There Are Days

Here is the finished image that I recently completed for McGraw-Hill. It will be accompanied by a sweet little poem (that's what the white space is for). I'm guessing it is for inclusion in some kind of reading text book but it's generally a mystery where some of these educational images will end up once I hand them in. Unless it's specially for some kind of leveled reader book I tend to have no clue what their purpose truly is.

Sadly, I did not have as much fun or freedom with this as I originally thought I would, mostly because of the many constraints of the pre-made layout. It's tricky to get inventive when there needs to be so much space left for text and other graphic boxes that will be added in later. Ho hum.

I also quite dislike the colors I used in this---sure, they are bright and kid-friendly, but there's no color harmony... And once again the whole thing feels stiff and confined. Gosh I wish I could unlock some kind of expressive style/movement in my work...

But I'll try to focus on the positives here: the image serves its purpose, and the client likes it, so that's that. I'm trying my best to detach myself emotionally from these one-off educational jobs because I know they aren't the kind of art I want to be making, they really are just jobs. I'm VERY grateful to have work, but I'm not deeply invested in them. And that's OK. I'm not trying to change the world here, I'm just trying to make a living.

Someday maybe I'll be the kind of illustrator I hope to be. And maybe someday I'll get the kind of work that inspires me on a deeper, more personal level. But until then, I'm glad to get whatever pays the bills.