Or perhaps the spice of an interesting career.
I have had a very spicy year. In spicy I mean lot of different types of projects and in many styles. One of my favorites was creating giant Photoshop paintings for a stage set. The paintings were output onto canvas and stretched over panels that are going to be reused each year for a Holiday Pageant. I lost count on how many panels there were, but my guess would be 50 or so individual set panels. Most were landscapes but all were digitally painted in Photoshop. Which I LOVE doing but don't get nearly enough projects that require it. Darn... So hear this theater companies, I LOVE painting sets digitally, feel free to call anytime.
Another great gig was a Graphic Recording job for Exterro. I spent two days learning all about the challenges of being a corporate lawyer and dealing with pending lawsuits and collecting pertinent emails, and communications of employees. And I thought my job was challenging sometimes. Ha. I sat in on different break out sessions and drew imagery to help explain the legalize as well as to capture the overarching concepts. I learned a lot and the attendees seemed to really enjoy the finished products. Many people were taking pictures of the graphic recordings and using them for notes. Success.
And in between those projects were holiday cards, an instruction manual, signs for small towns and countless others. I really feel that one of the keys to survival as an illustrator today is versatility. And although that is counter to what I was taught in college it has served me well. So to you young illustrators, don't be afraid to say yes to a project that makes you stretch. There is far more growth in the edges of ones career, than in the middle.
