Hi everyone! I'm really excited to be part of this community - I'm a novice in the world of publishing, but I'm eager to learn and to make friends in the writing world! A little bit about me - I'm a 25-year-old with an illustration degree and a five-year goal to be both a full-time illustrator and a published author. My genre of choice is epic fantasy, but I also enjoy mystery and romance and just about anything that I can dive into.

I'd love to get to know all of you! If you need some honest commentary on your writing, just let me know

TatiAnna T.

Of course! Here's my illustration website! I don't have anything writing-wise posted, but I'm working on that  I'll let you know when I do! 

TatiAnna, I do like your style, very much. What software do you use? Or do you work by hand and scan it?

Hi Mimi It's great to hear from you! I have been dipping my toes into design and it's pretty overwhelming to be honest! Do you have any work that I could look at? I'd love to see what you do

I have been using Photoshop for the past while, just to accustom myself to it, but I also do pen and pencil and scan them.

And Cas, if you ever need an illustrator I'd love to hear about it! Do you ever do books for younger children (0-5 years)?

I have no website yet to post to. If you would Private Message me your email address, I will send you some samples as pdfs. I am trying to work up a methodology for my illustrations for my light verse books. So far I am dissatisfied with the sharpenss of the 300 dpi scans I've made. It may be a matter of too much reduction. Placed in InDesign, some of them have been reduced to about two thirds of the original. That is because I did some trial drawings before I had a page laid out.

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Do you think scanning at 600 dpi will make any difference?

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I went through art school (Syracuse University) way-way pre-computer. I always drew by hand, and I am now trying to migrate my style onto the computer. I am going to try to connect with you right now. I would be so very grateful to you if you could advise me as I try to work this out.

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I  can't figure out how to connect. I always have difficulty with it, and eventually do it accidentally. Email me at ___________. We can connect that way. I am so glad to make your acquaintance.

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Well, this is odd. I just got a message, this post has been reported to a moderator. Are we not supposed to post emails? I'll delete it until I find out. Try to connect with me.

--edited by Mimi Speike on 12/7/2015, 6:50 PM--

OK, I was finally able to connect. The little connect bar doesn't display immediately, for some reason. 

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I know that dpi for the web should be 72 dpi. And I will get to that. For the time being, I am planning a print book, because I intend to create a companion paperdoll of the characters. The ebook version, I may give it away free, as a teaser, to sell the print version. If you want to see what I am trying to illustrate, look at my 'Sly - the Poem' - that's what I called it when I put it up here. It's short - 1200 words, plus comical footnotes. 

--edited by Mimi Speike on 12/7/2015, 9:17 PM--

Hi, TatiAnna! You write fantasy, eh? I think we're going to get along swell!

My favorite fantasy genres are: epic fantasy, traditional fantasy, dark fantasy, and urban fantasy. I write dark fantasy, myself.

I'm looking forward to reading your work!

I'm gonna send you a Connection Request, so we can be friends.

Amber

Hmm . . . what do I define as dark fantasy? Well . . .

I'd go to the Wikipedia page and read through it. This is the link: Wikipedia: Dark Fantasy

Pinning down an exact definition is difficult, so that's all I can offer, lol, since Wikipedia does better at explaining it than I can

So, you think you write epic fantasy, huh? Epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that, in Book Country's words, is set in a secondary world and has a complex and sweeping plot. Narrative usually involves detailed world building, warfare, the rise and fall of a kingdom, as well as a much larger cast of characters than traditional fantasy books. Setting is often redolent of Medieval Europe.

Does your manuscript(s) have that kind of vibe?