Yay! I finally received my copies of the January spread I did for Highlights Magazine! Love love LOVE how the colors came out on this one.
I hope you guys get to pick up a copy!
So for those that don’t know yet, we’re expecting our first baby!! Yipee!!! I’m nearing my final trimester, there are two books in the pipeline with very tight back to back deadlines so I’m trying my best to beat the 3rd trimester fatigue and getting as much done as I can while I CAN!
I’ve been so wrapped up with work lately it’s been challenging to find the time to indulge in any holiday fun. But this weekend I put my foot on the breaks and was finally able to let myself indulge in some seasonal goodies. It was a nice and much needed break!
All the while I was working over the weekend on sketches for them, I received this little fun card from the team at ABDO. Thanks ABDO!
We finally found time to actually buy a tree (his name is “Monty”) and make some christmas cookies for the postman and a few of our dearest and nearest…I wrapped them fast this year, or else they’d all end up in my belly..hee hee. I tell yah, there’s nothing like taking in some holiday music and the smell of cookies and pine to get you caught right up in all this season cheer!!
Happy Holidays!!
Hi there! boo on me for lack of updates! Summer’s been busy for me.
Working on a few things I can’t wait to share, but it probably won’t be for a while. In the meantime here’s a spread I did last November for National Geographic I believe it was published last March so I’m assuming its ok to share. More to come for this year and next! Can’t wait! I hope you guys are having a great a summer as I am! Cheers!
“The Sun Song”
© National Geographic – Learning Cengage 2013.
Just finished up these Ocean themed critters! My fave is the whale. 
They’re available now in the Etsy Store!
get them now at:
Etsy or TpT
New addition to the blog!
FREEBIE FRIDAY!
I’ve been obsessing over creating cute little clip arts lately. Mostly ’cause I never have any handy when someone asks me to make invitations, birthday cards, etc. In doing so I thought I’d share a free downloadable file to you every friday. Here’s this weeks download:
click here to download
Enjoy!
I thought this would also be the perfect time to announce
I have a new store on Etsy!
Beautifique Digital is where you can find all sorts of digital downloadable goodies.
It’s a little bare right now, but come visit me often. More updates on the way!
HAPPY FIRDAY! ..er FRIDAY!
It’s definitely more appropriate to share your accomplishments, but what about rejection? This topic hasn’t really been as openly discussed as much as it should be. I’m going to wear my heart on my sleeve here and hope by sharing this experience it eases the pain a little for other creatives who’s gone through similar situations.
As a freelancer, trying to establish yourself can be quite draining.There are a few words and situations that can be traumatizing enough to threaten the livelihood of ones career. “Send me your KILL FEE” has been by far my worst and biggest fear come true.
A couple of years ago I was approached by a widely known establishment to illustrate something to go with a copy they were planning on releasing. I really wasnt clear on why I was chosen to do this commission since they wanted me to illustrate something loose and abstract. I wasn’t sure I would be able to meet their vision but I had to try. After all, this client was on top of the list of companies I’d always wanted to work with.
I spent a few days trying to create something engaging and abstract. When I sent in my inital sketches for the said artwork I got feedback to REWORK, EXPLORE, REVISE. So i did as I was suggested, days later I sent in my revisions and got the most devestating reply I had ever read:
“This isn’t working. Send me your kill fee”
(For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, a “kill fee” is otherwise known as a cancellation fee. It’s a percentage of the originally agreed upon payment that the client is required to pay should the project be terminated.)
My heart sank to my stomach. I read the message over and over again trying to wrap my brain around this horrifc sentence. I wanted to reply, no, call them to give me another chance. But I knew that pleading wouldn’t be the most professional thing to do. So I took a deep breath, ignored my quivering fingers and replied with an invoice graciously.
The days that followed were pretty bad. It felt like a really bad break up. I went through the first four stages of grief within the following weeks. At
first I denied the whole thing ever happened by deleting any evidence of correspondence. I even deleted the invoice and contract out of my records.
Afterwards I completely broke down. I cried. I cried for days (my eyes hadn’t been this puffy since they cancelled Punky Brewster) and I drowned myself in massive amounts of self pitty. After a couple of weeks, I learned to accept the loss but I wasn’t completely over the whole scenario. I took a one month break from everything. I closed the door to my studio and replaced productivity with a full days worth of sitcoms and reality shows. Fun.
If it weren’t for my family and friends, getting out of this funk would’ve been ten times harder. Having a support system helps. It
