2019 Review: Work life balance as a full time illustrator

In the world of indie makers, some people choose to have 'a word' for the year, to remind them of an aim they want to keep checking in with. I've been thinking that if I did have a word for the year, it should probably be 'balance'. It ended up being a theme of this post, which started out as a review of the last year (maybe becoming an annual thing) as I am now entering my third year of full time illustrating.

2019 was a crazy year, which you might have guessed by apologies for my silences and hints on Instagram when I couldn't say too much about what I was working on. The results of a lot of this hard work is starting to come out into the world now. One of the books I worked on was published last week - which was Be Happy Be You for Harper Collins. There is more work I haven't shared yet but plan to soon, and some books are being published later in the year that I will patiently wait to share.

At the start of 2019, I spent time sending samples of my work to publishers and preparing my portfolio for London Book Fair. My efforts from both paid off, as later in the year I started some work for two new clients - Harper Collins, as previously mentioned and Upside Down Books (a new children's imprint of wellbeing publisher, Trigger Publishing). I was also commissioned some lovely mural work for Sheffield Hospital and HSBC - and more spot illustrations for Little, Brown Book Group, which will be shared soon.

Showing my work at London Book Fair was a great experience and encouraged me to take it up a level this year - I'm going to Bologna Children's Book Fair! I've always fancied it but for some reason, the world's leading children's book fair in Italy seemed that little bit more of a pipe dream that I hadn't taken the steps to actually do. The flights are now booked, so it's definitely happening!

The Illustrator's Gallery at London Book Fair 2019

I was very happy to gain two new stockists in Sheffield in 2019 - the Sheffield Makers shops. Starting with the Winter Gardens branch back in March, followed by Hunters Bar in the summer. I'm so proud to have these as my stockists, the shops are lovely and the makers who staff the shop are all super friendly. The perfect environment for my products. Having regular income from my new stockists and being busy with book illustrations enabled me to do less markets this year. I replaced the hectic run of Christmas markets with one week long Pop Up Shop in December (more on that to follow).

A lot of the work I said yes to this year had very short deadlines and some were really big projects in terms of hours to put in. It was intense - there were quite a lot of late nights and working weekends - something I'd like to improve on this year. In my quest to keep up the flow of work but achieve more balance, a new thing I'm trying is having a set finish time of 6pm, trusting the theory that you can get as much done in less hours when you're focused and rested. I know there will be crazy times when good habits go out the window, so when that happens, I'll be intentional about planning in chill time or rewards - to remind myself that me working silly hours is not the norm.

I had a small mindset shift during one of my busiest times of 2019. I was thinking about how when you're your own boss, you're taking the place of someone else who would usually (ideally) acknowledge and reward your efforts. Not only that, but I could also choose to be a really lovely boss who gives myself gold stars (literally, I have made myself a chart) or rewards of some kind, to balance out the graft. I think we independent makers can be great at providing our own discipline and criticism, but can forget to offer the support and compassion we'd hope for from an ideal boss.

Made myself a lil' reward chart... because I'm nice like that

Back in January 2019, I was ill for most of the month - it was my first official 'burnout'. After several markets and last minute commissions being collected just days before Christmas, I ended up with a full blown cold, a chest infection and other nasty symptoms that lasted for weeks. So this year, I was quite focused on avoiding that happening again. As the busy season was about to ramp up, my really lovely boss stepped in and booked myself a spa day to look forward to. I also booked a trip to London with my sister the week before Christmas, bringing my finish day forward. I also kept my wellbeing in mind when sending quotes and time scales to last minute commission enquiries. These things helped enormously - even while I was still in the thick of it at the start of December, I could feel my brain starting to make the shift to holiday mode. I was delighted and grateful, this time, to feel healthy over Christmas and extra rested in January.

So my takeaway from that story is... when you're having a crazy time (or see one coming), book yourself some treats to look forward to, even if it's just marking off an afternoon in the calendar to take off. Keep visualising the lovely things you'll do on that designated day, to convince your brain that it's definitely happening. It's amazing what you can trick your own brain into!

Going back to my review of 2019, my conclusion wouldn't be all that different to this time a year ago - keep sewing seeds! Big and small, different types in different places - fling them about allover the place. Some will definitely grow and you can't predict which will. I'm hoping that I'll get lots of lovely jobs again this year, but find ways for it to work with this new thing of achieving more balance. I have a few ideas for how I can do this, so watch this space to see how I get on...

I hope this blog was helpful if you're at a similar stage to me. I'd love to hear how you balance crazy work times with fun and rest... it's an art in itself. Wishing you a happy 2020!

Thanks for reading :)

My first book cover! The Mummy Lessons by Helen Wallen - Published by Hodder & Stoughton

Hello there! As you might remember from an earlier post, 2018 saw me get my first book cover commission - and I can finally share the artwork now that it is published (by Hodder & Stoughton, an imprint of Hachette). It was released on the 21st March, less than two weeks ago and has already been named a no.1 bestseller in the parenting chart and no.24 in the kindle chart! A massive well done to author Helen Wallen (aka. Just a Normal Mummy) - her writing style is hilarious and real. But y'know... I'd like to think the cover illustration enticed some of those happy shoppers too :)

I thought I'd share some of my progress drawings. I always love to see illustrators share this, as it shows the amount of work that goes into creating that final polished piece you only usually see. It shows that I sometimes draw things over and over again to get them just right. Letting go of wanting to get it right first time was one of my biggest lessons in the early days and made a huge difference to my work.

Sorry the previews are so small - please click on the image to enlarge.

It started with rough mum and baby drawings in my sketchbook...

...then the hand lettering...

...so that I could arrange the characters around the letters

The design team at Hodder & Stoughton already had the idea of the characters interracting around the letters. Whereas I would usually expect to brainstorm some different layout options, I didn't need to here. I could go straight into creating the rough. The publishers then gave me the go ahead to create the final design - so I then illustrated the characters and icons in ink.

Drawing in ink...

...using layout paper over the enlarged roughs

I'm really happy with how successful it has been so far and still buzzing that my first cover is out. I did some spot illustrations for another pregnancy related book earlier this year - which will be published in the summer - and I have another book commission to start soon! So watch this space - I look forward to sharing them!

Click here to view The Mummy Lessons on Amazon (other book stores are available!).

2018 Review: A look back at my first year of full time freelance

Hello!

I hope you are having a lovely shiny new year so far. I had a quiet start back after new year - I was under the weather for a few weeks and then had my head down with a big deadline. So it's a little later than I planned, but I felt I should acknowledge that I've just completed my first year of running my business full time - and reflect and share some of what I've learnt.

To fill you in up to the start of 2018, I'd been illustrating and designing greetings cards for almost seven years, the last five of those years was as a permanent employee (I was freelance before that but mostly for cards still). I worked four days a week, which allowed me time to complete my MA and then, eventually, start my own business. It was hard and I'm so grateful I don't have to juggle both any more. I am much more chilled and happy, feeling like my future is in my own hands.

I'm a big believer in simply 'doing things and putting it out there'. Whether I've posted a picture to my Instagram or made a new industry contact, the little things can all lead to something else. So I like to think that every time I put something out there, I am planting seeds. Some could be magic beans and some might never sprout. So you have to plant a lot of them and spread them far and wide! Having lots of little sprouts that you need to nurture might have much more longevity than one magic beanstalk with a pot of gold at the top.

So, on to looking at my previous year. I definitely don't want to sound like I'm boasting about all my achievements but a.) it's good to look back at all the hard work you've done and where it's got you and b.) I'm not sure who actually reads my blog, so I doubt I need to worry. It's good for me to think about what went well and what I'll do differently and I hope it's interesting or helpful to others who are starting out.

Some big things I've done or learnt in 2018...

Exciting Collaborations

Sharing my work, on Instagram especially, has lead to some lovely collaborations and features on blogs and in magazines in the last year. A job I got through using hashtags on Instagram was illustrating The Strong Girls Colouring Book for Scout - the super strong girl behind Barbells Before Boys. Scout is based in Australia and messaged me after spotting me through hashtags I was using while illustrating A Very Sheffield Colouring Book.

So my tip here is: use hashtags to get your work seen further! A long list of tags might look spammy to some people, but maybe those people work for a company where someone else takes care of the marketing. As a freelance artist, it's your job to promote your own work - and getting it seen by more eyes is way more important than looking cool (in my opinion).

Book Illustrations

This year, I worked on two more books (including a cover - yay!) for Hodder & Stoughton and Little, Brown Book Group. I had a good few meetings to show my portfolio and got lots of feedback from publishers I made contact with. One of the jobs came to me three or four months after a meeting, so it was great to see results long after I had worked to get my work noticed.

I find that sending a physical sample in the post and following up with a phone call is much more effective than sending out a PDF/link to lots of publishers and waiting to see who replies. They get LOTS of emails like that and they are very easy to delete! So you really do have to stand out.

A Very Sheffield Colouring Book

After listening to customer requests at markets (one of the benefits of selling at markets!), I illustrated a colouring book that was all about Sheffield. A new thing for me was that I took pre-orders before it was finished, which funded the first print run! It went down really well and I've had a couple more print runs made since.

See more of A Very Sheffield Colouring Book here

It took a while to find a reliable printers to execute it to the standard it deserved after the hours I'd lovingly put in. I recommend not putting all your eggs in one printer's basket! Get samples and test prints, allow time for things to go wrong and when they do, be a moaning minnie and get it put right. In the end, I found a really good printers, but on one print run, they did have a technical issue which resulted in 300 copies not good enough for me to sell. I donated them to Sheffield Children's Hospital at Christmas, so I hope that lots of poorly children got to enjoy my colouring book over the festive season!

Back to Screenprinting

My move to Sheffield from Barnsley meant that getting to West Yorkshire Print Workshop (where I made my screen prints) would take twice as long. Trying out a new place fell down the priority list and before I knew it, it had suddenly been a year since I'd made any screen prints.

I finally joined Sheffield Print Club late last year and got used to working in a different space. I made a new print of my Tower Bridge, London illustration. Maybe it was because of some of the materials were slightly different to those I'd used previously, but my fine line work wasn't coming out as well at first. I had to take some of the detail away and thicken up some bits. It made a healthy change for me to have to adapt the design as I went and it not come out as I'd originally intended. The most creative things happen when you have to relinquish control!

See more of the London Tower Bridge prints here

It was good to get back to screen printing. I don't go very often, but it's therapeutic to do something so tangible and process driven. And finding new places to work and belong make me feel extra settled and part of the wonderful creative community here, in my new home of Sheffield.

New Stockists

Putting a real effort into approaching new stockists is not one of my strengths and something I could do with addressing this year. So I think I did well considering, to get my pieces into a few new places!

I currently have a small selection in The Cooper Gallery, Walkley Press and Stopwatch Gallery. I was delighted to be accepted to show my work in the Millennium Gallery this Christmas, in their Handmade for Christmas shop. I am very proud to have work in these lovely shops and spaces and maybe this year I will extend the list!

Personal Projects

I had gotten sick of hearing myself say 'I need to draw in my sketchbook more', so last year, I decided I would draw something each day in my sketchbook. I always hear how important it is to practice and that all the amazing illustrators draw every day, but drawing every day isn't easy when you also have admin, emails and quotes that eat up your time.

 

Though I didn't succeed in making it a daily thing, so much good came from what I did. Drawing 'off brief' regularly has made a huge difference to my confidence, speed and skill when I'm illustrating for clients. My personal work got referred to, by clients when briefing me, and helped influence the types of work I got asked to do.

If you're an illustrator/designer who doesn't feel like you're getting the type of briefs you want, doing personal work and getting it seen is a great way to gear the right kind of client work towards you. It may sound obvious, but getting 'pigeonholed' for the wrong kind of work can be a common frustration for commercial artists - but something you can equally use to your advantage if you turn it around and keep projecting what you want.

As well as keeping up off brief work, I have set out to have another go at my sketchbook diary this year. I hope to make it easier to achieve by doing the following:

• Give myself less time to decide what to draw and to draw it (more thinking time = more pressure!).
• Think of the multiple drawings as a whole, so I can easily post a photo or scan of the whole page on my blog (rather than having to assemble them digitally from multiple scans, making it a bigger task to make time for).
• Be less precious. Simply reminding myself that it doesn't have to be perfect or consistent. I have got so much better at this over time, but it has taken training. Sounds obvious I know, but practice really is the best way to overcome this!

What's next

The fact that I mostly have no idea is one of my favourite things about my job. I really enjoy that the year ahead is totally flexible and could go in different directions, depending mostly on what I do, with a sprinkle of chance.

Some things I can already predict for 2019 is that I'm showing my work at London Book Fair in March, in their Illustrator's Gallery - which is really exciting! It's my first time and I'm looking forward to meeting lots of publishers there. I have also made a big, bold move and booked my very own pop up shop for a whole week - more info to come later in the year! I am also going to blog more. I've said it before and it's never been my forte, but I have to blog more! So I'm saying it here and I will try my best.

Other than that, just lots more drawing, sharing what I do and seeing what grows!

Thankyou for reading. Happy 2019!

The Tale of the Christmas Log

Hello!

Incase you missed it... here is a little festive tale I shared with my followers on Instagram and Facebook on Christmas Eve. For a while, I've wondered about how I can share some of the funny stories from my childhood - there are so many!

Actually drawing myself and (two of) my siblings was a first step here... the thought of drawing us was intimidating for some reason, but I'm happy with how they came out.

I drew the pictures by hand, in my sketchbook, then added colour on Autodesk Sketchbook on the iPad. It was very fun to illustrate - I hope you enjoy it too!

Drawing Mums - Spot Illustrations for The Mumsition

Hello!

It's been a little while since The Mumsition got published (back in June) and I hadn't yet shared some of my illustrations from it. I thought I'd also show some photos of the finished book and some of my original rough drawings to share some of the process - I always find it interesting to see those on other illustrators' blogs!

The Mumsition is written by Isabel Mohan, Katie Massie-Taylor and Sarah Hesz - the creators of Mush. If you don't know what Mush is, it's an app where mums can meet other mums. Mush also share very amusing content about parenthood on their instagram (@mushmums) too.

Their content is written with a definite sense of humour and the book was too, so I was delighted to be asked to create the spot illustrations, giving my humorous touch to lots of different mums and scenarios. It was published by Piatkus, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group. Search for The Mumsition on your preferred book buying place to get a copy!

There are twenty-one of my drawings in total in the book, so here are just a few...

It has always been a dream for me to illustrate books - and something I'd wanted for a very long time. I'm illustrating another book at the moment, which I'm super-excited about! So I can't wait to show you that, but actually I will, because it's not going to be published until March.

Getting back to my original point... I was therefore a very happy lady when my copies came through the post, so here are some photos of my drawings in their final habitat...

'The first six weeks - When everything is bonkers...'

Mother and Baby Yoga

About to pop!

Taking baby out for dinner

Here are some pictures of my rough drawings both in pencil - and then in ink as I started to draw the final artwork. I think it's nice to see the process sometimes, as it's a reminder of the work that goes into the finished thing before it gets seen. When you're starting out (or even after years of experience), it can be easy to forget about that part when you see lovely finished pieces on Instagram, or in a book or gallery.

Pencil roughs stage

Drawing the final artwork

Thankyou for swinging by my blog! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you might have seen that I've recently been working on a Sheffield colouring book! It officially launched last week, so I will be sharing a post about that soon, again with some photos of the process. In the mean time, you can take a look at it on my Etsy shop.

Bye for now! :)

All the naughty foods!

I thought I would share some food illustration I've been working on recently. As you might already know, I have been drawing what I eat for a while now and I made a cookbook zine last year. I want to illustrate more food commercially, for magazines or publishing, particularly because I am so passionate about the subject. Books and magazines about food are my favourite types to read (yep, I even like to read cook books in bed). I know my black and white food drawings don't look super edible, so I'm taking some time to add more colourful dishes to my portfolio.

I've got lots of ideas for other projects I could do from this... but for now, I'll just keep it simple and say 'so here's a load of dirty food I've eaten lately'! I'll try to make my next food post a healthy one!