Humblearts Journal: Portfolio Reviews

Mulling over my portfolio reviews today, I thought I'd share how they went.

First, the things I need to work on:

Vary viewpoints, pretend I have a camera and experiment with different angles. (This is a toughy, isn't it!)
Second, get rid of the black border around my work. It visually stops the flow in a picture book. Try vingettes, where the color fades out around the image. (I hadn't even considered that the borders stop the movement in the story.)
Get rid of the animal illustrations, they aren't my strongest work. (Which is funny, I only added them in because I thought I needed to have them in my portfolio. Stick with what you love to do, it shows.)

Nice comments from the AD from Simon & Schuster: She felt I had a strong portfolio with a very unique style. She said my work was ready and encouraged me to start looking for a rep and to keep submitting.

I can't tell you how much the validation of a New York art director meant to me. Like, yes, I can do this.

The editor from Penguin & Putnam, said the same things pretty much. Loved my work, had a strong style, loved my camp piece the best. Enjoyed the edge that my characters had and said to dump the animals. Submit to all the major publishers and to send postcards to the art directors. She felt a new illustrator had a better chance getting in, by sending to the ADs. I thought that was very interesting.

I have so much more to share with you, stay tuned!