Is a career in illustration something you’ve always dreamed of but never quite decided to make the leap and go for it?
Me too. But at the beginning of 2010, I decided to set myself a 12 week challenge and finally commit to make serious progress with my illustration career. I thought it’d be motivating and fun to invite others to join me on the challenge…and so the 12 week challenge was born.
What is the 12 Week Challenge?
The 12 week challenge consists of:
- A weekly task to complete
- Advice to help you fully understand & complete each task
- Additional resources recommended to help you excel at the task
The challenge is designed to take you through a step-by-step process which means that by the end of the challenge you’ll have made considerable progress to setting up your own illustration business.
Some of the things that the challenge will help you create include:
- A 1-page business plan (aka OGSM)
- A marketing plan, including a social media strategy
- A complete portfolio website of your illustration work
- A target list of clients to contact
Here’s what some of the original challengers (aka the “alumni”) said about the challenge…
“A professional illustration career is a dream I’ve had for a very long time. Completing this challenge took me further than I thought possible in 12 weeks. Just about the time the hard work was getting me down, a question was asked, ‘How bad do you want it?’. Well say no more, I completed the tasks and I’m rolling!! I’m not saying it was easy, I’m saying it was worth it!”
~ Donna Jeanne Koepp from www.whitewolfstudioart.com
“Being an absolute newbie in the world of professional illustration, I was lacking artistic confidence, time management skills, and business acumen. Not only did the 12 Week Challenge provide me with those things (in spades), but it introduced me to a fantastic community of illustrators and friends who are probably some of the most talented and supportive people on the planet. If the 12 Week Challenge can set someone like me (a serial procrastinator) on the right course, it will be of an amazing assistance to anyone seeking to dip their toes into the wonderful world of professional illustration.”
~ Kristine Astop from wwww.plasticcake.com
“I’d always harboured dreams of being an illustrator and happened upon the 12 Week Challenge online. It gave me the structure and guidance I needed to get started and start believing in my talents, and has become an invaluable resource. Not mention the incredible group of people I have met and who continue to offer unending support and inspiration.”
~ Laura Nuttall from www.lauranuttall.co.uk/wordpress
What’s included in the 12 Week Challenge Kit?
The 12 Week Challenge Kit is an extended version of the original challenge which was posted for free on the blog and includes the following components:
- Specific weekly tasks
- Even more advice to help you complete each task
- The very best recommended resources to help you excel at the task
- Extra tutorials & resources such as:
- A recording of a sample coaching session to create your 1-page OGSM business plan
- Specific illustration-based example of a 1-page OGSM
- In-depth WordPress configuration & set-up video tutorials
- Customising the Headway theme for your portfolio site video tutorials
- Sample business processes for your illustration business (including email templates)
- Discounts on design, tech & business coaching services
More feedback from 12 week challenge “alumni”…
“Sometimes we know what we want to do but we do not how to get there. The 12 Week Challenge provided me with a road map and tools needed to successfully get to where I wanted to be in my creative career. It also gave me a solid foundation of concepts and resources that I can use to market my craft as I continue my creative journey.”
~ Maria Senkel from www.mariasportfolio.com
“Happening upon this step-by-step masterclass has benefited me enormously; not only in helping to consider and reposition myself within the creative industry, but through my participation in the 12wk challenge I’ve found myself amid a dynamic community of inspirational and supportive peers.”
~ Dylan White from www.dylanwhite.me
“I’d been wanting to go back to illustration for a long time but I did not know where to start. This challenge was exactly what I was looking for: practical tasks, a lot of thinking and strategic planning. We not only looked at our drawings but also (and more importantly) at the business side of our craft. Because if it all goes well, we will be drawing and painting AND we will make a good living out of it.”
~ Philippe Debongnie from www.philippedebongnie.be
Purchase The 12 Week Challenge Kit for $24.95
And even more feedback from 12 week challenge “alumni”…
“The 12 week challenge was a good match for me and helped me to clarify my own objectives and goals for my career in illustration. The 12 week challenge is designed to build upon the personal objectives for each person’s illustration career. I was actually glad to find areas that were a bit more difficult for me to face, because it meant that those same areas hadn’t been given the attention that is needed to grow a fruitful illustration career. I felt like the 12 week process was challenging but achievable. Starting with basic objectives and moving through image creation, to websites and promotion, I know that my portfolio is stronger and my sense of where I am taking my business is clearer. I have already started to recommend it to my friends!”
~ Brian Bowes from www.studiobowesart.com
Knowing that I wanted to be a professional illustrator but not unsure of the best way to start, the challenge helped me framework that goal into logical step-by-step, week-by-week actionable tasks to give my business the solid foundation it needed to thrive. Jonathan’s system is a great solution for the easily overwhelmed!
~ Aura Lesnjak from www.auralesnjak.com
Read this review of the zero2illo 12 Week Challenge Kit by Jon Schindehette (Senior Art Director for Dungeons & Dragons).
Purchase The 12 Week Challenge Kit for $24.95
