The first half of 2011 I was mainly focused on making sure I was completely ready for my first time exhibiting at Gen Con. I took the lessons I learned from my first experience exhibiting at a convention back in 2010 at the Mid Ohio Con and applied them to my preparations. I made new displays, lots of new art, buttons, promo cards, connections, and many more prints. All this preparation work over the course of months culminated in my successful show at Gen Con in August.
During this process of making painting after painting with a clear focus on the type of client I was aiming for really helped me in taking, what I feel are, some pretty big steps in finding my own personal style and in defining my artistic process. Looking back I think this step forward in artistic style & process is best represented in my dwarf painting. That was a turning point for me as an artist and in how I currently work, which has been heavily influenced by the working process of the amazing artist William O’ Connor. I’ve linked to it before, but just in case, here is a link to the article he has posted on his website in which he talks about his own artistic process. In preparing for GenCon I also put together my first artist sketchbook, which I sold at my table. Seeing my drawings printed in a book format was thrilling, and I am very pleased with the way it turned out.
Post GenCon, I hit two more milestones for me as a freelance artist. Back in October I had my first book cover published. The book is “While the Morning Stars Sing”.
It is an anthology of spiritually infused speculative fiction edited by Lyndon Perry and published by the Michigan based publisher ResAliens Press. That was a fantastic feeling the day my copy of the book arrived in the mail and I held it in my hands for the first time. While at GenCon I met an author who hired me this past winter to create two cover illustrations for the second editions of two of his novels. These editions will be coming out this spring and I will have more information on them shortly. So, more published cover work on the way.
The third milestone I hit in 2011 as a freelance illustrator occurred in November when I completed my first freelance illustration assignment for an actual game company. I was commissioned by Gamer Ingenuity, whom I met while showing at Gen Con, to create ¼ page interior illustrations for an upcoming product. I’ll be sure to post those illustrations once they have officially been released. That was an exciting experience as well and I cannot wait to see the final product.
I then ended the year with my tradition of end o’ year cleaning. Instead of having spring cleaning I do a total cleaning of everything I own at the end of the year so that I can start the new year fresh, clean, and ready to go. It’s a great feeling beginning the year in a completely cleaned clutter-free work & living space.
Much of 2011 I spent working to find my own unique voice as an illustrator, especially during the GenCon preparation months, and not much time in hunting for new freelance assignments, which leads to my shifting in focus for 2012. 2011 flew by even faster than any previous year for me and I imagine 2012 will be even quicker. I give thanks to God for 2011 and in helping me to reach these three milestones. Now heading into 2012 I need to continue to grow as an illustrator & small business owner by focusing on finding more freelance commissions and making lots more art.
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Next Week: Looking forward to 2012
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