50 Ways to Motivate YourSelf

Someone shared this article with me about motivating yourself and, although it focuses on job searches, I think the tips can also apply to freelancers. 

http://blog.timesunion.com/careers/50-ways-to-stay-motivated/1581/?goback=%2Egmr_4351066%2Egde_4351066_member_118629778%2Egde_4351066_member_118013083

The Evolution of a Logo

One of the ways I keep busy is by volunteering. This helps in giving me incentive and adds to my portfolio. Currently, I'm volunteering graphic design services to the Tacoma Events Commission (TEC). They have several events happening during the summer and they asked me to create a logo, letterhead, flyers and promotional materials. The logo was created first because it will be used on all materials. At first they wanted "The Events Commission", a patriotic color scheme, and something that represented the Pacific Northwest because their events are held in this region not just in Tacoma. I created three options. The first has a celebratory feel; the second is a nod to Mt. Rainier and our mountainous region; the third is a nod to the aerospace industry.

The board voted for the mountain but wanted to change "The Events Commission" to "Tacoma Events Commission".

The second version of the mountain has a blue sky, a frame, and a playful arrangement of the text. Color and grayscale versions are displayed.

They wanted to emphasize "Events" and replace the sky with 5 stars. They also wanted the logo to be less like a box.

This is the final version.

Inspiration

On my website I mentioned that I get inspiration from the world around me. Indeed, this is true. Something as mundane as walking my dog brought a cartoon to mind. It was a sunny day, birds were flying overhead and my dog was watching them with his whole body. Leaping in long arcs, nose to the sky, he made walking on the leash a challenging experience.

I thought "What if dogs could fly...?", hence the creation of this cartoon.

Good News

The good news is that I'm starting to get interviews and more requests for web design. The universe seems to be pointing me towards web design rather than print.

I've started attending the very active Tacoma Job club which makes it a great place to network and hand out my business cards.

Illustrations

This week has been busy with doing rough sketches for a book. One of my instructors wrote a story to illustrate time management skills and asked me to do the drawings after looking at my portfolio. I'm trying to get these done by Wednesday but it's looking like they won't get done until the end of the week. My illustrations are more towards realism which means a lot of research on how different items look. I look at photos and my own body for anatomy.

One of the drawings I'm doing is an elderly hand clasping a young adult's hand. I looked for models that were close to the position I wanted and then aged one of the hands. This means accentuating veins, knuckles, tendons, adding age spots and wrinkles. I've looked at several photos to get an idea of how elderly hands look.

I use thumbnails to get ideas out on paper then go to roughs. Here is where I decide where the focus will be in a drawing. It can take me a while to do even roughs. Sometimes I have to stop and think if I'm doing too much work for a rough. But I do want them to be clear for the client.