Well it isn't anything like being published, but this Thursday the Drawing Fundamentals class I'm teaching starts. Only 12 students (thats all the seats they have in the art room of the local community college--I like to tell myself more people would have liked to sign up. ;-). And the person in charge of putting the course list together said they would love to have me teach again next semester, so... thats a good sign. I mean... so there 
@sarahluann that's great! I always learn so much by teaching others.
Congrats everyone, I love hearing all the success stories, plus @Joy-Heyer had a heading in the kirkus review catolog for her book, yay Joy!!! I also just listened to Simona's interview with @Will-Terry, awesome, thanks so much for sharing.
Since joining SVS and being a newbie, I have had two self published picture books commissioned by authors and done in Createspace for sale on Amazon (they found me on childrensillustrators.com , I was picked up by an agent at Storm Literary Agency (she saw my work on twitter, so post your work you guys) and I am on book 3 of a three part Chapter Book series with her, all thanks to SVS....so there! Oh editing....... I thought the so there was to not be bragging whoops, I don't want to brag, just inspire! Happy drawing!
The single best part of this interview was her answer to your question, "what motivates someone to do the art?", and her response was "if you had to be motivated than maybe this is something that you should not be doing." I literally stopped what i was doing and just stood there and realized how true those words were. brutally honest. I loved it. The interview was enlightening and of course, her work is dope.
@lmrush Brag all you want! That's amazing news. Congratulations!
Website: www.tessawrathall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessawrathall_art/
@tessaw Aw thank you!
The success of SVS for me so far has been meeting like minded people. Feeling welcome in a community environment. Being able to help others within SVS by sharing knowledge and experience. Bottom line, joining SVS and working with you all is success in its own.
All this success is quite a testament to the quality of SVS, their classes, teachers, and community! I'm forever grateful!
@sarahluann That's awesome!
Great idea for a thread! I am not officially an SVS student (yet) but I have learned so much from Will Terry's videos and from this forum. I just recently finished illustrating my first book for a self-publishing author. If the kickstarter is successful, the book will be out in February. You can check out all the info here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mirkhalidali/the-jiu-jitsu-ponytail?ref=project_tweet
@Will-Terry Dear Will, Jake, Lee and all the great folks at SVS...I just want to say 'Thanks'... Today, the FIRST BOOK that I have ever illustrated went LIVE on Amazon, and a bunch of other places. I could not have done this without your guidance and instruction. Over the past 8 months I have had your videos, tutorials, 3rd Thursdays (remember those), podcasts and such all playing in the background as I drew. I gathered much insight and most of all, the right mindset, to finish the project. You guys have done more for me, and many others, than you may ever know. I appreciate you all so very much.
@tazzyartist Looks great! I remember when you showed us your early sketches with the ponytail that had a mind of it's own 
Congratulations!
@jasondmcintosh Wow, congrats Jason!
Well. I haven't been professionally published but I have finished two book projects since joining svslearn. I still have A LOT to learn. I'm reviewing the suggested curriculum to try and improve my skills. I can see that my work NEEDS improvement and that I need to take more time to work hard on the basics because of being in these forums and seeing what everyone else is doing. Those who are finding success have worked very hard and intelligently. It has been great to see them become more and more successful. They are an inspiration to me and I can see that, besides their inate talent, the reason is that they have devoted themselves to their improvement. They are paying the price.
@jasondmcintosh Honored and humbled.
SVS Instructor
http://willterry.com/
@will-terry @Jake-Parker @Lee-White and everyone else, thanks so much! It's always amazing to see all the ways that SVS is making a difference in the lives of creatives. Congrats to everyone!
I feel very lucky to have discovered Will and Jake early on, prior to the official start of SVS when they offered their first Children's Book class. It changed everything for me. I've been a member since and I can not express how pivotal all these classes and this community has been to my continued growth as an artist/writer. I squealed like a fangirl when Lee White joined on!!
I've had agents in the past, crit partners, editors and others along the way who have helped me grow but no one has steered me along this path as well as Lee, Will, Jake, and this community. They have built something extraordinary and I feel very blessed!
To all of you who are still plowing along, I could have easily thrown in the towel but for me, the journey, all the disappointments, rejections, and setbacks both emotionally and health-wise have all been made easier because of my love of learning and SVS. I always have a new class I can explore or older classes I can look back on and learn new things from.
Soon, I may have some very exciting news because it looks like I may be working on 4 books over the course of the next year... 3 as author-illustrator and one as the illustrator.
Don't give up, keep going!! SVS for life!
So great hearing all of these stories! : )
I committed to do Inktober and someone who followed me on Instagram is commissioning a portrait! Woohoo! I know it's a small thing to most of you, but I am just starting out, so again, woohoo!
I'm pleased to say that I have accepted a position at Hallmark Cards for after graduation, and have been picked up by Astound Illustration Agency for publishing
I want to say that I've been a fan of Will and Jake via YT since I was a confused teenager trying to understand what illustration even was, so when I heard about SVS, I thought it was a brilliant idea. When I finally had the ability to, I signed up and was then introduced to Lee through 3rd Thursdays and his classes. Even though I'm finishing up a traditional BFA, I don't think I would've been able to improve as fast as I did without learning from you guys, too. Your industry experience and anecdotes have been invaluable.
So with that, @Will-Terry, @Jake-Parker, and @Lee-White, I want to give a really big mega thanks to you guys for all the help and information you provide both for free and at such a low cost to everyone. It has truly made a difference. I also am so glad to be able to share in the community here with everyone on the forum.
Thank you guys so much!
@teju-abiola Congratulations, I'm so excited for you!!
The success of SVS for me so far has been meeting like minded people. Feeling welcome in a community environment. Being able to help others within SVS by sharing knowledge and experience. Bottom line, joining SVS and working with you all is success in its own.
