sneak preview

Here it is - a sneak preview of one of my Christmas cards ....

christmas cards

Finally I've done it, my Christmas cards went to the printer this morning for digital printing. I'm looking forward to seeing the proofs this afternoon ... but also a little aprehensive.

I'll post a sneak preview soon.

-Gail

illustration magazine

I made a great discovery recently thanks to a post on a fellow blogger's web site - thanks!

Illustration Magazine (which I now subscribe to) is really good, inspirational, I also managed to get some back copies, so there's a fair bit of reading matter there for me. I feel like I've been kept in the dark for so long - but no longer ;)

I'd recommend this quarterly magazine to any illustrator or illustration student.

Ruth Prickett - the editor was so helpful, answering all my emails and questions really quickly - thanks.

autumn days

It was a lovely Autumn day on Saturday and it inspired me to do somesketching (along with some friendly "pushing" for friends). Here's one of the results . . .

a rainy tuesday in devon

The weather has turned really miserable today . . . "Devon glorious Devon, rain six days out of seven"!

The weekend was fairly good, a chance to get away from anything to do with work/illustration. Saturday I was feeling under the weather so I stayed in to "recover"!

Sunday was a lovely day, we went for a walk in the country park near where we live. It was so peaceful and good to see the trees changing for Autumn, all those natural colours - nature's own paintbox. We also spotted some kingfishers which was a suprise.

I've done a lot of thinking about this illustration lark . . .

bear with me ...

Bear with me, I'm new to this blogging lark, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it after a while.

I've been thinking where I want this blog to go and what my aims are, both with the blog and my life in general . . .

Through the AOI discussion board and speaking to fellow illustrators I've discovered that many have jobs and freelance "on the side". Then comes the time to ditch the job and make freelancing the main feature. It seems it's not an easy break to make, from the security of a monthly wage to the unknown. Some keep a part time job going, but even that can get in the way. It's easy to get tied up in other things.

I'm looking into the pros and cons of going freelance.

new blog on illustration

This is a new blog that I have decided to set up about Illustration as a career and all that lies behind it . . .

I want to cover the actual processes of illustration, either traditional or digital, as well as self promotion and business stuff.

At the moment I work as a Graphic Designer, but it is my dream to freelance as an illustrator. I studied design and illustration at college in South Africa and have always enjoyed drawing and painting. I also do calligraphy from time to time.