Well, here’s to another year! 2019 had its ups and downs, but we’re better people because of it. Thank you all for being a part of it!

This is our final episode of the year, so we thought we would talk about what we learned as illustrators in 2019. And, since this is the podcast about illustration, we thought it would be fun to use our tagline as the format.

You know how it goes! How to do it, how to make a living at it and how to make an impact in the world with it ✍️💼🌎

How To Do It

Lee’s big takeaway from the year is to only take work that moves you closer to your illustration goals, if possible. If you take on work that you only sort of want to do, it takes time away from the thing that you really want to do. He cites Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech as inspiration.

For those of you who are new around here, both Will and Jake lost loved ones this year, and both found it difficult to create in the months following. The takeaway here is to give yourself space after a big life event and just know that creativity ebbs and flows.

How To Make A Living At It

Jake had started Art Drop Club with our producer Aaron Painter this year, but they ultimately made the decision to call it quits. The project ended up making money for all involved but wasn’t growing as much as they wanted to warrant the effort.

Lee also learned the lesson of streamlining his business model, and applied it to his finances, work flows and studio space.

For Will, the lesson of developing multiple streams of income was only reinforced this year. And to stay on top of it all, hire people to do the grunt work.

How To Make An Impact In The World With It

Will is in the process of creating a self help book for freelance illustrators, which he hopes to Kickstarter in early 2020.

Lee finally started his Youtube channel to help fellow illustrators with tips and tricks he’s learned over the years.

Jake, who created the worldwide art challenge Inktober, asked everyone to keep the vibes positive this year. Be nice, everyone!

And all three worked on developing the new curriculum here at SVSLearn. It’s to help artists of all skill levels build a stronger foundation in illustration!

Thanks for listening everybody! See you in 2020!

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