Hello and welcome!
I started Picture Practice to help illustrators, so if you’re an illustrator (or an aspiring one) and you’ve got questions, I’m your gal! I know the struggles that come with this career, and I’d like to help you navigate them or perhaps avoid them altogether!
I’ll be focusing on three skills that make all the difference when it comes to creating a sustainable career:
Art
This is where we’ll build your technical skills. We’ll cover the basics like materials and composition, but also dive deep into advanced techniques like creating depth, aging characters up and down, and using light and perspective to drive the visual narrative.
Business
This is where we’ll work towards creating more opportunities for you. I see a lot of artist put immense effort into building their art skills with the hopes that if they can just get good enough, the rest will fall into place, which doesn’t always work. I want to demystify the business aspects of an illustration career so that you feel comfortable taking a more balanced approach. We’ll talk about the many income streams available to artists and how to get started on each path. We’ll talk money, marketing, agents, and positioning yourself so that you get the most out of whatever path you take.
Mindset
This is a big one that I see a lot of publications overlook. There’s a narrative out there that says do what you love and you’ll be happy. And when we’re faced with a never ending stream of artists living their dreams with book deals and perfect studios, it can feel like we’re the only ones struggling. But the truth is, art is so linked to passion and opinion, it’s next to impossible to navigate without worrying what others think. This leaves us to things like comparison, perfectionism, and impostor syndrome, which can amplify our stress. Together we’ll explore evidence-based ways to shore-up our confidence and avoid burn-out.
Who am I?
I’m Jennifer M Potter, an illustrator and brand expert. I’ve illustrated books for Macmillan, Hachette, and Penguin Random House. I’ve done editorial art for The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Star Tribune. I’ve designed greeting card lines for Roger La Borde and Studio Eleven Papers, and I even designed life-size 3D holiday characters for a mall in Hong Kong. I’ve won a few awards, too!
Before illustration, I was a graphic designer and creative director in publishing and tech. I designed logos, books, websites, apps, and entire brand identities. I also hired and managed a team of designers and illustrators.
Qualifications aside, supporting the illustration community is one of my passions. I’ve benefited so much from the support of my peers, and I’ve developed several projects aimed at giving back. If you’ve been around a while, you’ll remember Prompt Party, Illustration Parade, The Secret Treehouse, and of course the wildly popular Folktale Week challenge.
I like to figure things out and I like to share what I’ve learned. Unfortunately I don’t have the time to help every illustrator one on one, so why not share what I’ve learned right here?
When you subscribe, you get every update delivered straight to your inbox. And if you use the substack app, you can have all of your favorite Substack creators in one place, no messy algorithm to get in the way. You’ll also get access to my member chat, where you’ll get to connect and grow with fellow artists. Most importantly, the more you engage with me—the more you ask questions—the more you motivate me and fuel what I do.
Because my goal is to help as many illustrators as possible, I’m going to keep the vast majority of my content free. But I have plans for resources, workshops, and coworking events, for those who’d like to support me through a paid subscription.
Right now it’s $5 a month, which is the lowest Substack will allow. If that’s too much, send me a message. I’ve set up discounts for students and educators, as well as one to help with purchase price parity overseas. In any case, know that your support means a lot to me, and allows me to dedicate more time and energy to sharing what I’ve learned!
