How to stop going in circles as a beginner (in illustration)
Thinking sequentially, snowballing and self-care for creatives
A Grand Master cannot teach a beginner, because they have forgotten how much a beginner doesn’t know.
I’m not a Grand Master - I remember how stupid I was starting out, but after only two years I’m starting to forget. This is why I dip back into the notes I’ve taken over the past two years to pick out insights that helped me navigate through the early years.
I still find them helpful, I hope you do too! If you do please recommend them to someone who’s starting out.
Thinking Sequentially
Thinking sequentially is the second step many dreamers like me fail to do, so they remain going in circles.
Most people get the first step right which is to come up with all the ideas of what you can be doing to achieve your goal. Then they jump from one to another, never staying long enough to watch something grow, much less taste its fruit. All that is required is to sequence your goals intelligently.
Ask yourself: If I focus 80% of my energy on one idea, which idea is most likely to have going to have the biggest impact on all the other ideas?
Snowball Marketing
Admit it, you can only do so much work in a year as an illustrator!
And to completely fill up your year with work you will need 3 things:
A Good Product (Demonstrated as a cohesive portfolio targeting your specific market)
Communication Skills.
Steady Effort.
It starts slow. And in the beginning, it feels like nothing is happening, but if you apply these three things, you will start to build momentum. It will snowball and accelerate. You will have so much work you won’t know what to do with it.
Self-care for illustrators
Thinking is physically demanding work!
So is hunching over your desk drawing or sending emails and doing socials. In my first few months as an illustrator, I would get injured all the time just from the desk work. Over time I would learn some prevention and recovery techniques.
Stretching for 10 minutes every morning has had the biggest overall impact on reducing and preventing injury.
A Poll for Sunday’s Discussion
Leave questions or thoughts about your chosen topic! Looking forward to chatting with you on Sunday.