My Illustration Story & Timeline

How long does it take to get going as a professional illustrator? Well, in my case, 25 years! The first ‘phase’ starting after graduating and then second ‘phase’ starting after a 8 year hiatus to bring up my two kids.

Honesty is really important to me and having been in the industry for over two decades I have ample experience to draw from. I think people who are starting out in illustration or contemplating it as a career deserve a realistic look at what it's like to build an art business. What I’m presenting is a candid timeframe of my career from my humble life as stay at home mum to the successful illustrator you see today. It’s taken considerable time and resources and I’m certainly not an overnight success story.

Some of you may have taken my Transition into Illustration Skillshare class or have followed me on Instagram for a number of years, so you may know parts of this story. I thought it would be valuable for you to see my journey laid out like the diagram below. This is just a quick overview of my particular journey to demonstrate the main events. I put the birth of my kids at the top, because for me they are always central to the considerations when I make big decisions. 

In retrospect I can draw this central line running down the middle, and the timeline looks incredibly neat and tidy with the major events for five years from 2013 till 2018… but the real experience was anything but linear, or smooth sailing. 

I entered college for a degree in Advertising and Design, but I switched to Illustration in the second year. After I graduated in 1996, I was an in-house artist at several London-based greeting card companies (including Hallmark) which I really enjoyed. I was also making a good income from editorial illustration for lifestyle and health and beauty magazines. The editorial niche was something I fell into by accident because I could draw people, but after a while I really started to resent the idealized forms I was expected to portray.

2006 

I gave up creative work, a year after my son was born. And then in 2010 I had another baby. That was the year Pinterest was launched—remember that, as I’m going to talk about it later. 

2012 

This year I started to upload old freelance art and icons to a Shutterstock image library and those became the seeds of my passive income. You can read more about passive income in this blog post.

2013 

My daughter became eligible for free nursery sessions, which I factored in when making the decision to step back into illustration. That autumn I took my first intensive 5-week online course called Make Art That Sells, which really set the ball rolling.

2014 

I began taking Skillshare classes to improve my skills and techniques. I created projects for hand lettering and improving my Photoshop skills.

This was followed by my first small but functional website. 

My love affair with They Draw and Cook (now called They Draw) and illustrated recipes started that year. Little did I know how unbelievably pivotal these projects would be in my career as I built up a niche illustration portfolio in my quest to become an in demand food illustrator. I used Pinterest to strategically share my art on this platform as I’d heard art directors and commissioning editors searched for illustrators extensively here.

2015 

February I bought my first moleskine sketchbook for watercolor practice. 

March I signed on with an art licensing agent. 

May I had my art at the Surtex trade show in New York. 

August breakdown of my marriage, and divorce proceedings. That was a hard time both personally and professionally.

November I wrote my first invoices under my own name for several editorial and packaging clients.   

Let's pause here, as I want to point out that it took just over two years from taking that initial online course to receiving payments for my illustration services. I’ve been told this is an incredibly fast transition to go from stay at home mum to earning an income from commissioned illustration projects. The combined total for that first year of trading from stock images and food illustration was £14,000—not really enough to live on as a single parent with two small kids.   However, the next three years saw an increase in large illustration projects that brought me up to a more decent income. 

2016 

Food branding projects:

- Marlene’s Market and Deli in Tacoma

- Toronto Market Company pop-up event

Books: 

The Healthy Hedonist Cocktail recipe book

Sugar Detox Me Cookery book

August of 2016 

My very first Skillshare class as a teacher: Create Your Own Fruity Illustrated Recipe, followed by four more classes that year.

2017

More food brand packaging for Tine Foods (Norway & Denmark)

And my jaw hit the floor when a project to work with UNICEF in Myanmar came through.

2018 

May

I exhibited at my first solo art licensing trade show in New York. 

I was up to teaching 19 Skillshare classes, including two that remain among my most popular:

Sketchbook Practice: Grow In Your Art Everyday 

Instagram Success For Artists: 2 Week Challenge To Grow Your Following 

I haven’t included everything from these years, like the endless classes I took, the books I read, the sketchbooks I filled… If I included all that, this post would be three times as long. These are the big highlights. I hope that by sharing some of the specifics of my personal journey, it may help you understand the length of time it took to establish myself as a successful artist and illustrator.

It would be nice if we had infinite time to pursue our dreams, but most of us are working within very real constraints. Mine were navigating a divorce and becoming a single parent, whilst holding down a mortgage.

Building an art business certainly requires a heck of a lot of patience when you’re starting out and you’re coming to terms with the multitude of directions you’re being pulled in. If you are prepared with patience, it gives you room to stay motivated over a long period of time.

Although social media has been an asset in building my brand awareness over the years. I do feel it sometimes warps our perceptions on many levels. Some folks may underestimate the duration of time it takes to build a commercial portfolio that attracts paying clients. As you can see it took many years for me to see real and tangible results, like attracting a considerable following on Instagram or creating more than twenty-five Skillshare classes.

Becoming an illustrator will most likely take up a massive chunk of your time and energy as you travel from where you are now, to a point when you are comfortably supporting yourself with income from your art. Rather than feeling deflated by the prospect of having to work diligently for several more years, I hope you view my story as inspiration for what's possible with a vision, determination and strong values to guide you.

If you’re interested in making the leap into illustration, or you’d like to know more about my art journey, consider a 1-month free trial to watch all my Skillshare classes including my Transition into Illustration class. Use the button below to sign up (new members only).

Top Tips for Masking Fluid Magic with Watercolors

I LOVE using masking fluid. Once it’s dry it can be peeled off, revealing the untouched white paper underneath. It’s a bit like magic!

I first encountered this medium during my college days and since then have had a great relationship with it. I’ve just launched a Skillshare class on using this medium, which includes more in-depth tips and fun projects. 

When I started filling a little moleskine sketchbook with masking fluid experiments, I got a deluge of comments and questions asking what my secrets were, as many just couldn't get their masking fluid to behave. Their paper was often torn when removing it or their colors smudged. Many ruined brushes. So it’s no surprise some give up after a few attempts. Before you abandon masking fluid entirely, here are some answers to frequently asked questions and some top tips for success with masking fluid.

What Is Masking Fluid Used For?

Sometimes called frisket or drawing gum, it’s basically a latex or rubber-based medium that can be applied to dry watercolor paper before you paint on it. The masking fluid will adhere to the paper, and once it is dry it can be painted over in watercolor or ink. When the whole painting is dry, the latex film can be carefully peeled off, leaving the white surface of the paper untouched.

How Do You Apply Masking Fluid?

It's most common to use an old or cheap brush to apply masking fluid. However, I use a variety of tools to apply the masking fluid to the paper, dependending on the effects that I want to achieve. Sometimes I allow masking fluid to build up on what I call a ‘grotty brush’ or ‘busted’ brush—that's when I leave the masking fluid to harden and use it like that to create some unique lines.

Some other applicators you might like to try are:

• Dip pen

• Q-tips 

• Cocktail sticks 

• Toothbrush 

• Twigs 

How Do You Clean Masking Fluid from Paint Brushes?

To preserve the bristles, even on cheap brushes, it's advisable to wet them and then coat them with some soap or liquid detergent before you dip the brush into the fluid. This will protect the bristles and make the brush much easier to clean off by placing it under running water as soon as you’ve finished.

I sometimes use a dip pen for fine line application of masking fluid, and again you can either wash the nib under running water or if it dries onto the nib simply peel it off (which is quite satisfying, I find).

How Do You Remove Masking Fluid from Watercolor Paper?

Removing the masking fluid is my favorite part—it's like magic, the big reveal, when you pull it all off and see what's occurred.

There are several methods you might like to try and see which suits you best.

Fingers

Start by rubbing gently at one of the edges until it starts to lift. Once it starts to come away, gently and carefully pull it off. 

Eraser

This is a popular method, however I’d recommend an eraser that's a neutral color rather than red or blue as you will also have to deal with leaving coloured eraser dust on your art.

Masking Fluid Remover Block

This is a new art supply that I’ve tried recently. It helps prevent you from pulling too hard and tearing your paper, and it doesn't leave crumbs behind like typical erasers.

Why Does Masking Fluid Tear My Paper?

There are a few reasons why this can occur. The most common mistake is not waiting until the watercolor paint is fully dry (after applying the masking fluid) and peeling off the mask too soon. Don't just hope it's dry—you have to be totally certain. Be patient!

Also, handmade papers or other softer papers are more prone to tearing. While very rough papers may be tricky as texture of bumps and crevices provides extra surface for the mask to grab onto, making it hard to remove without causing the paper to tear.

My Tips For Using Masking Fluid

• Don't use too much—the masking fluid should be pretty flat, thin and smooth on the paper (when applied with a brush). Try not to apply it too clumpy, blobby or thick.

• I’ve learnt the hard way NOT to use a hot hair dryer on your painting if it has masking fluid on it, as it’ll adhere to the paper even more making it trickier to remove.

• ALWAYS test your masking fluid on a small piece of the paper you intend to use before committing to actual painting. 

• Don’t allow masking fluid to stay on your paper for more than two days, as again it will be harder to remove and could tear the paper.

Don't forget to check out my NEW Skillshare class on masking fluid for a fun deep dive 

There are 10 demos, starting with some warm ups that will build up your practical knowledge and patience. Followed by some really fun projects covering florals, patterns, landscapes and food.  

If you are new to using masking fluid, unsuccessfully tried it in the past or seeking to find fun ways of incorporating it into your watercolor practice then this class will provide many effective tips. Think beyond the brush to achieve an array of different textures and effects using masking fluid. 

You will consider:

• which papers work best

• the different drying stages we have to be mindful of

• successful removal of masking fluid after it’s dried

How I Made Money in the Last Year

From day one of embarking on this career, I wanted to live comfortably using the income from my art and illustration. Your definition of comfortable and my definition may be different, but I think many of us aspire to have a sustainable and successful art career. I’ve been earning a six-figure income for several years, consistently increasing my earnings each year since I set up my art business seven years ago. 

I wanted to write a blog post about my income as it’s important to me as a teacher to be very candid and realistic with what I share. I know that many people are interested in this type of information, especially those starting out on this career path, but it's often very difficult to find as it’s seldom discussed openly. So I thought I’d make a little financial snapshot of the last year so people could see what it's like for one established artist. 

The last tax year (April to April in the UK) has been the most successful yet in terms of net revenue. However, my expenditure has also increased because as my business grows, I more often hire professionals for their expertise in order to save myself time and headache.

This year there were four main areas I received income from in my art business. The break down looks like this:

Brand Collabs 1%

Licensing Images 7%

Art Retreat 8%

Illustration 31%

Online Teaching 53%

Brand Collabs

I almost didn’t include these, as the income really didn't really amount to very much. This includes two collaborations—creating Reels on Instagram with a well known art brand, and a YouTube video tutorial special feature for a different brand. Both were pleasant experiences.

Licensing Images

This has been a nice source of income as it has been totally passive. Passive income is where you do a lot of work up front to create a digital product, a course, or content that you earn money from over and over again. I talk more about it in my post Why Passive Income is Preferable for Artists.  I grouped the income from stock images, art licensing (from gift products and greetings cards), and my Spoonflower shop, as these are all images I’ve already created and which have been in my portfolio for several years (as opposed to commissioned work—see ‘Illustration’ below). Every fortnight, month, or quarter, depending on the platform or licensing partner, I receive nice deposits in my PayPal or bank account for which I’m genuinely grateful. The income from these areas has decreased slightly this year, which is understandable as I’m not actively adding images or pursuing art licensing at this time.

Art Retreat(s)

This is a new source of income, although before the pandemic I had hosted a number of less involved, three-hour in-person workshops. I hosted my first art retreat with Victoria Johnson in Italy with Uptrek. As a creator and teacher of online classes, the week-long art retreat in Le Marche, Italy, was wonderfully immersive on many levels.  And after the two years of non-existent travel during the worst of the pandemic, it was an especially refreshing and very special way of making connections and being present.

Having a co-host meant we split the fee that was offered to retreat leaders. This tradeoff was worth it as it meant we could share the responsibility of teaching and interacting with the guests over the seven days. Since then Victoria and I have co-hosted another art retreat in Morocco again with Uptrek.

Illustration

To clarify, the projects I worked on in this category were commissioned specially by the client for a specific purpose. The briefs I worked on ranged from a book about dumplings, brand packaging for Tesco and website icons for a clothing brand. Working directly with art directors, senior designers or account handlers is often intense, as the pace is fast and deadlines are narrow. There's a lot of back-and-forth, starting with sketches before moving onto color roughs, and then refining where there needs to be more contrast, etc, plus tweaks here and there. Generally I include two rounds of feedback or amendments in my contract, which is often enough before artworks are signed off. The majority of my illustration briefs were food branding based, and I do love seeing my work on products in the supermarket further down the line.

Income from commissioned Illustration has hovered around a third of my earnings for several years, although it used to be more in the earlier part of my career.

Online Teaching

I’ve been teaching on the Skillshare platform since the summer of 2016, when I launched my first Skillshare class called ‘Design Your Favorite Fruity Recipe’, a tutorial on creating an illustrated recipe from line sketches. Since then I have become a Top Teacher on the platform, having created 27 classes with over 140,000 students.

In the last tax year I released two Skillshare classes. The first was Transition into Illustration: Breaking Into The Industry, where I revealed my entire illustration story, sharing my personal insights and experiences to give a realistic understanding of what to expect. 

The other class was Create Contrast With Watercolor and Procreate. Where students could improve their working knowledge of contrast in their art, by applying basic principles.

There is usually an uptick in new students when I release new classes, and ‘Transition into Illustration’ was especially popular on its launch. I’d say the income created from teaching on this platform is ‘semi passive’, as there is considerable work behind the scenes to keep this many classes relevant and seen by potential new students. The proportion of revenue from online teaching has increased year-on-year, and in the last two years it's hovered at just over 50%.

I mentioned that outgoings or expenses have also increased in the last year, partly due to outsourcing professionals in these areas:

• Editing of class scripts and blog posts : Henry Cordes

• Filming and editing my two Skillshare classes : Angelika Winnett and Diana Kenyeres

• Professional photography for branding, blog and pack shots: Nat Aubry

• Designer for page layout and general artwork : Barney Bryant

Furthermore large slices of my outgoings were spent on equipment purchases, such as a new iMac, iPhone 13 and Canvas clamp for filming Reels and classes. I was also in a position to donate substantial amounts to various charities helping those affected by the military coup in Burma in the last year.

If you are still at the beginning of your creative career, you mustn’t get disheartened if your portfolio isn’t the complete package yet, and please don't worry about taking a few years to get it into shape. It's taken me nine long years to ‘retrain’ and then build a business that provides a comfortable income from my art. The bottom line is that gaining traction takes a lot of intentional effort over time, belief in your abilities, with much happening outside of your comfort zone. I’m only one of thousands of illustrators who are making a living from their art, and we are all at different stages, with different financial needs. I have two kids and can’t rely on a partner to pick up the slack. We all have different experiences of the industry.

I’d like to be clear about the reason I’m sharing all this. It would be nice to think I’m a positive example and show people that it really is possible to make a good living as an independent artist in business. Someone reading this early in their journey might be mentally comparing themselves to me and feeling down about where they are, but the truth is that I struggled (quite a lot) at the beginning too. People are often overwhelmed with unrealistic images and blurbs in their social media feeds, and it's easy to get warped ideas about what real life is like for the creators behind those posts. 

Six Years on Skillshare!

This August marks six years since I released my first Skillshare class as a teacher. Like many other teachers on the platform, I was a student first, way back in 2014. I’d been a stay-at-home mum for eight years, and my Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator skills were very rusty. 

The first classes I took were on hand lettering and character design, which was an odd mixture, but it actually led to finding my style with food illustration. That's the other side of my business—as well as a teacher, I’m a food illustrator for major brands all over the world.

My first class as a teacher came in late August 2016, about creating a fruity illustrated recipe. At the time I was going through a tricky divorce and my finances were in disarray. Teaching on Skillshare was one of many routes I was trying, in order to boost my revenue as a single mum. I also tried Spoonflower and other print-on-demand sites, but something just clicked with Skillshare and I haven't looked back. 

Now, six years later and working on my 28th Skillshare class (about masking fluid), I can reflect on the many ways that teaching on Skillshare has benefited my career

• It fits in with my life purpose to inspire myself and help others do the same. Being paid to talk and demonstrate techniques that light me up as an artist is brilliant. When I’m really enthusiastic about loose watercolors for example, that comes across and the energy transmits across the screen. My aim has always been to provide students with tools to solve their own challenges—to give them ways to support their own creativity, which spreads that joy even more.

• It’s been a great way of connecting with other teachers, and the built-in community of students that comes with it has been phenomenal. I’m so grateful to be in a position to nurture and support. Also it's always a fun challenge to find more ways to encourage and cheer on students . Being creative involves taking risks, so I try to make sure students feel supported and safe when taking leaps.

• Teaching has become part of my brand—I’m now known as a Skillshare teacher along with the 25 sketchbooks I’ve been sharing from over the last several years. If I get a DM or email about something, I can often say—‘I’ve got a class for that!’ And it has led to other brilliant opportunities like art retreats in Morocco and Italy. I even have a book called ‘Go With The Flow Painting’ launching at the end of the year, which came about after the publishers saw my Organic Expressive Florals class.

• In order to share, I have to be open and vulnerable as an artist. Being a teacher has helped me to be more authentic, a truer version of myself, as I share more of my story and tastes. I’m very much one of those teachers who says, ‘It’s highly likely you will produce crappy art and that's actually OK!!!’ A lot of learning happens within that discomfort. I hope it comes across in a very credible way from my own real life experience—it’s important to me to share in a realistic and honest way, because we live in the real world, not in Instagram ‘filterland’ where a great piece of art can seemingly be achieved in 30 seconds. 

• Skillshare was fundamental in building a stronger financial foundation as a single parent. I believe that passive income is always something to nurture when you're self-employed. It’s allowed me to have more choices and flexibility at this crucial time while my kids are growing up. It means I can be much more selective about the projects I take on. At the time of writing, I’m in a period of ‘semi sabbatical,’ when I’ll be a student again, refilling my creative cup. (For more on this, see my previous blog post.)

The act of sharing what I know has transformed my own art, illustration and sketchbook practice, which in turn has taken me to places I could never have predicted. The knowledge that I have now inspired over 140,000 students genuinely warms my heart. Meeting some of my students in person and hearing first-hand how it has shaped their creative output has been a life-changing and moving experience. Teaching on Skillshare really is the gift that keeps on giving and remains a wonderful and deeply satisfying adventure. 

4 Tips from a New Skillshare Teacher

Last month I launched my first ever Skillshare class entitled 'Food Illustration: Design your Favourite Fruity Recipe' I will admit it sure was a challenge and a long journey, before I hit that final 'publish' button. Here is the intro video to this class.

You can access the class HERE

These are my points to remember if you are considering becoming a Skillshare teacher

TIP 1 - DO NOT BE DAUNTED BY THE CLASS NOTES

Do follow the step by step approach laid out by the Skillshare team. Their advice is plentiful, far reaching and sound - they really want you to succeed !!! If in doubt just email them and they are happy to help.

TIP 2 - DECONSTRUCT THE PROJECT

Think in terms of producing a project that would be EASY for you e.g. watercolour whatever  and turn it around, so you look at it from the eyes of a relative novice student. You may want to ask yourself:

-what materials or programs would they need

-how can I make the class videos as short and to the point as possible without leaving out important content

- what technique(s) will they learn

- what prior knowledge would they need for successful completion of the project ( e.g. basic Photoshop?)

TIP 3 - RECORDING THE CLASSES IS EASIER THAN YOU THINK

Make friends with the Modify>split clip> delete step in iMovie to rid videos of all there 'errs' and awkward pauses. I soon realised it was much better simply repeat the sentence again if I fluffed it than to record a whole new screencast ( where you record the screen of the Mac) When it came to editing it was much smoother.

TIP 4 - DO NOT UNDER ESTIMATE THE MARKETING

Skillshare point out that it is vital to have 25 student enrolments in the first two weeks to show in their trending classes.  Here are some of the methods I used to bring awareness to my class:

- a week before the launch I linked my intro video (on Vimeo) to the profile of my IG to direct followers to it

- there were free class enrolment giveaways

-  I created short animation which played on a loop in IG using the food icons created for this class

-  I have reposted illustrated recipes created by students on IG to remind folks of my class 

-  had a giveaway of a set of my foodie postcards for the 1000th student to sign up

As mentioned right at the beginning it has only been a month since this first class launched however I feel that its been a worthwhile undertaking. Such has been the overwhelming positive response I felt compelled to work on another one with more guidance from Skillshare.

Again I chose a particular strength of mine which is drawing, and tried to condense it into a challenge with pen, paper and a timer. It is not a new concept but as creative sometimes we overthink and get in the way of ourselves. Committing to just drawing in three minutes can help with gaining fluency and confidence with drawing, and impact in other areas of your art life. You can watch the intro video to 3 Minute Drawing Challenge below.

And you can access this drawing challenge class HERE

Unexpected results from Elizabeth Olwens Skillshare class

For ages I had been meaning to use my free months of classes with Skillshare that a friend had gifted me. And late last year I was invited to join 'In Da House' Facebook group to produce designs based on houses which are trending at the moment. I'm afraid I never did anything about either until two weeks ago. But the two options seemed to fit in quite purposefully when I activated my Skillshare account.

I chose to start with Elizabeth Olwen's Skillshare class as I do lack confidence creating patterns ( I know even now) She's a great teacher with many useful tips which I was able to incorporate when selecting my layout. However I decided to ignore her recommendation NOT to use Livetrace as I felt she was referring to pencil sketches. I pretty much rely on my brush pen or dip pen and ink.

I chose Paris as I have many many fond memories of time spent there over the last 20 years. The streets are so elegant, full of character, and with much attention to detail. You can read more about my process here on the Skillshare site. So I uploaded my final project and thought 'nice project' and didn't expect much feedback. There were a few 'likes' and nice comments so I was pleased anyhow.

However I got rather a shock when it was the featured student project on Skillshare's Instagram feed just a few days later. There were a flurry of more' likes' and more super supportive comments. It gets better... 'Parisian Houses' was then featured on their email as a trending project. I suddenly had new followers on my Instagram, and the numbers have been steadily climbing since.

All this was certainly unexpected and unplanned. But I'm very grateful for the way its all worked out- even if it could be a fluke.  I feel this could platform could be great for of self promotion. One thing I noticed is there are over 7,000 students enrolled into this class (at time of this bog) but only 157 student projects in the gallery. In fact this seems to be the trend. In the next class I aim to take by Mary Kate McDevitt there are well over 6,00students enrolled but only 50 projects in the class gallery. Why don't people post their projects? Since that is the only way other students and the teachers themselves will understand your process and the finished result. Yes by doing so you would be open to being vulnerable if you don't feel you aren't receive 'likes'. In this instance I choose to be brave and show the Skillshare community and feel I reaped some pretty cool rewards.

NEW SKILLS with Skillshare

I've become rather addicted to Skillshare classes, which I'll be blogging about in the next few weeks as I've signed up for so many. First I'm starting with

Matt Kaufenberg's Character Illustration

. It was to design & illustrate a pirate character using Illustrator and Photoshop.

Delving into my past again now. Many years ago my art director ( at a greetings card studio) had said the boy character I'd drawn for a birthday card was 'scary' and the client would be horrified. It didn't go any further than that. In the intervening decade I didn't draw anymore characters as I'd been so put off by that negative response.

So with this course I wised to overcome that fear. Its not that I don't want draw kids, or things with faces, or cute -I just felt they would all look scary! I ignored the pirates and concentrated on some Christmas designs I was excited by. Matt's instructions were very clear, and he had so many cool tips. It starts by tracing your sketch in Illustrator, releasing it as layers then exporting to Photoshop.

That's were the fun really begins. As part of the package were links to Photoshop brushes which I greedily uploaded. OOohh the fun I had - I had missed texture so much. I was extremely pleased with the results, I couldn't believe I had made this art. I had felt it was just beyond me. Now I can see other applications for this wonderful technique (for me) - expect to see more of it in the coming months.