Hello again, friends!

This past week has felt like a flurry of activity as I did the legwork to get my media presence started. I know I want to stay pretty active on my Instagram and Twitter feeds in order to give people a reason to want to follow me and see what I’ve got going on, so I have started to find some different things to participate in and get myself involved! Here is what I have found so far:

#kidlitart

This hashtag was one I had heard tell of on Shawna JC Tenney’s Stories Unbound podcast. It is used throughout the week on relevant posts by those involved in the children’s literature community: art directors, editors, illustrators, kid lit enthusiasts, etc. They hold a more “organized” discussion once a week on Thursdays at 9pm EST. They announce a general topic for the week’s discussion, but that’s about as organized as it gets.I attended part of the chat this past Thursday (I had a wakeful baby, so I missed part of it), and found that while it was a little challenging to follow the whole thing, there was a lot of useful information being given! I’ll definitely keep tuning in and maybe even say more than just one thing. We’ll see. I’m still just dipping my toe in there.

Even with my limited time in this community, I have already learned new things, found new people to follow, and even gained a couple of followers myself! I may not have as much experience as some of these people, but everyone has been very welcoming and I look forward to getting more deeply rooted here.

Colour Collective

This is a weekly challenge I came across on Twitter. I noticed one of the posters in the #kidlitart chat had this hashtag recurring in many of her pieces she posted on her account, so I did some searching and found there was a twitter account with this name that asks you to create an art piece using their selected color of the week. They post the color for the coming week each Saturday and ask that you post your finished piece on Friday at 19:30 GMT (7:30pm EST, my time).

This week’s color is Laurel Green. I finished my piece already, so I’m wondering if I should put more detail into it or if I should try to crank out another piece for the week. Or do I just leave it alone and put my efforts towards the other challenge:

#BAPC18

I found this on the kidlitart blog, and it couldn’t have come at a better time! Starting with this past February and running through July, they announce a prompt each month to create a piece to add to your illustration portfolio. It encourages you to get out of your comfort zones and push yourself. What excellent timing that I would find this just one month into the challenge as I’m trying to build my portfolio and I’m not sure what to make!

This month’s challenge is to draw a crowd scene showing a range of diverse characters, ages, and races. I didn’t vary the races as much as maybe some people will, but it made sense to do it that way for the scene I decided to make. I’m going to be starting to post some previews of the coming piece on Instagram and Twitter here soon. One may already be there by the time you see this!

What prompts do you follow to keep yourself creating? What communities are you a part of that help you grow and support you? I’d love to hear from you!