Here is my entry for this month's prompt (big thank you for the feedback I got along the way).
This page truly is a gallery of amazing illustrations! So much to learn from all of the different approaches!

This is the preview of a set of illustrations that will soon go live on the website of a Covid-related initiative. A group of creatives and psychologists decided to put together a simple webpage with wellbeing best-practices touching upon topics that are particularly important in these weird uncertain times. Then they asked illustrators to visualize their advice, giving total freedom in terms of style and subject. My choice was a set of creatures, one per paragraph, to try and stay away from gender/race stereotypes as much as possible. Here you can see the full set plus my two favorite ones.

Re: JANUARY PROMPT "BIG"

Big monster, big surprise, big hug, big friendship.
Made with Polychromos pencils (and watercolor pencils for some details)

Elena Marengoni
Instagram: numi.illu

Here is my submission for this month! Big 'thank you' to all the people that helped me make this better with their feedback!!

Here's my entry! My slowvember was so slow that I only painted one of the four panels that make the book spread ...but I learned so much from it!!

Practicing sketching from real life to strengthen my understanding of volumes, depth, light and shadow and building a stronger visual library that I can reference later on in my drawings.

I have given myself the assignment to revisit a classic book cover that I love very much, Pippi Longstocking. After a little bit of character design exploration, here is where I am at (still work in progress, I want to try out a few solutions for the elements in the background and I want to play with the typeface a little longer before choosing).

I've been focusing on watercolor illustrations a lot lately

Here is my entry for this month, which I turned into a book spread! I had a lot of fun with this one!

Here is my entry for the contest!

@Jane-Smith thank you!!️ Indeed color was a fun part of this project

@TessaW thank you!!!!

This is the preview of a set of illustrations that will soon go live on the website of a Covid-related initiative. A group of creatives and psychologists decided to put together a simple webpage with wellbeing best-practices touching upon topics that are particularly important in these weird uncertain times. Then they asked illustrators to visualize their advice, giving total freedom in terms of style and subject. My choice was a set of creatures, one per paragraph, to try and stay away from gender/race stereotypes as much as possible. Here you can see the full set plus my two favorite ones.

@Katie-Kordesh thank you!!! I really like yours too! Such a cool style and vibrant atmospheres!

@carolinebautista no worries at all! I was directing that note to myself cause your comments were so well-explained and documented that I went 'of course! it all makes sense now!' :):)

I like what you are saying and the fact that there's beauty in having opportunities to truly connect and learn about each other's work, no particular expectations, no strings attached, just the beauty of sharing something personal or that you care about. That's invaluable!

@carolinebautista @NessIllustration I kind of feel dumb not having thought about these things but, at the same time, happy that I learned something new. It makes perfect sense and it is probably a reminder of where I should direct my energy, which is getting my portfolio seen and trying to get work by agents/publishers. Good thing I asked and I didn't waste time committing to the wrong thing.

And it's true that this may never turn into an author-illustrator collaboration, but it could still be an interesting opportunity to build a network and exchange information.

In any case, as clear as the feedback sounds, I would love to understand a bit more what the main problem is. Is it that a publisher would never accept 2 people that they don't know at once? Or the fact that we are both quite new to this world? I am trying to think what is the difference between this and an author-illustrator would be and my guess is a higher level of experience and simple process (1 person instead of a duo). I am genuinely interested in understanding this, to avoid making silly mistakes

@NessIllustration I totally see your point and, as I am reaching out to you, I know that he is doing the same with some more experienced people in his network, to avoid getting into something that may turn out harmful for both of us. We both don't have this kind of experience, so that's where his initial idea and my post came from.

He isn't pressuring me into saying yes, nor I am willing to continue down this road given the clear input I am getting haha! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he came back to me with the same findings that I gathered through this forum...

@eriberart thank you for these super important insights. It was actually one of my doubts as well and I am starting to understand that if I do decide to do this project, it would mostly be to get exposure and it could never lead to a joint deal with this author.

His plan would be to publish traditionally and there wouldn't be any payment unless we signed a deal with a publisher, so this is where the risk is coming from, for both of us actually.

I suppose the same could happen to someone who wants to be both author and illustrator, where maybe only one of the 2 'sides' of the project interests the publisher. At least, in that case, it's just one person and this person could still decide to accept the deal.

Hi all,

I have been contacted by an author to work on a book project together.

Here is the context:

• The manuscript is ready. I fell in love with the story and I would be truly happy to illustrate it.
• He is currently publishing his first book and would like to push his career more in this direction
• I am doing some private commissions, but I have never worked with a publisher before. I regard this as an opportunity to show my work as well.
• He seems to be a really nice and humble person, who really aims for quality in his work and is willing to invest time to find the right publisher and do things in the 'right way'.

Together, we are trying to figure out how to present the project to publishers who may be a good fit both for the story and my style. I have been upfront about the fact that there is a limit to the amount of work that I can do 'for free', although I know that presenting a book project entails a little bit of that. My main doubts are around the following:

• What is the best way to present a project like this? Manuscript + Storyboard + 3-4 finished pages? This is what I have read in some articles/books, but I would love to know if it should be regarded as a 'must' or if you can get away with a little less than that as well (e.g. presenting the manuscript alongside my portfolio or maybe presenting some samples of finished art or character studies, ...I mean something to show which style we plan on using)

• Are there any specific conditions that I should negotiate in this phase, apart from agreeing on the amount of time we are both willing to invest? Any DOs/DON'Ts or red flags you see in this set-up?

I would love to hear your thoughts and learn from your experience.
Thanks in advance!