I want grow my network here by offering my skill to learn from your experience and skills.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

Hi! I think this is a great move on your part. I don’t know if I can help you on the money part but i would be happy to share my thoughts and comments if you have some pieces in need of critiques or if you have some questions. As for your art equipments, perhaps you can get started using a wacom intuos tablet or perhaps some cintiq alternatives. They’re cheap but they work amazing for their price. I hope this helps. I wish you the best in your journey.

[Geoffrey Gordon]

@nyrrylcadiz First off thanks for your response I was not if I was even approaching this correctly

Secondly, I really like to love your work, you have a great style.

[NessIllustration]

For the equipment, I would highly suggest looking into refurbished or secondhand if you're just starting out! I'm still working on my large Wacom Intuos pro that I got for 30$ from a Facebook group when I was a student and it works great! For my computer I got a refurbished one for 300$ and I've been upgrading parts one by one when I get the money (adding some memory this Christmas!)
It's a good place to start

I'd be glad to offer whatever advice I can on your work, but for that you need to show us some! It would be helpful if you told us if there are any areas in particular you are trying to focus on right now so we can offer advice specifically on that. Right now it seems you're throwing out a very general call for help and you may see little response because people don't really know where to jump in. It can be a little daunting to critique someone who is just starting out because there is a lot to improve and sometimes we don't know where to start! In these forums, what seems to work best is when someone posts a piece or the sketch of an in progress piece, and tells us what they are trying to do. Then we tell them 3 things they can work on. Hope this helps!

[Geoffrey Gordon]

@nessillustration Thanks. for the advice
I am so new to this stage, I don't have a portfolio. Still learning to draw. I am not if sure what type of art to pursue just yet. I enjoy pencil, a little inking, vector art and want to learn digital art.

I want to contribute to this community, but I am not experienced to give any critiquing. What I do have is a vast knowledge in the marking realm. I have designed websites for the last 10 years for people all over the world. I have knowledge of graphic design and social media marketing.

But I noticed a lot of illustrators here don't even have a website, or if they do it's on a free service like wix or name.wordpress.com or blogger and poorly designed. DIY website design is a hallmark of poor branding. I wanted to form friendships with talented artists so their energy would rub off onto me and I would learn a lot.

So I thought. How about I design websites for those who need help. I would design their website for free ( saving them anywhere from $500 to $1500) and perhaps just ask to host and maintain their websites for a small monthly fee.

And in return, I gain two things a network of artists/ new friends and knowledge from the collective creative cloud that would help me become a better artist and be ready to write my first and illustrate my first children's book in the next 5 years

[NessIllustration]

@geoffrey-gordon It's a good service, but perhaps even a bit too good. Personally if I took advantage of something like that (hypothetically, as I actually just finished building my own Wordpress website and don't need another) I would then feel very obligated to offer you a lot of help in return, but at this stage where we haven't even seen a single drawing from you yet it's very difficult to know if and how we could help right now, which may make people less likely to take advantage of your generous offer! My advice would be to chill a bit, get to know the people here, engage in conversations in other people's threads before trying to engage in such a big exchange of services right away! Most of all, show us your drawings! Let us get a feeling for where you are and if we can even help at all

[Geoffrey Gordon]

@nessillustration Probably good advice, where is the best place to showcase my drawings....

[KathrynAdebayo]

After looking at your instagram, I just want to throw in an enthusiastic word of encouragement. It may be difficult to admit that we're not a world-class artist from the start... that we're dedicated to a journey but that we're just at the beginning. I've been there, and getting over the initial inertia was a challenge for me. I remember the first time I showed sketches to someone who was actually going to pay me for my art. I was a mixture of embarrassed, thrilled and terrified. What if they didn't like it? What if it wasn't good enough? What I've been reflecting on since then is how the world of art has spaces for everyone to contribute, and it also has incredible potential for development and blossoming of styles when people put in the work. I think you have the initial dedication and drive, and that is inspiring for me to see. You're also putting the pen to paper, which is ultimately the best way to progress in your own journey. Whatever you see on this forum from other amazing artists (because there are quite a few!), and however intense critiques might be (if you ask for critique, that is), please keep pushing forward because it seems like you have all the ingredients of an illustrator!

Your web design offer is generous and a very kind gesture to this community. What I've noticed is that people here seem quite generous even without something in return. It's an environment of learning, and I think the culture of being generous with one's artistic insights reaps benefits for those who do it. We learn through generosity, and if you'd like help from this community, all you need to do is ask. Most of the time there are many people who are eager to walk along side of you for no repayment at all.

[NessIllustration]

@kathrynadebayo Couldn't have put it better! I find that when I write a critique to someone I learn even more than the person I'm critiquing, especially since the work here is so high level!

[Geoffrey Gordon]

@kathrynadebayo Thank you for your really kind words. I know I am really a novice and have a lot to learn. But I am hungry to do so. I have been met with nothing with kindness since I have joined the forum, it taken me back a little as most group's I have been with have not been so cool. I think for now i probably need to go through all the lessons on svs learn and skill up over the next year. But I will show work and ask for feedback from time to time. Once again thank you so much.

[DLArmantrout]

@geoffrey-gordon Welcome! I’m a beginner here too. I have been watching the introductory SVS courses. The thing I know I should do better at this point is spending time practicing. I think I will start doing the monthly contests and posting work-in-progress images. I’ve seen that the forum users give great feedback on work-in-progress images. Since I’m just a beginner I don’t think I need a website now, but in the future I might be interested in your website design offer. Thanks!