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@Justin-Moss Thank you! Maybe if I take ou the balloons?

Sooo.... I was thinking about poor little mischievous Albert trying to fit in with his new family. What if the family too is trying to fit into the new modern world ? And I came up with this sketch. comments are welcomed!

@Elisa-Miko-Price No no, it's fine to show both black and white and color. But you have different styles of rendering.

Like the Red Riding Hood illustration has black outlines and looks cartoon/anime. But the Witch Queen and Frankenstein cover looks much more realistic with a soft shading.

@Elisa-Miko-Price You have such beautiful work! Well done!

I think the mix of styles is a bit jarring. Consistency is important in a portfolio because if I was an art director, I wouldn't know what I'm going to get if I hired you.

Also since you're aiming for book covers at this time, I'd put some cover mockups in your portfolio as well as write down (on your about page) that this is what you're looking.

@juliekitzes I used to struggle with this, and to me it was due to pursuing motivation. Motivation is awesome, it's like a great big wave that carries you, excites you, and allows you to get so much stuff done. But eventually it always recedes, and then we must find a way to still keep going without it pushing us. Getting distracted by new shiny things means that instead of figuring out how to continue, we are attracted by the next big wave of motivation that's going to carry us through. But using only waves of motivation doesn't actually carry us to shore - that is to say, to a project being actually completed. We must address the root issue, which is how to finish stuff when motivation is waning, and not get distracted.

For me 2 things help:

1. Remembering my goals. I have a freaking vision board with what I want out of my life and how each project helps me get there. When motivation wanes, I look at it. I remember why it's important to me that I finish this, even if it's a little more difficult to keep going right now.

2. When I get shiny new ideas, and I'm starting to obsess about one and think about the details constantly, then I write everything down. I open OneNote and I jot down the whole outline, all details about it that are coming to me that I can think of. Once it's out, I feel better that it's preserved and I can go back to it later if I decide it fits into my long-term goals. It gives me the indulgence of half a day to think obsess about, dissect and flesh out this idea, then with everything safely written down, I'm able to calm down and stop obsessing about it, and return to what I was working on before.

@Jeremiahbrown it looks great! Congratulations! 🥳

@geekinm cool! Thanks for sharing!

@LauraA You post an interesting question!
First I think it's important to distinguish the definitions of "fan art". The distinctions got a bit muddled during the podcast conversation

The question asked in the podcast was about "fan art". That is, artwork based on intellectual property owned by someone else (Batman, Captain Marvel, Star Wars, etc). In this case the fan-artist is looking at an image already created and then making a "new" image that looks substantially similar. In copyright law this is called a "derivative".

Fundamentally all fan art of this kind is an infringement. To legally reproduce it requires permission from the current IP owner.

As was mentioned in the podcast this fundamental infringement can (and often is) allowed/tolerated/sometimes encouraged by the IP owner for a variety of reasons that Jake covers in the podcast.

Now there's what you created for Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe . . .
What you made (while certainly artwork of a story of which you are a fan) is not "fan art"
Here's why:
The copyright to a text applies ONLY to the text and is owned by the author.
The copyright to an image applies ONLY to the image and is owned by the illustrator.
As you wrote:

I have liked the Narnia series since I was a kid, long before the movies came out. When I did my own illustrations I went out of the way to read the text carefully and not take my imagery either from the movies or from Pauline Baynes's lovely original illustrations. Any apparent similarity is either from the text or from my study of 1940s evacuee clothing

With this piece you've done exactly what every illustrator who has ever worked with an author has done for decades. The author can never claim ownership of the artist's visual interpretation of the written text.

You mention the "film producers". The film producers of LW&W created and own only their version of the story (the script) and their versions of the characters (actors likenesses and costuming choices)
Any similarities between your illustration and the movie interpretations CAN overlap but must be limited to the description in the original text. If your illustration looks significantly like the actor, or use a distinct costuming choice from the movie then you've crossed the line into infringing on the LW&W movie.

In this post I'm talking just about copyright. One of the fun new wrinkles for IP is that of trademark. I did see the there's a "word mark" held by the C.S. Lewis (PTE.) Ltd. for "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe". So if you were going to aggressively promote and sell the print I would suggest contacting an IP attorney

Hi guys!

I know it's a little bit last minute, I didn't think to post in here about this sooner (not sure why!)

I'm hosting a free, live mini-class in my Facebook group in about 10 minutes (at 2pm EST). The topic is: How to get started in freelance illustration!

If you're interested, join my Facebook group to participate! https://www.facebook.com/groups/freelanceillustratorscafe

Even if you miss the live, it will be recorded and you'll be able to watch the video afterwards in the group

Have a nice day!

@carlianne You can go into your system preferences for the keyboard and instruct the OS that !+?=‽

You'll find that some programs and websites support it and some don't. But it's always worth it!