SubscribeHow I Became an Illustrator
I initially put together this presentation for a college group I spoke to. It was for junior and senior level students who were studying to pursue art full time. I think a lot of students (and maybe even professionals) feel like they should know more than they do in order to do a good job. But really? I think everyone just makes it up, asks a lot of questions, and does the best they can. (This thrills me!)
To read the whole essay (pretty short, don’t worry), click here.
penelope …
thank you for your wonderful essay! it was very inspiring. i am actually on quite a similar path. last monday i very very nervously sat down in an office and quit my day job, gave up my health insurance, my steady pay check, my work friends i see every day, in order to pursue illustration full time. i’m glad to know i’m not the only one who feels like i don’t really know what’s going on …
OMG! Just about to re-start my life and do an Illustration degree here in Good Old Blighty. Scared stiff as have always been ‘arty’, but life kind of got in the way until redundancy from management last year forced my hand… Thank you so much for telling it straight! Will revisit when inspiration deserts me (on a daily basis, if necessary) to receive a top-up of power to my elbow…
I love your website and I also visit Keri Smith’s website! I’ve been making the leap to be an art illustrator, that’s what I call myself :) for (7) years now and it’s been the most difficult, scary, insomniactic, rewarding, beautiful and tearful thing I do! I’m making even more changes in 2008 and I want to thank you and your posse for all your encouragement via your websites! It has been very scary to be 49 tomorrow and realize that you’re at the start of a dream, where you have no credentials, but are going to do it anyway! Happy New Year!
Hi Penelope!
I’m a fan of illustration friday, but I’ve read your essay without knowing that you created it. Now I’m at the exact point that I really want to give up the idea of being a lazy girl and start the hard work, first time of my life for the love of illustration. It’s very relaxing to know that even an art director in an ad agency can feel the fear. Thank you for your story and for all the inspiration that illustration friday gave me!
Hi Penelope, I already know your works by Flickr and I sometimes joined IF with some illustration, but this is the first time I read your essay and I find it truly inspiring..especially in this very moment of my life in which…I’ve just left the harbour, flew far from home and going to start again..pointing more into arts! What you wrote is encouraging, and I also think it would be a pleasure to meet you!Bye! Annalisa
hello penelope… I’ve seen your work on “portakalagaci.com” and I came to your website.. and how lucky I am to find it, I liked it so juch I cannot even start to tell.. I am very into illustration and I am still under the spell of your work.
I am working on my website for now, I hope someday my site will earn enough to work with you on some pages. but this message has nothing to do with it now.
I just want to thank you for these wonderful piece of arts and for the encouraging “lifechange” story of yours. (I have decided to change mine a couple of months ago. I am an architect but I stopped going to my office and started creating a website about Istanbul.)
best of luck and keep up the good work..
öz.
Thank you for taking the time to tell your story. It really does help to hear that people you admire have many of the same fears and doubts about going freelance full time. I have yet to do it, but I’m getting there step by step. Have a great day.
Thanks for that, I appreciated reading this.