Professional Organizations

I'm thinking about joining a professional organization for illustrators. I'd like one that will hold workshops or conferences and give useful information about marketing yourself, networking, insider tips...etc. What organizations do you belong to? Do you find the membership useful?

New Website

Hope everyone is doing well! No posts in a long time so I assume we're all busy busy with work. I know I am. :o)

Over the summer I took an HTML class to learn how to make my portfolio online. It was very basic because I am still very much a beginner in regards to web design. The first site was ok, but I know I will always want to improve it every few months. This weekend I redid the site and am looking for feedback. FYI, this is all HTML and CSS using basic Notepad. I don't know Flash or Java, and I don't have any new versions of Adobe products (yet).

The address is: http://www.lindsayjohnsondesign.com

I'm specifically looking for feedback regarding:
-layout
-ease of use
-that the text is all written in clear language
-suggestions for improvement

Thanks in advance!

-Lindsay

Warm Ups

I have decided to do little digital warm ups each day (when I am not too busy)..
I have been playing a lot with digital brushes trying to find a tad bit of texture that still allows my pieces to be clean.. I am testing for the Turtle and the Hare illos...

These are the last two days and I used two different textures.
Not bad for test illos...

I will be posting them at my main blog
www;pinkpencil.blogspot.com

So add it to your bloglines list!

Need advice

I have been working on this piece of a woman meditating on the roof of a building, and am stuck. It's a point where I am mostly happy with it, but feel like it's missing something...any thoughts would be much appreciated!  

Introduction

Hi everyone!
I'm so glad to be a part of this group. My name is Eleanor and I am an illustrator just starting out in the field. My boyfriend and I just moved out to Tempe, Arizona from New York City 2 weeks ago so he can attend grad school, which has been quite a change to say the least! I recently finished my second undergrad degree in illustration from FIT in NYC, and am trying to make a go of it as a freelancer (with daytime employment of course until I really make it). I have distributed promos and sent out my website, but am still trying to land my first job. I am mainly focusing on editorial and publishing clients the start out with, and its been really hard to get feedback on what I am doing and sending out and that is why I sought out a critique group. Thanks again for having me, and if you are curious what my work is like feel free to check out my website...www.eleanorborelli.com. I also try to do Illustration Friday every week, to keep things interesting.
Eleanor

New project

This is a piece I am working on for a promotional book I making....

Promotional book, you ask...

My husband and I have rewritten the fable The Tortoise and the Hare into a racing story and I am doing 6, maybe 8 illustrations to accompany this story that I will finish and then put together in book form. It will showcase my ability to create good compositions for the different types of illustrations, it will show how I can draw the different elements from strange and dynamic angles and display how I can move characters through a story. Then I plan to send it out to publishers and editors on my mailing list. I am hoping to send it out next spring just after my next book comes out....

This piece is Turtle making a block on Hare to take the checkered flag. 

It is a double page spread. 

Let me know what you think!

Crit 001: "Culture Clash"

ARTICLE: Adjusting to a new work environment is the greatest challenge.

So, I recently got a new job and "detach" was rolling around in my brain. I thought about how I am detaching myself from one job, where I was relatively comfortable: got along with everyone, knew how to do the tasks--to a new job where I know nothing. To me, it was like leaving a finished puzzle which took so long to figure out, and moving to an unfinished pile of pieces.

I found this article (btw I'm big into news so I think I want to do editorial illustrations) and it talked about how adjusting to the culture of your new job is the most difficult for employees. I thought about the puzzle analogy again and wanted to show the separation between the existing staff and the newbie, yet the hope that they will join together eventually.

Q:
1. Should a top person be female so it doesn't look like a gender issue, or did that not even cross your mind?

2. Is the v-neck top too low cut or is that just me looking at it for too long?

3. Should the new girl have hair or would that be distracting?

Thanks! -Lj

(8/29/08) Thanks for comments! Revised illo found HERE.