Testing

Kimberly testing

Potential test messages to be posted in next day or two; please ignore :-)

We're testing out a new posting function to make it easier for the Mentees to post to this blog, so you might see some odd posts over the next couple of days. Thanks for your patience! We'll return to our normal programming very soon. :-D

Today with Meg and Ted Officially Released!

Today is a good day for a book release! Today with Meg and Ted (Golden/Random House), my first children’s book, is officially published and released. 

How does it feel? It feels like a dream come true (apologies for the cliche´, but I can’t think of a better description). 

It feels great,... it’s a loving world!

It feels scary,... it can be an unfriendly world.

It feels momentous. Something has changed. I’ve stepped over a threshold from unpublished to published, amateur to professional. And, nothing has changed, I’m still working away, trying to get another book published.

I’m still unsure about a lot. But, Today, I’ve got a spring in my step.

And I’m sure that Today is a good day!

Mentorship Lessons: Learning, Experimenting and Doodling

As I do more illustrating, I'm starting to hit limits with my limited knowledge of Corel Painter. Until the L.A. conference, I'd been lazy, and not bothering to learn more than what was absolutely necessary. As a result of my Mentorship sessions at the SCBWI conference in L.A. last year, however, I've been experimenting more with the software I use (Corel Painter XI) as well as started to learn Photoshop.

When I first bought Corel Painter, I never thought I'd ever want to create my own brushes. Why bother when Painter gives us perfectly serviceable brush tools? Now I'm hitting limits with the default settings and beginning to create my own custom brushes. As I start to become comfortable with my own style (and yes! I'm actually settling into a style! More on this is a future post), I'm pickier about my brushes.

Those of you who work with actual physical art materials are already familiar with this, of course, but as someone with no art training, this is relatively new to me. As I mentioned in the comments section of Eliza's previous post, I've started doing daily doodles. I post many of these in the private collab online sketchbook I have with my illustrator friend, Beckett Gladney, but also post some on the front page of DebbieOhi.com.

Here's one of the drawings I did today while experimenting with a custom brush I created in Corel Painter. It's a variant of the RealDrippyPen brush. I started at the top without really knowing what I was going to draw, just wanting to try out my custom brush, and kept going.

My title for this piece: "Decisions, Decision." :-)

Setting Your Goals: 4 Helpful Tips

‘Tis the time for goal setting, and I myself am a bit of a year-round goal fanatic. Here are 4 steps that I try to follow when planning out goals:

Write Them Down

It’s been said that a goal written down is more likely to be achieved. Post the goals somewhere you’ll see them daily.

Plan How and When

Rather than only stating what your goal is, make a plan for how and when you’ll do it.

Break It Down

To help with the How and When stage, take each goal and break it down to small, manageable steps. Try to be realistic about how much time you need for each step, get a calendar and work backwards from your deadline (whether it’s a self-applied or forced deadline). Break your goals down from yearly, monthly, weekly, to daily. This will help in preventing procrastination on a big project.

Review Daily

This might seem like an obvious statement about achieving your goals – don’t forget about them! It’s easier said than done. Pick a time when you get up every day or before you go to bed to review your goals. Recommit to the goal, adjust your plan as needed, and make your list for the day. It may be a big help to talk through your goals with a friend or significant other, and check in with each other regularly to share in the process.

I would love to hear about your goals! In the comment section, feel free to share one of yours – and don’t forget to write how and when you’ll achieve them.

Cheers to a creative 2011!
~Eliza