A small announcement, can I have your attention please?

Hi guys, I have an announcement.....

I"M A PUBLISHED ILLUSTRATOR!!!
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
http://www.amazon.com/Erik-Young-Viking-Found-ebook/dp/B006IDVEW6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323527910&sr=8-1

Please have a look and support my publisher and I with a purchase! (It's only a dollar!)
In any case, I have to get ready for work now!

Thanks for reading.

Woooo I'm going to be a childrens book illustrator!!

Hi guys!! I've been so busy, I know its been much too long without a blog update.
I am so excited though, because I'm a soon to be published childrens illustrator. December 1 is the release date, though it might need to wait a little longer also as we're just getting some small details finalised.

This is the cover of the book. Its called "Erik The young Viking".

I stumbled across the jobs section on deviant art in July at some point and applied for a job being a childrens book illustrator for an up and coming publisher and writer in America, and BINGO! He chose me!! *happy dance*

Its been a long slog, but its totally been worth it. The author is pretty much 'the perfect client' and listens to my advice (and I listen to his opinions too!) about the book. It's always been my dream to be an illustrator and it's finally coming true. That doesn't mean I want to just stop at one though!

The cover went through many changes. The author eventually decided on the one above though, and that is because it is more general about the characters. There is talk of more than one book, so a general friendly introduction to the characters seems a better idea in any case.

Even though it didn't get chosen, this cover is still my favoruite. Its probably better used inside the book, but all of the illustrations have already been done anyway.

So what do you guys think? You can find more of my work...

http://kekoillustrations.daportfolio.com/gallery/622060#2

http://kittyanne-nya.deviantart.com/

Catch you all later for another blog ^__^

I graduated!! Wooo!

Hi guys! Sorry its been a long time inbetween updates of the blog. Been so busy i almost forgot I had an internet presence. What have I been up to??

Well for one: 

I graduated from My degree. To the left you can see one of the photos of me and my man on the day.  Was a great day. Those Mortarboards are surprisingly heavy.


Also, I have been working on a childrens book, starting working experience, and just plain and simple getting my own life sorted out.


I'll make another blog soon when I'm not so tired from the day. Just wanted to let everyone know who might come across my blog that I am still here!

Why is freelance work so hard to find... for free!?

Hi guys,
I've been scouring the net for a couple of weeks now, searching high and low for freelance work to help me build upon my portfolio of work. The trouble that I am seeing time and time again is the amount of sites which allow you to look at work which is being posted on there, but then you have to PAY to be able to contact them through the site.

How does this make any sense? Illustrators and designers who are on the internet searching for work are doing it because they need the money. We shouldn't have to pay to be able to work, it's the people who post work who should be the ones paying for the services. Not saying that that doesn't happen as well, but it's just really frustrating. I have on my travels found a few good sites for freelancers to advertise themselves or contact people without having to go through a bunch of rigorous tasks just to be able to respond.

Portfolio sites that I have found useful-

coroflot.com- this has a job directory as well, so you just have to create a free account, then if you want to you can upload your work, and go after some jobs that have been advertised. It's probably one of the top professional portfolio sites that you don't have to pay a cent to join.

theloop.com.au- An Aussie portfolio site- free also. My favourite because it is professional and uses flash lightboxes to display work. This place also has a job search category.

deviantart.com- not a very professional looking website, but it tends to show up quite well on google search engines, normally being on the first page. they have loads of stuff here, including job offers, clubs, stock photos, lots!

classifiedsforfree.com- a site where you can make an advertisement of yourself including a link to your professional portfolio here. you don't even have to sign up, but it's recommended that you do so that you can edit your advertisement if you need to.

australiainfront.com.au- a good source for job searching

linkedin.com- a tad bit 'try hard' in my opinion to seem professional, but it is also a very good way to find yourself on the front page of a google search. You can post a link to your portfolio and link in with other professionals.If you can survive how dull the site looks, then it may be to your advantage.

simplyhired.com.au- a job search application that looks like a normal search engine, only it's for jobs. easy as pie.

sketchtheatre.com- a cool little website which hosts competitions, but it also has a jobs section. you can upload a portfolio too. it's a little bit odd navigational wise, but works. and its free.

COMMISSION INFO

Here is some commission info for anyone who is interested in getting your hands on some illustrations done by me. I'm interested in building my portfolio and getting commissions So if you're interested, please continue to read, and perhaps help a starving illustrator

Here is a link to my professional portfolio- theloop.com.au/kekoillustrations

NOTE:
All commissions are only for personal use, unless they are listed under the commercial part of this journal. Commercial prices to be negotiated, based upon complexity of design.
PLEASE DO NOT remove my logo from any commissioned work, except where commercial use is negotiated.

All work will be sent digitally and you can print it at your own leisure. This helps me save time, and helps you get your art quicker! Images more than 10 MEG will need to alternatively be uploaded onto deviant art or a file server due to email attachment size limitations.
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Okay, here's the details that you will need to note me with.
+ Size of artwork (A5/A4/A3)
+ Style(my manga style/animal/Fantasy/other- describe what you want and I'll see what I can do.)
+ Media (digital/traditional/mixed media)
+ For traditional/mixed media,tell me what medium you would like it in. ie: pastels, markers, pencils etc.
+ Complex background, Simple Background- (one or two colours) or No background- (one colour or white/black).
+ e-mail for the artwork to be sent
+ e-mail for the payment from PAYPAL
+ Last of all, whether you would like WORK IN PROGRESS shots, I can email you them as I am doing the commissioned work. This way we can both be happy with the commission.

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PAYMENT
+ I only accept PAYPAL
+ Artwork will commence once the description is clear and payment has been received.
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PRICES

You can either add this up, or you can tell me what you want specifically and I'll do the calculations for you.

Digital art(line): SIZE: A5 = $10 / A4 = $15 / A3 = $20
Digital art(colour with simple background):SIZE: A5 = $13 / A4 = $18 / A3 = $23
Digital art(fully rendered): SIZE: A5 = $15 / A4 = $25 / A3 = $30

Traditional art(line): SIZE: A5 = $10 / A4 = $15 / A3 = $20
Traditional art(character coloured): A5 = $13/ A4 = $18 / A3 = $25
Traditional art(fully rendered): SIZE: A5 = $16 / A4 = $25 / A3 = $35

Mixed media art: +$5 to traditional art prices.
For example, if you wanted:
Traditional Line A4: $15. It will be $20 for a mixed media line work. (if you wanted say, pencil lines and other lines for background in pastel).

:NOTE: For more than one character/focal point, add +$3 for each.

Media which I can use:

Adobe Photoshop
Pastels (soft, oil, hard)
Pens/textas (copic, connector pens, fine liners)
Pencil (graphite, coloured pencil, pastel pencil)

I can also draw with other more random materials if you want (like leaves, stones etc) but i can't guarantee that they'll be the same quality as a pen and ink drawing.

I can also use free textures that you have found yourself within the art- as long as you have proof that they are free to use. Alternatively, I can use textured card, material etc. If you don't personally have it, tell me what kind of texture you're after and I'll try my best to help.

COMMERCIAL/DESIGNS
want some design work done for you? I am an illustrator designer and can offer you:

Business cards: With your own drawings and specifications: $15
With my illustrations in your topic of choice: $30.
Logos/identities: From $30 depending on complexity.
Book layout advice: From $20 depending on size of book- more without royalties.
Text placement advice on posters/greeting cards etc etc: From $15.
Book cover illustrations- Commission price plus royalties which can be arranged
Book illustrations- From $30 depending on size, complexity, and royalty payments.

If some other kind of design/layout advice is what you'd like, note me, and we'll talk about it ^_^

I reserve the rights to not agree to draw something that is not tasteful or clearly not suitable for my style. I also reserve the right to show the finished pieces in my portfolio of work, commercial or non commercial.

Now that the advertising is out of the way, i'll write another blog post!