2019 in Review

Patrons and friends, hello and welcome to the new year, and the new decade! We made it, my sweet buddies!

At the beginning of January last year I took some time to flip through my planner, photos, and social media to reflect on the milestones I'd achieved over the course of my first year as a freelance artist. I broke the events down by month and compiled them into one big 2018 Year in Review, which helped me enter the new year with a clearer vision of what I wanted and needed to do. So many readers told me they found the 2018 Year in Review helpful, so I really hope you can learn something from my successes and failures of 2019.

For those who may be new here, let's recap! 2018 was the year I left my kitchen job with some money saved up to pursue an illustration career. I drew as much as I could and shared it on Instagram, made my first prints and products all by hand, tabled my first couple of Art Walks and markets, and got into my first convention. I worked one barista job, and then another. I started this Patreon and grew from 0 to almost 10 patrons reading about my journey.  I found some momentum on Instagram, organically growing my audience from 200 to almost 20,000. If you want to hear more about it read the 2018 Review or just check out the rest of my posts.

By the end of 2018, my income from my first convention, holiday portraits, and Etsy Black Friday was enough to empower me to quit my second barista job and try to make full-time illustration work again for at least the first two months of 2019. I was ready to look for another part-time job if I needed one but eager to see if I could make it work.

Okay, I've set the stage. Let's see what happened for Ragonia Art in 2019!

Clockwise from top left: My new living room studio. A test sketch for a book publisher. My new portrait design style. My first piece of 2019, a DTIYS from Sophie McPike.

J A N U A R Y

• Updated my website with new art, with the goal of getting more client work in 2019. (More? How about my first client work?)
• Moved my studio space and desk from my kitchen to my living room, giving myself much more space to work and grow.
• Got paid to do test sketches for an art director from a publishing company, who was looking for an illustrator for an upcoming children’s chapter book series. Didn’t get the job, but talking with a possible real client gave me a lot more confidence.
• Applied to a Call for Artists to illustrate a series of utility box wraps in my neighborhood. Didn’t get the job, but pushed myself to update my website and resume.
• Revamped/simplified my portrait technique and sold nine custom traditional portraits for Valentine’s Day.
• Reached 20,000 followers on my Instagram.

Clockwise from top left: A rare Seattle snowstorm. A poster commission for a game meet-up.  The full digital portrait of the bride with her bridesmaids. A custom bridesmaid portrait.

F E B R U A R Y

• Filed my Ragonia taxes with the IRS for the first time, after meeting with a local tax coach who taught me about filing my own taxes!
• Illustrated a poster for a local game meet-up (commissioned by my friend.) A great early practice at illustrating posters.
• Commissioned to illustrate a series of four portraits for a customer’s bridesmaid gifts.
• Emailed 9 different illustration agencies looking for representation. Got a polite 'no thanks,' from one and no response from the rest.

 Clockwise from top left: My second year visiting ECCC. A farmed animal illustration series. My first block prints. A watercolor self-portrait.

M A R C H

• Ragonia’s one year anniversary on March 8th! I didn’t celebrate in any way I can remember, because my middle sister was visiting town.
• Hosted a middle school artist as part of a local school’s job shadow program. Lily (my 13-year-old shadow!) got a tour of my home studio, learned a little bit about social media strategy, and learned about creating products by making stickers, pins, and a sketchbook.
• Attended (not tabled) Emerald City Comic Con for the second time and felt SO MUCH less nervous than the first year. I bought some rad art, said hello to the vendors who were slowly becoming my friends, and waited 5 hours to be in the front row of a Critical Role panel. (Worth it)
• Prepared for my first market of the year (Vegan Mac Down) by teaching myself to block print shirts and tote bags, and drawing a series of farmed animal illustrations.
• Planted some seeds: applied to Urban Craft Uprising, Geek Girl Con, and submitted my beer glass design to Peddler Brewing Company.
• Reached 25,000 followers on Instagram.

 Clockwise from top left: Tabling at my first market of the year, Vegan Mac Down. My game day poster design.  My Snapchat Sticker set in the app. My most popular Instagram post ever.

A P R I L

• Drew my most-liked Instagram post to date: that stupid little yellow artist sitting in paint doodle.
• Sold my art at Vegan Mac Down, a local vegan mac n’ cheese competition to benefit FFAC. Found that I love participating in vegan events, because people are so enthusiastic and sweet, and I feel a strong connection to the message. The sales were okay, but the vibe was strong and happy and inspiring. And free mac n’ cheese!
• Tabled at a local indie artist market hosted at a nearby bar. The sales were very low.
• Illustrated a game day poster for the Seattle Storm Women’s Basketball team. The pay was fairly low as it was technically for charity, but I still enjoyed the experience of designing another poster.
• Was contracted by SNAPCHAT to design a set of 16 stickers for use within their app. This project was so satisfying, straightforward, and the best pay of any project thus far. My first big client project, and it really upped my confidence to reach for more in the future!
• Reached 26,000 followers on Insta. (Hopefully, it’s helpful to see that the rate of follower growth definitely fluctuates.)

 Clockwise from top left: Visiting Canyonlands National Park during our cross-country road trip. First Arty Business article cover.  A happy buzzed bee. Animal Crossing fan art.

M A Y

• Wrote and shared the first-ever Arty Business article (on the topic of Social Media growth!) The Arty Business series has been one of my greatest breakthroughs in helping others pursue their own Arty Business careers, and in connecting with so many new people through Patreon.
• Flew to the east coast to visit my partner Zach’s family, attend my youngest sister’s college graduation, and accept a wonderful, generous gift from Zach’s parents, our first CAR! (His parent’s had bought a newer car and hoped to empower us two young artists with their 2011 Rav4.)
• Used our new best friend to drive across the country, stopping in Kentucky, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and arriving back home in Seattle.
• Received my first FAN MAIL?? A sweet letter and original art from a 12-year-old artist in Australia, still one of my most treasured memories.
• Shaved all my hair off, something I’ve wanted to try since I was a teenager!

 Clockwise from top left: Tabling at Urban Craft Uprising. Digital redraw of my Pig piece. My custom tissue paper design from Noissue. Big batch of handmade pins.

J U N E

• Tabled at Urban Craft Uprising, my first craft fair. I had very high expectations, and it didn’t end up being as busy as I had thought. Still fairly successful, but perhaps not quite my target market.
• Got my first two wholesale accounts: Gallery Boom, an art and gift shop In Olympia, WA, ordered a bunch of stickers and prints, and Mox Boarding House, a game shop and cafe in my neighborhood that ordered 20 of my handmade cat pins.
• Collaborated with Noissue brand for a custom tissue paper design.

Clockwise from top left: Seeing my art for sale at the basketball game. My designs printed on a beer glass. Ragonia Pop-Up at West Elm. Fan Art of Sonia Lazo, an illustrator with awesome fashion sense.

J U L Y

• Attended the basketball game (my first) that I had designed the poster for earlier in the year. They brought me down onto the court during half time, but didn’t end up giving me the signed poster for some reason? It was all very fast and unexplained. Kind of weird, but still a fun experience.
• Tabled at three different events: a West Elm pop-up, Peddler’s Keep the Pint night, and a Redmond artist market. Earned more money at some than others.
• Had my art printed on beer glasses as part of Peddler Brewing Co.’s Keep the Pint Night. People were so nice and supportive at the event, and I still use the glasses as my drinking glasses.
• Reached 29,000 followers on Instagram.

Clockwise from top left: Vending at an artist market. A Sriracha design for new greeting cards. A finished letterpress card. A custom witch-themed portrait.

A U G U S T

• Prepared for upcoming conventions by ordering new prints of old pieces, ordering new stickers, and making a big patch of handmade pins and earrings.
• Tabled at some smaller artist markets, made very little money from them. A very quiet month for sales. In the future I’ll use this month to get an even bigger head start on holiday prep.
• Created my first set of greeting cards by collaborating with a local letterpress shop, the same shop that hosted my second art walk in 2018. Learned about designing for letterpress and greeting cards.

Clockwise from top left: Tabling at RCCC in Portland. Donation doodle portraits.  Tabling at Bellingham Veg Fest. My first commissioned logo. 

S E P T E M B E R

• Buckle up, the crazy time begins! Attended the annual Seattle video game expo, PAX West. Always inspiring and just plain fun.
• Donation doodles! Offered 10 min doodle portraits in exchange for a $10+ Ko-Fi donation. Sold 29 doodles and finished them in a little more than a day. Super fun and quick. 
• Flew to Colorado to attend my partner’s cousin's wedding and visit my sister.
• Tabled at Rose City Comic Con in Portland, my first out-state-convention! A wonderful time despite my bad cold. Made some wonderful new artist (and patron!) friends and got closer with old ones. Comic-cons have been my most successful and profitable markets. And they’re damn fun and so satisfying.
• Tabled at Bellingham Veg Fest, a vegan festival in a nearby town. Another excellent market with delightful new and returning customers. Thus far vegan markets have almost always been very profitable for me.
• Collaborated with Noissue for my second batch of custom tissue paper, this time with a holiday theme. My first time preparing for the holidays far before the holiday season and it felt just as jarring and bizarre as I thought it would.
• Illustrated a logo for a repeat portrait customer’s business. I believe this was my first logo commission!

Clockwise from top left: An exhausted artist in October. The fruits of Inktober 2019.  My commissioned MUJI Portland stamp in action. Three new enamel pins.

O C T O B E R

• Hosted my first Inktober prompt list, Spooky n Cozy! 4,500+ illustrations were tagged by hundreds of people creating art using my list of prompts. It felt amazing to be working with this community if artists, all creating such different pieces from the same prompts. Some of my favorite artists participated, and I found some new favorite artists/patrons/friends through the experience!
• Made at least 23 new illustrations using my Spooky n Cozy prompt list. Phew, I’m tired just looking back in this month.
• Was commissioned by MUJI Portland to submit a stamp design for their first-anniversary party (alongside one of my favorite artists, Kate Bingaman-Burt!!)
• Ordered three new enamel pins (my first since my crow design from 2018) using some of my September profits. Ordered six new sticker designs as part of a collaboration with StickerApp, including... HOLOGRAPHIC STICKERS!
• Tabled at Jet City Comic Show. Met some very nice artists and customers, but was far too quiet to be worth the time at that point.
• Reached 45,000 Instagram followers, and 50 patrons!

Clockwise from top left: Tabling at Geek Girl Con for my second year. My mural design for Verizon.  My first batch of holiday Etsy orders. A custom digital holiday portrait for one of my patrons!

N O V E M B E R 

• My first mural design and my biggest client project to date: a marketing company representing Verizon and iHeart radio commissioned me to design a ‘Whimsical Seattle Doodle Mural‘ to use as a back drop for a photo booth at a Fall Out Boy concert. Part of their concept was to have me illustrate half of the mural live at the event, so I got to see my big piece in action and attend the concert!
• Hosted my first artist meet-up, finally! 10 or so artists (including three current patron/friends, hi guys!) met up with me at a local brewery to draw and chat and connect.
• Finished 18 custom holiday portraits, and charged more than double what I charged in 2018 so that I earned much much closer to a livable wage for my time. I’m very proud of the final portraits and was honored as always to illustrate for such sweet customers.
• Tabled at Geek Girl Con for my second year, and loved it just as much as my first. Savored the feeling of becoming more established in the illustrator community.
• Mailed out 126 Etsy orders over the course of the month. (In 2018 I mailed out 44 orders during November.)
• Tabled at Geek Craft Expo, my second craft fair.
• Reached 50,000 followers on Instagram! Hot dang!!

Clockwise from top left: Last market of the year. My custom holiday tissue paper from Noissue. Another batch of holiday Etsy orders. A holiday doodle self-portrait.

D E C E M B E R

• Tabled at two last events, the Greenwood Holiday Market and a local vegan clothing store’s holiday pop-up weekend.
• Hosted my first patron livestream holiday part, and had a great time chatting with you all about life and art!
• Finished up my portrait and Etsy orders and finally closed my shop for a break.
• Flew to visit my sister in Boulder for my 26th birthday, then visit my hometown in Virginia for a Christmas, and enjoyed a much needed long break.

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2 0 2 0  I N T E N T I O N S

This year for Ragonia, I will...

• Absolutely work smarter, not harder. 
• Have a better balance between life and work. 
• Trust the roller coaster that is the freelance income, and not scramble to fill every void. 
• Create space for actually making art, doodling, experimenting (can you imagine?)
• Have a healthier relationship with social media. 
• Let go of the income streams that aren't serving me (smaller markets, smaller commissions/portraits), and encourage the ones that are (bigger conventions, client work, Patreon support.)
• Connect even more with other artists and makers, online and in person.

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Unfortunately while writing all of this out, I feel myself getting pretty discouraged, but I think it's mostly because I've been writing about myself for two days straight. I also know that I start to get discouraged when I do too much thinking, and not enough acting. But I just need to remind myself that a period of reflection is important for more effective periods of action. Remember, trust the process.

Thank you all so much for joining me for this long reflection! I hope something in this helps you understand your own journey better, or shows you something not to do, or shows you something new to try.

As we begin this new year, I am happy to share that the support from you beautiful 91 patrons is enough to cover the majority of my biggest monthly expense: my rent. Having such a big chunk of my biggest expense covered consistently is truly making a difference in my life. Thanks to your support I feel like I can take the time to do reflections like these, to doodle, to learn and draw and experiment. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

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What are some of your proudest achievements? 

What did you learn from the hardest parts? 

And what are your intentions for 2020?

 I'd love to invite you to share as much as you'd like about your 2019 in the comments.  Join the conversation and let's chat! Otherwise, I wish you a wonderful, cleansing, reflective start to your year. Let's get that bread! (sorry)

xoxo,

Ragon