A great series of posts!

Check out this post and the links!  It is really smart and gives a lot of clarity into writing and illustrating children's books as well as self promotion.

Enjoy!

Laura Wood Illustration


Also some great advice from Art Directors to up and coming illustrators

AD Advice!

Self Promotion...

Does anyone else have a hard time with self promotion?  It makes me go crazy just thinking about putting together a business card, or a postcard, or any sort of mailer.  I am not exactly sure why.  It just does.  The top image is my new business card and the bottom is a postcard.  (There will be more info on the back of the business card.)  Any help is welcome.

Do any of you have any ideas of good ways to promote a new portfolio?  Anything that has worked?

Erin and I are trying really hard to get to the next arena, so to speak, but it has been pretty difficult forcing ourselves to do the work.  (Researching the specific clients, creating our mailer packets, CONTACTING real people... you know, the regular hermit type stuff....haha)

After doing some research, here are some links that I have found helpful:
http://hollydewolf.blogspot.com/2010/06/promotional-mailers-snail-mail-can-be.html

http://jonasillustration.com/blog_jonas_sickler_illustration/2010/10/how_to_market_yourself_as_a_freelance_illustrator/34/

http://escapefromillustrationisland.com/2009/11/05/escapee-speaks-7-elements-of-an-effective-online-portfolio/

Scratched project

I jumped the gun recently on a project for a client that cannot be named. Let's just say they are a sports drink company with celebrity endorsers such as Steve Nash and 50 Cent. Wasn't able to "finish" these images but you get the idea. These are two images of a 4 part series that told the story of an underdog athlete. I felt it was better for you to see them than to have them eternally sit on my hardrive.

Something new

I took what I learned from painting with watercolor for a couple of months and came up with something I like.  It is newish in general and definitely new to me.

Trick or Treat? already...

I have been working on this style behind doors for a while now and I am liking it quite a bit.  The color is acrylic watered down to the point of being like watercolors and the line is a charcoal pencil.  It is very different from what I have done in the past so let me know what you think.  Ignore the text as it is just laid in there quickly.

Sneek Peek!

I haven't posted in forever....Sorry about that! I saved this out as a png, so it's not pretty upclose!

More experimenting

This is a new style, or continuation of my style, that I am working on.  I really enjoy drawing like this.

You can probably tell, but there is a watercolor wash laid over the top of the color which I think adds a lot to the interest of the painting.

Let me know your thoughts.

Threadless CLIFF

Erin and I want to start doing threadless t shirts and I want to know your experience and any advice you can give.  Thanks Cliff.

Mr E. Fox ( a new tail...corny)

This is something new that I am working on.  Technically it started almost 2 years ago, but I am about ready to get the stories up and illustrated.  His name is Mr. E. Fox.  The stories will tell his tales from childhood to his grown up years.

ebooks

Erin discovered a pretty easy way to convert a book into an ebook and sell it on ibook store, kindle and nook.  Let me know if you are interested.  We are putting a bunch of our books up.  I hope they sell sell sell.

No. I am not Dead.

Hello all. I like what you all (mostly Cliff and Adam) have been posting lately. Here is a poster that I did for my ward. I did this all in Illustrator.

I have been very busy lately. I am a special Olympics coach for my work and I have been going insane trying to figure out how to coach bowling and how to get all of the paper work finished.

I have been waiting for this woman that has hired me to do a book to sign the contract so I can start. She went to Australia for December and just recently got back. Hopefully now she will sign the contract and send it.

I hope you are all doing well.

T-Shirt

Here is a t-shirt and logo design I've done that's near completeion. I have to add some contact information on the back of the tee and it's finished. I'm trying to experiment with a different but not to foreign style.

Here is a quick recap of what I have been up to:

First was a book about Rock and Roll!  It was a collection of poems so I got to experiment with some different styles.

 Then I did a book about a little boy who finds a dead spider and decides it will be his best fiend.  Unfortunately he plays to rough and by the end of the book the spider's dead body barely exists.

Finally, I did a book dummy that was pitched to Random House called "Dead Friends."  It was a little morbid and gruesome and a lot of hilarious and awesome.  I had a ton of fun on it and really hope it will get picked up soon. 

I can hardly wait to hear what the rest of Yous have been up to.  Don't make me wait to long...  Happy New Year!

A Little Sample

What's happening everyone? Things have been super busy in AZ!!! It's tough working full time and doing illustration, especially as the illustration side picks up. I've done several pieces now but haven't gotten around to posting them. I'm not sure if I am allowed to yet =). Here is a sample for an editorial piece I am working on. I think we all need to play catch up again since we are neglecting this blog!!!

Monster month Challenge!

Let's see how many monsters we can do now that it is officially the good part of OCT. 

http://monthofmonsters.blogspot.com/

Help me promote this and let's see everybody draw monsters!


I can't wait to see what comes in.  Email them to me at adamtaylorillustrator@gmail.com

A new site and a new picture

I liked this photo so I snagged it and added to it. hitRECord...

http://hitrecord.org/users/adamtaylorillustrator

This is a pretty cool site for artists to collaborate freely on or to each others pieces. Check it out if you want.

I'm a Circus Freak Too!!!

I went to the fair last week and saw this amazing two person circus act. They were great.
They asked me to take their picture in front of a certain sign at the fair and since my photo skills are more than lacking I decided it would be more fun to draw them. This led into them really liking my artwork. I was inspired to make a children's book (big shocker) So now I am making a book for them to sell at their shows. I guess in a round about way I am now a Circus Freak too! And I am so excited to do the book.

Presentation!

I just did a presentation for a young women's career night. I was the hit of the evening! All of the girls and leaders were interested in mine most! It might have had something to do with the other presentations being about accounting. But it still makes me feel good to have them look up to me. Plus, I might have gotten a few jobs from doing it from some of the leaders!

More info about the book

I can't tell you guys everything about this project but I'm really excited about it.

The book is based on this guy who adopted a little boy from Cambodia and when he was older, the little boy started participating in some diving competitions.

Here's a link about the kid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtteNj_Yr4Q

He's going to try out for the London Olympics next year (he'll be a 12 year old competing with the 20 yr olds). It's a really big book and he wants it done by Oct 15-30. So I'll mostly likely be needing some feedback soonish.

......and another one!

Ok so I've been commissioned to do another piece. Only, this time it's a pop book that's due by Wednesday and I am super nervous! If any of you have had experience with pop ups then we need to talk. This project is getting more increasingly difficult than originally pitched!

First comission!!!

I just got my first comission today from Harper Collins! I'm doing a book cover, which may include some hand illustrated type too! I'm kind of excited and nervous all at the same time. I wasn't expecting a comission from such a large publisher right of the bat. I'll keep you posted with details! Wish me luck!

I gots a book job!

Hey everyone,
Thought I'd let everybody know I'll be starting on a book soon. :-) I'll tell you more later. Thanks for the link Adam!

For a friend....

I did this for one of my friends at work. I like the way it turned out so I thought I'd share it with everyone.

Updated painting

Thanks for the critiques. I tried to apply them the but see what you think. Thanks

Awesome Portfolio Website

This is probably one of the coolest artist websites that I have seen. I just wish that I had thought of it. I though I would share for a little inspiration (don't get depressed...=D)

Here it is http://www.jaredandrewschorr.com/Lobby.html

Royal Mousies :-)

Just having a blast with character design...

Mobsters

“Hey Boss, the fuzz ain't far behind.”


"I've got you now cop!" "Now you're mine!"


I have recently written a story entitled "Do Whatcha Gotta Do." It is about the mob. These are sample spreads for the book that I am attaching with the Dummy. If you are interested in reading the story let me know and I will email you the dummy as is.

There is also a police officer hidden in almost every page of the book. See if you can find him in these pages.

I would love a critique if there is anything killing you or that you think I should change. Even an acknowledgment that you looked is nice sometimes too.

Om Nom Nom - example level

I am trying to figure out how to make the backgrounds look.

I have now painted the characters and objects that the monsters will eat. It is a lot of fun, I just hope that it functions when I am done. I have never made a game before.

IM BACK!!!!

you guys are like this little bird :-) I really need a reminder sometimes :-)

Monster progress

Here's some progress on the Monster game. There will be 10 characters in all and 50 levels.

I've got a rep. Now I've got my soul back!!!

I think this makes me an official artist now or something. I just signed the contract and sent it over! They are an international agency with offices in London and NYC. You can take a look at their list of talent at http://www.illustrationweb.com. I should have my work up on there in the next 48 hours. Hopefully you'll start seeing some more work from me, finally!

Monsters!

.







I have decided to make a game for the ipad. It will be called Om Nom Monster. The concept of the game is pretty basic but I think it will be fun. Random Object will scroll past the monster and the gamer will move the monster and make the jaws shut on the objects.

These are the monsters that I have come up with so far. I wanted to show them to you all to get some feedback and share what I am doing.

I will probably choose around 10 monsters for the actual game so if you have ones that you would like to see in the game you can tell me.

I am in need of suggestions of random stuff for the monsters to eat as well, so if you want to throw a few ideas my way that would be awesome
Thanks for the help! I look forward to seeing what you write.

Finished!

Peter Pan for ipad has been very long, trying, and just crazy... All that being said, I really enjoyed making the images and can't wait to see it released. Here are a few of the characters for the project. ( I drew almost 300 characters in all, so this really is just a few)