Hi Everyone! Here's my submission this month. I wanted to do something completely different than I've ever seen for an OZ cover. Coincidentally, I've been working on my own version of this story for about a year now, so this was super fun to work on for me! Hope you enjoy!

Hi Everyone!

Thanks to those who helped me with my thumbnail. Here is my submission for the challenge this month!

(Also, does anyone know why my images are blurry on this main page, but crisp and clear when you click on it? I've noticed that most people's are perfect, but mine are always blurry until you click. Anyone else have this problem?)

Hi Everyone! Here's my October submission!

Hello! Here's my submission this month.

I liked the idea of the fairies being a little impish and ornery, so I went with that angle. I hope you enjoy!

Hi Everyone! Here's my entry for this month. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice in my WIP thread!

I thought a fun idea would be for a dragonfly to be learning how to fly with cloud "floaties." However, because clouds are a bit finicky, his mom spends a lot of time coming to the rescue!

Hi Everyone!

Here is my submission for "Isolation." I'm a new member of SVS and this is my first contest entry. I hope you enjoy!

Josh Dages

https://www.instagram.com/joshuadagesartwork/
http://www.joshaudages.com/

Hi Everyone!

Here's my June Contest entry. I chose to go with the opening scene where Bongo is just waking up!

Hey all! Thanks for you input above! Below is my updated version. This is the "add final objects" step (step 11) in @Will-Terry's course. I've got around 85 objects (not counting things bolted down).

This is NOT a final version by any means. This is just the draft that has all of the objects in it. I will add value, consistent line work, and extra detail on the next pass.

Some help I'm looking for now:

• how is the flow of the image? (realizing that it's hard to tell without value)

• do you see any major issues or is it confusing at all?

• are the objects too detailed or just right?

• do you like the cropping I chose (orange border), or should it be different?

Any and all suggestions are welcome. I will be adding more sand, bubbles, shells, etc., in the next version as well.

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who had revision help for my cover! Below is my updated version. I loved @aprilshin's idea of enhancing the towers on the wall so I went that direction. I also kept the typeface, but hand-drew over it with a much brighter color to help it fit into the painterly look of the piece and to stick out. Lastly, I played with the figures and made the lion a little more "lion-y." I tried Dorothy in different variations of her showing her face, but it didn't have the same effect, so I stuck with her looking up.

Thanks again everyone!

@djlambson Yes! I heard @Will-Terry say that too. I was really looking forward to hearing what they thought I could work on. I hope that they can set aside some time to do that in the future. Even a 10 second crit is so helpful!

And @dafoota, I hear you. It is so hard to put yourself out there, especially when you put so much of your heart into something. I keep telling myself that if nothing else, entering the challenge is getting a piece to the final stages, and giving me that much more practice. Glad we're all in this together and able to talk about it!

@Ari-Sorokin I will echo everyone else here. I totally hear where you are coming from. I have been selling my art for a couple of years, and to this day, the first person to buy every new product is my mom. Every product! I've told her time and again that she doesn't have to, but it's her way of showing me love and support.

Also, look at it as a good way to get practice and hone your business without making a "real" customer angry. I have found numerous issues with packaging, mailing delays, etc. and because the first customer is my mom, I can fix it without anyone caring too much!

I hope you have great success in starting your store and I commend you for starting so early. I didn't start until my late 30's and wish I had started much earlier!

Hope this helps!

@powsupermum Thanks, and yeah, that might be the case! I'll just hope that people click into it to see it's full detail.

Hi Everyone!

Thanks to those who helped me with my thumbnail. Here is my submission for the challenge this month!

(Also, does anyone know why my images are blurry on this main page, but crisp and clear when you click on it? I've noticed that most people's are perfect, but mine are always blurry until you click. Anyone else have this problem?)

Hi @Tom-Burchell. I really like your illustrations. You have a very fun style! I like that Wix and Adobe Portfolio let you have rows of images instead of columns, something I've yet to figure out with Squarespace. I also really like that you've got the "heart" feature for you images.

A few thoughts after checking out your site.

• I noticed that on each of the artwork tabs (Illustrations, Character Design and Picture Books) you have an "orphan" image at the bottom in its own row. Not a huge deal, but in my research I've found that it tends to look a little unfinished in the presentation of your portfolio. Reformatting the row so that there are no single images (or taking one image out) will make the whole illustration "block" a little more pleasing to the eye.

• I like your "About" page and that it's more personal and casual (I do something similar in mine). The only thought I had while reading it is that the display font you use and is a little hard to read. That typeface is great for your tab titles, etc., but I'd consider a more readable font when typing long paragraphs, to keep the reader interested.

Other than that, it looks great! Hope this helps!
Josh

@Griffin Thanks! That's not a bad idea. I'll play with it a little. Thanks for the feedback!

@MinasJP Thank you so much!

Re: I've Updated My Portfolio Website!

Hi again everyone!

I've taken into account your suggestions about my portfolio website and feel like it's much closer to what I want it to be. I've tried to narrow it down to two styles (on the Illustration page) since it was kind of all over the place before.

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts and any suggestions again. I'm consistently adding new pieces, but am open to hearing what people think! Link below:

joshuadages.com

Thank you!
Josh

@Braden-Hallett I agree that making him less removed adds to the "togetherness" of the piece.

Though I'm not trying to be "everything-has-to-be-happy," I'm wondering if maybe the outcast kid could have a piece that they need (or will eventually need) and that way he gets to be a part of "together" as well? Just a thought.

Love the layout and concept and looking forward to seeing more!

@Gabby-Correia I really like Huion products. I started using them because they are a fraction of the price of Cintiq/Wacom, and haven't looked back. They have battery-free pens that are very responsive and the color quality is great.

I first used the Huion Inspiroy H640P (non-screened drawing pad) and now work on the Kamvas 13. I also bought their A3 LED Light Pad for tracing and love it (it's suuuuuper thin so stores away nicely).