New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year!

So, a happy 2012 to everyone and all the best for what this year ahead brings us.  As with the start of every year, I've been thinking about resolutions.  Last year, it was more about not doing something rather than putting expectations on myself.  THIS year, however, I'm ready to set myself some 'real life' goals...as it were.

A lot of the illustration work I do seems to be for someone else, or specifically for something.  Therefore my FIRST new year resolution is to 'Do an illustration for myself once a month'.  Now this is of course quite vague and only an outline, but I didn't want to make it seem like too much pressure.  This is all about me enjoying illustrating, making time to draw what I want to draw without a brief or client involved.  I think that this will help, over the year, with my illustration style and confidence in myself as an illustrator.

Now the complete opposite of this is my SECOND new year resolution 'Design an illustration/illustration range for use on stickers, pocket mirrors and badges'.  I love the illustrations I do.  But they really do not transfer well onto something that is not a print for the wall or a greeting card.  I admit it, I am quite jealous of illustrators who seem to have a knack for this area of 'cute little extras' that even if you have 5 of you definitely always need one more!

I think that this past year, I've got the hang of Twitter, I've created a Facebook page and I've blogged more than I've ever blogged before.  I have really loved the feedback that I've received, the friends I've made because of it (I've even met a few in REAL LIFE!) and the quiet community that it brings with it.  And so, my THIRD new year resolution is to 'Keep up/Increase my on-line presence'.  This will involve; 

Blogging once a week - there are ofter a few weeks that disappear without me having posted, but I've still been doing things!

Design a website for myself - If I at least have my ideas sketched out, it will be easier to make it a reality. 

And finally, to upload more photos onto my Facebook page - I need to be more visual with these online/digital sites, Facebook is the best platform for people being able to see images without having to follow links off at a tangent.

A new venture this year was setting up an Etsy Shop.  Now it's all well and good showing your family and friends your work, and even for them to say how much they love it, and even still for them to buy cards and books off you.  BUT, the rest of the world is a scary place!  I think I signed up for Etsy in 2010, I bought a lovely pair of snowflake earrings and signed up for the newsletters.  They have been a great source of inspiration and temptation over the year!  In time to sell my Christmas cards, I properly set up shop - HURRAH!  Now, all I have to do, is stick to my FORTH new year resolution 'List a new item every month in my Etsy Shop'.

My FIFTH new year resolution helps me keep on track and make sure all of the rest of them actually happen 'Be organised'.  I received a mass amount of notebooks, jotters, sticky notes, planners and sketchbooks for Christmas.  I really have no excuse.  I am slowly finding new tasks for each one so that I can have a place for everything and not loose little bits of paper or images I like.  Ideas will have a place to go, lists will be written in the 'lists' notebook and inspiration will be only a flick away.

Thank you for reading, I've enjoyed reading everyones blogs full of new year resolutions - lets hope we all keep them!

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