Journals296
Newest
Spring update
2 min read
Hello all,
It's been a while since my last blog entry so I thought it was a good time to update all my lovely watchers. Spring is finally here (thank the stars), and with the clocks changing again, it means longer days and hopefully more time outdoors to draw instead of being hunched over a computer.
I started a design job last October; my first graduate job in 3 years of searching, and it has been an intense and wonderful experience so far. I create artwork, UI and graphics for a betting game company, which is growing fast. I am no longer the 'new guy', which feels odd, but I am very much grateful for where I am right now and the experience I am gaining from brilliant colleagues.
In terms of my own work, I update my Tumblr as often as I can, but rarely have time to do finished pieces due to balancing life/work/gym/adulting, but hope with the change of the seasons and longer days, I can push more towards my own projects and illustration.
Recently, I've had the opportunity to create a cover for the HYSTERIA ANTHOLOGY , a poetry anthology edited by my wonderful friend, PinkyMcCoversong which apart from some small edits, is just about ready for reveal. I can't say enough good things about her work and the work coming out of the anthology so you'll just have to go and take a gander at the funding page yourself!
Thank you all for watching and supporting my work, hopefully I can post more pieces for your viewing pleasure soon
It's been a while since my last blog entry so I thought it was a good time to update all my lovely watchers. Spring is finally here (thank the stars), and with the clocks changing again, it means longer days and hopefully more time outdoors to draw instead of being hunched over a computer.
I started a design job last October; my first graduate job in 3 years of searching, and it has been an intense and wonderful experience so far. I create artwork, UI and graphics for a betting game company, which is growing fast. I am no longer the 'new guy', which feels odd, but I am very much grateful for where I am right now and the experience I am gaining from brilliant colleagues.
In terms of my own work, I update my Tumblr as often as I can, but rarely have time to do finished pieces due to balancing life/work/gym/adulting, but hope with the change of the seasons and longer days, I can push more towards my own projects and illustration.
Recently, I've had the opportunity to create a cover for the HYSTERIA ANTHOLOGY , a poetry anthology edited by my wonderful friend, PinkyMcCoversong which apart from some small edits, is just about ready for reveal. I can't say enough good things about her work and the work coming out of the anthology so you'll just have to go and take a gander at the funding page yourself!
Thank you all for watching and supporting my work, hopefully I can post more pieces for your viewing pleasure soon
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Levelling up
1 min read
I have a job! I've been offered an incredible in-house position as a 2d artist which is pretty much a dream job. It means re-locating entirely which is a little scary considering it's a city I've never been to before (except for the interview) and miles away from most of my family and friends, but I couldn't be more excited!
This is partly the reason for my general lack of work posted here, and will be for a while due to the big move. Keep working at what you love, keep searching for those opportunities and keep levelling up. It's worth it!
Jodie
This is partly the reason for my general lack of work posted here, and will be for a while due to the big move. Keep working at what you love, keep searching for those opportunities and keep levelling up. It's worth it!
Jodie
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50 000 pageviews, a prize!
1 min read
Hello all!
Apart from posting my work here, I don't particularly interact much on here, which is a shame considering it's what got me into drawing in the first place! (Naruto OC's for the win).
Because of this, I want to give a little something back and offer a prize of sorts to anyone who hits (and print screens) 50 000 pageviews! I've probably been on DA for about 10 years, thought this is my second account (I can't even remember what my first accounts' username was!), and want to celebrate all that the site has done for me in my time here. I'll always continue to post my work here, even if I'm not an active participant in the DA community currently as it's still a fantastic platform to share and enjoy the arts.
For the first person to send me print screen of the 50k on my front page, or close enough to it, I will draw/paint a character/scene of your choice.
Good luck
Apart from posting my work here, I don't particularly interact much on here, which is a shame considering it's what got me into drawing in the first place! (Naruto OC's for the win).
Because of this, I want to give a little something back and offer a prize of sorts to anyone who hits (and print screens) 50 000 pageviews! I've probably been on DA for about 10 years, thought this is my second account (I can't even remember what my first accounts' username was!), and want to celebrate all that the site has done for me in my time here. I'll always continue to post my work here, even if I'm not an active participant in the DA community currently as it's still a fantastic platform to share and enjoy the arts.
For the first person to send me print screen of the 50k on my front page, or close enough to it, I will draw/paint a character/scene of your choice.
Good luck
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Commissions open
1 min read
I recently switched jobs so have a little extra time to open up a few commission slots. Prices vary so please note for an accurate quote!
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The In's and Out's of Book covers
5 min read
Publishing week
Hello All!!
My name is Jodie and I’ve been asked by Emily of CRLiterature to write a bit about design, or more precisely, design for book covers! I’m a part-time, freelance illustrator with a passion for reading and have had the great pleasure of illustrating a cover or two in the past few years for some very talented writers. I also have a lot of experience talking to authors about their ‘dream covers’ and then trying to explain why an epic fantasy scene or the main character in a heroic pose probably isn’t the best idea for their first self-published novel.
(On a side note, I'm not an expert in the area of book design/graphic design, but hope the little I do know helps you all to share your work with more people)
You’ve probably heard of the term ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, and while this is a very good piece of advice, it’s actually pretty useless when it comes to trying to sell books. And if you want to one day sell your books (which I’m sure most of you reading this do), your want your book to stand out amongst the thousands of others on the store shelf, or the online store preview, which is where a designer comes in!
In professional publishing, when a book publisher decides to publish a manuscript, authors are very rarely given any control over the design and artwork of their ‘baby’; the cover is usually placed in the hands of a graphic designer, either in-house or via a freelancer that they commission. In self-publishing however, the choice is yours on whether you design the cover yourself, commission an artist to interpret your own vision, or hire a designer to make your work stand out amongst others of the same genre – but they are still catering to your tastes (and the brief you set them), so you need to be aware of what they are and whether they will help or hinder your books saleability in the long run. None of these options are ‘bad options’, if you want to design your own cover, that’s great! But you need to be aware of how designers think, in comparison to how writers (non-designers) think, and most importantly; how the consumers, aka, potential readers of your book think too.
As a visual artist, and an avid reader, I love well-designed book-covers. When I pick up a book, any book, I’m automatically judging the content within without even knowing it – based on the cover. It’s a subconscious process as much as a conscious one and it’s the designers job to tick those subconscious boxes that most people don’t even realise are there. They have to condense the whole book into a colour palette, image/graphic, mood, font, composition, etc, that appeal to the target market, age-group and gender (or neutrality of) while taking into consideration current popular trends and making it stand out amongst the limitless amount others within that specific category. That’s a lot of boxes to tick.
It’s very rare that I’m contacted by an author who doesn't already have the cover meticulously planned out in their minds, with no thought to the elements above. Granted, they are usually first time self-publishers who are excited to finally get their work into the literary world, but like with any marketing strategy (and a book cover is a marketing tool after all), it needs to be carefully planned and thought out from angles that an author won’t have considered before. I’ve read some amazing books with beautiful covers, written and designed by the same person, but most authors aren’t artists (at least not at a professional designer level) and should take that into consideration when considering how to present their work to potential readers/buyers.
When all is said and done, if you’ve spent a long time polishing your writing to the best of your abilities, you should consider the cover as an extension of all that hard work! Don’t settle for anything less. If you’re with a publisher and they’re handling the design; they want your work to sell as much as they do so it’s in all of your interests to have a great cover, so don’t worry if you don’t have a say in it. If you’re self-publishing; take the time to research current trends, grab yourself a book on graphic design, or better yet, save up and contact a designer with the skills and experience to make your work shine (on the outside at least, the story inside is up to you!).
My name is Jodie and I’ve been asked by Emily of CRLiterature to write a bit about design, or more precisely, design for book covers! I’m a part-time, freelance illustrator with a passion for reading and have had the great pleasure of illustrating a cover or two in the past few years for some very talented writers. I also have a lot of experience talking to authors about their ‘dream covers’ and then trying to explain why an epic fantasy scene or the main character in a heroic pose probably isn’t the best idea for their first self-published novel.
(On a side note, I'm not an expert in the area of book design/graphic design, but hope the little I do know helps you all to share your work with more people)
You’ve probably heard of the term ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, and while this is a very good piece of advice, it’s actually pretty useless when it comes to trying to sell books. And if you want to one day sell your books (which I’m sure most of you reading this do), your want your book to stand out amongst the thousands of others on the store shelf, or the online store preview, which is where a designer comes in!
In professional publishing, when a book publisher decides to publish a manuscript, authors are very rarely given any control over the design and artwork of their ‘baby’; the cover is usually placed in the hands of a graphic designer, either in-house or via a freelancer that they commission. In self-publishing however, the choice is yours on whether you design the cover yourself, commission an artist to interpret your own vision, or hire a designer to make your work stand out amongst others of the same genre – but they are still catering to your tastes (and the brief you set them), so you need to be aware of what they are and whether they will help or hinder your books saleability in the long run. None of these options are ‘bad options’, if you want to design your own cover, that’s great! But you need to be aware of how designers think, in comparison to how writers (non-designers) think, and most importantly; how the consumers, aka, potential readers of your book think too.
As a visual artist, and an avid reader, I love well-designed book-covers. When I pick up a book, any book, I’m automatically judging the content within without even knowing it – based on the cover. It’s a subconscious process as much as a conscious one and it’s the designers job to tick those subconscious boxes that most people don’t even realise are there. They have to condense the whole book into a colour palette, image/graphic, mood, font, composition, etc, that appeal to the target market, age-group and gender (or neutrality of) while taking into consideration current popular trends and making it stand out amongst the limitless amount others within that specific category. That’s a lot of boxes to tick.
When all is said and done, if you’ve spent a long time polishing your writing to the best of your abilities, you should consider the cover as an extension of all that hard work! Don’t settle for anything less. If you’re with a publisher and they’re handling the design; they want your work to sell as much as they do so it’s in all of your interests to have a great cover, so don’t worry if you don’t have a say in it. If you’re self-publishing; take the time to research current trends, grab yourself a book on graphic design, or better yet, save up and contact a designer with the skills and experience to make your work shine (on the outside at least, the story inside is up to you!).
Feel free to ask any questions, and myself or the CRLiterature team will do our best to answer.
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