How Long Did That Take?

aah, just finished writing up a new post for BookLifeNow, here's an excerpt:

"During a #SFFWRTCHT last month I was asked this question: “How long does it take you to do a piece from first line to finish?”* I responded with something vague about always being amazed at how quickly some pieces come together and how slowly others do. And that’s completely true: The time from first line to finish varies enormously depending on the illustration project. (Even more tricky to explain is why an illustration that only took an afternoon to complete may be more successful than one that took several weeks). One of my art professors used to answer:  “40 years and three weeks” when people asked how long a painting took (the sum of his painting career to that point and whatever time the specific painting required), which was a witty nod to how much more than just hours goes into an art piece. But as a freelancer, knowing how long a project will take is pretty important career information. So I’ve been working on that." ~read more

Now, I still gotta wrap up next month's Fireside illustration, it's short school day, kid has a doctor appointment, and OYG I HAVE TO BAKE PIE FOR TOMORROW... I'm off like a border collie**! (i wish)

But first, a few of the various and sundery links I compiled while writing this post:

• John Scalzi’s advice to writers about money (and time) management***

• Kat Howard steals sand from the hourglass

• Theodora Goss on finding the energy to create

• 6 cool tools for tracking your time

• Who Does She Think She Is, a documentary about working artist mothers

• (Whew, anyone else wish they were one of the sleepless elite?)

• And this interview with creatives talking about their time management methods:

* thank you Paul Weimer for asking the question!
** thank you Bo Bolander for lovely herd dogs.
*** thank you Remy Nakamura for pointing me to Scalzi’s article.