Well, who would have thunk it, but the moment I returned from my surprise vacation, a few interesting job opportunities landed on my desk.
This of course means that I will have to postpone my own book yet again. However, these new projects are something I just could not say "no" to.
The first is a job for a friend. He came up with an amazing new card game, and he wants me to design the cards. This is another one of those jobs where I will get paid only if the game sells, but I believe in my friend, and I feel this is a reasonable risk to take. Since these images are supposed to be very graphic, I taught myself some Adobe Illustrator, and borrowed the program so that I could finish the job. In the past, I have worked exclusively with Photoshop, but I think Illustrator is better for graphic images, because it gives you wonderful crisp lines, and the zoom function is next to endless. I completed most of my images using the Pen Tool, and some simple shapes tools. The next bit will be trickier, because I have to draw figures, and I'm not sure how to "clean-up" in Illustrator, but hopefully I'll figure it out.
Unfortunately, I cannot post the images here, because they are game sensitive. However, once the game is printed I will definitely post some advertising.
The second job is something I have been waiting for so long, that I cannot believe I actually got it. Thank goodness for connections. What I need to do is illustrate a reconstructed scene of an ancient bridge ruin, and make it look like it was back in 105 A.D., as well as a portrait of the Roman Emperor Trajan and Apollodorus (the architect). Do you know where these illustrations will appear?
National Geographic!
OMG!
I'm almost expecting some sort natural or unnatural disaster to happen and squish this opportunity as well.
I've been working my but off, since I finished school and so many projects I've done have come to nothing, that I'm starting to believe I'm cursed. What good is my talent, if only a small circle of individual ever gets to see my work.
I'm impatient for my career to begin, not just to have work.
Seeing as how this is the biggest job I have ever had, I'm determined to create something so magnificent that people in posterity would seek out those images.
The article should appear in February and I have to get everything done by December. I've e-mailed very rough images for inspection (very rough--hopefully they will not look at them and think I'm incompetent, but I do not see the point in wasting time on creating several images if they will only choose one--if they need me to create several beautiful mini images, I will do so, but it's waste of time and money). Hopefully, I did not make a mistake :-I. So far, my roughs have worked OK with other clients, but THIS IS NG!
I think I fainted a little bit.
So, the article will be published in Easter Europe (since that is where the bride is), and if it gets a good rating (4/5 stars) they will publish it in all the magazines around the world. The text is really well written, and I will make the illustration so amazing that everyone will just have to have it.
So...
Wish me luck!
On another note, this past Friday, I spent the entire day in front of my computer watching the Free International Freelancer Day Conference. It was amazing! I got quite a few excellent tips, and some sources for further study.
I'm dreadfully behind on my Art Help blog, but I hope I can write another article soon.
Tomorrow I'm meeting my fellow IDE members to discuss our fantasy writing. The way we are going, I think I will have my book edited in about 5 years. :-) However, I love those ladies, and my fantasy book is the one thing I will not rush. I love that story so much, and I want everyone who reads it to see it the way I do, and at the moment my writing is just not matching my vision as well as it could.
Well, this has been a long post. Thank you for reading it.
Love,
M
This of course means that I will have to postpone my own book yet again. However, these new projects are something I just could not say "no" to.
The first is a job for a friend. He came up with an amazing new card game, and he wants me to design the cards. This is another one of those jobs where I will get paid only if the game sells, but I believe in my friend, and I feel this is a reasonable risk to take. Since these images are supposed to be very graphic, I taught myself some Adobe Illustrator, and borrowed the program so that I could finish the job. In the past, I have worked exclusively with Photoshop, but I think Illustrator is better for graphic images, because it gives you wonderful crisp lines, and the zoom function is next to endless. I completed most of my images using the Pen Tool, and some simple shapes tools. The next bit will be trickier, because I have to draw figures, and I'm not sure how to "clean-up" in Illustrator, but hopefully I'll figure it out.
Unfortunately, I cannot post the images here, because they are game sensitive. However, once the game is printed I will definitely post some advertising.
The second job is something I have been waiting for so long, that I cannot believe I actually got it. Thank goodness for connections. What I need to do is illustrate a reconstructed scene of an ancient bridge ruin, and make it look like it was back in 105 A.D., as well as a portrait of the Roman Emperor Trajan and Apollodorus (the architect). Do you know where these illustrations will appear?
National Geographic!
OMG!
I'm almost expecting some sort natural or unnatural disaster to happen and squish this opportunity as well.
I've been working my but off, since I finished school and so many projects I've done have come to nothing, that I'm starting to believe I'm cursed. What good is my talent, if only a small circle of individual ever gets to see my work.
I'm impatient for my career to begin, not just to have work.
Seeing as how this is the biggest job I have ever had, I'm determined to create something so magnificent that people in posterity would seek out those images.
The article should appear in February and I have to get everything done by December. I've e-mailed very rough images for inspection (very rough--hopefully they will not look at them and think I'm incompetent, but I do not see the point in wasting time on creating several images if they will only choose one--if they need me to create several beautiful mini images, I will do so, but it's waste of time and money). Hopefully, I did not make a mistake :-I. So far, my roughs have worked OK with other clients, but THIS IS NG!
I think I fainted a little bit.
So, the article will be published in Easter Europe (since that is where the bride is), and if it gets a good rating (4/5 stars) they will publish it in all the magazines around the world. The text is really well written, and I will make the illustration so amazing that everyone will just have to have it.
So...
Wish me luck!
On another note, this past Friday, I spent the entire day in front of my computer watching the Free International Freelancer Day Conference. It was amazing! I got quite a few excellent tips, and some sources for further study.
I'm dreadfully behind on my Art Help blog, but I hope I can write another article soon.
Tomorrow I'm meeting my fellow IDE members to discuss our fantasy writing. The way we are going, I think I will have my book edited in about 5 years. :-) However, I love those ladies, and my fantasy book is the one thing I will not rush. I love that story so much, and I want everyone who reads it to see it the way I do, and at the moment my writing is just not matching my vision as well as it could.
Well, this has been a long post. Thank you for reading it.
Love,
M
