...and here's the CTN-X post! See you in Burbank in a couple of weeks!

Finally, I have some big updates for this blog! I am thrilled to announce that 2 titles I am working on this year have gone public, and will be available for purchase mid-2016.

First of all, I am happy to say I will be working on 3 upcoming titles for the new Grumpy Cat Little Golden Book series! Both Grumpy (aka Tardar Sauce) and Little Golden Books need no introduction, but I will take a moment to fan girl over this. I was raised on Golden Books, my favorite being The Poky Little Puppy, and have officially checked an item off of my Bucket List by working on these titles. Tremendous thanks to the crew at Random House and The Bright Agency for making this possible!

I am also working on 2 unlicensed titles for Little Golden Books, one of which has gone public. SHARKS!! Ironically, I completed the roughs for this book during Shark Week! This is a non-fiction title, which is new territory for me. I won't lie, it's been a little tricky to tone down the expressions on the sharks, since I am so used to drawing whacked-out animals, but I am very happy with progress so far. I also have learned a lot from the manuscript to this book! I also now know what claspers are, haha. At any rate, it's going to be a very busy 2016 for me and I could not be happier for it.

I have even more books in the works, but it's hush-hush for now! That wraps it up for the publishing side of things... as for the animation development part of my life, I will be updating the blog on that shortly. My work on Blazing Samurai is ongoing, and CTN-X is in a couple of weeks! I will have a couple of new prints on sale, and doing a digital painting demo on the center stage in Hall H. But like I said, that's for another post!

Happy belated National Black Cat Day/Early Halloween! I've been itching to draw a black cat pose sheet for a while and sometimes, you just gotta make time for felines.

Not only is it that fabulous orange and black time of the year, but it's also fast approaching time for CTN-X! I will be updating the blog with the floor map and hopefully a set time for the demonstration I will be giving there. Wanna see how I do what I do? Wanna know which Photoshop brushes I use? Wanna ask me questions and stuff? You'll be able to at CTN-X!

Kicking off the new book with... leopard geckos!

I'm Awake, I'm Awake! Sheesh!

"The feeling of accomplishment is more real and satisfying than finishing a good meal--or looking at one's accumulated wealth." - Jim Henson

Oh man, there's been quite the lapse in updates. I've got a chance to catch my breath after a crazy work marathon, which spanned the last 3 months or so, and will be resuming the crazy pace once again in a few weeks. I'm exhausted, I'm burnt out, but in all of that I am also... freakin' PROUD. I am satisfied, I am sated, and I feel like I've accomplished so much in such a short time. And that's because I have!

Remember my post from the beginning of the year? I was pretty exhausted and burnt out then, too. But it was different. It was more of a fatigue from anxiety, disappointments and financial strain. The kind of stuff that just wears you down at your core, as opposed to the joyful, almost delirious exhaustion that comes from completing a big project that you have thrown your full self into.

Blah, blah, blah, so what HAVE I been doing instead of making artwork for myself? I still can't go into details, but I can say that I just finished illustrating my first full-sized picture book, Prudence the Part-Time Cow, by Jody Jenson Shaffer. I have a Little Golden Book title on the way, 2 more picture books slated for early next year and a few book covers. I've also been kept busy with vis dev and character design for an animated feature, which is basically my dream come true.  Even better is that the teams I work with are incredibly talented and just fantastic people as a whole - weekly conference calls shouldn't be this fun...! The nature of the work I have been doing in all of these projects is very much in sync with my personal style and I feel so grateful and frankly, spoiled rotten.

I don't mean to come off as smug in sharing this... there are ups and downs in life, and frankly, I'm a born complainer and you've heard plenty of my whining. Beyond that, I think some people, particularly artists, tend to feel shame about sharing the good stuff, out of fear of being seen as cocky, aloof, what have you. Honestly? You gotta own it. Own the good with the bad. Share it, talk with other artists, swap stories, tricks of the trade and just, revel in the good times.

This chapter of my career has taken me to unexpected places, but they've all been places I was happy to visit, and I think I'd like to stay a while.  If I had told myself 2 years ago, when I had left the gaming industry, that this is where I would be landing, well, I probably could have saved myself a lot of tears and stomach problems. Even so, no regrets!

All of that said, don't write me off as a slacker with the personal artwork this year. Something's in the works that will make me just that extra bit crazy through early November. Hold tight for updates!

My Experience with Illustration Agencies

Because I got a fair share of questions and comments about joining an agency, I thought it would be good to post my experience here in a more prominent place so that lots of people can read it and ask more questions.

This was a huge learning experience for me, and there's more learning to come. I have been very fortunate in that I got work within the first weeks of signing and it's been fairly steady ever since. There will be times of feast and famine with any market, but I am incredibly grateful to be where I am right now. But here's how I got to where I am.

To start, I talked to some of my friends and peers who were already working with agencies to find out how that was working for them. All in all, their experiences have been positive, so I decided to look more into it and ask myself some questions:

1.) What does an agency do?

Well, as I understand it, an agency does a lot of networking, advertising and marketing for you, the artist! Agencies often have access to jobs and projects that are not publicly announced, and can negotiate good rates for you, though it varies. Of course, this comes at a cost - an agent will take an average commission of 30% - 40% from the work they find for you. Bear in mind that you will *also* be paying 30% of your earnings to Uncle Sam in taxes (if you live in the States), so at the end of the day you might only pocket 30% of the original commission. Ouch.

Some agencies will also charge you a percentage of the advertising costs they spend on you annually. Only you can decide if that's worth it to you; in the end, I was happy to pay to be represented in trade shows and annuals that I had no access to any other way.

It's rough, but the folks at the agency gotta eat too, and the idea is that you get enough work at good enough rates to make this viable for yourself. It takes time to establish regular clients, so be sure to have a plan B or some savings while this is happening. I cannot stress enough how important this laSt part is. Publishing often works at a snail's pace, and even after you get work with an agency, payment can take 30 - 60 days to process after invoicing. There is no shame in being a barista or moonlighting as a circus clown in the interim.

2.) What do I want to do?

This probably seems like an obvious question, but it's important to be clear on the type of artwork you want to do, because every agency's body of work is different. Some agencies focus on editorial illustration, some on sci-fi, some concept design, some children's media and some are exclusively children's books.

While my heart is still in vis dev for animation, I've been really curious about doing children's books, greeting cards, stationery, wrapping paper, fabric patterns... so, being that I don't have many connections in these fields, going through an agent would be a great way to break the ice and see how that all fits. I researched lots of kid-friendly agencies online and selected the ones that had the most variety in the projects and clients they worked with.

It really is crucial that you do your research before contacting any agency; if I just submitted my stuff to an agency that specializes in, say, medical illustration, it would be obvious that I didn't take any time or consideration in choosing them, and that would reflect very poorly on me.

3.) How will this agency represent me?

My goal was not to be represented exclusively by an agent; that is, I wanted to open myself up to new clients and markets in addition to the ones I had already been working with, without the agency getting a cut from my existing, regular clients. This is a very important distinction to make, as some agencies prefer to take you on exclusively and all work, past and present, must be brought through them.

This arrangement works out well for some established illustrators who are specialized in their field, and I suspect that artists who choose to be exclusive might get top billing in the agency (but don't quote me on that, it's my own speculation). For me, however, this wouldn't work well. I live in one of the most expensive cities in the country and I have some very much beloved clients that I've worked with over a decade, so I didn't want to risk losing my existing income to commissions.

4.) How does this agency treat its artists?

I was lucky and recognized a few artists who were already represented by some of the agencies I was interested in, so I contacted those artists and asked about their experiences. How much was their agency's commission? How often were they getting work inquiries? How fast was payment? How aggressive are they with clients who do not pay? How was communication with the artist? What was it like if the artist could not accept work at the time? How high pressure was it?

If you don't recognize anyone with an agency that catches your eye, take a good, long look at the agency's website. Does it look professional? Is it current? How often is it updated? How readily available is each artists' work and contact info? An agency should be working hard for you, so that, in turn, you can work hard for it.

5.) What kind of work should I submit?

I touched on this before, but really take the time to see what kind of work will have the most appeal to an agency and what format/how many images they have requested. Often times these guidelines are posted on the submissions page/form of the website. Every agency is different, even the ones that represent the same types of illustration.

For the most part I submitted PDFs of my work from my self-published books, some older personal work and some professional work that I had full permission to use. Never, ever submit work that is NDA protected, even if you think no one will notice. That is how bridges get burned and why lawyers get paid.

Though most of my work is animal-centric these days, I made sure to include the rare human that I've drawn from time to time. It's good to have some versatility to show, but try not to be all over the map stylistically. Just because I *can* do clean UI vector art, doesn't mean I need to show it to an agency that favors painterly cartoon animals. ...besides, I hate doing UI with a passion. ;)

So I submitted to about a dozen well-researched agencies, and I waited.

About a month later, I got my first reply, which was a rejection and was chided for not having a cleaner-looking website. Oof! Of course, they were right about my website being a mess, so a good rule of thumb is to have your website updated and clean, because those art directors look at art websites all day, every day, which leads to burn-out. They don't want to have to dig around to get a clear idea of your body of work, and you shouldn't make them.

A month after that, I still hadn't heard from 8 agencies, got 1 more rejection and finally I heard from 2 more agencies, who were selecting their new artists at the end of the year. It so happened that both of these agencies do quarterly reviews for new artists, so maybe that's a common thing.

Anyway, yet another month passed and I kept in touch with the agencies while they sorted things out, and then singled out 1 of the 2 agencies, by virtue of my admiration of their artists and that they were great communicators, down to earth and very nice people all around.

When they came around with an offer, I was thrilled and confident in choosing them, having talked with one of their artists personally about their experience, and by building a relationship with their staff via email exchange. We negotiated an agreement, and here I am!

*****

I hope this helps some of you who are thinking of going down this road. It's all new and wonderful for me right now and I really hope to make some fantastic work for new, wonderful people in this part of my journey.

Hibernation is Still Over - Full Speed Ahead!

Hey everyone! It's been a really long time since I've been active on here, or really on any of my social accounts, so thank you for your patience and all of the kind messages I've had waiting for me!

So where have I been all this time? Well, the reality of being an independent adult has set in over the last year, complicated by the fact that I've decided to make my living as an independent artist... I guess what I am saying is "Hooo boy, am I in debt from a crappy year of freelancing!" While it gave me enough spare time to get Snorffles & Meeps 3 done, it's taken its toll on my savings account, and I've had to really focus on getting some solid, paid work. No easy feat in this economy, and with the entertainment industry being what it is right now, it's been very stressful and uncertain.

Luckily, I've had a whole new world opened up to me by signing with The Bright Agency this past January. I currently have 3 picture books in the works with major publishers (one of which is a series you all grew up with! EEEEE!) and I am being kept very busy with smaller book titles and hopefully children's licensing. It's ended up being a real challenge but also much more fun and freeing than my work in the gaming industry has been in all of 7 years, so I am very grateful to be in this position right now. 

On top of this, I am still doing vis dev work for animation and toy design, so I get to keep my favorite bits and pieces of the design world. Things are starting to look up!

It does mean that there is less time for personal artwork, and really even getting a single new piece done for Emerald City Comic Con has been nearly impossible and it may not even happen. But the overlap of my professional work and personal work had blurred significantly, so I am feeling satisfied with what I am doing these days - the bummer is that I can't talk about it or show anything for at least a year. Boo! 

Speaking of ECCC, this is where I will be! I will be selling the last copies for Snorffles & Meeps! Vol. 3, tons of prints, greeting cards and hopefully that new piece!

On the rodent front, it's been a tough year already. I lost Al to the ripe old age of 3 and his companion, Doodle, to cancer. I haven't been able to do a piece for Doodle just yet, but here is one of Al reuniting with his 2 beloved partners in rattie crime.

Finally, I will be posting a breakdown on working with agencies and how to go about finding one. Seems a lot of my friends and colleagues are considering this route, so I hope people will find  my experience helpful. Hang tight!

WAKE UP! It's 2015!!

Looks like it's the Year of the Frump. I am not awake. At. All. But thanks to Pixie, I have some caffeine to help with the post-vacation blues.

Sorry for the lapse since September. As you might have gleaned from my facebook page, things got a little out of control with the book and shipments and shows and all the things, but I did manage to get something nice done for a gallery show in the chaos.

Happily, he has found a new home and my hard work has paid off! It was a two-pronged art assault on wool, both needle felting and knitting. He took forever to make, but I really enjoyed it, and hope I have an excuse to make another one this year.

And of course, there was the usual deluge of rodent art!

Things are rather nebulous for projects in 2015. While I can confirm that there will not be a Snorffles & Meeps! Volume 4 this year (though that's not to say there won't be one next year!), I am toying with ideas on doing an illustrated book on dog breeds and I have a couple of cool gallery shows in the pipeline, so there will be updates coming soon on that. I'll probably be as surprised as you are in terms of what gets posted on here!