Hello my friends. I wanted to post this a lot earlier than intended unfortunately, I became really poorly and I got doctor’s orders to rest. After many days and nights of restlessness and recovery, I got the strength to write this.
I know this is a bit sentimental to contemplate and write about the past year. Especially I had a lot of time to contemplate while resting my body. But I always preferred New Years, because you always hoped everything will change for the better in the following year. Normally it does.
2012 was a turning point in my illustration career. I started off the year going onto a Graphic Design course, not knowing where my strengths lie. Now I have to ability to combine both graphic design and illustration in presentations and composition. Importantly I know where my passions lies with illustration.
I organised the Picture Show with my friends at University and connected and made new friends along the way. Also I was surprised by my own abilities at times too, personally and my business skills. Especially it took us 7 months to organise exhibition. I am extremely proud of us.
I got involved in really fantastic causes and test my portrait drawing with hellohead for National Autistic Society and Movember. Also I exhibited with Art VS Cancer which raised so much for many charities.
Top row: Art vs Cancer, hellohead portrait, movember portrait.
Bottom row: 15min portraits, movember self portrait, portrait I done for Movember launch
Finally I co-founded an illustration collective, “StoryHands” with ever lovely Jenny Robins, whose been my partner in crime. With more crazy ideas to with to come true and make this collective more a success.
Illustration takes a lot of time and patience and such hard amount of hard work. Especially it’s been very difficult to do alongside my part-time work. It has been a lot of late nights, early mornings, 12hr shifts, weird shift patterns, etc. Despite the sleep deprivation and writing all my achievements down, I have come so far.
I finally finished a graphic novel I’ve dreamt of doing since University, slowly I am ticking off my wishlist I had in my head for so long.
If you have read this far, I want to personally thank you! If you haven’t, know that I wish you all the best in 2013.
Slowly I am getting a bit more confident in the world of illustration and freelance. I do get scared sometimes. But I am so ready to change my life in 2013. I don’t know how I am going to do it. I don’t know where to start. But I got to face my fears. I’m ready to be braver.
See ya 2013! I hope by 2014 I will have most of my wishes come true…