Getting Back to Work After Vacation - Jenn

The Doctor is in... sort of. I took some time off this August to recharge my batteries and I'm having a tough time easing myself back into work. One thing I did was I spent a good chunk of the today brushing up on some anatomy. Sometimes drawing from life or doing some drawing exercises helps get me motivated. Also just drawing something just for the heck of it, like this evil scientist guy that I did just for fun, can help me get in the mood before getting down to business.

Getting back to work after a vacation - Anette

We all know how difficult it can be getting back to work after a vacation. Over the years I have understood how important my routines are to keep me productive and happy. These routines change during the summer, but once it's time to get back to work it's important to get into the routines again.

* Waking up early in the morning again.

* Planning what I need to do. Each month I write down what I need to do for each week.

* Planning each day by writing down the tasks I need to do for tomorrow. That way I start off every morning knowing exactly what to start working on.

* Get back to my "inspirational mood". This can be done by working on projects I love, reading inspirational quotes, reading a book, looking at inspiring illustrations etc. Whatever works for you.

* If everything fails - just sit down and get to work! Before you know it you're back into your routines.

Mobile Painting- Jannie

I haven't had much time for personal projects lately but had fun playing around with the iphone's brushes app. For a time lapse of this painting, go here!

Personal projects - Anette

When you're working in a creative profession it's important to find time for personal projects every now and then to keep the passion for your work alive. Even if you love the projects you're working on for clients, it's something different about taking time to make something out of your own ideas.

My favorite personal projects is making my own books. I write and make illustrations for picture books and I'm also writing on a chapter book at the moment. It's difficult to find the time to work on personal projects when I have lots of client work to focus on, but as soon as I have a bit of down-time I'll get to work on my own projects. They're slowly coming together. At the moment I'm balancing my personal projects and my client work by spending the first hour of each day working on personal projects. The rest of the day is for clients. I'm sure my personal projects will be set on hold at times when I have tight deadlines, but for now it's working pretty good.

The image above is showing some of my rough sketches for one of my picture book projects.

Inspiration from July - Anette

Some of the things that inspired me in July:

- Spending a few hours working on the local beach instead of in my office. When my office got so hot I had a hard time working I decided to pack up my project and go outside. And you know what, I got a lot done! Maybe I should try working in different locations more often.

- Board books. I'm doing research for a possible project, and spent a lot of time looking at board books at amazon. I got very inspired both by the illustrations and the simple stories.

- This quote by Abraham Lincoln: "Remember that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." So true!