?). At least now I have the text and can do some brain-storming. Looks like it could be a very challenging project. Let’s hope it picks up again.

That’s all for now. Talk to you after Vegas.

Peace out!

-Jovan

Friday, March 11, 2011

Twiddling My Thumbs

I’ve been waiting for the last few weeks to get the text for the book and haven’t had any signs that it’s headed my way. I’m not sure what the story is about and thus haven’t been able to do many sketches. The ones I have done are little more than scribbles and aren’t worth sharing.

I’m heading to Japan next weekend, (assuming that the flight isn’t cancelled due to yesterday’s earthquake) and will be packing and preparing all next week. As such, I might not be able to update until after I get back in April. Please forgive the hiatus.

Peace out!

-Jovan

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Adventure Continues...

As I mentioned last week, I’m trying to get hired as and illustrator a children’s book. The editor has told me that if I want to be considered for her project, I must submit a few draft illustrations for the book. Typically, an illustrator will be hired based on her portfolio and isn’t asked to create proposals. While I wouldn’t normally agree to do illustrations without being guaranteed the job, I agreed to do some proposals this time.

Why did I agree to this unusual scenario? Because I’m not an experience illustrator. I don’t have a long list of credits to my name, and still don’t have a portfolio. Once I’m an established illustrator I’ll have built a reputation, and won’t need to do many “freebies”,(unless the competition is stiff, and I’m just dying to be part of a specific project). Even though I agreed to do some drafts I still wont do the work for nothing. I made sure to mention to the editor that I’d hold the copyright until I’m hired.

I did a little research on what the going rate is for children’s book illustration. Seems like most professional illustrators charge two or three times what I’m asking for, but with my experience I thought it fair to low-ball the price. As I gain more experience I’ll start asking for more. I’m not going to post what I quoted, but this is a good article on how to quote for illustration work based on hourly-rates, if you’re interested in doing the same.

Oh, and one more thing: The illustrations will be in pen and ink. Only the cover will be in watercolor. So, yay for catering to my strengths!

That’s all for now. I should have some art to share by next week, so stay tuned.

Peace out!

--Jovan