Hi everyone,

I have been away for a while, working on various things. Recently, what looks like a Hybrid Publisher, Whistleslick Press, https://www.whistleslickpress.com/ has reached out to me to see if I wanted to illustrate books for them. I have reached out to two of their illustrators to see what their experience was like, and to a friend that has her book made at a different hybrid publisher. My question is, would is ruin my reputation if I work with such a press? I'm not a big name illustrator, but I have had 4 books published with small traditional publishers and I don't want to ruin my reputation by just doing whatever jobs come my way.

Thank you for your help!

@brettb_draws - I'm not very active here, but I got an e-mail notification for this post, so I'll have a stab at it.
From my experience promoting stickers is tricky business. You've got to have a game-plan, something the stickers fit into.

Most of the time, stickers are an operational cost, part of a promotion.
You need to think outside the box (my gears are spinning right now).
Even a clever sticker idea is surrounded by other clever sticker ideas.
How to stand out?
Who to promote to?

OK, not a helpful answer, but I would love to sell some stickers, myself!
I gotta' think outside the box after a long day of work!

Good luck to you!

@aska I would be interested in this as well, the print-on-demand services I've seen are quite expensive, and they take quite a large chunk of each sale.

Congrats, This is a beautiful book. You don't have to leave the forum. It would be great if you stayed around and helped others with advice and support to get through their projects.

@Tony-Barber

I like it as is. I originally agreed with Nyrryl Cadiz. This sounded like a good Idea but I borrowed one of your designs and tried it out. I think the original is simple, rough, and has a really clean appeal for kids.

Good job, keep it up.

PS: My 6 year old son and 8 year old daughter loved them.

@Michael-Angelo-Go Looking good. A little tip when drawing lineart from real life photos. A good idea is to not trace everything for it to look good. You need to design and simplify the line and anatomy. Bonus for doing it that way is that you learn more about anatomy than simply tracing. Good work .

@Ari-Sorokin

I used to work on a project during my lunch breaks at work. I didn’t have much space, usually just drawing in the driver’s seat of my truck or at a restaurant. I used an A4-sized sketchbook, penciling first and then inking with a brush pen. I actually prefer using nibs and brushes, but anyway. I was drawing one panel per page. It felt like overkill, and it made the Photoshop process a lot more work, but I made it work.
Now, I just keep an iPad and Apple Pencil in my truck to work on in my free time. It took some time to get used to, but honestly, getting anything done is better than nothing.

I'm right there with both of you, I've quit and come back to social media so many times it's basically part of my routine now 😅 WhatsApp sounds smart though, especially if that’s where your people already are. Honestly, anything that keeps you creating without frying your brain is the right path.

@Ari-Sorokin said in Reconsidering art as a career:

Hey everyone,
In high school, I worked hard on my portfolio and was accepted into several art schools. However, the intense application process left me feeling burnt out, and I struggled with imposter syndrome. I initially wanted to study animation to tell my own stories, but after seeing how competitive the industry is, the uninspired projects being produced, and the ideological leanings of many studios, I started to question whether pursuing animation professionally was the right choice. Eventually, I convinced myself that art should remain a hobby rather than a career.
Because of this, I sold my iPad Pro and the laptop I used for digital animation and chose not to pursue an animation degree. Instead, I enrolled in a construction management program. While I find aspects of it interesting, it’s a demanding, technical field with a heavy emphasis on mathematics and problem-solving rather than aesthetics and storytelling. Now, in my second year of college, I still feel uncertain about my future.
Lately, I’ve been questioning whether I let fear of failure, adversity, and imposter syndrome push me away from an artistic career. Despite my efforts to move on, I still feel drawn to creative work. Even with the rise of AI-generated imagery and the instability of the entertainment industry, I’m beginning to realize that staying true to my artistic aspirations might matter more than financial security alone.
Next year, I’ll be attending a yeshiva (seminary) in Israel that includes an internship, which has given me time to reflect. I’m now wondering—should I pivot to a more creative field like filmmaking or journalism, or should I stay on my current path with construction?
On one hand, construction management offers financial stability, but I worry that I’d just be an average professional making good money rather than an artist with true passion. I don’t want to live a life that feels like settling.
Recently, I’ve started making comics again and genuinely enjoying it. However, I recognize that industries like animation and game development, while more aligned with my creative interests, also have significant financial and structural challenges.
I’d love to hear from others who have faced a similar dilemma. How did you balance artistic passion with practical career considerations? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

I've been in situations where chasing a creative dream felt risky, and sometimes it just seemed easier to stick with the “safe” route even if it didn’t feel 100% right. That pull towards art and storytelling is something that’s hard to ignore.

Maybe you could try mixing both worlds, like keeping a stable job while exploring creative projects on the side, or even a field that lets you have a foot in both camps. It might be a messy path, but sometimes blending the two can bring out the best of both worlds. Good luck with everything and your upcoming internship

Hello, I have been using UpWork, Indeed, Freelancer, LinkedIn, Guru.com,Twine, Behance, Hiriello, and Freelanced which is no longer available. I was also trying to figure out how to access SCBWI's job board without much luck (im not a member due to the cost). I've tried Fiverr and 99 Designs neither of which do I find very user friendly. Anyone have any other ideas that I have not mentioned here? thanks because I really would like to collaborate.

Just wanted to thank you so much for this list. I KNOW how much time it must have taken. It's been super-helpful!

@Michael-Angelo-Go just a preference

Hello everyone, it's been quiet here for a while, so I thought I would share some photos of my trip to Cal Arts of Santa Clarita, California.

This school is famous, because so many talented creators of our childhoods graduated here. I.e. Pixar.

I have been drawing lately, but not children's books, things that I actually like to draw. Please click the imgur link below.

https://imgur.com/a/cal-arts-feb-26-2025-ejnAj54

I did this illustration for my class awhile back and looking at it now I'm not too happy with it and want to improve. The purpose of this assignment was to create something geared more towards a children's book where I challenged myself to do a garden like background (since artists seem to be allergic to backgrounds...) but had the idea to turn it into an actual portrait if it were hanging on a wall. Any Ideas how to improve? Project02.PNG

IMG_20250216_205615927.jpg

When Mirroring a rectangle in Perspective, which corner are you meant to draw through middle with? As I get two different widths.

Am I over complicating this in my head, just cant grasp the fundamentals

@Ari-Sorokin Clip Studio isn't costly, there are two versions, PRO and EX, EX is much more expensive but it only has a couple of extra features that are not that useful for most people.
The PRO version is quite cheap (buy it on sale or on black Friday), I use an EX version on my main work computer and I bought an extra PRO license last year for editing on my secondary computer, I paid about $16 for it and it has a free upgrade to the upcoming new version as well.

I wouldn't go with their monthly subscription, the "updates" you pay with it are not worth it and you can buy a new license or an upgrade for cheap if you really need to have it updated.

You can also try PaintStorm Studio, which is like an updated and evolved version of SAI, really great for painting and I think it's worth around $25.

Hey Pamela, I know the post is a little old and I am definitely too late to reply to this, but I am gonna do it anyway as I believe it can help someone who reads this too.

I am a publishing consultant and I also work with a publishing company. A very good friend of mine who happens to be my client, asked me about this company Kravitz and sons. They reached out to her with these marketing plans that were really promising and eventhough I was already marketing and distributing all her books, I wanted to consider these guys as well just to see if they can do it better than me. However, being in the industry for so long, I wanted to do my research before getting ahead with this. That's when I found your post and the very statement about them being partners with Ingram is a definite lie. In fact the whole plan they sold to your dad is a lie. Not that its not possible, it definitely is. But these guys are gonna drain your pockets to get something done that doesn't cost anything at all.

They must have given a review to your dad's book with critical analysis and everything stating why it is important for him to distribute and promote his books and the potential. That's all bullshit, its all chat GPT. There's no panel doing this critical analysis if that's what they've told him. This is phishing, that's how they do it. And once you pay them, they'll ask you for more and more everytime for a new service. Paying for the services is not the problem here. But what they'll sell you would be the most useless service of all time, and they know it yet they'll charge a highly unreasonable amount for it. So yes, it is a scam, and I hope your dad didn't fall for it.

Hello All,

Attached is an illustration for my current book project. The client requested a mix of line art and spot color, so elements like the sky, grass, and trees remain unrendered. The typography is just a placeholder—a graphic designer will refine it later. I'd love to hear your first impressions and any red flags you might notice. Thanks in advance!!

TomShannon.jpg

@Michael-Angelo-Go
For some reason, it wouldn't let me post. it keeps requiring an image url

Hi everyone,

I seem to remember that a long time ago there was a qustionnaire to help artists find and define their artistic style. I think it was possibly created by Lee White, but I'm not sure. I remember it broke down styles into components like color, lines and shapes etc.

I've been trying to find it, but I haven't managed yet. Does anyone remember it? Was it part of a course?
I don't think the "How To Discover Your Style" course includes that questionnaire.

I would be very grateful for any help. Thank you