Take my art seriously

Today is a great day. Today is the day that I finished the second draft edits for the Elijah and Crumpet kids book Motivate Man. And flicking back through all the pages, and all the work, I can say I’m extremely proud of it. Sure it’s taken me massively longer than I initially thought it would take, but this whole thing is completely new to me, so I need to be a little kind to myself. 

Thankfully, I’ve had a dream client who has been very supportive and patient throughout the process. And thinking back through the journey of illustrating this book I’ve been reflecting on all the things that I could do better next time. 

1. Take myself seriously – It’s not a hobby anymore. I need to block in creative time and treat it like a real job. Especially if I want it to eventually be a real job.
2. Have Deadlines – set myself deadlines. And not just the have the book done deadline. It needs to be broken down into smaller deadlines that make up the entire project.
3. Invest in myself – Not until I started drawing on an iPad did I realise how ridiculous it’s been that I’ve drawn 99% of this book on my phone. It has slowed me down big time.
4. Outsourcing – I could take a pay cut and get someone to help me with colouring. And get the project done in a fraction of the time.

I think next time around, there is definitely going to be a schedule of deadlines put in place to keep me on track. And also so I know when I might need to outsource and get some help with colouring. I also need to work on prioritising my creative work time and get over feeling guilty for drawing. I think I’ve discovered the first step in how to be a ‘thriving artist’ I think it’s being able to  figure out the mental gymnastics you need to do to make yourself believe in your own work. 

Anyway, as always, I’m not finished yet. I still need to complete the cover and inside sleeve text etc. but it’s feeling more real than it’s ever felt and I feel great.