Illustration Hiccups
And things I've already learned
The life of a new Illustrator
As promised, I wanted to give you little updates on the illustration process. I’m sure there are as many processes as there are illustrators! And I’m sure each process varies depending on the project. But here’s what I’ve learned so far:
The best way that I’ve found to stay on task is to time myself. I’ve done this around the house with chores before - because there is always more I could do, but at some point it has to be good enough. So I give myself an hour to plan a sketch. A few hours to do the sketch. And the rest of the time to paint.
Double up - instead of doing a full piece start to finish, my theory is that it will be faster to do all of the sketches first and then to do all the painting. This way I can use the colors that I’ve already mixed (like skin tones for example) on multiple pieces. Also, there’s a lot of waiting for watercolors to dry before you can add more layers of paint, so my hope is that I’ll be able to jump around from piece to piece as they take turns drying.
A second set of eyes is important! Shoot. I’ve already had a handful of hiccups that would have been avoidable if I had asked for a second opinion. For example, I did a lovely sketch of a woman placing her hand over her mouth in surprise. But instead of surprise, it could also be interpreted that she was gagging. Oops!!!
You can now find my art at…
The local Catholic bookstore!
I have been wanting to reach out to Our Lady Of Fatima Catholic Book Store for a couple of years now! In so many areas, I’ve stretched myself and done things outside of my comfort zone, but for some reason this in particular felt very intimidating. (It feels silly even saying that). I was very grateful when they contacted me about the possibility of adding my art to their shop. I’m really pleased with how it looks in there!
Like what you see? Click the image to find the print in my etsy shop.
If you have any connections to local Catholic stores or shops, please consider telling them about my art! I hope to continue to get my art in front of more people.
Other Noteworthy things
Because I’m doing so much sketching and painting for the book, every now and then it helps my brain to just paint something completely different. The other Sunday I felt inspired to create an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I would love to hear what you think of when you look at this. I tried to capture a depth of love and emotion, a sense of light pulsating within it, a deep, thirst-quenching love, a burning fire but also a sense of gentleness, and raw deep pain but also victory. I hope to include this in the shop before too long. First I’m hoping to paint the Immaculate heart of Mary as well.
Until next time!
As always, thank you so much for being here! Email me back and let me know how I can pray for you this week! Also, be sure to check out my shop for baby shower gifts, wedding gifts, and art for your homes.
Sincerely,
Kristina Fahey
P.S. Check out my social media HERE!