The responses, activity & interaction during week 1 of the zero2illo 12 Week Challenge have been amazing!
My inbox has been filling up by the minute with notifications of clubhouse members making it happen for themselves & each other. We’re now up to almost 150 members and it’s brimming with positive energy, encouragement and a passion for all things illustration.
Inspiring? Just a bit!
I just wish I had more time to personally welcome each new member and participate in all of the discussions 
These weekly summary round-ups are designed to pull out common themes, challenges & struggles that the weekly task presented and help to keep things moving in the right direction.
So let’s jump right in with what seems to be the most common blocking factor…
Focusing On Only One Area Of Illustration
One of the main points that I have seen come up again and again this week is the fear of choosing only one area of illustration to pursue.
The reason I asked the question ‘What do you want to illustrate?’ was to get everyone to really focus on the type of illustration that they really, really want to do and make that their starting point.
Just because you choose to focus on one specific area now, doesn’t mean that you have to do that for ever or would have to turn down a paying client if their job didn’t fit in with your plan (we all need to pay the bills).
The struggle I have had in the past (and I know I’m not alone here), is that by pursuing lots of different avenues, I didn’t really ever make any progress in any of them. I was spreading myself too thinly.
Through focusing all of your effort into one area to start with, it’s a much more manageable task and you’re likely to see results a lot faster too. So why not start by focusing on what fires you up the most.
Rather than seeing it as a restriction, view it as an opportunity to make faster progress.
What’s Coming Up…
Week 2 of the challenge promises to be just as exciting! We’ve got some video content coming up (yes, we’re filming ourselves which, believe me, is not something either of us do for fun!), lots more hard work & clear thinking to be done and some real progress to be made this week. We’ll be laying the foundations for 3 very creative weeks to follow (get your illustration medium of choice ready, it’s nearly time to create!!).
Not a member of the clubhouse yet? Come on over, it’s not too late to join the fun!
Related posts:
Alright!!! *grabs brushes & watercolor palette*
I too wish that i had more time to participate more. But thesis is really time consuming and getting sick isn’t a good thing either…ah well!
To have a focus point you can make sure you get better in what you want to do and get to know the market a lot better. Otherwise you need to divide your attention over soo many things, that’s hard to keep up and to stay focused.
Can’t wait to see the video’s!
Ciao!!
How can I join the 12-week challenge?
Thanks again Jonanthan for pulling together and inspiring week! What you and TJ said is so true, I’m just focusing on children’s illustration, colored pencil and a little photoshop here and there, I’ve been doing this venue and medium for four years and I’m still learning tons of stuff! The learning never ends. Looking forward to the vids and the upcoming challenges!
Jim, if you haven’t heard from Jonathan yet, just email him through the contact tab above and/or join the zer2illo clubhouse from the links above.
oh I can’t wait to see the videos too…it will be so cool to connect the words with the person. wouldn’t it be nice if we could all see each other through video…LOL
This week has been full of inspiration, new artist friends, and more focus on what I want for my business. I can’t wait to see where next week takes us. I am so glad I joined the challenge!
@TJ - Oh no, sorry to hear you’re not feeling well - get well soon!
@Jim - Welcome on board - I think I already saw that you joined the clubhouse!
@Susan - Glad you were inspired - I was totally inspired too
Look forward to seeing more of your beautiful coloured pencil work in the weeks to come!
@ Maria - You may change your mind when you see my ugly mug but you’re idea about it being nice if we could all see each other got me thinking and Lea (my wife) had a great idea about this - watch this space!!!
@Loni - music to my ears that you have been inspired and are glad you joined up - I’m glad to have you along for the ride too. Hope you enjoy week two - lots more important thinking and planning to do this week, then onto the creative stuff next week
Jonathan,
These are great exercises that I have already benefitted from by just keeping a narrow focus. As my Multiple Muse Disorder tries to sway me, your challenge will keep me on track. As Susan, I’m concentrating on Children/YA illustrating for the challenge.
This week has been full of inspiration, new artist friends, and more focus on what I want for my business. I can’t wait to see where next week takes us. I am so glad I joined the challenge!