10,000 Hours
It is said that it takes 10,000 hours to know anything well enough to be considered a master. That equals to ten years at 20 hours a week.
I started what later became Elaine Biss Designs on the Summer of 2004. I put in long hours learning web design, conquering Illustrator and Photoshop and SEO tricks I could teach my clients.
In February 2005, I started hipnchicdesigns.com, which offered graphic and web design as well as illustrations for sites.
You don’t even want to see what my first digital illustration looked like. In 2007, I would spend every weekend morning, as early as I could get up, teaching myself Corel Painter. Painter was, at the time, the only software that could create illustrations that looked hand drawn.
Yes, I wanted to be eco friendly. Digital art seemed right.
I did it with a fire in my heart, and a vision that certainly did not match my reality at that moment. I knew what I wanted. And I wanted more.
By 2008, I found myself involved with Christian Dior, New York and Company and an article in the local newspaper. I gained entry to a school that is notorious for denying students. I actually have friends who were denied.
For a mom with 5 kids, 4 dogs and a business, this was quite a feat. Even when I wanted to take a break, I couldn’t stay away. From drawing, that is.
Fast forward to 2015. As I enter my 10th year, I reflect on the ups and downs. The years of feast and famine. I don’t curate my life to show only the best. I am human. I have made mistakes. Tried to rectify them.
But I am extremely fortunate to be here today to celebrate the good days.
Having to redefine my business from web design, to consulting, to exclusively dedicating my firm illustration has been tough. But immensely rewarding.
No one becomes a graphic designer or illustrator for the fame, money and glamour. I did it to show my kids that you can achieve anything you set out to be. Even when the odds are against you.
I regret nothing. It is both a personal and professional triumph. I think of my business the same way NASA defined Apollo 13, a successful failure. Except I made it further than the moon.
I set out to become a web & graphic designer. Today I am neither. I am an illustrator. A fashion illustrator.
