richardtorrey
Aug 23, 2017 · 2 min read

Love this article, especially this part:

“You need to put yourself into positions that create immense pressure. The kind of pressure that will either make or break you. This is how you purge out your weakness and small-mindedness. It won’t be pretty. But it will change you. And eventually, you’ll rise up. New. Changed. Better.

You need to be taking on challenges that require you to become so much more than you currently are. You need to put your back against the wall so you have no other choice but to produce.

This is how you evolve…”

Whether it was my syndicated work, editorial cartoons, illustration jobs, or writing and illustrating books, in every case, I entered it with no prior experience, and self-taught.

Once, after leafing through my portfolio for about five seconds, the art director of Sports Illustrated looked up at me and said, “what exactly do you want from me?” Having no idea that I really did not belong there, I simply said, “I want you to give me an article to illustrate.” The insane thing is-he did!

Similarly, I met with art directors at Simon & Schuster about illustrating some children’s books for the 100th anniversary of Lionel Trains. They were looking for two distinct styles, including something done with acrylics. After I told them that would not be a problem, they pointed out that I had no acrylic work in my portfolio. I said, “had I known you wanted to see my acrylic work, I would have brought it.” I landed a deal to illustrate 8 books that day-then raced home to buy my first acrylic paints and learn how to use them.

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    richardtorrey

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    Author/illustrator of 15 children’s books